Has anyone ever told you that you talk in your sleep?
Sleep talking is officially called somniloquy.
It is something a lot of people don’t even know we do unless a partner or roommate has told them.
Then, once they know they are often concerned about what it was they said while asleep.
They fear they said something embarrassing, or revealed their worst secret or some other taboo subject came out of their mouths.
A team of scientists from the European Sleep Research Laboratories did a study on sleep talking which revealed people who do it actually use the right syntax and grammar, as well as pause as if someone else is going to talk back to them.
Plus, sleep talkers are likely to be more negative than usual and to cuss while asleep.
A common theme in books and in the movies is a person talking in their sleep and unwittingly mouthing some untold secret for the world to hear. The truth is that most of this is fantasy and just stories, and you shouldn’t put much thought into what you hear a sleep talker saying.
In fact, the courts have agreed that you can’t hold someone responsible for what they have said in their sleep.
In 2001, the Massachusetts’ court system got overturned by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts when a judge declared a man couldn’t be convicted based on what one of his children said in their sleep about being abused.
What Do People Say When Sleep Talking?
Experts say a sleep talker isn’t really likely to blurt out some sort of personal secret.
However, they may talk about people or things they did that day.
Plus, most of the time it is rather difficult to understand what the sleep talker is saying.
On average they have discovered that women utter about 15 words in their sleep on average, and men utter about 22 words. Many times it is merely a one word statement like “no” or “yes.”
Sleep talk could also be related to a person’s dreams, which is why they are mostly negative, say some doctors.
The truth is, if you know someone who talks in their sleep a lot, chances are they are going through some hard times in their lives and they might be helped by talking to a therapist about it so they can get to the bottom of the problem so it can be solved.
Whatever the case, both the doctors and the courts agree that sleep talking is not done rationally and it’s thereby not admissible in court as stated previously.
Still, sleep talking can be embarrassing, as well as annoying to your spouse, lover, or roommate.
Some people who know they sleep talk don’t even like to sleep anywhere but home just in case they say something stupid or strange in their sleep.
If it happens right after some sort of traumatic experience such as an accident or near death type event, it could be related to the brain trying to sort out what happened to the person.
Studies show our brains don’t go to sleep at night, and so they remain active and depending what is going on in our subconscious, it can determine if we sleep talk and if so, what we say during that period of time.
Causes of Sleep Talking
Some doctors say sleep talking is actually quite common with about 50 percent of kids doing it as well as about one in 20 adults.
They think it might be caused by things like not getting enough sleep, stress, alcohol, having a fever or being tired in the daytime.
They often tell sufferers to try to develop better sleep habits and to try to destress their lives.
If it happens right after some sort of traumatic experience such as an accident or near death type event, it could be related to the brain trying to sort out what happened to the person.
There are even apps available to record sleep talking incidents.
Statistics show that sleep talking happens when someone is in a light sleep and happens in the period right before dreaming state happens and that it is our minds rambling and reflecting on things.
In fact, it could just mean someone is worried about something going on in their lives and their brain is subconsciously trying to work it out.
Man times sleep talking happens along with additional kinds of sleep disorders like bad dreams, sleep apnea, or some kind of REM sleep behavior problem.
In some cases if it starts as an adult, it could be related to a psychiatric problem, mental illness, nighttime seizures, or some kind of medical problem. Sleep talking could also be hereditary if you come from a family of sleep talkers.
The lighter the person sleep talking is sleeping, the more you likely will be able to understand what they are saying, and even hold conversations at times, while if they are doing it during deeper sleep it might only sound like gibberish.
Sleep Talking Severity
If you are worrying about yourself or someone you know who sleep talks, there are varying levels of severity. It is considered mild if the person does it less than once a week, moderate if they do it several times a week and it mildly disturbs a bed partner, or severe if they do it every night and it greatly affects the sleep or a bed partner.
Treatment for Sleep Talking
Normally, if sleep talking is all that is wrong, and there are no underlying serious illnesses present, there is not treatment required. But if you are concerned, or it has lasted a long period of time, you can talk to a doctor about it to rule out any medical or mental issues that could be causing it.
Even so, it can sometimes be lessened by following a regular sleep schedule, and not drinking alcohol or anything with caffeine, and not eating heavy meals prior to bedtime. As for the bed partners or roommates, it might be a good idea to sleep with some ear plugs or get a fan to produce white noise.
If it happens right after some sort of traumatic experience such as an accident or near death type event, it could be related to the brain trying to sort out what happened to the person.
The bottom line is that sleep talking is fairly common, usually not dangerous, and you aren’t likely to give away any state secrets, not matter what you see on TV or in the movies.