Somniloquie
Somniloquy or Sleep talking is a parasomnia that refers to talking out loud in one's sleep. It can be quite loud, ranging from simple sounds to long speeches, and can occur many times during sleep. Listeners may or may not be able to understand what the person is saying.
Sleep talking usually occurs during transitory arousals from NREM sleep. It can also occur during REM sleep at which time it represents a motor breakthrough (see sleep paralysis) of dream speech (the words spoken in a dream are uttered out loud). Full consciousness is not achieved and the sleep talker is not aware of his vocal output.
Sleep talking can occur by itself or as a feature of another sleep disorder such as:
- REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) - loud, emotional or profane sleep talking
- Sleepwalking
- Night terrors - intense fear, screaming, shouting
- Sleep related eating disorder (SRED)
Sleep talking is very common and is reported in 50% of young children, with most of them outgrowing it by puberty, although it may persist into adulthood (about 5% of adults are reported to talk in their sleep). It appears to run in families.
Sleep talking by itself is harmless and the content should be taken lightly, however it can wake up others and cause them consternation—especially when misinterpreted as conscious speech by a partner. If the sleep talking is dramatic, emotional or profane it may be a sign of another sleep disorder (see above). Sleep talking can be monitored by a partner or by using an audio recording device.