Why Do I Talk in My Sleep: 3 Reasons and Effective Solutions

Today’s world can be described as a plethora of problems. Sleep talking is one on this list. If you get to know that you are sleep-talking, you are probably having somniloquy. This is the medical term for talking in your sleep. So, if you are wondering, “why do I talk in my sleep”, read on to find a fix!

An important thing about sleep is that the person talking in sleep is unaware of the issue.

You may sleep talk and walk up just as normal the next day! So, it is not possible for you to know about the condition. But if you feel fatigued after sleep, you should see a doctor. The cause may be sleep talking.

Sleep talking ¹occurs in stages. It may be mild or severe sleep talking. A person with mild sleep-talking episodes has an articulate speech or may have entire conversations. They are not in a very deep sleep. So, the conversations may make sense!

On the other side, abnormal behaviors may occur if one has a more serious sleep disorder. Here, the sleep talker may be sleepwalking, teeth grinding, and talking inarticulate words.

1. Reasons For Sleep Talking: 3 Sleep Talking Highlights

Sleep talking appears harmless if it’s mild. But if the sleep talker is suffering from sleep deprivation, disrupting sleep hygiene², it’s disrupting the person’s life! So, let me list some probable reasons one may suffer from disturbed sleep patterns.

1.1 Two Sorts of Sleep Disorders: A Sleep Disorder Must-Know

You may have sleep talked once in your lifetime. If it’s so, then you are out of the danger zone. But, there are other sleep disturbances as well. This sleep talking affects mental health conditions greatly. It disrupts your regular sleep schedule and causes other related problems.

1.1.1. Sleep Terrors

Sleep terrors and REM ³sleep behavior disorder (RBD⁴) are two such serious issues. If you are suffering from sleep terrors or night terrors, you may be involved with abnormal activities during sleep talking.

This involves kicking, screaming, and thrashing during sleep. This disorder is the result of a more dramatic sort of nightmare issue. In nightmares, people usually remember fragments of images during sleep. But here, it’s not the case. Sleep talkers remember nothing during sleep terrors.

Night terrors occur during deep sleep, especially during deep non-rem sleep behavior disorder. It occurs during the sleep transition from light to deep disorder phases.

Night terrors may affect all. But it is more common in children. According to research, night terrors influence 40% of children while a small majority of adults.

1.1.2. Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Disorders

If you experience this sleep disorder, your sleeping brain will not prevent the muscles from moving during sleep.

According to studies, you may experience this issue if you suffer from neurological problems. For instance, Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. People with a medical condition like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD⁵) are at a higher risk of the problem.

This is caused due to motor breakthroughs. At this time, your mouth and vocal cords become active during sleep. You begin acting out whatever you are seeing in your dream.

This problem also causes you to punch, kick or jump during your sleep. It involves intense fear during sleep, and the person is inconsolable. But one difference between night terrors and this issue is that you’ll be able to remember the vision during your sleep as you wake.

These issues may be cured with self-treatment. If, even after that, your sleep disruptions occur frequently, sleep talking may lead to serious sleep issues. So, seeing a doctor during these stages is a must.

2. Medications and Sleep Talking: Significant Know-How of a Sleep Talker

Yes, several problems cause sleep disturbances. Medications are of them. These medicines may extend from antidepressants to treatments for Alzheimer⁶‘s. These medicines affect the normal functioning of muscles during sleep. This is different from sleep paralysis. Here, muscles become active, and you can act out your dreams.

You may hit, punch, jump or cause violent activities during sleep talking. This highly affects your sleep cycle. Muscle tones activate due to certain prescribed medicines. Research states Lexapro is a sleep medicine that helps you with anxiety disorders. This is under the group of medications called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI).

Also, non-rem parasomnia patients suffer from sleep talking along with eating disorders during sleep talking. Medicines taken for the treatment of insomnia accelerate this sort of parasomnia. If you are a victim of these issues and wish to diagnose sleep talking, do take the help of a sleep specialist!

3. Alcoholism or Substance Abuse

Alcohol helps you to sleep faster. But is that healthy? A big no to that! Researchers state it disrupts the common sleep pattern, especially in the second night phase. If you depend too much on alcohol to ease your sleep, you will likely disrupt your rem sleep pattern.

This phase occurs nearly 90 minutes after falling asleep. It’s the dream stage. When this is disrupted, there’s a high possibility of you sleep-talking, sleep-walking, and suffering from mental health disorders.

3.1. Related Issues That Emerge from Alcoholism

Not only this, alcoholism can cause sleep apnea and insomnia. These are the related issues that cumulate to sleep talking. If you are not suffering from any of these issues, you will likely be sleep-deprived. Disruptions during sleep cause people to talk in their sleep, which leads to daytime drowsiness. This affects day-to-day work and is self-destructive!

Obstructive sleep apnea disturbs normal breathing patterns and is highly discomforting. Any medically reviewed sleep med may be helpful in such cases.

2. How to Avoid Sleep Talking?

Now we know about some important reasons causing people to sleep talk. According to studies, nearly 66 % of people are victims of sleep deprivation, leading to sleep talking. It will be a futile writing attempt if some tips to cure this issue are not provided. So, here are some of the important requirements to follow if you want to stop sleep talking!

2.1. Manage a Sleep Diary

According to the National sleep foundation, maintaining good sleep hygiene is necessary. If you want to start out with this, begin with maintaining a sleep diary! How to organize that? Well, here’s a trusted link to help you!

This helps you maintain sleep-based information. These consist of important details. Wake-up time, duration of naps, and the record of medications are some important details you’ll need to fill up here.

2.2. Taking Care of the Small Acts

Sleep talking occurs when you leave the nitty-gritty of your health in a corner. Taking care of caffeine and alcohol intake can go a long way to improving health!

2.2.1.Relax and Take Care of The Comforts

Before sleeping, one needs to relax. Avoiding stress by having a good sleep during weekdays is always recommended. Wearing earplugs, turning down bright lights, and putting away electronic gadgets from your sleep space, help one get better sleep.

Keep your sleeping area as cozy as possible. Good quality mattresses, bedding, and pillows are required for a good night’s sleep.

2.3. Make Use of a White Noise Machine

Sleep problems hamper not only the sufferer’s health but also the bed partner’s sleep. Talking in your sleep may lead to embarrassing situations.

The content of your conversation in sleep may offend your bed partner. So, if you are facing such issues, this machine is recommended besides using earphones. Sleeping in separate rooms is also advised if sleep talking episodes are serious.

2.4. Seek Medical Help for Sleep Talking

There’s no exact way to cure sleep talking. It’s one of those problems which may be cured with proper rest. Getting in contact with medical associations might help. Talking to a sleep expert is recommendable. They are the right people to recommend the right sleep medicine to you!

According to peer-reviewed studies, people sleep talk for the first time, even at 25. If the case is so, fix an appointment with a medical professional in the early stages. If you experience sleeping disorders during this time, there’s a high probability of some underlying medical condition.

2.5. Exercise!

Moderate exercises for approximately 30 minutes may help you get good sleep. Research states that everyday exercise is beneficial if you want to stop talking in your sleep! So, aim for at least 150 minutes of light aerobic exercises and watch the benefits.

3. The Closing Line

Sleep problems are a result of not getting enough sleep. If you are sleep deprived, it affects your health as well as your work. So, knowing about the causes of sleep talking may help you choose the right way to help yourself out of this issue.

The best way to help your own sleep is self-care. Self-treatment is the best treatment out here! So, trying out a good sleep routine works best if you want to get rid of the half-awake nights. You not only help yourself but your bed partner as well! So, why wait? Get your mettle up and get working for betterment!

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Last Updated on February 10, 2024 by Suchi