The psychologist talked about the reasons for talking in a dream

At least two thirds of people have had conversations in their sleep at least once. In most cases, a person utters individual sounds, whispers, laughs or mumbles, and in the morning does not remember anything about it. This behavior is usually considered harmless, but with certain concomitant symptoms, it may indicate another sleep disorder. Sleep psychologist Michael Nadorff told about this on September 14. Why the brain continues to form speech after falling asleep, whether it is possible to hear the truth in a dream and in which cases you should consult a specialist — in the material "Izvestia".

What is talking in a dream?

The person himself is often unaware of what is happening. His partner, relative, or roommate usually tells him about his nighttime statements. The content of such remarks is often incoherent, and the voice may differ from the usual one due to muscle relaxation and breathing patterns.

In the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, isolated sleep-talking is considered primarily as a benign symptom or variant of normal sleep behavior. It becomes a disorder not because of the very fact of uttering words, but if episodes regularly disrupt sleep, are accompanied by dangerous actions, or noticeably worsen the quality of life.

Why is the sleeping brain able to speak

Sleep cannot be imagined as a complete and simultaneous shutdown of the brain. At night, a person goes through the stages of slow-wave sleep, or NREM, and REM sleep, known as REM, several times. An adult usually spends about 75-80% of the night in NREM sleep and about 20-25% in REM sleep, during which vivid dreams occur especially often.

There is more deep slow-wave sleep at the beginning of the night, and the duration of REM periods increases towards morning. One cycle takes about an hour and a half on average, although its duration varies depending on age, health status, and the specific part of the night.

During sleep, different neural systems do not change their activity completely synchronously. Some parts of the brain may already be in a state of sleep, while others briefly show activity resembling wakefulness.

According to one of the main hypotheses, sleep-speaking occurs when the systems involved in creating speech are temporarily activated, and the mechanisms that normally suppress movement and vocal activity during sleep are not fully activated. A peculiar mixed state arises: the person continues to sleep, but part of the speech prepared by the brain gets out.

So far, this is just an explanatory model, and not a definitively established mechanism. It is difficult to study speech patterns: episodes occur unpredictably, rarely occur on command, and often last only a few seconds.

In a small laboratory study of the neurophysiology of sleep-speaking, scientists found changes in the electrical activity of the brain before speech episodes. However, most of the detailed analysis was conducted on only a few participants, so the results cannot be automatically distributed to all people who talk in their sleep.

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What do people say most often in their sleep?

One of the most detailed studies of the content of nocturnal speech was published in the journal Sleep in 2017. The researchers studied 883 speech episodes and recorded 3349 understandable words.

About 59% of the episodes were not coherent statements, but mumbling, whispering, laughing or shouting. Among the legible words, the negation "no" was especially common. Questions were asked in about every fourth episode, and some statements contained swear words or were of a conflicting nature.

At the same time, speech retained many of the features of an ordinary language: grammatical structure, pauses, and the sequence of cues. Sometimes the sleeper seemed to be waiting for the other person's answer before continuing to speak.

However, this study has a significant limitation. Most of the 232 participants had diagnosed parasomnia, including sleepwalking, night terrors, and REM sleep behavior disorder. There were only 15 healthy volunteers. Therefore, the proportions obtained cannot be considered an accurate description of what all people say in a dream.

In other words, the statement that sleepers most often argue, swear, or say "no" is interesting from a scientific point of view, but it is not a universal rule.

Is it possible to learn the secrets of a sleeper

There is no scientific evidence that a person necessarily tells the truth or reveals hidden information in a dream. Nocturnal speech can connect fictional events, fragments of memories, emotional reactions, and random words.

Some people are able to answer questions while still asleep. However, the relevant experiments were conducted under special conditions and often included patients with arousal disorders rather than ordinary people with rare episodes of sleep-talking. For example, a study of communication with sleepwalkers has shown that during parasomnia, a certain reaction to spoken speech is possible. But this does not prove that the answers will be informed, truthful, or correctly understood.

The dreamer's statements should not be taken as a confession, reliable evidence of his intentions, or a way to gain access to memories. A person can pronounce a name, describe a non-existent event, or answer a question without understanding its meaning.

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Lack of sleep can make episodes more frequent

Overwork and lack of sleep are considered factors that can provoke parasomnia. The likelihood of episodes may also increase with unstable routines, emotional stress, fever, or alcohol consumption before bedtime. However, the reaction is individual, and the presence of such factors does not explain every case.

One study showed that people with very frequent sleep talking slept less and spent less of the night in REM sleep than the control group. In popular retelling, this sometimes turns into a statement that everyone who talks in a dream loses an hour and a half of sleep and has half as much REM sleep.

Such a conclusion would be too broad. The laboratory part of the work included a small, specially selected group of young people with frequent episodes. The study found a connection, but did not prove that it is talking that reduces sleep or that a similar pattern is typical for rare cases.

Adequate sleep remains one of the main preventive measures. According to the recommendations of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, adolescents should regularly sleep from eight to ten hours, children 6-12 years old — from nine to 12 hours, and children 3-5 years old — from ten to 13 hours, taking into account daytime sleep.

When talking in a dream requires attention

Rare short episodes without other symptoms usually do not require examination or special treatment. The reason to consult a therapist, neurologist, or somnologist may be situations where sleep-talking:

• appeared suddenly in adulthood or increased dramatically;
• It happens almost every night and disrupts the sleep of the person or their loved ones.;
• accompanied by screams, falls, punches, attempts to leave the bed or other dangerous behavior;
• It is combined with acting out dreams, especially in middle-aged or elderly people.;
• It is accompanied by loud snoring, respiratory arrest, suffocation, or severe daytime drowsiness.;
• causes injury or severe anxiety.

Such signs do not indicate the presence of a specific disease, but they do suggest another sleep disorder, such as obstructive sleep apnea, NREM parasomnia, or REM sleep behavior disorder.

The doctor examines the history of episodes and medications taken, evaluates sleep patterns and associated symptoms. A partner's story or video recording may be more useful than the patient's own retelling, since the patient usually does not remember what is happening. If there is reason to suspect another disorder, a specialist may prescribe polysomnography.

Special treatment for rare isolated sleep talking is usually not required. The main focus is on sufficient sleep duration, a stable regime and the elimination of factors that provoke partial awakenings. Medications are not used against individual words in a dream, but for a confirmed underlying disease.