Sleep moaning involves making sounds during sleep, ranging from soft moans to loud groans, typically without the sleeper’s awareness. While generally not harmful, it can disrupt bed partners or household members. Understanding this nocturnal behavior can help manage its impact.
Understanding Catathrenia
The medical term for sleep moaning is catathrenia, a rare parasomnia. It involves prolonged moaning or groaning sounds produced primarily during exhalation, often with a monotonous quality. These episodes can last from a few seconds to nearly a minute, typically occurring in clusters during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, though they can also appear in non-REM stages.
Catathrenia sounds arise from a specific respiratory pattern: an individual takes a deep breath, holds it, then slowly releases air with a vocalization. This distinguishes it from snoring, which occurs during inhalation, and sleep talking, which does not involve intelligible speech. The precise cause remains unclear, but theories suggest it may relate to dysfunctional neurons in the brain’s respiratory control center or structural characteristics of the upper airways.
When to Seek Medical Advice
While catathrenia is often benign, certain circumstances warrant a consultation. Seek medical attention if sleep moaning is accompanied by concerning symptoms like pauses in breathing, choking sounds, or excessively loud snoring. Persistent daytime fatigue, grogginess, or difficulty concentrating, despite adequate sleep, also indicate an underlying issue.
A doctor can determine if the moaning is catathrenia or another sleep disorder. Diagnosis often involves polysomnography, an overnight sleep study monitoring brain waves, breathing patterns, and sounds. This assessment confirms catathrenia and rules out conditions like sleep apnea, which may present with similar sounds.
Strategies for Managing Sleep Moaning
Addressing sleep moaning involves practical strategies to improve sleep quality for both the individual and their bed partner. Consistent sleep hygiene practices are beneficial, including a regular sleep schedule and a comfortable, dark, quiet sleep environment. Avoiding alcohol and sedatives before bedtime is also recommended, as they can disrupt normal sleep architecture.
Positional changes during sleep, such as sleeping on one’s side, may sometimes help alleviate moaning, although the direct impact of sleep position on catathrenia can vary among individuals. For some, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, typically used for sleep apnea, has shown promise in reducing or eliminating catathrenia episodes, particularly if there are associated breathing issues. Oral appliances, which help maintain an open airway, and in rare cases, surgical interventions like tonsillectomy, may also be considered. Open communication between bed partners can help manage expectations and reduce anxiety related to the nocturnal sounds. Bed partners may also find relief by using earplugs or white noise machines to mask the sounds.