Why do we talk in dreams?

Studies tell us that, at some point in our lives, all of us will have said at least one word while we were sleeping.. The truth is that it is curious what we are capable of doing while we are immersed in that dreamlike state: our brain is still incredibly active, we organize information, select and delete data, we dream, and it is even possible that you 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, in the power of the dream and everything that hides behind the veil of our sleeping eyelids.

Today we do not want to search for the meaning of dreams, nor understand what mysterious tasks our brain performs while we rest. . On this occasion we are looking for an answer to something as simple as it is disturbing… Why do some people talk in their dreams?

Somniloquy, a behavioral disorder

Complex name for a complex behavior. Somniloquy is a type of parasomnia, that is, a type of behavioral disorder that occurs while we are asleep.. But don’t be alarmed by the word “disorder.” It is nothing serious or dangerous nor does it have psychological consequences at all.

It is a phenomenon that occurs while we are in the REM (rapid eye movement) phase.also called paradoxical dream, that magical moment when the door to dreams simply opens.

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

If we pronounce words while we are asleep, it is precisely because in this phase of the REM state that sleep balance is “momentarily” broken. That is, it is normal for our muscles, mouth and vocal cords to be inactive, but for the briefest moment control is broken and those words from our dreams are spoken out loud.. 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 through which we let out part of our speech while we are asleep. There is another type of sleep called “transient”, outside of the REM state. It is a state in which we are semi-awake, where some states of wakefulness are suddenly activated that allow us to speak out loud again.

According to Carles Caig, coordinator of the Sleep and Wakefulness Disorders Study Group of the Spanish Society of Neurology, what happens are 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 we don’t remember it the next day.

On the other hand, different sleep specialists such as Adela Freire and Rybel Wix, affirm that to remember what we have said in dreams we must wake up in the same phase of sleep in which we are speaking. 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 talks in their 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 when the pressure of our daily lives is also reflected in our dreams, further accelerating the tension of our neurons, causing effects like this. We talk, we wake up abruptly, 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 claimed that you talked in your dreams, 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 maintain a coherent and normal conversation?

The truth is that no, what is said are not more isolated words that emerge out loud in the middle of the dream discourse, expressions that may be emotionally meaningful to us at that momentbut totally incomprehensible to the person next to us.

So be careful with those sudden words that emerge involuntarily while we sleep…

If you want to stop talking in your dreams, it can be done. We encourage you to watch the video below so that you don’t inadvertently miss something that you would never, consciously, want to express out loud.

Illustrations courtesy of Nicoletta Ceccoli

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