Talking in your sleep may sound trivial but it is a real problem that a growing percentage of the population face.
Whilst further studies are needed to produce a concrete conclusion, sleep scientists have linked sleep speech to stress and bad lifestyle habits. The vast majority of people who talk in their sleep have underlying issues that have manifested themselves in this way.
Essentially, it’s a way for the body to unconsciously vent and come to terms with particular issues. Talking in your sleep can start insignificant at first but can easily manifest into anxiety, sleep deprivation and insomnia.
Keep reading to find out the ten best tips to stop you from talking in your sleep.
Ten Useful Tips to Help You Stop Talking in Your Sleep
Keep A Sleep Diary
Keeping a sleep diary is an ingenious way to record your sleeping behaviours and get to the bottom of the cause.
Sleep diaries can be used to track your sleep-wake cycle. You can use it to note down the time you fall asleep, the time you wake up, any medications you are taking and how many disturbances you have during the night.
Once you’ve recorded a sufficient amount of data, you’ll start to build a unique picture of what could potentially be causing you to talk during your sleep. It might be a good idea to share your sleep diary with your GP who may then wish to refer you to a sleep specialist or a clinic.
Make Sure That You are Getting Enough Sleep
It goes without saying that in today’s modern culture we are all overworked, undernourished and greatly lacking in sleep.
Studies have shown that 35.2% of all adults surveyed in the United States show that they sleep for an average of six hours per night. Almost all of the people in the same study complained of daytime sleepiness and night-time disruptions.
Making sure that you are well-rested and getting enough sleep doesn’t only promote physical health and healing but also works to rehabilitate mental health issues.
Limit Coffee & Alcohol
Stimulants such as coffee and alcohol wreak havoc on your natural body clock. Caffeine creates an artificial high that soon crashes and needs to be replenished.
Alcohol on the other hand is a depressant and whilst it can help a person get to sleep its effects are limited and will eventually wake you because of its dehydrating properties.
Eat Healthy & Fast An Hour Before Bed
We all know that we should eat healthy to obtain the vital nutrients we need for our bodies to function properly.
This is especially true for people who tend to talk in their sleep. It can be exhausting for someone to speak in their sleep day in and day out. Sleep is supposed to be a time of rest and speaking in your sleep deprives the body of much-needed rest.
Refined carbohydrates should be avoided at all costs because they can trigger bouts of insomnia and excite the body. You want to try and find natural ways of calming down the nervous system and preparing the body and mind for natural sleep.
Create A Harmonious Bedtime Routine
Our bodies are innately driven by routine. An ample routine enables us to minimise stress by providing the body with an expected outcome. Creating a harmonious nighttime routine will allow the body to de-stress whilst looking forward to sleep.
You can listen to relaxing music or read a book to promote melatonin production, which will naturally aid sleep and limit the number of disturbances incurred throughout the night.
Have A Positive Sleep Mindset
Make sure that you think positively about sleep and relay optimistic and encouraging thoughts. Doing so will promote healthy sleeping behaviors and will help to relax the brain.
Sometimes overthinking can be detrimental to our sleep health and often outbursts of talking in your sleep are due to an overactive mind.
Try to set aside any issues you are facing before bed and come to an understanding with your mind and let things go.
Promote Positive Mental Health
Positive mental health is crucial in sleeping and functioning well. The body needs to rest to heal the mind and disturbances such as sleep speech are well known to exacerbate mental health conditions.
The best way to promote positive mental health is to see a medical professional. Do not self diagnose or put off going to the doctor because your symptoms will only get worse and become harder to fix in the long run.
Limit Emotional Stress
Stress is by far the biggest factor that negatively affects sleep. Studies have shown that people living in modern urban environments are living extremely fast-paced lifestyles and feel the need to constantly achieve.
This lifestyle choice is incredibly damaging to the sleep/wake cycle and can have lasting effects.
Take time out in your day to do
de-stress and release all of your inner tension. You might find it helpful to see a psychiatrist or mental health professional who can help you to get to the root cause of your problems.
Practice Good Sleep Hygiene
Good sleep hygiene should be an essential part of your sleep routine. It involves making your sleep environment as comforting and welcoming as possible. Invest in some comfy pillows or buy that weighted blanket that you had your eye on.
Memory foam mattresses are also a good way to induce positive sleep habits and curb night speech because they hit all of the right pressure points and promote a healthy night’s sleep.
Sleep in A Cool Environment
The perfect temperature for a good night’s sleep is 18.3 degrees Celsius. Our bodies naturally prefer cooler climates when sleeping. Sleep is usually disrupted only when the temperature gets too hot.
Try sleeping with your window open or create a natural airflow by opening two opposing windows.
You can also invest in high-quality cotton linen which will naturally disperse heat and keep you cool on those warmer summer nights.
Conclusion
Sleep talking is becoming ever more apparent in today’s modern world. Learning how to slow down and reflect is a useful tool that people can use to evaluate their lives.
Sleep talking isn’t trivial and needs to be addressed by a medical professional if it is causing you or your loved ones any issues. Please refer to the resources below if you or anyone you know has been affected by sleep talking disorders.
