Did you recently learn from your loved one that you talk in your sleep? Or maybe you found someone else blabbering in their sleep? Whether it’s gibberish sentences or unintelligible noises, sleep talking is more common than you think. Most of the time though, sleep talking can resolve on its own. Apart from being amusing or annoying to those who hear it, or embarrassing or baffling for those doing the talking, sleep talking is hardly a cause for concern. However, at times, sleep talking can become severe to the extent that it interferes with your bed partner’s sleep.
What is sleep talking?
Somniloquy, also known as sleep talking, is the act of speaking out loud during sleep. It is a type of parasomnia which causes the person to speak aloud while sleeping. Sleep talking can either involve whispers or speaking at regular volumes or even shouting whole words. Whatever your type is, you probably won’t realise that you sleep talk unless someone else tells you about it later on. Sleep talking presents little risk at all - although you risk facing embarrassment when your sleep partner overhears your antics.
What causes sleep talking?
While it may seem alarming, it’s generally harmless and often more disruptive to those around the sleeper than to the person doing the talking. Here are some of the factors contributing to sleep talking:
- Sleep deprivation
The most common cause of sleep talking is due to lack of sleep. Our brain's cycles during sleep are disrupted when we do not get much rest. The episodes of talking during sleep happen when there is a change in the different stages of sleep, thus making the brain active. As a result of this change, your sleep is disturbed and you are more likely to sleep talk.
- Stress and anxiety
Emotional stress or anxiety is another cause of sleep talking. It occurs when the mind is dealing with stress or anxiety and the outburst is in the form of vocal expressions while asleep. During times of high emotional tension, sleep talking may occur more frequently.
- Sleep disorders
Sleep talking can be linked with other sleep disorders, including night terrors or sleepwalking, or obstructive sleep apnea. In such cases, sleep talking is typically accompanied by movement or physical responses.
- Genetics
Sleep talking may have a family tendency at times. Genetics can play a strong role in how people behave in their sleep. They can increase the likelihood of certain parasomnias, including sleep talking.
- Medications
Some drugs, alcohol, and medications impacting the nervous system have the potential to cause sleep talking. Such substances may disrupt activity in the brain as one sleeps, meaning that the likelihood of somebody sleep talking overnight is higher.
Sleep talking is harmless unless it occurs frequently or is symptomatic of other sleep disorders. If so, then it may be worth visiting a healthcare professional to rule out possible causes.
Tips to reduce sleep talking with RightLife
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. RightLife delivers its effective 'SleepRight' program, which assists you on how to control sleep talking as well as improve your overall sleeping, if managed well.
- Ensure healthy sleep hygiene
Poor sleep hygiene is the leading cause of sleep talking. The SleepRight program suggests a routine for sleep and helps you stick strictly to the time for sleep, which helps the body have smoother sleep cycles with minimal chances of talking in sleep. Avoid excessive intake of caffeine, alcohol, or heavy meals at night since it will interfere with your quality sleep as well as puts one at the risk of sleep talking.
- Stress and anxiety management
It's also known that sleep talking is caused by stress and anxiety. The SleepRight program may be able to contribute to your improvement since it can assist you in some relaxing techniques; it can consist of mindfulness meditation and guided breathing exercise to achieve a peaceful state before sleeping. In doing this, you will reduce the stress level when you sleep, hence reducing the chances your brain gets overactive during the night and minimise the chance of sleep talking.
- Create a healthy sleep environment
Proper sleep environment also decreases disruption of sleep. The company recommended creating a cool, quiet, and dark bedroom to induce restorative sleep. Utilise a white noise machine or a nature soundtrack to reduce distracting noises. The program also emphasises bedding such as mattresses and pillows to support sleep posture since physical discomfort can create restless nights and in extreme cases, sleep talking.
- Treat other sleeping disorders
Sometimes sleep talking can be related to other sleep disorders, including sleepwalking, night terrors, or obstructive sleep apnea. If sleep talking is frequent and severe, SleepRight advises going to seek professional help through its Sleep Disorders section. In rare cases, sleep talking could automatically disappear after treating an underlying sleep disorder.
- Sleep aids
You can add sleep aids like resonators, comforting ragas, or short audio stories from the SleepRight section to calm your mind and prepare your body for sleep. The natural sleep aids offered by this program relax the sleeper, ease the body into a peaceful sleep state, and minimise talking during the night.
By paying attention to sleep hygiene, stress management, and by creating a calm sleep environment, RightLife's SleepRight program offers diverse solutions to alleviate sleep talking and enhance overall slumber quality. Join RightLife to keep sleep talking at bay.
