Why do many people talk in their sleep? Here's what science says
2023-02-24 11:04:56
TiranaPost
Almost everyone has a personal or family history of talking in their sleep. Although it tends to be more common in children, it can occur at any age. A 2010 study in the journal Sleep Medicine found that about two-thirds of people experience at least one episode of sleep talking in adulthood.
Sleep talking is not considered a sleep disorder, but a normal variation of human sleep behavior. The International Classification of Sleep Disorders classifies sleep talking as an isolated symptom, along with other elements such as snoring.
Although sleep talking is not a disorder, it can have unwanted effects on a person's sleep, especially in those who sleep in the same room or
bed with him. Sleep talking, or somniloquy, refers to various vocalizations while a person is asleep. They can be complete words and phrases, but they can also be murmurs, shouts or even laughter.
Children usually talk in their sleep. According to a 1980 study, over half talk at least once a year or more, while a quarter talk in their sleep at least once a week. About half of sleep speech is unintelligible suggests a 2017 study that recorded the sleep speech of study subjects.
Among other things, the study found that out of 3,349 intelligible recordings, the word said by the majority of sleep talkers was "No". On the other hand, it is a myth to claim that if people are telling the truth while talking in their sleep, says Jennifer Martin, professor of medicine at the University of California School of Medicine.
But a 2009 study found that some people talk during their dreams, saying phrases that match what they later remember dreaming. But most sleep talking has nothing to do with dreaming. "Sleep talking tends to occur in a stage of sleep that we call non-rapid eye movement, or non-REM sleep. During this phase, our brain is relatively quiet, compared to what we see during sleep with the rapid movement of our eyes" - emphasizes Martin.
During REM sleep, the body is paralyzed to prevent dreams from occurring, Martin points out, and this paralysis prevents people from talking in their sleep. If sleep talking occurs during REM sleep, then it could be a sign of something more serious.
"REM sleep behavior disorder often evolves into violent behavior during sleep such as screaming, yelling, which can lead to injury to the patient or their bed partner. In this case, we may have the initial signs of diseases that are typical for the elderly, usually Parkinson's disease or Dementia" – says Dr. Erik St. Louis, head of the Sleep Neurology Division at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
But what causes sleep talking? Researchers don't yet know why, but studies that measure brain activity may provide some clues. Recent analyzes show similarities between sleep talking and normal waking speech, says St.Louis.
Linguistic studies published in the journal Sleep in 2017 have also shown that the properties of sleep speech – language, patterns, syntax and semantics – follow the same rules as everyday human conversations and are therefore intelligible.
Sleep talking may be related to memory consolidation, when the sleeping brain reviews experiences to store the most important ones in long-term memory. On the other hand, the cause of sleep talking can be different in children and adults, Martin points out. Sleep talking and other unusual sleep behaviors are much more common in children because the child's brain is trying to "learn what not to do," Martin points out.
It may also be related to the stages of brain development during childhood. However, in adults, some other conditions and circumstances make sleep talking more likely. First, this phenomenon may also have a genetic component. According to a 2001 study published in the journal "Psychiatric Genetics", it can be inherited in families.
Also, sleep talking has been linked to obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which people experience pauses in breathing, or shallow breathing, during sleep.
Can sleep talking be stopped? This phenomenon is usually considered a harmless feature.
But it can be uncomfortable for anyone who hears it. Because in the 2017 sleep study, 10 percent of sleep talk contained profanity and profanity. To prevent a person from talking in their sleep, Martin advises giving them a little snooze. That gentle interruption of sleep can stop that behavior, she says.
*This article was published by Bota.al and reposted by Tiranapost.al
