Why do you and so many others suffer from somniloquy while they are sleeping.
By: Jack Yatsko
Credit: Jack Yatsko
The sound of chuckling and mumbled chatter woke me up. Before I even had the chance to become aware of my surroundings, I caught a glimpse of my brother sitting there, smiling at me. I did not even have the chance to say anything before he cut me off. He asked if they liked the food, and I was not sure what he was talking about. He began to explain to me how during the night, I was getting increasingly angry at what he described as “morons,” making remarks about how poor they all were as chefs and how the patrons would hate the food. When he finished telling me this story, he could not contain his laughter. With the embarrassment flowing over me, I quickly got out of bed and exited my room.
Sadly, stories like this are all too common for me. My name’s Jack, and I’m a sleep talker. Sleep talking is a sleeping disorder that causes the person to talk in their sleep without being aware. Formally known as somniloquy, sleep talking affects multiple people over various age ranges. “Sleep talking is a type of parasomnia. Parasomnias are abnormal behaviors during sleep,” said Eric Suni and Dr. Alex Dimitriu in an article for The Sleep Foundation. A study from the article found that 66% of people experience sleep talking at least once in their life, with only 17% having repeated instances.
I still get red-faced when someone points it out, but over time I’ve come to accept it a little more. But lately, my questions about why I do it have been swirling. I wonder why I and so many other people at night sleep talk. Does my mood affect why I sleep talk? Does what I say while asleep have any meaning? Most importantly, to the dismay of my brother, is it possible for me to stop sleep talking? I decided to search for my answers to find the underlying cause of my nighttime ramblings.
To my knowledge, I do not remember my parents having a history of sleep talking. It is possible; however, all my memories were drowned out by their snores over the years because sleep talking has been found to be a hereditary trait. Many children who are found to sleep talk most likely will also have parents who suffer from the same abnormal behavior. While it is more common in children and adolescents, it is still prevalent in teenagers and adults. However, it does tend to fade out and get lost as the person gets older.
According to Dr. Emily Decker in an article for Blanchard Valley Health System, “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 two to 12.” Obviously, that wasn’t the case for me. I decided to ask my parents about their own experiences with sleep talking, to see if they might have experienced it at some point.
Credit: Jack Yatsko
It turns out that, yes, they both have had a reoccurring history of talking in their sleep. While snoring was more common among both, they have had instances of talking in their sleep. I asked them if they happened to have any memories of hearing me sleep talking? If any, what would I be saying while I was asleep?
When talking to my parents, I found out that they are very different in terms of their sleep talking habits. Beginning with my mother, she said that she began sleep talking once she began having children. While she would be home taking care of my two younger siblings and I, she was very stressed. Which in turn caused her to experience sleep talking frequently. From not only being drained physically but also mentally. When I asked her about how frequent they have occurred since then, she just responded with “off and on. It isn’t a common thing, but every now and then your father tells me I was talking in my sleep.”
Moving from one parent to the next, I ask the same questions to my father. He said he has been sleep talking since he was a lot younger. Always being a hard worker, he has also experienced a lot of stress. Even now, constantly working and never stopping, he is the definition of exhausted. When I asked him about his frequency with sleep talking, he told me, “it’s basically every week, not daily, but often enough that it feels like it. I’m always so exhausted from work that I just come home and crash. I probably ramble about work even when I’m home, I don’t know.”
When I asked my family about what I tended to talk about in my sleep, they mostly mentioned random noises, nonsensical mumbling, and laughter. However, on rare occasions, I do utter short sentences or incoherent conversations with my brother. Both the sentences and conversations are just coincidental answers to vaguely asked questions. Rachael Gilpin in an article for sleepadvisor.com had this to say about the context of sleep talking: “Fortunately for those who sleep talk, the words usually contain little to no truth. The afflicted person is expressing audible noises or words in an unconscious state, and therefore has little capacity to discern between a real topic or a dream.”
What brings on a somniloquy episode, however, is very much related to a person’s mental state. According to Lana Barhum, a writer for Very Well Health, “People are most likely to sleep talk when they're stressed or sleep-deprived.” Strong emotions are not the only causes for sleep talking. Other mental issues such as PTSD, depression, or anxiety can also be considered factors in triggering sleep talking. These factors take large tolls on your mind, keeping it running when you need to relax the most. Having those emotions and feelings built up all day come out into words. Or in other cases, as described by WebMD, “REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and sleep terrors are two types of sleep disorders that cause some people to shout during sleep.”
While not directly related to sleep talking, it shares similar symptoms and causes. But instead of words or phrases, people who suffer from RBD shout, yell, or scream while they sleep. My parents claim that I tend to swear a lot during my sleep. I cross-referenced with my friends who confirmed it was true. But it makes sense since it’s probably when I’m most agitated that I sleep talk. I thought to myself that I had to be angry, or at least upset during the day to warrant these verbal outbursts.
I picked up my phone, scrolled through my contacts and called my brother. I asked him if he would be able to remember how I felt the night before I would go to bed. A common trend among the nights was a single overpowering emotion. Not any specific emotion, but one that would trump all the others. One night was stress, another night joy, another night sadness. Regardless, the big feelings could have been behind my talking.
Coming around to the big question, is it possible to stop sleep talking? In an article written by Kelli Miller for WebMD, she states that, “There is no known way to reduce sleep talking. Avoiding stress and getting plenty of sleep might make you less likely to talk in your sleep.” While there is no medicine or methods to prevent sleep talking, there are minor ways to decrease the likelihood of sleep talking. Healthy sleep habits, maintaining positive mental health, and taking time to destress.
While not the answer I was hoping for, I was surprised by all my findings. Rather than being labeled as a crazy person by my friends and family, I was now able to relax and sleep well, knowing that I was one of many people with a sleep talking habit. And maybe, if I worked on my sleep hygiene, the problem might go away on its own. Feeling better about my recently cleared mind, I called my brother one more time.
This time, I began to joke with him about his sleep talking. He became extremely defensive and denied every claim I made. I may have been lying, but I just knew he couldn’t know the truth. After all, he wasn’t awake for it. Going back and forth, throwing childish insults at each other. We have a laugh, this one not at each other. But with each other. Being able to mess with my brother for the same thing he mocks me for is relieving. Knowing that my random saying has no meaning, and is completely normal makes me feel incredibly less embarrassed.