Have you ever been told that you are talking in your sleep? Or maybe your child is babbling something in his sleep. Have you ever thought that your spouse could tell a secret about something in a dream? Go ahead. Ask a question to her or him during sleep and do not be surprised if you get an answer, albeit a monosyllabic one. But do not forget: someone who talks in a dream usually does not remember anything in the morning.
Talking in a dream can be quite funny. Speaking is an unconscious chatter with invisible associations in a dream. In addition, talking while sleeping can be a sign of a serious sleep disorder. We want to offer you several answers to your questions: what you need to know about speaking in a dream, causes and methods of treatment.
What is talking in a dream?
Sleep-speaking or drowsiness is speech activity during sleep. It is a type of parasomnia, an abnormal behavior that occurs during sleep. This is quite common and is not considered a serious medical problem.
Chatting in a dream is completely harmless. Although sometimes listeners may find the content of such a conversation vulgar or offensive. Usually speaking in a dream lasts no more than 30 seconds, but it can be repeated several times during the night.
Nighttime speeches can be quite clear and eloquent, and sometimes the words are difficult to make out. Sleep talk can be single sounds or long sentences. Usually, the speech of a person speaking in a dream is directed towards himself. But sometimes it is an appeal and conversation with other people. People can whisper, or they can scream in their sleep. If your roommate talks in a dream, then you may not always be able to sleep well.
Who talking in dream?
Most people talk in their sleep. Half of all children between the ages of three and ten and a small number of adults (about 5%) talk in their sleep. An episode of speaking can occur from time to time or every night. A 2004 survey found that one in ten children speaks several nights a week.
The predisposition to sleep speech is much higher among girls than among boys. In addition, according to experts, speaking in a dream is inherited.
What are the symptoms of talking in a dream?
It is very difficult to find out for yourself whether you are talking in a dream or not. Usually people around you can tell about it. For example, that you shouted or mumbled something in your sleep or during daytime sleep... And someone may complain that your talking in a dream does not allow him to sleep.
What are the reasons for talking in a dream?
You probably think that speaking in a dream occurs precisely during REM sleep, i.e. when we dream. But scientists are still not completely sure whether such a phenomenon is associated with dreams or not. Speaking can occur at any stage of sleep.
Speaking is harmless in most cases. But there are times when speaking is a sign of a more serious sleep disorder or illness.
Rapid eye movement sleep disorder and nighttime fears are two main types of sleep disorders that cause people to talk or scream when they sleep. During nighttime fears, in addition to speaking, there may also be screaming, kicking and violent tossing and turning in bed. At this moment, a person is very difficult to wake up. Children with nighttime fears often talk and walk in their sleep.
People with REM sleep disorder often scream, squeal, grumble, perform some action from their sleep, usually quite violent.
In addition, speaking can be accompanied by sleepwalking and nocturnal eating disorder, a condition in which a person eats in their sleep without realizing it.
Other reasons that can trigger talking in your sleep include:
Certain medications
Emotional stress
Intense fever
Mental disorders
Drug addiction / substance abuse
How is speaking in a dream treated?
You can go to the doctor if the speaking happened unexpectedly as an adult, or if the speaking is accompanied by feelings of fear, screaming, or harsh actions. It can also be helpful to see a doctor if speaking in your sleep interferes with your (or those sleeping next to) sleep.
If you think your child is having trouble sleeping, see your pediatrician.
A sleep professional may ask the following questions: How long have you been talking in your sleep. You can ask this question to someone who sleeps next to you (for example, your roommate or parents). Do not forget that talking in your sleep can begin as early as childhood.
No special tests or examinations are required to diagnose sleep speaking. However, your doctor may suggest testing, such as a sleep study or polysomnography, if there are signs of other sleep disorders.
When talking in a dream, treatment is extremely rare. However, serious speaking can result from another more serious sleep disorder or medical condition that requires immediate treatment. Talk to your doctor about treatments.
How can sleeping episodes be reduced?
There is no method to reduce sleep-speaking episodes. But getting adequate sleep and avoiding stress can help.
Keep a diary. You need to keep it for several weeks. The diary will help your doctor better understand your sleep patterns and identify the reason for speaking. Write down everything related to your sleep in it: the time when you go to bed, how much you fall asleep, and the time when you wake up. In addition, you can write the following:
Medications you are taking and when to take them.
What and when do you drink. This is especially true for drinks that contain caffeine, i.e. cola, tea, coffee, and alcohol.
Exercise time.
Why do people talk in their sleep? This question has worried scientists since the time of Hippocrates. And despite all the tremendous achievements of modern medicine, an unambiguous answer to it has not yet been received. And all because the phenomenon of somniloquia (the scientific name for speaking in a dream) has not yet been fully studied. But there are quite reasonable versions that explain the reasons for the occurrence of nighttime conversations. They will be discussed in our today's article.
Why does a person talk in a dream
Before proceeding with the description of the factors contributing to the appearance of somniloquia, we note that this phenomenon is not considered painful and dangerous. On the contrary, many psychologists, after conducting research, came to the conclusion that rare sleep-speaking is a variant of the norm. Of course, we are talking about isolated cases of doubt. If not a single night can do without talking, then it is better to seek help from specialists - a somnologist, neuropathologist or psychotherapist, since this behavior can be a symptom of a serious neurological disease.
Men and small children are more susceptible to speaking in a dream. The appearance of speech in a dream in the second is most often explained by the immaturity of the nervous system and high emotionality. In men, as a rule, doubtfulness is a defensive reaction to the stress experienced the day before. In principle, stress is the main reason for nighttime conversations. It is believed that men, for a number of historical and social reasons, are more restrained in expressing their emotions, both negative and positive, than women. In a dream, when ours is above consciousness, and emotions are above the mind, we lose control and can “tell” about our experiences and hidden feelings. Perhaps that is why there is an opinion among the people that if you take a night talker by the hand and ask him a question, then you can get the most truthful answer to him.
From a scientific point of view, the suppressed emotions that escaped at night are explained by the peculiarities of the course of the main phases of sleep. So, for example, more intelligible speech is manifested during the REM (rapid eye movement) phase, which is characterized by increased brain activity. And if we take into account that in one night a person on average experiences 4–5 phases of REM, then short conversations can be repeated the same number of times. Indistinct muttering most often accompanies the phase of transition from wakefulness to sleep, which is explained by many scientists as a way of calming and self-lulling.
Sleep talk and sleepwalking
In addition, it is believed that somniloquia is inherited and may be associated with genetic characteristics of the development of the nervous system. But there is no direct connection between sleepwalking and sleepwalking. Recall that sleepwalking is a nervous and painful condition, accompanied by motor activity during sleep. And although many sleepwalkers can walk, talk and perform other unconscious actions in a dream, this does not mean at all that a person suffering from somniloquia is one of them. On the contrary, dreaming itself excludes any activity other than speech. In addition, as noted above, somniloquia, unlike sleepwalking, is not a pathological condition. If, waking up in the morning, a person feels vigorous and rested, there is no lethargy and exhaustion, then there should be no reason for unnecessary worries about sleeping. Most likely, the stress experienced the day before "spoke" in you. And it doesn't matter whether it was negative or positive. Both the first and second options can provoke the appearance of nighttime conversations. True, from the symptoms of fatigue, for which sleeping a loved one is equated to snoring or other loud noise during rest. In this case, only earplugs or separate bedrooms can help.
Your husband told you that you whispered tenderness to him in your sleep, and you didn’t even dream about that? Or maybe your child talks a lot and loudly at night and you don't know what that could mean? Or maybe you are listening to what your sleeping spouse mutters, hoping to find out some of his secrets? You can even go further: try asking a question to a sleeping person who is saying something, and do not be surprised - you may even get an answer, albeit monosyllabic. But do not flatter yourself: this answer was not conscious, and it is unlikely that it contains even a drop of truth. And the one on whom you conducted the experiment will not remember what he told you there.
Chatting through sleep can be quite funny. Maybe you are talking at midnight hour with non-existent interlocutors. Or a family member is unknowingly having nightly conversations. Is this an innocent characteristic or a symptom of some serious disorder? Why do people talk in their sleep and what should (and should I?) Do about it? Here you will find answers to your questions and learn about the causes of this phenomenon and how you can get rid of such a disorder.
Why do people talk when they sleep?
No one can say for sure why from time to time someone starts talking at night. And although there are discrepancies in the statistics, it is still known that about sixty percent of people spoke at least once in their lives without waking up. So what happens to us when we sleep and talk?
Is this normal?
The phenomenon when someone talks in a dream is called somniloquia. You can also come across another term - sleeping. Which, in fact, is the same thing. Somniloquia falls into the category of sleep disorders, which also includes parasomnia, sleepwalking, bedwetting, and nighttime fears. Sleep talk is harmless to most people and is not generally considered a medical problem. As a rule, the “talker” himself does not feel any discomfort; rather, the person who sleeps in the same room is uncomfortable.
First, sometimes the person lying next to the speaker has to listen to something that sounds vulgar or even obscene. Agree, it will not be too pleasant for you when you suddenly hear from your husband, albeit asleep, such expressions that he never uses in your presence, leaving them for a purely male environment. And secondly, it is generally not very pleasant to wake up in the middle of the night from someone's conversation, even if these are the most innocent words.
In general, "talkers" usually speak no more than thirty seconds in one episode. But on the other hand, some people interrupt their restful sleep many times during the night. Such speeches can be exceptionally eloquent, or they can be inarticulate and unintelligible mumblings that cannot be deciphered. These may not even be words, but just separate sounds. It is generally believed that the sleeping person is talking to himself; but sometimes from the outside it seems as if he is conducting a dialogue with someone. He can whisper or he can scream. And when you sleep next to such a restless "neighbor", then you risk no more sleep than when he snored!
Who speaks more often in a dream?
As we said, many people talk in their sleep. Half of all children aged three to ten talk about something in their dreams; but only about five percent of adults "like" to talk after they go to bed and fall asleep. Such conversations can occur both from time to time and every night. Thus, a survey of more than two thousand families showed that every tenth child speaks in his sleep more often than once or twice a week.
It is also reliably known that girls talk as often as boys, and women are prone to nighttime conversations as often as men. Experts also believe that sleeping speech can be inherited.
When, how and why do people talk in their sleep?
Doubtiness can typically occur during two different stages of nighttime rest: during the second stage of slow-wave sleep, when speech is simply a stream of thoughts not accompanied by dreams, and during the stage that is accompanied by rapid eye movement (this stage is characterized by active dreaming ). During the slow stage, the sleeper can be easily awakened (sometimes even the speaker himself wakes up from the sound of his own voice), while during the fast stage it is quite difficult to wake him up.
When this is nevertheless achieved, the awakened person will not remember what he just spoke about. And even during the rapid stage, accompanied by dreams, the conversation most often has nothing to do with the plot of his night visions. Of course, a conversation in a dream can be related to the dream itself. We can talk about what we are dreaming, and we can conduct a dialogue with the interlocutor, whom our dormant imagination came up with. On the other hand, experts are sure that we could see one thing in a dream, and at the same time talk about something completely different.
Sleep conversations can vary in frequency and intensity, influenced by many factors. For example, drinking alcohol before bed. There can be more complex factors such as high fever, emotional stress, certain medications and some underlying sleep problems like sleep apnea. Well, as we already mentioned, hereditary predisposition. All this can in one way or another make you or your loved one sleepy.
How to treat conversations in a dream?
You should not attach much importance to what you hear from the sleeping person. These are just cute nonsense! The sleeping man's words are not at all a reflection of what is happening to him in life. And you can't believe the myths that claim that you can find out all the secrets of a sleeping husband by overhearing his unconscious revelations. They say that a person is sleeping for himself, having weakened control over himself, and does not even suspect that at this moment he is giving himself away. Don't be deceived! What your sleeping husband says (if he speaks, of course) has nothing to do with reality.
And even in his dreams, he does not have what he talks about at night! He won't even remember what he was talking about there. Moreover, when to tell any intruder of the night peace that he talked in a dream, he will be quite amazed - he has no idea that he has such a habit!
You shouldn't even worry that your close person talks at night, even if he does it in full voice. If it's a child, just look at him and make sure he's safe. Now you already know that there is nothing wrong with such conversations.
When can dream conversations become a cause for concern? Only when you feel too overwhelmed and not rested all day (when you yourself are talking at night) or when conversations in your sleep are accompanied by other disturbances, such as sleepwalking. If you feel sleepy from day to day, then you need to contact a specialist who will help you choose the best algorithm for correcting the situation.
How is this disorder treated?
Before going to the doctor, talk to family members with whom you sleep in the same bed or room. He will help you prepare for some of the specialist questions. For example, the doctor will be interested in how often you talk in your sleep and how long ago you started doing it. Don't be surprised if you learn from your parents that you talked at night as a child! And don't forget to tell a specialist about it.
Currently, it is believed that there is no particular need to conduct any testing with the help of which it would be possible to study the conversations of people in their dreams. However, your doctor may order appropriate tests, such as polysomnography, when you have signs of a comorbid disorder. Sleep-speaking itself rarely requires treatment; however, it can be a sign of a more serious disorder or disease that really needs to be treated.
If you have someone in your family who often bothers others with nocturnal sounds or other sleep disorders, then you should know that there are some things that can reduce the frequency and intensity of unpleasant episodes:
- The first step is to ensure that the family member who speaks at night is getting enough rest. After all, it is possible that sometimes he interferes with sleep and himself, or, perhaps, he generally sleeps too little, and his body does not have time to restore its resources.
- Minimize any factors that can cause stress or anxiety in your loved one. Stress can increase the likelihood and severity of sleep disorders.
- Stick to a regular rest routine, go to bed and get up at the same time in the morning.
- Avoid eating heavy foods just before bed.
- When a loved one or a child who is talking in a dream shows signs of intense anxiety or fear, try to calm them gently if necessary.
There are no specific medications or methods by which one could completely get rid of somniloquia, and there is no particular need for them. But when you consider what is listed a few lines above (the most important is avoiding stressors and reducing your lack of nighttime rest), you can significantly reduce the likelihood of troubled falling asleep and talking in the middle of the night.
Also, keeping a special diary could be of great help. This would allow the person suffering from sleep speech, or his doctor, to identify the problems that are causing the disturbance to fall asleep. When planning to go to see a specialist, first start making regular appointments for two weeks. Write down in as much detail as possible when you went to bed, how long it took you to fall asleep, when you woke up in the morning, and whether you remember your nightly awakenings.
Be sure to record what medications you took on these days and at what time you drank them. What else is worth recording? Have you drunk caffeinated beverages, how much and when? Did you take alcohol? Have you ever been nervous? Did you play sports, walk on the street? The more information is recorded, the easier it will be to find the irritant that prevents you from falling asleep calmly and without problems.
On the other hand ... Well, you talk at night - and talk to your health! Does your loved one utter tirades in a dream? Well, let him speak out, sorry, or what? If only you do not interfere with sleep. After all, conversations in a dream are not a disease, they do not carry any threat to life and health. So don't worry - you will sleep better!
Incoherent whispers, fragmentary words, screams in a dream - doubtfulness and a harmless type of parasomnia - do not belong to diseases and do not require treatment in most cases. People who talk at night often don't remember this in the morning. Discomfort is experienced by witnesses who have to listen to swear words or wake up from a loud voice and incomprehensible sounds. Brain studies suggest why people can talk in their sleep.
The nature of parasomnia
Scientists who conducted experiments on rats observed the activity of the visual cortex, visual traces of dreams. In their opinion, at night during sleep, parts of the brain conduct a silent dialogue with each other about sorting memories, using projected images to reinforce certain images. It turns out that a person speaks in a dream, going through its phases and emotionally reacting to the change of pictures in front of his eyes.
Some scholars associate talking with dreams. People see them during every stage of sleep, but most vividly during the rapid eye movement (REM) phase, when all muscles in the body (except the eye) are paralyzed by nerve structures to prevent a person from moving.
Speech is a complex motor act that requires a sequence of muscle movements. Therefore, it is impossible to speak in a dream during the REM phase. But it happens that the brain stem does not turn off all the muscles, then speech breaks out precisely at the stage of vivid dreams. Scientists agree that this is an unconscious act.
The prevalence of doubtfulness
Almost everyone can talk while sleeping. But more often this applies to 50% of children aged 3 to 10 years, as well as 5% of adults.
Some scholars attribute great talkativeness to men, while others to women due to their excessive emotionality. Sometimes the episodes are repeated every night.
Interesting fact. Quite often, women who have not experienced this before begin to talk at night during pregnancy. Sleep conversations usually stop after birth.
A 2004 US poll found that one in ten children and teenagers speaks several nights a week. Scientists in Brazil have not found any influence of daily routine, social status and age on this phenomenon. It is noted that more often in a dream the one whose parents were also distinguished by such "talkativeness" speaks. Boys get this trait more often.
The reasons for the surge in verbal activity are not known for certain. Episodes are recorded, as a rule, during the transition from a slow cycle to another, when a person is on the verge of awakening. It is noticed that this phenomenon is more often observed in adolescence due to increased excitability of the nervous system.
Sleep conversations are also associated with other states:
- REM conduct disorder. It manifests itself in loud and emotional speech. People scream, laugh, cry, grunt: overly vividly outplay dreams.
- Sleepwalking or performing movements asleep.
- Nightmares. These are episodes during which the asleep person can scream loudly, wave his arms, pound his legs, and dodge. As a rule, it is very difficult to wake him up.
- Sleep-related eating disorder. Some people go to the kitchen and eat something forbidden, without remembering it the next morning.
The nature of speech depends on the stage of sleep: in the first two words are easily distinguishable, in the third and fourth they are reduced to muttering in a "foreign" language, sounds and moans. Some people speak aloud to themselves in a dream, others answer questions, conduct dialogues. The episodes do not last more than 30 seconds, but they can be repeated several times during the night.
The causes of isolated cases are most often harmless and do not need diagnosis. Anxiety is caused by dubiousness that developed after head injuries, against the background of diseases of the nervous system and brain damage.
Correcting the violation
If a person feels discomfort due to nighttime conversations, then it means that he needs help. The need for treatment is indicated by cases of enuresis, severe daytime sleepiness and fatigue, food intake during sleep, apnea, sleepwalking and loss of consciousness after awakening. It is worth suspecting the presence of primary somatic or psychoemotional disorders that lead to other symptoms.
Lack of sleep and inability to fall asleep are some of the dangerous consequences. The drowsy speaker considers himself an outcast:
- Feels guilty towards people sleeping in the same room.
- Refuses travel, spending the night in a common room with strangers.
- He becomes nervous, tense, does not sleep well.
There are factors that make people more likely to speak at night:
Sleepy talkativeness has criteria of severity:
- Easy degree. Cases less than once a week.
- Average degree. Episodes several times a week, but not every night, causing slight dissatisfaction with the bed partner.
- Severe cases. Nightly conversations, persistent insomnia of a person sleeping next to.
Help from specialists
Often, medical attention is not required, although it cannot be said that sleeping while talking is normal. In severe cases and with prolonged manifestation of pathology, it is better to talk about this with a therapist (family doctor). Perhaps treating depression, stress, sleep apnea, or sleep disorders can help get rid of the obsessive attacks.
Sleep disturbance is a glitch in your schedule. Excessive information is one of the answers to the question of why modern people talking in a dream.
Sometimes, to successfully resolve the situation, it is enough:
- Observe the regime, get enough sleep.
- Do not watch TV or work at the computer at night looking, ventilate the room, use the bed only for rest.
- Refrain from alcohol and heavy food in the evening.
- Learn to deal with emotions. For example, if a husband talks in his sleep after a hard day at work, this means that he cannot let go of some problematic situations. Sometimes stress management requires the help of psychologists.
Alertness should be triggered by sudden attacks of panic, screaming and violent actions in adults during sleep. The problem of children's nightmares is discussed with a pediatrician, who gives a referral to specialists.
Before going to the doctor, you need to remember how long ago the signs of parasomnia were noticed, whether they are constant. It is worth asking your partner or parents about this. The specialist evaluates the propensity for the disorder and the level of stress with tests, then decides what to do with the treatment. However, there are no diagnostic methods to fix the night talk problem. Recording of the electrical activity of the brain during sleep is made only for other diseases that need to be treated.
Getting rid of the habit on our own
Science has not given an exact answer to the question of why people talk in their sleep. Therefore, not a single prevention method has been invented. To successfully deal with the problem, you need to avoid stress, maintain a rest of 6-7 hours every night.
Keeping a sleep diary for two weeks helps you figure out how to get rid of parasomnia. Lying in bed, you need to write down:
- what medications were taken during the day;
- what drinks were consumed (attention is paid to products with caffeine and alcohol);
- the level and nature of physical activity per day.
The doctor needs to provide detailed information on routine, nutrition, exercise, and stress levels.
Helping the bedmate
If talkativeness has been there since childhood and is constantly observed, then people think about how to stop making their partner nervous.
The white noise generator, or sound conditioner, was invented back in 1962 and approved by the US National Sleep Foundation. Sound vibrations are created with the help of air, which dampen other harsh noises, including conversations during sleep. The device is designed to combat insomnia.
A normal fan or slight radio noise at low volume works in the same way. In extreme cases, you have to use earplugs.
Doubtfulness - this is the name of those very nightly conversations that some of us do not give the opportunity to get a good night's sleep. It would seem that there is nothing wrong with the fact that a person is talking in a dream, but in fact there are negative moments in all this.
What are the reasons
Let's start with the fact that this phenomenon is still not well understood. What is known after all? It has been established that this strange behavior is manifested specifically in men, and not in women. Sleepwalkers often talk in their sleep. We draw attention to the fact that sleepwalking itself can be inherited. By the way, we start talking at night when we dream of something, or when we are in the stage of incomplete awakening. You can talk on the phone songs, give someone some instructions, and so on. Everything looks funny, but this does not contribute to the full recovery of the body during sleep, and can also strain those who are nearby.
Why people and what do they say? Let's start with the fact that in most cases they say something incomprehensible and even inarticulate. Sometimes, by the way, their speech can still be quite legible. Sleepers can make illogical speeches, but sometimes something meaningful comes out of their mouths.
We draw attention to the fact that up to seven years old, almost all children speak in a dream.
The reasons may be due to the fact that the day was too hectic, and the person during it experienced too many different emotions that are not similar to each other. Yes, emotional over-excitement can certainly knock any of us out of the usual rut and make us behave strangely, not only in reality, but also in a dream.
Why do people talk in a dream
In addition to what has already been described above, it should be said about such a reason as mental illness. Which one? Basically, whatever. Also, nocturnal chatter can manifest itself against the background of such mental disorders as depression, neurosis, and so on.
Often we begin to speak while in a state of sleep, when our body temperature is very high. This is true, however, in this case, the conversation almost always takes place not in a state of sleep, but in between sleep and reality.
Why do people talk in a dream? They can do this after prolonged use of any strong medication. All chemicals contain many substances that can have not only medicinal, but also various side effects. The latter can appear as you like. For this reason, when you discover each new oddity, you should immediately contact your doctor for advice on the advisability of taking this or that medication.
Nocturnal talkativeness often manifests itself in drug addicts and alcoholics. These people can not only talk, but as a rule, in the morning they cannot remember anything like that.
Outcome
Is it worth worrying if you suddenly realized that you are talking in a dream? No, but it is still worth consulting with a neurologist.
