Understanding Sleep Talking and Sleepwalking: Causes and Solutions

You may have noticed that someone sleeping next to you suddenly starts talking or mumbling in their sleep. Such individuals are referred to as 'sleep talkers'.

Sometimes these utterances are so strange or personal that they cause unnecessary bitterness or misunderstandings in relationships. In medical terms, this is known as 'somniloquy'. Talking in one's sleep not only disturbs the sleep of the listener but also reveals a lot about the speaker's health.

In most cases, sleep talking is considered a normal condition, but if the frequency of talking increases, ignoring it could be costly. Some people even start moving their limbs or shouting and screaming while talking in their sleep.

Along with talking, some people also have a habit of walking in their sleep. Sleepwalking can be more dangerous than sleep talking. Let us understand why this happens and how to avoid it.

• Sleep Talking

When we sleep, a protective mechanism works in the brain. It prevents neural activities related to dreams from turning into speech or body movements.

However, this system is not entirely 'perfect'. Sometimes some signals 'leak'. This is why sleep talking, shouting, clear speech, and sometimes 'sleepwalking' can occur.

According to experts, this can be linked to many physical and mental causes. Stress, depression, lack of sleep, alcohol consumption, and fever can increase the likelihood of sleep talking.

Dr. Mohsin Wali of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi says, 'Sleep talking is generally not a symptom of a major disease. But it can be linked to stress.'

He says, 'The problem of sleep talking can be seen in those who go to sleep under stress or take their daily work too much to heart. Such people often start talking about the same things in their sleep.'

In this, a person can say anything while sleeping and often starts talking when scared in a dream. According to doctors, there is no separate treatment for this; rather, it is important to understand the underlying cause.

Things said in sleep are often grammatically correct. They may be related to recent events or experiences, but often they also sound strange and meaningless.

In most cases, sleep talking is not a disease. However, stress, mental pressure, or psychological problems can increase its likelihood.

Dr. Sonia Lal Gupta, a senior consultant neurologist at Metro Group of Hospitals, explains, 'Talking in sleep at night is a common problem, which is seen more especially in children. If this problem increases, it is a matter of concern.'

• Sleepwalking

Sleepwalking can be dangerous. A girl named Peyton living in the US state of Louisiana went out of her house in her sleep on the night of 14 September 2024 and reached the middle of a forest while walking.

After the girl went missing, family members informed the police, and then the search for the girl began. When the girl was not found anywhere nearby, drone cameras were used for this.

Dr. Mohsin Wali also believes that while sleep talking is generally not a disease, sleepwalking can pose a risk of accidents.

He says, 'In this, the person actually starts getting up and walking, and they are not even aware of it. In such a situation, there is a risk of falling or bumping into something. If someone is sleeping on a roof, there may also be a fear of falling.'

Dr. Wali also shares an experience from his student life. According to him, in 1968, he was under a lot of stress before a high school science exam and started walking around four in the morning after sleeping at night. At that time, his father had stopped him.

According to experts, night sleep is completed in several stages. When we try to sleep, we first get light sleep. After about 20 minutes, this sleep slowly starts to deepen.

After this, the sleep becomes light again for some time, and then the person goes into a very deep sleep, which is called Rapid Eye Movement (REM).

All these stages of sleep repeat several times throughout the night. With each cycle, the duration of 'REM', or very deep sleep, increases, and this process continues until waking up in the morning.

We dream the most during REM sleep. In this state, the body remains almost completely relaxed so that the body does not actually show movements or actions according to the activities happening in the dream.

However, the problem of sleepwalking occurs when the balance between the brain and the body is disturbed. This is a state of confusion in which the brain is active enough to signal the body to move, but not active enough for the person to wake up completely.

A study conducted at Niguarda Hospital in Milan, Italy, studied the brain activity of people who sleepwalk. The research found that some parts of the brains of such people remain active at that time, while other parts are in a state of sleep.

This study points out that the problem of sleepwalking is a result of an imbalance created between the state of sleep and wakefulness.

• When to worry?

According to Dr. Sonia Lal Gupta, there is no need to worry too much in the case of sleep talking. She says, 'People who talk or mumble in their sleep often do not remember in the morning what they said at night. In most cases, especially in children, treatment is not needed because this problem goes away on its own as they grow older.'

According to Dr. Gupta, it is important to see in adults what the cause of sleep talking is and whether it is affecting the quality of sleep or not.

If a person has a problem with frequent sleep talking, shouting, or violent behavior and their sleep is being disturbed, she says it is necessary to investigate the cause.

According to Dr. Wali, many people in society today are struggling with a lack of sleep. Some people also have 'obstructive sleep apnea', in which oxygen does not reach the brain well during sleep, and this causes the brain to go into stress.

He says, 'The problem of sleepwalking or sleep talking can also occur due to stress, lack of sleep, anxiety, or after suffering from an illness.'

• Treatment

You can also fall victim to this due to an irregular sleep schedule or sometimes due to stress. Doctors advise that fixing these things can help you eliminate this problem.

Regarding improving sleep quality, Dr. Sonia Lal Gupta says, 'The time for sleeping and waking up should be fixed. Caffeine (coffee/tea) should not be consumed after three in the afternoon, and one should avoid using mobile phones before sleeping.'

She said, 'If a person goes to sleep with a lot of stress and this problem is increasing, it is necessary to see a doctor.'

According to Dr. Gupta, if a person performs violent actions during sleep, such as kicking their partner while sleeping, it could be a sign of a neurological problem.

She said, 'Such complaints related to sleep are more common in children because their brains are still developing. However, if a child sleeps too much during the day or feels sleepy repeatedly at school, this can be a matter of concern and should be checked.'

According to Dr. Wali, there is no direct treatment for this. Counseling can be useful in such cases, which is usually done by psychologists. Apart from this, getting enough sleep is also necessary.

Melatonin is produced in the body at night. He says that if necessary, melatonin can also be given on the advice of a doctor. Generally, these conditions do not affect memory.

(Published on behalf of Collective Newsroom for BBC)