How to Stop Talking in Your Sleep

Have you ever been startled by your partner muttering gibberish while sleeping? You must have been scared out of your wits, and would never have imagined that your partner could succumb to talking while asleep.

The situation, however serious in nature, could turn anecdotal when you jump up in bed in the middle of the night, only to realize that your partner in bed has plundered his rock heavy hand on you with some onomatopoeic sounds that ... well, sound outer-spaced! This in the actual, is a condition referred to as somniloquy.

This is a sleeping disorder colloquially called sleep talking. Sleep is an extremely important part of one's being. Our body is said to have accomplished some wonderful feats when we are asleep.

It is during our sleeping hours that our body, refurbished from the wear and tear during the day, rejuvenates and repairs the tired and fatigued tissues of the body. The brain derives a considerable amount of time to assimilate and sort out information fed into it. The information that was fed during the day is digested by the brain cells during the time period we devote to sleep. It is also during the sleeping hours that our body releases growth hormones into the system.

However, it could be extremely annoying and irritating to the person sleeping next to them. There could be episodes of sleep talking that vary in their degree and length of articulations. Some may experience episodes that involve little mutterings, and some may indulge in full-fledged, exotic conversations.

It becomes all the more frustrating when your partner is calmly uttering gibberish in a singular monotone with a heavy baritone. Though a rare phenomenon, however, some sleep talkers have been known to yell, scream and shout at the top of their voices, and frighten those around them.

It is primarily caused by non-restful or unfulfilled sleep stages. A characteristic that we often witness is the explicit display of a plethora of activities in their sleep. This may involve the individual in sleepwalking, sleep talking, teeth grinding, and night terrors. Some people may also experience jerks in their body while they sleep.

The person may thrash pillows, comforters or any bedding accessory that he comes across, that is worth devouring. This is so because the person is not fully able to fall asleep. The partner sleeping next to the sleep talker could suddenly feel tremors as the bed shakes and juggles. However, one may get to know gradually that it is none other than your partner playing movers and shakers.

This is due to the fact that their brains have not matured fully and they endure incomplete sleep cycles. Sleep talking in children will disappear as age progresses. Till then, parents have to suffer mini heart tremors every time they hear winded story narrations from their child.

Children and adults who talk in their sleep never remember that they did talk in the first place, and are caught by utter disbelief and surprise when the one who endured the tales, narrates the instances to them.

■ Try to organize and have a fixed schedule of sleeping. Fix a time for going to bed and rising the next morning. Erratic sleep times can lead to sleep talking.

■ If your partner sleep talks, try not to nag him to stop talking and go off to bed silently. Sleep talking can be annoying for the listening partner; however, this could disturb your partner's already disturbed sleep even more.

■ Monitor your stress levels and try to cut down on your anxiety meters. Let positive thoughts linger in your mind.

■ To manage leg kicking and jerking of one's body suddenly during sleep, see a healthcare provider, who will most likely ask for a medical history. He might prescribe certain iron supplements to treat anemia, potassium supplements to treat cramping and spasms in the legs, or even administer sleeping pills.

■ Relaxation exercises, such as meditation and yoga, are natural sleep inducers as they provide peace to the mind. You need to keep calm during the day and relax as the evening approaches.

■ You may also take up your favorite sport or hit the gym, whichever pleases your senses, to divulge the sleep mumbler in you.

Even after adopting certain remedies if the sleep talking continues, why not resort to ear plugs for the time being! The market is flooded with some of the best brands that offer you a peaceful slumber. If your partner can't stop talking, at least, you could stop listening!