why do people talk in their sleep?

It was 2 o’clock in the morning, when you heard someone whispering on the other room. Seeing someone awake at this time is very unusual. You suddenly realize that maybe the person talking is a burglar! You immediately got out of the bed, grabbed your baseball bat and walked quietly out of the door. You can feel your heart pounding very hard in your chest as you tip toed noiselessly across the hallway. Then you suddenly stopped right in front of the door of your little brother’s room. Cold sweat is already trickling down your forehead as you try to turn the door knob silently (What if the burglar has a gun?!). As you tightened your grip on the baseball bat, you immediately swung the door with full force, ready to hit someone. The only problem is that, there is no “someone” to hit the bat with instead your brother sleeping comfortably on his bed. Then you suddenly heard the familiar whispering, but you soon realize that it was your brother doing the noise. Yes, he is talking on his sleep again!
So why do people talk in their sleep?
Have you ever wondered why people talk in their sleep? Sleep talking or what is formally called as somniloquy, is a common condition usually experienced by children. As of now, there is still no known cause as of why sleep talking occurs. Nevertheless, sleep experts have related this condition from several factors including stress, anxieties, sleeplessness, fatigue as well as over eating prior to sleeping. Somniloquy is said to be experienced during the REM stage of sleep or Rapid Eye Movement. It is said that our dreams would be remembered if it happened during that stage. However, many experts have also claimed that sleep talking is seen more on the non-REM phase where our body experiences fractional paralysis. This issue is not yet clear because some incidences of sleep talking usually occur during the transition from REM stage to non-REM.
This condition is common to children, which is probably due to their immature brain development as well as their lack of sleep. What’s even more amazing about sleep talking is that the person exhibiting this condition cannot remember anything he or she said that night. This is why the person sleeping next to him or her is the one who can witness the situation. Sleep talking is actually harmless; however, hearing someone talk at the middle of the night can be very annoying and disturbing. Sleep talking can be in a very mild form such as muttering or whispering while there are also times where sleep talkers become very aggressive and loud. Aggressive talking, nevertheless, is seen at rare cases only.
As of now, the only way to intervene this problem or situation is by avoiding the said triggering factors mentioned above. Even though there is still no exact cause for this condition, avoiding stress, anxieties and the like can still be useful. Now that you know why people talk in their sleep, it would be a shock for you anymore to hear someone talking in next room in the middle of the night.