From our discussion survey, many students noted that they are most eager to learn about sleep and dreams. Reading chapter five answered many of my questions that I was curious about, too. The most interesting aspects of sleep that I learned about pertained to the sleeping disorders many people possess.
Although it wasn't specifically mentioned in the chapter, sleep talking is a sleep disorder found in many people of all ages, including me! According to webmd.com, sleep talking is a form of parasomnia, an abnormal behavior that takes place during sleep. Sleep talking is more formally known as somniloquy. Sleep talking often only occurs for a few seconds. However, some report sleep talkers that speak all night long. Although some of the words spoken may be vulgar, most of the time they are simple phrases that the speaker can't even remember in the morning. Sometimes the words spoken are just a whisper. Other times, the speaker may shout in his or her sleep.
I'm sure we are all familiar with someone who has spoken in his or her sleep. According to webmd.com, sleep talking is a common and harmless occurrence that occurs in 50% of children ages 3-10 and about 5% of adults. Sleep talking is found in both male and females equally, and researchers believe sleep-talking runs in families. I would agree with that conclusion because as far as I know, everybody in my large family talks in their sleep.
I came across some videos that displayed sleep talking. I found this video about a man who sleep talks about some rather funny stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WztLoZZkTc0
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