Sleep Talking: Causes, Symptoms, and How to Prevent It

Sleep talking could happen to anyone, from a spouse who whispers sweet nothings to a child who shouts out streams of babble late at night only to fall back to sleep. But these people do not remember anything that they have said during their sleep.

Talking in sleep can be a funny thing. But the reason behind sleep talking is still unknown, even to experts. They did identify some factors that might contribute to sleep talking, but they have not yet identified its exact cause.

Here are some answers to what sleep talking is about, what causes it, and how to prevent talking in sleep.

Sleep Talking: Causes, Symptoms, and How to Prevent It Unsplash

What is Sleep Talking?

Sleep talking is a type of parasomnia disorder known as somniloquy that even experts cannot determine its exact cause, according to Dr. Kannan Ramar of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

According to a study titled "Prevalence of different parasomnias in the general population" published in Sleep Medicine, over two-thirds of people sleep talk in their lifetime.

Children ages between 3 ads 10 sometimes carry on conversations while they are asleep. But there are also adults that still talk even after they go to bed. Sleep talking could vary and may occur occasionally or every night.

Sleep scientist Rebecca Robbins from Brigham & Women's Hospital and an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School said that some episodes of sleep talking could last for 30 seconds, although some may also report sleep talking for longer durations and more frequently within the sleep period.

Sleep talkers usually seem to be talking to themselves and sometimes appear to carry on conversations with other people. Some of them also whisper or shout. Sharing a bedroom with them could be tough as you might not get enough sleep.

What Causes Sleep Talking?

It is hard to tell by ourselves if we are sleep talking. Usually, the people around us have heard us sleep talk that tells us that we are sleep talking. It could also be people who complain about not sleeping well because they hear us sleep talking.

Although many believe that sleep talk originates from the person's dream, but scientists said that this theory has not yet been proven as talking could occur at any stage of sleep.

Talking in your sleep is most often harmless, WebMD reported. However, experts said that this could also be a sign of a more serious sleep disorder or health condition.

Furthermore, sleep talking could also occur with sleepwalking and nocturnal sleep-related eating disorder (NS-RED), in which a person eats while they are asleep.

Dr. Ramar also said that genetics or increased alcohol consumption for the day might also contribute to this disorder since excessive stress and anxiety could be a likely contributor to talking in the sleep.

How to Prevent Sleep Talking?

According to Dr. Robbins, sleep talking is usually harmless. But sleep talkers should still talk about their condition to their partners, or in the case of children, parents should address it as well.

Modifying lifestyle could also help, such as consuming less alcohol and more hours of sleep, CNN reported. More so, stress reduction is important to prevent sleep talking.

Ramar advises against drinking coffee in the afternoon and said that people should try to sleep and wake up around similar times every day to regulate their energy.

However, if none of these work, consulting a sleep specialist to conduct an overnight recording might be the best choice to have a better analysis and solution to the situation.