There's no clear meaning of the things people say during their sleep. They may appear to mean something else for us but absolutely mean nothing to a sleep talker. Sleep talking is as healthy as dreaming; it's not an indication of anything wrong or any sleep problems to worry about.
According to Dr. Deirdre Barrett, Harvard professor and “The Committee of Sleep” author, sleep talking is usually provocative. But it's mostly fanciful, fictional material, so we shouldn't take sleep talking too seriously.
Sleep talking usually occurs by itself and is most often harmless. However, in some cases, it might be a sign of a more serious sleep disorder or health condition. REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and sleep terrors are two types of sleep disorders that cause some people to shout during sleep.
In the study, researchers found that sleep talkers said the word "no" four times more often in their sleep than when awake. And the F-word popped up during sleep talking at a rate of more than 800 times than what was spoken while awake.
Though most cases of sleep talking aren't associated with other serious health issues, it's possible that it could be related to: Obstructive sleep apnea. REM sleep behavior disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder.
Sleep talking is a widespread type of parasomnia. Some studies show that sleep talking affects almost 67% of the population in the United States. While sleep talking is generally a harmless and random event, sometimes it has associations with serious illnesses, such as Parkinson's disease.
As much as you'd like to think you're reciting the works of Wordsworth, most unconscious utterances are usually brief and nonsensical. If you manage to say complete sentences, this nocturnal natter may be harmless or you could blurt out your darkest secrets. However, such confessions shouldn't be taken seriously.
Sexsomnia, also known as sleep sex, is a type of sleep disorder known as a parasomnia. Parasomnias refer to unusual sensations and behaviors, such as sleepwalking, that people may experience or exhibit while asleep, falling asleep, or waking up. In the case of sexsomnia, people engage in sexual behaviors.
When we sleep, it is believed that our souls leave our bodies and wander, connected to our physical bodies by a ray of light. Talking in your sleep may be an indication that your spirit is communicating in a parallel universe.
Sleep talking is when an individual vocalizes in their sleep, anything from a few words to whole conversations. These episodes usually occur during non-REM, delta ("slow wave") sleep, during which the arousal threshold is particularly high. The sleeper often has little or no memory of the event.
Researchers say two-way communication is possible with people who are asleep and dreaming. Specifically, with people who are lucid dreaming — that is, dreaming while being aware you're dreaming.
When it happens during REM sleep — the stage during which we dream — it's caused by "motor breakthrough" of dream speech: One's mouth and vocal cords, usually inactive when we're sleeping, briefly get switched on, and words spoken by one's character in a dream are spoken out loud.
The Sleep-Talking Brain
On the other hand, since non-REM sleep doesn't lead to paralysis, Barrett says sleep talking during this stage is thought to be caused by “partial awakenings” of brain regions involved in language production that can be picked up with electrodes on the scalp, called EEG.
Catathrenia also differs from regular snoring because it comes from the larynx, rather than the throat. The groaning or moaning sounds from catathrenia usually lasts between two seconds and 49 seconds. These moans primarily occur during REM sleep.
“When you fall asleep in close proximity to someone, being jostled or bumped can trigger a desire for sex that you act on, though you're asleep,” Mangan says. Some researchers cite drugs and alcohol as a cause of sexsomnia. Fatigue and stress also are considered likely causes.
Hypnic jerks generally occur during the stage of sleep in which your muscles start to relax and you begin drifting off. During this time, motor areas of the brain can become spontaneously stimulated. Your brain may misinterpret this stimulation as wakefulness during a less-than-seamless transition to sleep.
While it's true that during some sleep stages our brains pay very little attention to what's happening around us, during other stages we're able to hear and process sounds even in our sleep. Not only that, but we are listening for certain sounds while we sleep, even when we're in deep sleep.
It's exciting to learn that our ears and brain can process sound even when we're sleeping! You might not remember it in the morning, but your brain is keeping track of the sounds around you. You may even be able to learn new things during Stage 1 and Stage 2 sleep.
Sleep talking is considered a parasomnia, which is a type of sleep disorder that involves abnormal behaviors or experiences that happen during sleep: The main symptom of somniloquy is talking during sleep without being aware of it. The things people say during these episodes can range from gibberish to full sentences.
Sleep Talking: Children are more likely to talk in their sleep and can outgrow it as they get older. As children get older, sleep talking episodes usually decrease and can happen once every few months or so. They are most common in kids ages 2 to 12.
In most cases, sleep-laughing is a harmless physiological phenomenon, a behavioral response to dreams that are “odd, bizarre or even unfunny for a person when awake." The study authors noted that in a minority of cases, sleep-laughing may point to neurological disorders affecting the central nervous system.
People who experience parasomnias — abnormal sleep behaviors — may sit up, talk or walk in their sleep. And they may open their eyes while it's happening. In those cases, though, the eyelids close when the person isn't experiencing parasomnia symptoms.
Do you talk to yourself? Rest assured, the habit is completely within the norm — and can even be beneficial. “Yes, research shows that talking to yourself is not at all 'crazy' and that, in fact, it is a normal human behavior,” clinical psychologist Carla Marie Manly, Ph. D.