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Friday, February 10, 2012
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Friday, February 10, 2012
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Sleep Disorders |
My husband speaks German in his sleep12/12/2006 |
As the title says he speaks German in his sleep..he has full conversations with someone ..this will some times go on for 10 minutes or more...the thing is he doesn`t speak the language at all any more and hasnt` since a very young child...... when he was very young, he spoke German, which was the language spoken at home, but when he started school, he was teased at school and refused to speak German again, ...now he is 43, and doesn`t speak the language at all ..he of course recognises the language, as most people would, but does not speak it any longer......he only now, speaks German randomly in his sleep, and I`d like to record it sometime but as said its so random..he spoke it 2 nights ago, and before that about 6 months ago...it`s very strange..and of course has no recollection upon waking..at first he thought I was kidding when I told him, he just kind of fluffs it off, but he told me he too wonders why he does this...any answers????thank you
Sleep talking, also known as somniloquy, is not an uncommon problem, especially in children. While we don’t know exactly how common talking in sleep is, it is estimated to occur in about half of all children and in about 5% of adults.
Sleep talking can range from infrequent quite sounds to full spoken sentences to singing and shouting. Often, the speech cannot be understood and may sound like mutterings or gibberish. It is not clear to me in your question if you have confirmed that your husband is indeed speaking German. If the case is that your husband is speaking German, then this would not be particularly surprising as, at times, sleep talking can be related to dream experiences (though this is not always the case), which can involve experiences from the distant past. However, if your husband is not speaking German in his sleep, then I would wonder if you are confusing mutterings or partial words with a foreign language. It may be worthwhile trying to tape record his sleep talking to confirm what it is he is saying.
The cause of talking in sleep is not entirely known. Most of the time, the cause of this sleep behavior can not be linked to any identifiable underlying problem or disease. And in most cases, the problem is not serious and may resolve over time or with age. However, in some cases, it has been found to be associated with other sleep-related disorders, such as sleep walking, REM behavior disorder (an unusual disorder in which individuals tend to act out their dreams while asleep), sleep-related epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder and the nighttime sleep eating syndrome. In addition, in adults who began their sleep talking in adulthood, there may be a higher rate of psychiatric disorders, though most adults who talk in their sleep do not have these problems.
While it is likely there is nothing for your husband to worry about, if there is concern for one of the above mentioned sleep problems, then a thorough history and physical examination would be needed to determine if a referral to a Sleep Specialist may be necessary. The Sleep Specialist can help decide if further evaluation by a sleep study is needed. This test may help to determine the presence or the absence of the conditions mentioned above. Specific treatments for each condition are available and will depend upon the results of the evaluation, though as mentioned, most cases of sleep talking do not require any specific evaluation or treatment.
If you would like additional information regarding sleep and sleep disorders, you can obtain it on the American Academy of Sleep Medicine website. This website also contains a list of Sleep Centers across the country so you can locate one near you if need be. The website Sleep Education.com also contains some information regarding sleep talking. Good luck and here's to better sleep!
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Dennis Auckley, MD Associate Professor of Medicine Department of Medicine School of Medicine Case Western Reserve University |
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