It can be a little irritating or embarrassing, depending on which side of it you're on. Usually, it's harmless, but occasionally it can be a sign of a more serious sleep disorder or health condition, says sleep specialist Michelle Drerup, PsyD.
This usually occurs in the lighter stages of Non-REM sleep (Stages 1 and 2) and usually sleepers have no memory of these vocalizations. The actual words or phrases have little to no truth, and usually occur when they are stressed, during times of fever, as a medication side effect or during disrupted sleep. '
And it turns out that the most common word said during sleep talk is 'no'. The study found that 24% of sleep talk was found to contain negative content, and 22% included 'nasty' language. Almost 10% of all sleep talk included swearing. Why so much negativity?
Experts are not entirely sure why sleep talking occurs in some people and not in others. Generally, those who talk in their sleep do not have any underlying health conditions. Sleep talking is a widespread type of parasomnia.
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.
If your child walks or talks in his sleep, he has a parasomnia. Your child will usually let you know if she has had a nightmare. Kids with sleep terrors may bolt upright in bed, eyes wide, screaming and sweating. Because of its symptoms, sleep terrors are probably the most unsettling parasomnia—especially for parents.
Studies have found that up to 66% of people. View Source have experienced episodes of sleep talking, making it one of the most common parasomnias. That said, it does not occur frequently, with just 17% of people reporting sleep talking episodes in the last three months.
Signs of Sleep Talking
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.
Sleep talking is a form of parasomnia, which are abnormal behaviors during sleep. Formally called somniloquy, sleep talking is considered harmless and does not typically require medical attention.
Somniloquy usually occurs during Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) or Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. It occurs equally in males and females, and in some cases, it may be hereditary. Somniloquy usually occurs in the dominant language of the individual.
About 5% of adults are reported to talk in their sleep. It occurs at the same rate in both men and women. It also appears to run in families. Although sleep talking by itself is benign, it may be a symptom of another sleep disorder.
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.
If you've been repressing any emotions, then you might sleep talk as a way to express yourself in an unfiltered way. You might use sleep talking to announce your intentions and manifest what you desire. Sleep talking might revolve around a certain theme, like love or a fear of heights.
In many instances, sleep talking is genetic — so, if you have it, chances are some of your family members do too. Sleep talking is most likely to be comprehensible to a bed partner during the REM stage of sleep (during the other stages, it'll just sound like gibberish).
People can say all sorts of strange things in their sleep, but a new study suggests that someone in the middle of a vivid dream can understand questions – and even answer them.
In adults sleep talking may be related to parasomnias such as RBD, sleep-related eating disorder (SRED) or sleepwalking. Because parasomnias often occur in healthy people, treatment for sleepwalking tends to be unnecessary.
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.
In general, the three subtypes were associated with increased rates of sleep problems/disorders. Specifically, ADHD-C rather than ADHD-I was associated with circadian rhythm problems, sleep-talking, nightmares (also ADHD-HI), and ADHD-I was associated with hypersomnia.
Sleep talking occurs when your toddler talks, laughs, cries out or moans while she's sleeping. Your toddler doesn't know she's talking in her sleep and likely won't remember her ramblings come morning. It may begin around age 2, and can occur up until early adolescence.
Sexsomnia is a relatively rare sleep disorder in which the person initiates sexual behaviour while asleep. Numerous causes and triggers of sexsomnia have been identified.
Why do kids talk to themselves? “Children are exploring the world and exercising language, much in the same way that toddlers exercise walking,” says Ester Cole, a Toronto psychologist. “This is their role-playing; they're exploring relationships and they're also guiding themselves as they do certain things.”
While children often talk to themselves, it should not be a cause for concern for parents or caregivers. It is a way of developing language, staying stimulated during a task, and improving performance while completing tasks. The habit of self-talk may continue into adulthood and is generally not a problem.
What does it mean when you cry in your sleep? “Crying, even in sleep, can be a normal response to grief, stress, or anxiety,” says Dr. Mia Zaharna, sleep physician at The Permanente Medical Group in San Jose, CA. “It can be a normal part of nightmares or dreams on occasion.
Although it's generally harmless, and often a bit humorous, what freaks people out the most about sleep talking is that they typically don't remember doing it when they wake up.