The following is a visitor-submitted question or story. For more, you can submit your own sleep story here, or browse the collection of experiences and questions other visitors have shared here.

Sleep Talking, Waking Up And Still Talking Before I Realise What I Am Doing

by Carla
(South Africa)

Hello :)


Well I have a very close relationship with my boyfriend and we can really talk about anything. In the last few months I find myself waking up several times a night, talking to him. But we are still in school so he is definitely not with me. The thing is, I wake up and realise that I am talking, then I still carry on talking and then I get angry at him because he is not replying and find myself glaring at the wall, then I realise that he is not there. My mom says that we are probably thinking about each other subconsciously, but it can get very annoying, since I never get enough sleep anymore. I never remember what I was talking to him about only a few words like "okay" "yes" "no" "I also think so" "not sure will find out".

Just before I was about to tell my boyfriend about this and he said that he wakes up a few times a night while reaching for me. He says he 'sees me' and then when he wants to touch me I disappear. He will text me in the morning and tell me what happened, and that same night I would've been 'talking to him'. We find it quite interesting but we would really like to know why this happens and why it happens to both of us :)

Thank you

P.S. I have never been on such an interesting site. I read nearly all the sleep walking and talking articles. It was very informative and I really enjoyed it =)



Kevin: Hey Carla. I'm really glad you enjoyed reading through the site :) It's quite an interesting experience you write about here. I certainly can't tell you how you and your boyfriend managed to reach out and talk to each other on the same nights. Maybe it's a good sign for your relationship though ;)

In terms of waking up and continuing to talk without realizing your boyfriend wasn't there, that could be partly due to a phenomenon called sleep inertia, which basically just refers to those brief moments of confusion you feel just after waking up. I haven't heard anything really before about sleep talking continuing on into wakefulness.

So I can't offer too much specific insight, but I thought sleep inertia was worth mentioning here. Anyone else have any thoughts?

Warmly,
Kevin

Comments for Sleep Talking, Waking Up And Still Talking Before I Realise What I Am Doing

Click here to add your own comments

Nov 27, 2012
!!!! NEW
by: Courtney k

I wake up every morning in the middle of a sentence! It started like a month ago. I used to occasionally sleep talk and that used to wake me up but I would always know what I just said. But now I wake up finishing a sentence but i can never remember the beginning. This morning when I woke up (because my alarm was going off) I was saying "...but tomorrow I might" it's so annoying to me. After finishing my words i feel overly frustrated. I start nearly every morning this way.

Jan 07, 2014
Talking in my sleep and waking up still talking NEW
by: Anonymous

Hi - I just noticed this week January. 7, 2014 that I was talking in my sleep and I woke up around 5am still talking. Then I looked around and thought my husband was in bed with me. My husband died 5 years ago at the age of 70. I am 75. I remember saying a few words to him out loud. I am a very anxious person and I am due for surgery next week, does this mean that I will be joining my husband? This is the first time I have heard myself talk out loud. Do I need to see a doctor?
Lynn

Dec 18, 2014
Waking up and still talking NEW
by: Heather

I am so glad I'm not alone. I know we can all talk in our sleep for one reason or another, but this morning Thursday 18th December 2014 I woke muttering something and yes I had woken my hubby, it must have been around 6am I'm afraid he couldn't go off again so got up. I went off again no problem but woke at about 8-15am I was talking and couldn't stop for some time it was like having to finish what I saying about my great grandson who is only 7 mths old and a little love. A couple days ago I woke up and found myself sitting on the side of my bed, what was that all about?. One last point I have sleep apnea and that's enough to handle now I'm talking what can I expect next?

Dec 18, 2014
Waking up and still talking NEW
by: Heather

I am so glad I'm not alone. I know we can all talk in our sleep for one reason or another, but this morning Thursday 18th December 2014 I woke muttering something and yes I had woken my hubby, it must have been around 6am I'm afraid he couldn't go off again so got up. I went off again no problem but woke at about 8-15am I was talking and couldn't stop for some time it was like having to finish what I saying about my great grandson who is only 7 mths old and a little love. A couple days ago I woke up and found myself sitting on the side of my bed, what was that all about?. One last point I have sleep apnea and that's enough to handle now I'm talking what can I expect next?

Aug 20, 2015
New NEW
by: Anonymous

I get this aswell. Sometimes I feel like loads of my friends are in my room talking to me, I wake up and have conversations with them without realising. I get embarrassed about my pyjamas in front of them, and it really feels like they're there! Also if I've had a long shift at work I sometiems wake up talking to customers, and carry on, I even reach up for the forks to give them (as I work in a cafe). It's really weird, and I have really disrupted sleep because of it! I have to fully snap myself out of it, and tell myself it's not real that it could be happening to be able to get back to sleep, or I'll keep waking up and doing it!

Sep 18, 2015
Waking up and still talking/walking NEW
by: Ashlie

In response to August 20, 2015's post I do the exact same thing. I find myself talking to people in my room when they are not there, customers from work, earlier this morning (it is currently 5:20am) I was trying to make coffee for my boyfriend (we live together and I work at a coffee shop) but almost every single time I sleep talk or sit up in bed and look around or walk around briefly I end up waking myself up. I get very upset because I realize I'm doing it and I try to convince myself I'm just sleeping and to lay back down but I generally pick right back up within a few minutes. Most of the time I don't remember exactly what it was that I was doing or speaking of, but I know I tend to deliberately wake my boyfriend whom doesn't usually remember by the time he wakes up for the day. Today/tonight has been the worst in awhile. I've always suffered from sleep talking/walking (I even drove down the street once) since I was little and medical sleep aides make it worse. I just moved to a new city within the last 4 months which is the first time I've lived away from my family and I transferred with my company so I'm working with a whole new staff and was recently promoted to manager so I have taken on a ton of new and important responsibilities that I know for a fact has me stressed out. I know that may have a lot to do with it. When I was in middle school I remember urinating in my clothes hamper in my closet during a sleepover which has haunted me for years and I guess one other time I attempted to urinate in the hallway but was heard by someone and they brought me to the bathroom (thank god). This is embarrassing for sure but something I had no control over. Lastly, I've noticed over the last couple months I wake up startled to the point of crying or having a minor anxiety attack, usually when my boyfriend wakes me up before he leaves for work. He does this so I don't wake up freaked out that he isn't there because he knows I sometimes feel uneasy that someone may be in our apartment or is trying to get in (due to a recent incident). I apologize for the novel but I am relieved to hear others out there can relate and I am absolutely exhausted from this evening and I can't fall back asleep so I figured I'd give this a try.

Oct 09, 2015
Why NEW
by: LoveDragons

Sometimes when am dreaming about nothing in particular I start talking in my sleep but i sometimes hear myself and it wakes me up upon waking up is when the last few words or word come out most times i fall back asleep then other times it takes me a few mins but really some nights i hardly get any sleep as this sometimes happen 3-4 times in one night .

Nov 10, 2015
Sleep talking keeping my wife awake NEW
by: Tim

Hello, I stumbled upon this site looking for answers, I'm 59 years old disabled and have sleep apnea, To me I sleep like a log but my wife tells me a Talk, shout, and burst out laughing while I'm asleep "new's to me since i'm asleep" and this is not allowing her to sleep, based on what she has told me I have searched and find no answers, should she call the men in their white coat's to come get me?? Help!

Tim

Dec 03, 2015
In response to August 20, 2015's NEW
by: Nessa

I suffer from the same experience as you. I recently got a new job at a Chinese restaurant and there's a lot to learn. It's my first time working in a restaurant and I want to do well as there are other people wanting the same job. Ever since I got the job, I have been waking up during the night and staring at nothing believing that my manager is telling me something. I know I'm awake but I can't shake myself out of the trance I'm in. I can feel how tired I am so I lay back down to go to sleep but then my manager says I can't forget what she's telling me so I jolt back upright and reply and continue to stare at nothing. Sometimes, I suddenly jump right out of my bed and walk over to the TV cabinet in my room or work desk and try looking for something continuously asking "where is it" or something along those lines. Then my eyes focus properly and I realize I'm not in the restaurant. I scold myself, telling myself that my shift ended hours ago (as this usually occurs around 2am in the morning) and that it isn't real. Most of the time, the scolding works and I lay down and sleep until morning, but sometime I wake up again during the night. Usually, when I convince myself it isn't real, I'm able to fall asleep again.
I believe this issue is caused by me stressing about how I want to do well at my job and other things I'm worried about that I can usually push aside and not think about during the day but during the night, as I have nothing to distract myself with, all I have left to do is to think about what I'm worried about or for. I can remember the next morning exactly what happened during the night, to the point when I first open my eyes. In my mind the next day, I can see myself sitting cross legged on my bed in darkness staring at the TV across from me agreeing and nodding at what I think I'm hearing as that was what really happens.
I think I know the reason behind this issue, however it is very difficult to stop or cure and has ruined my sleeping schedule. I am constantly tired every day, which does not help my concentration in the restaurant.

Apr 18, 2016
I get up have full conversations but I'm still asleep NEW
by: Anonymous

I have a problem waking up. First I would roll over when my wife would wake me up in the middle of the night, but now I respond to her, saying god knows what, get up start walking around not aware of what I'm doing until I snap out of it and see what's going on. Can anyone help me figure out why I can't wake up?

Mar 24, 2017
same NEW
by: Sydney

Hi, I've done this ever since I was little. I actually just woke up my boyfriend complaining about how people I know speak without purpose, while completely rambling without logical thought. Kind of ironic. This was only about 20 minutes ago. I've never had an experience where we felt like it was between the both of us, but as for myself, if I fall asleep with something on my mind, the world will hear about it in my sleep. Often, I wake up in the middle of the thought and must continue to speak until I've come up with a definitive purpose. For example, when I woke up this last time I woke up just as I was explaining that people speak like "nu-nu-nu-nu" (gibberish). At this probably hysterical moment I woke up, recognized my incomplete thought and turned it into a rant about speaking without purpose. Even brought up people in my life who would fall under the category. I have found that these monologues usually occur on nights I am sick, exhausted, on NyQuil, or if I fall asleep anxious, upset, or uncomfortable. (Mostly every night haha). I hope you figure out what is causing such an interesting thing! And if you do! Let me know!

Jul 22, 2017
Sleep talking NEW
by: Deb

I googled and found this sight. For the past year I have been waking up while speaking in my dream, but I am talking and then the last words wake me up.

Aug 20, 2017
Talking to people in your sleep NEW
by: Danni

This only happens to me about once every 4-5 months but when it does it's like it's happening in real life. So I was asleep one night and I woke up (not sure if I was fully awake) and I saw my boyfriend standing near the end of the bed at the mirror and stuff and I started talking to him and was saying stuff like "oh my gosh how did you get here? And what are you doing here?" I got up and I walked over to him and we were standing face to face and all and I was like "I'll be back I have to get a drink" so I left and when I came back, the lights in the kitchen must have woken me up and he was gone. I was really confused to where he went and what was going on. I knew it was impossible for him to actually have been there because there is no way he could have got in the house and it was 2 in the morning, he also doesn't have a license and lives quite a drive away. This was about 5 months ago. Now this one happened on Friday night and it's now Sunday night. I was at a friends house and we were sleeping in the same bed and all and the same thing happened except when I woke up my boyfriend was in the bed with me where my friend was, I was talking to him and tickling the side of his face, I went to the toilet and when I came back I touched the side of his face and said goodnight and was excepting a kiss on the cheek or something like that but instead he just lay there and I looked at him again and was going to kiss him on the cheek but as I looked at him, he was gone and it was my friend again. I was really in shock because I Almost kissed my friend whilst she was sleeping and I thought, damnit what is going on. I'm still really confused what has been happening can someone help me out thanks

Dec 12, 2017
me too NEW
by: Anonymous

i just had the same experience this morning. i woke up but it was like I had to finish the sentence "he must have been in the tower"...it was weird

Dec 12, 2017
Sleep talking at end of dream, into wakefulness...me too NEW
by: PTSDMNwoman

Hi. I have PTSD since about 2014. All the why's/how's/when's don't matter right now. What I want to share is this: I am dreaming the last dream in a REM round of sleep. As of the last 9-12 months, this is 80% of the time. In 'Milli-seconds"
A) More aware of the dream, than of me. shared conversations are going on.
B)I I am dreaming a conversation between myself + 1-6 other people; more often less than 4 people, MOST often just 1 other person. I am now literally speaking out loud but solely dreaming
C)my ears outside of the dream hear me. I start to wake.. in a phase something like 1 mentioned here, like "delayed sleep phase" or other Acronym/label etc.
D) I am both dreaming and partially awake all have stopped talking except me. My voice is clear, audible, not garbled. I am most always am winding up my statement and ready to "close the topic". People in the dream are listening ... I'm still talking as I go into "F".
F) My eyes slowly open but do not look around. It's like an illusion. "Eyes open must mean I am awake". Nope. It doesn't mean that. Cuz I am still talking to people, with my eyes open who are content to hear what I have to say.
G)NOW I hear my voice better than ever and the content now is being judged by me-the conscious mind and my conscious mind says in a kinder way "you can stop educating NO one now". It's a bit of shocker that I was continuing to talk to no one. And then I lose a the dream if I don't think on it and then write it down. Then it's very easy to recall.
So the last phase is always me cutting me off from still talking. But a part of me... LIKES TO FINISH MY SENTENCE. And THAT is the part I find weird. I do it before the Big Conscious Voice In Charge tells me to knock it off. I like to close. Finish it. So I do. And my dreams have changed from horrible, heart pounding scary family NIGHTMARES of evil and awfulness... to know family in peace and understanding..in my dream and I am heard and I am not covered in sweat with 120 BPM and breathing fast and feeling in fear. Nope. It's a calm waking. I don't mind it. BUT I do mind that I heard that people who sleep talk have serious mental/emotional challenges and need licensed professional care. My sleep doctor has done 5 overnight sleep studies. He's said I talked a lot in the final one. I asked what I was saying. He said..it's all garble. We never know what people are saying. We don't even try to figure it out. BUT THEN WHY IS SLEEP TALKING AND SLEEP TALKING THAT WAKES YOU deserving of a mental health diagnosis id and #. A specific Medical Number assigned to that specific "illness". Mine has grown positive. How is it bad ...other than if it wakes me After each REM and cuts up my quality sleep. I am a terrible insomniac AND have hypersomulence. I can't fall asleep when I want to on a normal schedule, nor stay asleep. BUT Every time I put my head on a pillow when it's NOT bedtime,and the TV etc are all off, I fall asleep,DOCUMENTED,in less than 7 seconds, and as quickly as 3 seconds. Out cold. THAT tired from sleep deprivation. So yeah. I get talking in your sleep and not stopping right away. And I am not crazy. I've had a very very hard go at life early on, and now.

Jan 01, 2018
SleepTalking NEW
by: CthaDiva

This has been happening for the last month.I will be dreaming and in the dream I know that I'm dreaming.I will talk to someone in the dream and hear it outside the dream and I am awakened by what I'm saying....and will finish rhe sentence. Can someone tell me whats happening?Its almost like I'm in between 2 realms of existence.

Jan 17, 2018
Me too! NEW
by: Anonymous

Hi my name is eve and I’m 16. Last month it started to happen to me too! i thought it would only happen once, then Ive found myself doing it every night and waking up at 2-3 in the morning. Sometimes I’ll have the scariest vivid dreams and i can’t sleep at all after them. I’ll wake up screaming like someone attacks me or wake up completely crying. I noticed that I’ll talk to myself while I’m awake for at least 30 seconds and then I’m just looking at the dark. I used to do this when i was very little. But these vivid dreams are getting to me and starting to make me depressed. Dreams like getting kidnapped, my family getting killed, my boyfriend cheating on me, ghosts talking to me, watching people get tortured. And I never used to be able to remember my dreams. Now, i can remember every detail. I feel like I’m going insane and i am so sleep deprived from stress of these dreams. Someone please help! Should I go to the doctors?

Jan 23, 2018
Agree to agree. haha. Proof that group talk is healing. NEW
by: PTSDMNwoman

Hello again,

I gave you all my terribly long explanation of my REM and talking sleep... and talking while I come out of sleep. As one writer recently added.. "like being in 2 worlds at once". Yes. MANY of us are experiencing that. I feel that it's healing and good to talk about it in a group of like-minded people. It's terrifically hard to discuss with people who say "I don't dream". THOSE people are simply UNAWARE they dream. They obviously haven't studied in any health class in H.S. or college. ALL PEOPLE MUST DREAM. It's a requirement for sanity. IF YOU TAKE AWAY REM SLEEP for even a month, that person will begin to shows signs of insanity. GO too long, they are mentally a lost cause. You can't let a mind go too far off grid without actually losing your mind. HUMAN brains require REM sleep. So if someone tells you they don't dream, ask them "So, are you insane then?" They'll puff up and say what? Cuz they are proud of not dreams to tell or bother people with them. BUT THEY MUST be dreaming. All humans dream as a part of good mental health. You can torture a person by waking them just as they start Rapid Eye Movement... thereby yanking them out of REM sleep. So no dream on that cycle. A REM cycle is about every 90 minutes. So if they sleep 8 hrs,they have about 5 dreams minimum or 5 REM cycles. Anyway. Back to my point which is ... AGREED! We can sleep talk, and not be crazy. But we CANNOT NOT DREAM and be sane. SO, I chose my sleep talk. Sleep WALKING IS a sign of emotional discord. If you or a loved one sleep walks, you need to get them into a sleep clinic such as The Lung and Sleep Center who do all sorts of testing and over night sleep studies to determine where you are at, how your body works while sleeping. Then give you the best advice on anything that may help you, what, if any, concerns are, and a path to get you more peace of mind. If you know a family with a member who has night terrors, it's VERY important they get that child or adult into a Sleep Center. Best to you all. Enjoy the good dreams! It's a perfectly FREE vacation your mind gets to take you on. Have fun! If you are having nightmares.. STUDY and visualize "the red ball". If you concentrate right before sleep about a RED BALL-telling yourself, If I am afraid or that THING comes after me, I will wake when I see the RED BALL. The RED BALL will stop the evil, the pain, the fright. Look for the red ball. WHEN YOU SEE RED BALL.. YOU WILL WAKE UP. YOU WILL SAY "I know I am dreaming NOW. I can take a big breath and wake up. It's a mild form of meditation and can be and should be mentioned to kids afraid of sleep who can't get Sleep Clinic help. The Red Ball idea has been written about, and known for decades. I wish you all well.

Jun 10, 2018
Talking husband is waking me up NEW
by: Anonymous

Since open heart surgery my husband has been diagnosed with PTSD. That being said ever since the heart surgery 4 years ago he has been talking in his sleep about various daily activities and conversations. Some times it wakes him in confusion and he has to finish his conversation when he wakes. Sometimes he yells in his sleep and performs tasks suck as mimiking eating or looks for things that are not there. Recently he explains that he can watch full length movies in his sleep. Sometimes it happens in an awake state and he falls asleep in an instant many times. Wakes several times during the night. The sleep talking wakes me up every few minutes non stop nightly and during the day. No doctor has an explanation and I have not been able to find any medical research on this.

Jun 12, 2018
Sleep talking NEW
by: Anonymous

Hi, recently I have been 'waking' up in my sleep and sitting up and talking and my girlfriend has been scared both nights coz she woke up and saw me sat up and she has had to tell me to go back to sleep but I don't remember what has been said or anything she has to tell.me in the morning. It's like I'm having a conversation with someone that isn't there or like I'm having a dream and talking out loud as to what is going on in my dream. I don't know why it has started to happen. But my girlfriend has said if it happens again she isn't staying at my house for a while and I don't want that to happen. But I don't know how to make it stop.

Aug 08, 2018
Waking Up And Still Talking NEW
by: Asobo randy

My sister always get up from sleep and start talking to me sometimes she will wake up and ask me to lock the door and even go check if the door is lock while in her sleep the funny part of it all is she will go back to sleep forgetting she said something the next morning. i'm worried for her seek is this normal or she is sick please guys help me out here.

Mar 17, 2019
Sleep NEW
by: Anonymous

My parents used to wake me up but then I would start talking about random stuff and convince myself that it was actually happening. Like this one time they woke me up and I started saying, "hey where did that thing go." Then they would tell me that they didn't know what I was talking about and that I'm still asleep. And then I would deny it and keep talking but my speech was slurred. And sometime I would think I saw the missing thing u was talking about and go to pick it up in the middle of the floor only for it to disappear. Then I would still reach for it. And eventually I would wake up after about 3 minutes and remember it all.

Apr 05, 2019
Sleep talking while conscious
by: Anonymous

I started doing this same thing in the last month or so. I was diagnosed last year with anxiety and I'm wondering if this is a sign that it may be progressively getting worse. Have any of you seen a doctor or found any info? There isn't much online for this particular issue. Sleep talking searches are abundant but the topic of being conscious and still talking isn't so much.

May 04, 2019
I do this but also more NEW
by: Anonymous

Okay so I used to walk in my sleep and I used to talk in my sleep when me and and my sisters shared a room. Me, Mariah and Lexy would be in there both me and Lexy would be asleep but having full conversations and we wouldn’t remember them but obviously mariah did cause she was awake and was in the convo too. And then I met my friend Nicole and I’d stay the night with her and shit and every night id sit straight up, look around, and lay right back down. Multiple times and I never remembered ANY of it. Or id talk to her. I started hanging out with Taylor and spending the night with her and one night I fell asleep talking about and crying about my grandma (it hadn’t been that long since she died so) and I guess I was talking in my sleep and I was scaring Taylor and she leaned over me and I swung out IN MY DREAM at somebody in my dream but I woke up mid swing and was actually mid swing and punched Taylor . Or this one time I was kicking someone in my dream and I woke up mid kick and kicked the fuck outta Taylor. And now for months I’ll be talking to someone in my dream or someone that I feel is actually here, like bad dreams begging someone not to hurt me or talking to my boyfriend chance. (I was talking to chance last night I think and I thought he was talking to me because we were on the phone but I guess it was my dream) and I woke up talking. I was talking and then he said something and I said "huh?" And he said "what were you talking about" and I said "I was answering you?" And he said "no you’ve been asleep and I’m half asleep" and I said "oh. I don’t even remember what I said" because I didn’t lol. Well before all the confusion clears and I realize nobody is there or that chance is sleeping the sentence will keep on. And whatever is going on I’ll believe it so deeply. Just like this one time I was freaking out about these dogs chasing me and woke up asking Chance to please get them because they were going to get me and he had to literally calm me down before I’d lay back down. Apparently this can all be linked to disorders like my anxiety or my insomnia and shit and like WTF BRAIN like you put me through enough shit on the daily and I’ve been trying to keep this shit calm for months by going to sleep not upset and comfortable and shit but like. And sometimes I’ll wake up with my sweater, shirt or necklace off knowing for a fact I went to sleep with them on

May 17, 2019
Sleep Talking, Waking Up And Still Talking Before I Realise What I Am Doing Read more: http://www.end-your-sleep-deprivation.com/sleep-talking-waking-up-and-still-talking-before-i-realise-what-i-am-d
by: Anonymous

Today happened something weirder than usual and that's why I've researched about this topoc, and I'm so glad that I've found this.
Things like this happened before but never as real, I guess... When I was a child I used to dream a lot and sometimes I would say a random word or quote without making sense, but that was it, and I didn't remember it when my parents told me. Now I'm 19 and it has already happened waking up "answering" to someone who isn't there, and not even remembering what I was dreaming about, or if I had been talking more that what I said when I was waking up (if that makes sense...).
I have also had dreams like the movie "inception", waking up in a dream and still be dreaming, not actually awake. My maximum was 3 "waking ups" in one.
Well, today was more than that little non sense quote, I was dreaming and had a lot of anxiety in it, and by the end I was recording an audio to my best friend like I usually do in real life, and I don't remember the transition to waking up, but when I stopped telling what happened, I opened my eyes and realized I didn't even have my phone, and wasn't recording anything. Only then I remembered the dream entirely and was like "wow was I talking the whole time? Did I wake up because of the noise I was doing? Etc etc". That was at 5AM, and because of the anxiety during the dream, I took quite a while to fall asleep again (I usually wake up at 4/5AM and it's always hard to sleep after that). So cool that this exists, read some interesting stories in here :)

Aug 22, 2019
Still carry on a conversation after waking up, yet knowing I am awake
by: Anonymous

I talk in my sleep a lot. I will keep talking, even though I wake up from talking, and I know that I am awake. I remember the whole conversation. Is this common? I don't eat, walk, or do anything else while sleeping.

Aug 22, 2019
"Improving" on the talking even after fully awake... NEW
by: PTSDMNwoman

Hello Fellow Dreamers and Speakers!

I last wrote in this column Jan. 2018. I have PTSD, more specifically I have CPTSD *Complex PTSD. I was having a TON of the sleep talking/waking/continue to talk REM cycles. We dream the most dreams the closer to morning or the end of a 7-8 hour sleep. But, as many of you have stated you are waking even in the middle of the night to speak within, and coming out of dreams. What I decided over a 1.5 years ago to do about it was this: FINISH MY SPEECH. I thought it will not HURT to get it off my chest. If I feel this strongly about what I am FINALLY saying to the thing that is bothering my mind in my sleep, then it HAS to be good to tell it where I stand. Tell it I'm not taking that crap any more. Tell it that behavior is OVER. Tell it OFF-literally. You know what? It used to be 3-8 times a week. After 4-6 months of "letting them have a piece of my mind" from a vantage point or attitude of power and control, NEVER weakness, my talking slowed to 2x a week. After more time, it slowed to once a month. Now after 18 months, it's rare. Once every 3 months.. with maybe an odd extra night in there now and then. For the TEENAGERS and YOUNG people who have written in here. I URGE YOU TO SEEK COUNSELING, even if at school, privately.. don't even need to tell your parents if you don't want to. The reason I say that to YOU is because while you are underage, you LIVE IN A WORLD OF OTHER PEOPLE'S POWER. So it is MUCH HARDER for you to stand and have a FACE OFF against your frightening dream villian from a mature perspective of you OWN ALL YOUR POWER OVER ALL THINGS IN YOUR LIFE and in your MIND. That's TOOOOOOO much for your young brain that isn't even finished being made. You DESERVE extra support to find your inner strengths so you can be you own super hero in your dreams. ALL adults with this problem need to feel this power to really conquer this. Those people who feel they DO NOT have control in their life, may be people who face this. It can be illness, cancer, overly strict or narcissistic family members who manipulate you, or a bully or ten at school, an abusive romantic partner, or even a bff who treats you like the LUCK ONE to be their BFF. All people who try to take your own personal power..which ULITIMATELY is your SENSE OF SELF WORTH, YOUR Id. Your EGO, the BASELINE YOU... being attacked as "less than enough". These dreams are our minds FIGHTING TO GET OUR POWER BACK and FULL of FEAR we may NOT. But we WILL!!! WE WILL own our life choices, our life happiness. WE WILL own who can be in our world if they deserve us, or who DOES NOT. As we grow away from the things that have caused us doubt, fear, loneliness, helplessness... and claim our happiness no matter WHAT other people, or disease, does around us.. WE STILL GET TO FIND HAPPINESS. It's our God GIVEN RIGHT, and in our constitution. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO PURSUE HAPPINESS and NO ONE has the right to slow you down. SO mow them down in your dreams with your speeches. Don't stop talking til you've got it off your chest. IT's GREAT FREE THERAPY to tell off the bad "thing" in your sleep. Then you will be more rested ..and perhaps CAN shake off the REAL thing that's causing your subconscious mind stress. Don't let other people tell you not to talk if it is helping your take a stand. Tell them it's part of therapy you have to do it. If they don't like it, go sleep on the couch or in the spare bedroom...but the sooner you can tell these beings in your dreams they are NOT going to allowed to do "that" anymore..the sooner it will start fading away. It really honestly worked quite well for me. I wish you luck and love and your own CAPE!! :)

Sep 13, 2019
Sleep talking
by: Madeleine

Great name sleep talking- I am over 70- but I am young looking and very active- I also have an active sleep cycle- waking talking the whole thing- I wake up engrossed in a conversation of something that is bothering me- I never feel scared of it - I told my dentist about it- he said the body repairs itself in the REM cycle and my having all these dreams every night- shows myself that I am just getting some good repairs- I tend to agree- I have at least 2 dream cycles all my friends don’t seem to experience this- I think we are lucky to have the vivid dreaming and active talking! I look so repaired!

Sep 25, 2020
Glad I'm not crazy
by: Anonymous

Friday September 26, 2020
I've always snored very loudly and talking in my sleep. Luckily I don't sleep walk, at least I've never woken up while doing so or been told that I do. But this morning.. I woke up finishing my sentence (which has happened before), but I've never reached out for someone I planned on choking in my dream. I'm non violent, but in my dream this lady kept trying to kiss me and in the waking world I'm a straight female. She kept trying and I kept trying to leave. I woke up just as I was reaching for her neck screaming "I said, no!" And fell out of bed. Well I caught myself with one hand on the floor but, still... Is this another stage? Will I be soon sleepwalking? I'm afraid of hurting myself or someone else. Is this Sleep Apnea?

Nov 17, 2021
From Sleep Apnea to Sleep Inertia NEW
by: Debbie Ann

I cannot find a good sleep doctor. I am in New York City. I've has sleep apnea for approx 20 years. I stopped using my cpap over two months ago. My brand was recalled and am waiting for replacement. I was not faithful to the cpap as it stopped my breathing at approx same hour each morning 4 am. The waking up conversating has been for 2weeks now. I don't know if it's because I stopped using cpap or if I am anxious about something. I switched bedrooms with my son and weird things have been going on ever since. (about a month). I don't like it as it's not just one sentence or partial sentence. I finish my "part" of a conversation en route to the bathroom, well after I've wiped and gotten up (sorry for the visual). I am trying to prove my point or clarify something in the dreams /awake and feel I MUST SAY IT.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Sleep Talking Stories and Thoughts.




Enjoy this page? Please help us pay it forward to others who would find it valuable by Liking, Sharing, Tweeting, Stumbling, and/or Voting below.

About This Site

Welcome! This site is continuously being created by students of Dr. William C. Dement's Sleep And Dreams course at Stanford University.

We made this site as a call to action for people all over the world to live healthier, happier, safer, and more productive lives by learning about their own sleep. We have faith that reading the information provided on this site will motivate you to be smart about your sleep deprivation and strategic about your alertness in order to live life to your fullest, most energetic potential.

In fact, we challenge you to do so! What do you say, are you up for the challenge?


A Note On Visitor-Submitted Questions:

Publishing sleep stories and questions from our visitors is meant to create a forum for open and proactive dialogue about an extremely important portion of our lives (one that occupies 1/3 of it and affects the other 2/3) that isn't talked about enough. It is not meant to substitute a trip to the doctor or the advice of a specialist. It's good to talk; it is not good to avoid consulting someone who's profession it is to help you with this kind of stuff.

If you are in any way concerned about your sleep health, don't wait for an answer on here, and don't necessarily rely on them. See a sleep specialist in your area as soon as possible.

More Questions:

Ask | Answer

The Stanford Sleep Book

Stanford Sleep Book Picture

Dr. Dement's pioneering textbook has been the core text for Sleep and Dreams since 1980, but it has just recently been made available to the wider public for the first time.

In it you'll find a more detailed account of the most important things you need to know about sleep, alertness, dreams, and sleep disorders. Studies, statistics, plus plenty of Dr. Dement's classic anecdotes painting the history of sleep medicine.

Preface | Intro | Contents | Get A Copy

More Sleep Resources

The Zeo

A revolution in personal sleep tracking, the Zeo is a wireless headband that transmits your brainwaves in realtime to a dock (pictured here) or your smartphone. The result? You can wake up and see exactly what stages of sleep you were in during the night! Unprecedented personalized sleep knowledge.

Sleep Paralysis: A Dreamer's Guide

Sleep Paralysis Treatment Book

Ever woken up paralyzed? A surprising number of us have, believe it or not. But few know the actual causes of this phenomenon, and fewer still how to exert control over it. Dream researcher and sleep paralysis expert Ryan Hurd shares breakthrough insights into how to do just that.

Important Disclaimer

Please Note:

The information found on this page and throughout this site is intended for general information purposes only. While it may prove useful and empowering, it is NOT intended as a substitute for the expertise and judgments of healthcare practitioners.

For more info, see our
Terms of Use.