Scientific Significance of Sleep Talking

WHAT IS SLEEP TALKING? Sleep talking (or somniloquy) can be considered as a part of a larger family of types of “sleep utterances,” such as mumbling, laughing, groaning, and whistling during sleep. The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus already observed someone sleep talking about 2,500 years ago, so it is not a very recent discovery. It happens at all ages (provided that one is capable of speaking!) and may occur during all parts of the night. Sleep talking is said to be more common in children than in adults. However, it might also be the case that sleeping kids are simply more often overheard (for instance, by their parents) than adults. Sometimes, sleep talking is placed among involuntary behaviors that may happen during sleep (called “parasomnias”), such as sleepwalking, teeth grinding, and even types of sleep behavior disorders in which patients may injure themselves or their bed partner when involuntarily making dangerous movements during sleep. However, sleep talking is often very innocent and generally does not require any treatment. An exception is the sleep talking that may start to occur after a traumatic experience, as in the case of soldiers who fought in a war.