Can you Answer Questions While Sleeping?

My wife talks in her sleep.

Good news.  She's passed along the gene to our daughter who not only talks...but sleepwalks.  She's been known to walk into our bedroom in the middle of the night and do both.

It's creepy.

Sometimes she'll even go downstairs and will wake up once she realizes she's taking a shower.  At 3 in the morning.

My wife will be wake me up while having some inane conversation about nothing.  Sometimes she'll be laughing.  Sometimes she'll be angry.  When the situation feels more inviting...I'll continue the conversation with her.

This has to be confusing.  To be talking to what I assume could be some purple elephant who's jumping through floating glitter/star coated hula-hoops.  Only to be interrupted by her balding bearded husband next to her asking if she wants blueberry or strawberry pie.

She answered and woke up mid sentence and ended with "I have no idea what I'm talking about".

The trick is...to ask the most absurd question possible so she doesn't know if you actually said it or if she dreamt about it.  It's a fun little game I like to play.

Turns out a team of sleep scientists found you can still communicate with people while they're dreaming.  Volunteers were able to hear and answer questions, even while they were technically asleep.  The study involved people who can "lucid dream," which is when you're aware you're dreaming, and can even control what happens in them.