Why Do We Talk In Dreams?

Studies tell us that, at some point in our lives, all of us will have uttered at least one word in our sleep. The truth is that it is curious everything we are capable of doing while we are immersed in this dreamlike state: our brain is still incredibly active, we organize information, select and delete data, we dream, and it is even possible that even yourself, in addition to talking in dreams, you are also a sleepwalker.

Sigmund Freud was undoubtedly one of the pioneers in delving into those seas of the unconscious, into the power of the dreamlike and everything that hides behind the veil of our sleeping eyelids.

Today we do not want to look for the meaning of dreams, or understand what mysterious tasks our brain performs while we rest . This time we are looking for an answer to something as simple as it is disturbing …  Why are there people who speak in dreams?

Sleepiness, a conduct disorder

Complex name for complex behavior. Somniloquia is a type of parasomnia, that is, a type of conduct disorder that occurs while we are asleep. But don’t be alarmed by the word “disorder.” It is not serious or dangerous, nor does it have psychological consequences at all.

It is a phenomenon that happens while we are in the REM phase (rapid eye more or rapid eye movement), also called paradoxical sleep, that magical moment in which, simply, the door of dreams opens.

It is at this time that our neurons work very intensely, almost at the same level as when we are awake. Daydreams accelerate its functionality, we dream that we run, that we fly, that we caress, that we fly… and that we talk.

If we speak words while we are asleep, it is precisely because in this REM state phase that sleep balance is “momentarily” broken. That is, it is normal for our muscles, mouth and vocal cords to be inactive, but for a very brief moment control is broken and those words from our dreams are spoken aloud. A sudden disconnection from the dream where the motor system is active again.

Micro-awakenings

But there is still more. There may still be a second option by which to let part of our speech escape while we are asleep. There is another type of sleep called “transitory”, outside the REM state. It is a state in which we are semi-awake, where some waking states are suddenly activated that allow us to speak aloud again.

According to Carles Caig, coordinator of the Wake and Sleep Disorders Study Group of the Spanish Neurology Society, what happens is micro-awakenings. Caig affirms that we can have these small awakenings up to ten times in an hour and that is where we can talk. However, they are so short that the next day we don’t remember them.

On the other hand, different sleep specialists such as Adela Freire and Rybel Wix, affirm that to remember what we have come to say in dreams we must wake up in the same phase of the dream in which we are talking. They also point out that you can have a conversation with the person who is asleep, but they will be automatic responses, that is, the brain does not process them consciously.

What we say when we are asleep

The data tells us that at least 50% of the population speaks in dreams. But in fact, almost all of us do it at certain times: when we are going through periods of anxiety and stress.

It is in those moments in which the pressure of our daily life is also reflected in our dreams, accelerating even more the tension of our neurons causing effects like this. We talk, we wake up hastily, we grind our teeth, and we may even have episodes of sleepwalking.

But what do we say during those moments? Does it make any sense? If you have ever lived with someone who has claimed that you were talking in a dream, they have probably told you that they have had a conversation with you or that they have taken advantage of this condition to get things out of you. But is that true? Can you have a consistent and normal conversation?

The truth is that no, what is said are not more isolated words that emerge aloud in the middle of the dreamlike speech, expressions that may be emotionally significant for us at that moment, but totally incomprehensible for the person next to us.

So watch out for those sudden words that emerge involuntarily while we sleep …

If you want to stop talking in dreams, it can be done. We encourage you to watch the video that we present below so that you do not accidentally miss something that you would never consciously want to express out loud.

Illustrations courtesy of Nicoletta Ceccoli