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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Sleep-talking While Suffering From Dementia?

I have an elderly family member with severe , getting progressively worse dementia who cannot even distinguish common items , places , people ,common concepts they always knew shown to them anymore , and who is very slow to speak and difficult to understand , has started doing something that is completely incredible to me . When she is asleep she will speak entire conversations , in perfect clarity , flow , relevance about very specific things as she did 20 years ago . It makes wish I could wake her and continue the conversation . Have you ever heard of this ? How common is it ? Does it indicate anything about her overall condition ?
Fri, 23 Mar 2018
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hello,

It is quite common. The long-term memory often preserved until the final stages of dementia. During sleep, there are not the distractions of the awake environment to interfere and confuse dementia patients. It is likely that if you woke her up, she would not be able to continue the conversation. It does not say anything about her overall condition.


Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,
Dr. Kathy Robinson
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What Causes Sleep-talking While Suffering From Dementia?

Hello, It is quite common. The long-term memory often preserved until the final stages of dementia. During sleep, there are not the distractions of the awake environment to interfere and confuse dementia patients. It is likely that if you woke her up, she would not be able to continue the conversation. It does not say anything about her overall condition. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Kathy Robinson