Doctors at King’s College London Hospital have revealed a case, where a 67-year old bus driver came to the hospitals sleep clinic with his wife, who complained about his unusual sleep talking habit.
According to the case, the wife informed doctors that her husband had been sleep talking. She said that after around 10 minutes of falling asleep, he began to talk and continued to talk for hours while still sleeping.
If that was not enough, she stated that he often talked about his ex-relations and sexual acts he had done in the past. As per the wife, he had once even spoken of a cellphone number of his ex-girlfriend while sleeping. She even stated that his husband’s voice with time started to get more lustful, and went on to say he even spoke about abusing his own children sexually.
As per the account of her husband, he remembered nothing and could not remember the number when which had recited during his sleep. He, on the other hand, debated that whatever he was saying while in his sleep had nothing to do with reality.
According to the doctors at the King’s College London’s Hospital, the man’s case history revealed that he had visited other psychiatrists before he came to the sleep clinic. He was tested for anxiety and had taken various medicines including benzodiazepines and anti-anxiety – hypnosis had also been tried upon him, but nothing had worked.
His history showed no signs of a sleep-talking habit, except for a small time period in his childhood. His nocturnal and neurological behaviors showed nothing unusual, except he snored while asleep.
The bus driver was, however, diagnosed with sleep apnea, a breathing disorder during sleep and the doctors said his sleep talking was likely the reason for his sleep apnea. Upon diagnosis and treatment, although the sleep apnea improved, complaints of his sleep talking did not stop.
Out of curiosity, he began to take the matter into his own hands. He quietly used to spend hours in the hospital. He was made to dose off by the doctors so they could observe and record any reactions while asleep – the doctors even noted mind activity recordings of his sleep. Finally the doctors concluded with what was wrong: nothing.
He later realized that his wife was a patient of a various psychotic illnesses including morbid jealousy, a disorder where people have psychotic delusions that their partners are having an affair. She was eventually admitted to the psych ward.
The doctors explained that the wife was quite aware that something was wrong with herself as well, when she used to bring the man to the clinic, as she tried to avoid conversations with any medical staffand tried avoiding attention in the hospital, as well as feared her scrutiny until the end until she was pulled into the psych ward.
According to medical literature more than 1000 patients are diagnosed with the disease in a year, but no such case has ever been reported in the history of medicine.
