Sleep-Talking – Why Do You Talk in Your Sleep and How Can You Prevent Somniloquy?

Somniloquy: Is sleep-talking dangerous?

Everything is quiet at night until your bed partner suddenly starts mumbling words to themselves. We often first notice the phenomenon of sleep-talking in others, and we usually smile at the whispered word fragments. If only there wasn't an unsettling idea at the back of our minds: What if we end up whispering a word or two ourselves? Occasional talking in our sleep is not dangerous and in most cases there is no illness behind it. However, it is uncomfortable for us not to have control over what we say while we sleep. We end up unintentionally revealing embarrassing secrets that we don't want our partner to hear!

People talk in their sleep from time to time, but this phenomenon, called somniloquy by sleep doctors, only rarely occurs in adulthood. Although talking at night is widespread in childhood, only 5 percent of all adults regularly talk in their sleep.

What do we say when we talk in our sleep?

If you are one of those people who occasionally talk in their sleep, you don't have to worry about revealing too much of your inner thoughts and feelings. In most cases, what you say in your sleep is limited to barely intelligible sounds or individual syllables. The reason why you don't tell long stories is because your speech muscles are relaxed during sleep. As the muscles required for speaking are not active, you only produce incomprehensible sounds and fragments of words. Only in exceptional cases can people articulate whole words or even sentences when they are sleep-talking.

When do we talk in our sleep?

Nocturnal speech can only occur at a very specific time during our sleep cycle: Specifically, during REM sleep, which is also known as the dream phase. Phenomena such as teeth grinding during sleep also occur during this phase, while sleepwalking, for example, happens during deep sleep. In the REM phase, our brain is particularly active compared to the other sleep phases, which increases the likelihood of sleep-talking for some people. It can happen that someone in REM sleep articulates a dreamed word out loud or utters a murmur or moan. This makes it clear that the content of your sleep-talking does not necessarily have to be true. When you are dreaming, you are simply processing the experiences of the day, and the sounds and words you utter can be pure figments of your imagination. In other words, it is unclear which part of what you say corresponds to reality and to what extent the fragments of words are mixed with the dream events before they come to the surface.

What are the causes of sleep-talking?

Sleep researchers are still a little in the dark when it comes to the exact reasons as to why people talk in their sleep. However, there do appear to be some factors that encourage nocturnal utterances:

• Alcohol consumption
• Too much caffeine
• Lack of sleep or sleep deprivation
• Stress and mental strain
• Taking certain medications
• Fevers
• Heavy meals before going to bed
• Genetic predisposition: sleep-talking occurs more frequently in families in which a family member is already affected

Tips for healthy sleep: How can I prevent sleep-talking?

As long as your bed partner is not bothered by the fact that you make frequent noises in your sleep, you don't necessarily need to do anything about your somniloquy. Only if your sleep quality suffers and talking at night makes restful sleep difficult should you think about the causes and look for advice. If you find sleep-talking to make you uncomfortable, there are simple things you can do to make your nights a little quieter in future:

• Relaxation techniques such as autogenic training or yoga can be successful in connection with somniloquy, as they put your mind and body in a balanced state of relaxation.
• It is a good idea to check your own sleep hygiene for factors that may have a negative impact on the quality of your sleep. Perhaps you often have a nightcap with alcohol, which leads to superficial and fragmented sleep. Or maybe you consume too much coffee throughout the day and your body hasn't broken down the last cup of caffeine by the time you go to bed. In this case, avoiding caffeinated drinks can promote restful sleep.
• Don't stress your body in the evening with hard-to-digest meals and too many snacks in front of the TV. Light meals are more conducive to a good night's sleep than heavy and sumptuous meals or snacks such as potato chips and popcorn.
• Find a sleep routine that works for you and allows you to get seven to nine hours of sleep a night to prevent sleep deprivation.