Do you wake yourself whilst talking in your sleep?

The only time I talk in my sleep is when I am having days and weeks of reoccurring nightmares. I’m usually unaware I am doing it, except that my husband will wake me if he hears me talking, or sometimes my breathing changes drastically like when you are terror filled.

Are you having nightmares or going through a time of high stress? Are you in the middle if dreaming? Do you know what the talking is related to?

Have you started a new medication that interrupts your sleep pattern?

I’ve been asking myself the same questions – and the answers are:

- No new medications (though I did experiment a bit by skipping my night-time dose of melatonin to see if I would sleep better without it…as I’m generally waking myself closer to the end of my sleep cycle..around 4am and later..)...it had no impact whether I took it or not.

- Some stress, but certainly I’ve had far more stressful periods in the past and not experienced this phenomenon.

- Yes! I am vividly dreaming. Sometimes nightmares, but much more often it’s just an extension of a regular dream where I have something to say..and then…I say it out loud rather than in the dream.

The talking isn’t the same each time. And..typically when I first wake up I can remember what I was dreaming (just for a moment)—and it’s not been the same topic. It’s been a different each time it seems.

I expect this is something that won’t last forever…but might be a result of some interruption to my regular sleep patterns. I had (major) surgery 5 weeks ago and have napped some days..and perhaps this has caused this change?

I don’t talk in my sleep but, once in awhile if I am on my back I will wake myself up with a snore. I always wake up right away at the first sound. This is from years of living rural and being a light sleeper because of being hyper alert for coyotes and racoons and bobcats and mountain lions after the critters on the animal farm. ‘What was THAT!” haha

I have that, too, Coloma. I frequently wake my husband because I hear something (that he doesn’t) and ask him to go check on it.. I think it’s that “mommy hearing”—never seems to go away…and I am a lighter sleeper as a result..

Each time I elbow him awake because I think I’ve heard something he dutifully grabs the baseball bat he keeps under the bed..but I’m sure he’s quite unhappy with me for disturbing his sleep on these occasions when it’s nothing more than a feral cat outdoors or the heat vent making a new noise.

The part of the brain that stops us from speaking, walking, etc in the brain for whatever reason isn’t functioning well I guess. There is like a barrier. Nikipedia would know a lot about it. I wonder if she is still around.

Have you experienced a dietary change? Or given up smoking, drinking? Other than that, perhaps something is bothering you more than you think it is.

I don’t (think I) talk in my sleep. My husband does. He doesn’t wake himself but if I respond to his night time discussions, he wakes up so I’d guess you’re in a fairly light sleeping mode when it happens.

Is it causing you problems? Do you go straight back to sleep? Could you record yourself to see if you can figure out what you’re talking about and whether it’s the same topic? It might help you to determine what’s going on in your head. Or perhaps you’ll discover you talk gibberish in your sleep (my husband appears to!)

Shouting sometimes but not just talking, so far as I can recall.

Yes, I have had a bit of a dietary change (as a result of my surgery).. but again, not a drastic change. I’m going to attempt to research what JLeslie mentioned about the brain..that sounds interesting (and possible) to me..
It would be wonderful to hear from Nikipedia, but in the meantime I’ll give Google a try as well.
Thanks all..it’s a bit of a comfort to hear about others who talk (or shout) in their sleep…and at least I’m not sleep walking (yet!)..

I sleep walk like crazy, but it doesn’t wake me up, that’s where the sleep crashing comes in. My brain isn’t fully asleep, so I dream but I act out the dream. It’s all through my family, but mine is the worst. I’ve had to tie my arm to the bed to interrupt me enough to wake up.

Should have Google’d sooner I suppose..but thought it would be better to hear from other Fluther-folks’ experiences.

Apparently this is called somniloquy – and my best guess is that due to my occasional napping while recovering I was causing a disruption to my sleep patterns (and heap on a bit of stress and sleep debt in addition)...and that’s a nice little combination to cause this innocuous sleep disorder.

Vivid dreams (during REM sleep) are typically followed by light sleep..and the longest REM period is usually the last REM period—close to morning. That matches when my “talking” is occurring…and why I seem to remember my dreams.. I’ve just come from REM—which is when (& why) somniloquy is likely to happen.

So no more naps for me, a bit more routine and I’m sure both me and my hubby will sleep better.

@Adirondackwannabe – I read about that, too! It’s called somnambulism – and it’s safest if someone wakes you up.

An interesting article for you is here – and apparently many people with somnambulism can be helped by taking Clonazepam (Klonopin).

Also, there are some researchers out there looking to see if somnambulism has some connection or indicates a pre-disposition to Parkinson’s. Not sure if Parkinson’s runs in your family, but just an interesting set of research…

@geeky_mama You really could have said anything but that. We don’t have a history of Parkinson’s, but I might be a trend setter. Lots of concussions, and now a few other things to worry about.

If you’re not getting enough sleep at night, because you don’t have the time, you can’t do away with the naps. Then you will be severely sleep deprived. If you don’t get enough slept at night for other reasons then that’s another story.

REM is when you dream. You cycle through the stages of sleep every 1.5 hours more or less if you have a normal sleep pattern. Are your naps 1.5 and/or 3 hours long?

@Adirondackwannabe…I’m so sorry.. I didn’t mean to be so insensitive…

I’ve only just found out several things (that my family never mentioned to me) that are prevalent in our family / likely to happen to me.

I found out after I developed 3 of the conditions over the past few years. Two are chronic lifelong issues and I was rather displeased with not having gotten a potential “heads up”.
And, also two of them caused hospitalizations in 2014.

@JLeslie – As I’m recovering I’d been told to nap whenever I felt the need…you heal best while asleep apparently.

Yesterday I decided to avoid napping completely, did a bit of physical activity (walked on the treadmill for the first time – at exactly 5 weeks post-surgery) and avoided anything caffeinated hours before bed. I slept without waking myself talking – but less than I needed.

I think physical activity will be key for me. Today when I felt the need to nap I tried a few gentle yoga moves and instantly felt better and the need to nap passed.

Thanks for all the good advice.. I think I’ll be back to “normal” soon..just surprised at the odd new occurrence in my sleep!