What Does It Mean When You Talk in Your Sleep? It’s actually more common than you might think.

If you’ve ever heard your partner blurt out strange bits of gibberish in the middle of the night, you probably know it can be equal parts jarring and hilarious. In some cases, talking in your sleep just seems like harmless chatter, but it can also be a little disconcerting if your bed partner starts loudly screeching “Why are you doing this to me?” in a high-pitched voice (trust us, it’s terrifying).

While experts and researchers have several theories as to why this happens, Abhinav Singh, M.D., medical director at Indiana Sleep Center and member of the medical review panel for SleepFoundation.org, tells SELF that the most simplified explanation for sleep talking is that your sleep/wake switches aren’t working as efficiently and may be a little sloppy.

Sleep talking occurs in all sleep states and stages, including rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep, with episodes ranging from isolated speech to full conversations without recall. This means you could be chatting it up at any time, according to a 2014 review published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.1

That said, sleep talking is typically easier to understand when someone is in the early stages of sleep, including non-REM stages 1 and 2. In later parts of the sleep cycle, or non-REM stage 3 and REM sleep, sleep talking usually sounds more like moaning and groaning, according to SleepFoundation.org.

Although it’s generally harmless, and often a bit humorous, what freaks people out the most about sleep talking is that they typically don’t remember doing it when they wake up. Plus, the voices and language a person uses while sleep talking might be different from their typical speech habits.

All of this might lead you to search online for answers as to why you’re carrying on conversations or blurting out random thoughts in the middle of the night. So, keep reading to learn what causes sleep talking, how common it is, and tips for getting a better night’s sleep.

What is sleep talking?

Sleep talking, also known as “somniloquy” by sleep experts, can involve complete gibberish and mumbling or complicated monologues that contextually make sense. According to the Cleveland Clinic, somniloquy falls under a group of sleep disorders called parasomnias, which are unusual or undesirable experiences that disrupt your sleep.

At one time, it was considered a disorder, but sleep talking is now seen as more of a sleep quirk, which sometimes can be associated with sleep disturbances, psychiatrist and sleep specialist Alex Dimitriu, M.D., founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, tells SELF. In fact, Dr. Dimitriu says talking in your sleep is most often harmless and happens once or twice in a person’s life.

So, what are some of these unusual or undesirable talking events? Well, if you’re wondering how weird things can get, ask anyone who shares a bed with someone who rattles off gibberish or has entire conversations while sleeping. They’ll most likely tell you it can get pretty bizarre. But don’t take our word for it. Check out what people are saying on Reddit:

“My brother was coming out of a medical procedure, kind of half-awake, and said ‘Dr. Pepper is not a real doctor!’ and then went back to sleep.”

“My ex once exclaimed, ‘Babies! Babies! Babies! They make me wanna be a better man.’”

“One night I sat bolt upright and said to my wife, ‘This is why I’m not a sniper,’ and then laid back down and went straight back to snoring.”

“My fiance opened her eyes, looked at me stone-faced and said, ‘Play a job when you eat so you can block out the sun,’ then rolled back over. Confused, I said, ‘What?’ She immediately repeated herself in a slightly annoyed tone. Again I said, ‘…what?’ To which she replied, ‘Ugh, never mind.’ I still wonder what she was trying to tell me.”

How common is sleep talking?

Anyone can experience sleep talking, but it’s more common in children, with about half of young kids chatting it up while sleeping, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).

An older study published in Sleep Medicine,3 found that up to two in three people experience a sleep talking episode at some point in their life. However, the ongoing prevalence of sleep talking in adults is only around 5%, per the AASM.

Why do people talk in their sleep?

We’ve established that idle chit chat while sleeping is perfectly normal and actually quite common, but why do some people talk in their sleep and others don’t? Here are some factors to consider:

Kids are more likely to talk in their sleep than adults, per the Frontiers For Young Minds,4 an organization that provides free medical journal articles that have been shaped by scientists and young people to explain complex issues.

That’s because kids spend more time in deep sleep, and sleep talking and walking typically occur when they move out of that deep slumber to lighter stages of sleep.

Sleep talking often co-occurs with other sleep disturbances like sleep walking, teeth grinding, and nightmares, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

Some people may be more susceptible than others genetically. If any family members carry on at night, you might be more likely than someone without a family history to start talking in your sleep. Many parasomnias show genetic effects or familial clustering, but no specific genes are yet implicated, according to 2011 research published in the journal Cell.5

What causes sleep talking? Is it bad?

Just like the words you utter might not make sense, researchers aren’t exactly sure what causes someone to talk in their sleep. That said, sleep talking most likely means that a person is sleep-deprived.

“Most of the time it’s due to either something causing sleep deprivation or there already is a high level of sleep deprivation, including a disruptive sleep environment,” Michael Breus, Ph.D., a sleep specialist and author of The Power Of When, tells SELF. Disrupted sleep environments can mean anything from the room being too warm to too much light pouring in your window from a streetlamp.