Читать книгу Understanding Dreams: What they are and how to interpret them - Nerys Dee - Страница 34

Sleep walking, known too as somnambulism, is an attempt to externalise a dream by putting it into action. Children do this far more than adults, probably because they are less inhibited and more agile. Most of us grow out of the habit but if an occasion arises which is severely distressing, we may, like Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth, actively express the nightmare in this way.

Talking in our sleep is similar, in cause, to sleep walking. It is an attempt to consciously express a dream verbally. It is possible to carry on a conversation with a sleeping person who is inclined to talk in their sleep, and to receive replies, but these are sometimes unintelligible.

When we are under mental pressure or we are not well physically we are more likely to sleep walk or talk. Most of the time we do not come to harm when we sleep walk but this is not always the case. Some somnambulists awake and find themselves in real danger, so it is a practice which should not be encouraged. Precautions should, therefore, be taken, especially where stairs and open windows are concerned.