Talking in My Sleep: I’ve got a bad case of somniloquoy — and no idea how to fix it

 

There’s an old song by The Romantics called Talking in Your Sleep that was always one of my favorites. I have been talking in my sleep since childhood. I like the song because it makes sleep talking sound exciting and fun. It’s the opposite of what really happens when you’re sleep talking:

1. The talker is heard clearly by the guy next to her while they’re sleeping.

2. The talker is making complete sense about how she feels.

The truth is, most of us who talk in our sleep are making no sense whatsoever. (Some people can actually be understood, but I don’t think it’s a majority). My husband Pierce tells me what he hears is a mumbo-jumbo word salad, impossible to sort out. I wish I could speak brilliantly or come up with good dialogue or even let my guy know I love him, like the subject of The Romantics’ song does.

Instead, I make weird ghosty sounds, like a high-pitched, shaky “Hoo — ooo” sound in the Scooby Doo episodes that were popular in my guy’s childhood. Seriously, that is exactly how Pierce describes it. Nothing sexy there, let alone romantic. I can hardly bear to think of waking him up to this sound, though thankfully, he says it usually lasts less than a minute.

I’ve been trying to figure out what I might be dreaming about, to come up with sounds like these. I’m sure I must be having some sort of anxiety dream or nightmare, but what is it? 

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