Nocturnal Human

Have you ever wondered what happens when it’s dark outside? Come with me as I unravel the fascinating mystery of sleepwalking and sleep-talking. Click now to dive into the world where ordinary things become extraordinary and the secrets of the night come alive! 🌙💤✨

Sleepwalking and sleep talking, also known as “somnambulism” and “somniloquy,” are sleep disorders that I find interesting to share. In this article, I will discuss what these are, why they happen, who they affect, what it means for people who experience them, how they connect to the mind, and whether they can be inherited.

Understanding Sleepwalking and Sleep Talking: Sleepwalking means doing complex things during sleep. For instance, your cell phone is ringing while you have put it into sleep mode. And it is going often; it means it has some problems related to the audio settings or maybe with the system speakers.

Similarly, during our resting mode, there is a unique setting of sleep called non-REM (random eye movements). As we fall asleep, our minds go into a complex state. Where our subconscious guides dreams: sometimes, we briefly wake up in dreams and rarely in reality. And it is the latter case where we lead to sleep talking.

People around us can notice that we are talking about something, but mostly, the sounds are meaningless or have no connection with our surroundings, just like the dreams we see.

Sleepwalking is even more mysterious, where the subconscious takes over to unknown places in dreams, and people move with purpose while still asleep. This is a dangerous disorder between thoughts of consciousness and the subconscious at night and makes the human brain a puzzle (unsolved).

What Causes Them: Several things can make these disorders happen, affecting sleep quality. Family history plays a significant role in sleepwalking and sleep-talking, as research suggests a hereditary link to these disorders.

Additionally, episodes of sleepwalking and sleep-talking can be triggered by intense stress and anxiety, making individuals more prone to experiencing these events.

Insufficient or irregular sleep patterns increase the likelihood of these sleep problems. Moreover, specific health issues such as fever, indigestion, and the use of particular drugs can contribute to the occurrence of sleepwalking and sleep-talking episodes.

Who Gets Affected and When: This sleep disorder is not only for a particular age group. It’s more common in children, especially between ages 3 and 7, and becomes less common as people age. Stress-related episodes are more common in older ages adults.

What It Means for the Mind: Both sleepwalking and sleep-talking happen when our brain is not fully asleep. Sleepwalking occurs during non-REM sleep, where the brain is less active than when awake. Sleep talking occurs when our conscious and subconscious minds merge, not during actual dreaming.

Sleepwalking’s Connection to Deep NREM Sleep: Usually, we go through sleep cycles, moving from lighter to deeper sleep and back.

Sleepwalking often happens in the deepest part of the night and can last from a few seconds to half an hour. Some scientists think it’s our brain trying to go straight from sleep mode to awaken mode, skipping the usual steps of the sleep cycle.

Can It Be Inherited: Research says a specific part of DNA is linked to sleepwalking found on chromosome 20. Chances are there that persons will likely sleepwalk if they have this part of DNA, and if they have the disorder, their children have a 50% chance of getting it, too.

In short, sleepwalking and sleep-talking are interesting sleep problems influenced by genes, stress, and irregular sleep. Researchers are working to understand how our minds work during sleep to improve how we deal with and prevent these issues.

Here, I add one personal learning from elders I found valuable to share: never put the children to bed directly when they have cried or are still crying. Similarly, ask them to go to sleep after threatening or scolding them for inevitable mistakes. Mothers mostly do it when they are angry and prefer to get sleep to cope with the ongoing stress. This could trigger the disorder of sleepwalking or talking to yourself and your loved ones.

What do you think when we walk or talk in sleep? Is it the result of any ongoing activity in the real or the dream, or is it a side effect of some medicines? Please share your thoughts about this exciting mechanism.