Many people suffer from such strange problems that it almost becomes a question whether they should be treated or not. As we all know that all diseases need to be treated but there is also an exception to this. Now whether that can be at all termed as a ‘disease’ or not, there lies the main hitch. A condition known as ‘Somniloquy’ is one such case which people often do not find to be a serious enough disorder worth treatment. But when problems worsen, treatment is certainly required. The point is that when should be consider the condition to be enough serious? Well…that varies from person to person. But before all that we should take a close look at the condition called somniloquy or sleep talking. This article will also throw light on why people talk in their sleep. In most of the cases, people who talk in their sleep are unaware of the fact. It is only when their bed partner identify that they understand their problem. People who are suffering from sleep talking cannot thus identify their symptoms when they are fast asleep.
Generally speaking, sleep talking is not considered to be a serious problem. In most of the times, it has been observed that children talk in their sleep. Almost half the children have this disorder. However, this problem gets over after they reach their puberty. Though in some cases, the problem persists till adulthood. 5% of the adults suffer from sleep talking.
A person talking in sleep can utter understandable speech and words to nonsense sounds. It may occur for few times when the individual is sleeping. Sleep talking can occur at any phase of sleeping. It can occur either during the rapid eye movement phase or REM or non-rapid eye movement phase or NREM. Usually, it mostly happens in transitory arousal from NREM sleeping phase. It the sleep talking occurs during REM phase, it might signify the ‘motor breakthrough’ of the speech of a person in his dream. It only implies that he is speaking words in his dream quite loudly.
Heredity is considered to be a major reason of somniloquy. Another reason of sleep talking could be strain or stress. Febrile illness may also lead to sleep talking. Some instances of febrile illnesses include psychiatric disorders.
and anxiety disorders. A simple fever is also another example of febrile illness. Sleep talking is not considered to be a very serious case until and unless it’s triggered by some other sleeping disorder or medical condition. For instance, sleepwalking can also lead to sleep talking.
Sleep terrors and REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) are two common sleep disorders which can lead some people in shouting loudly in their sleep. Sleep terrors are also known as night terrors and generally include symptoms like thrashing, kicking and screams. Children suffering from sleep terror generally sleep walk as well as sleep talk. Other issues that can lead to sleep talking are mentioned below:
- certain medications
- mental health disorder
- substance abuse
Sleep talking isnot considered to be a serious problem to be treated. But if things reach out of hand, it is better to get in touch with any sleep specialist. If a child is suffering from sleep talking, consult a pediatrician. The sleep specialist would try to gather all information about what causes you to sleep talk. In this case, he can even ask question to your room mates or parents. No tests are required for diagnosing sleep talking.
If you are suffering from Sleep talking, there are certain things that should be taken into consideration like frequency of this occurring, intensity of the sleep talking. You have to also consider whether it is becoming dramatic or profane. If sleep talking is becoming emotional, you should seek professional or medical attention.
Sleep talking of a person can become an issue of disturbance for his room partner. Therefore, it’s better to correct this problem as soon as possible. You should not ignore this as a funny experience or less important condition. If you want to get rid of sleep talking, the life style has to be improved to a great extent. A little bit of exercise, avoiding too much of coffee and being careful about the medicines that you are taking daily can show some signs of improvement towards decreasing your sleep talking.