It’s 1:37 in the morning. I felt a rush of blood crawling to my cheeks as Ate Sha teased me for talking while I was asleep. She used to sleep beside me yet now she’s a meter away. I wonder what I mumble or grumble while I’m in dreamland. Could it be Frodo’s quest? Or Sam’s poetry? Or Aragon’s strength? Probably Gandalf’s wisdom? Or the Hobbits in general? I wouldn’t know ’til someone records my slumber murmurs. Could I be crying? Perhaps not. Most certainly not.
Did you ever sing while you were sleeping? My sisters said I did. The mystifying part was, I didn’t even know the lyrics of the song they heard from me. Anyway, I have five plausible reasons for sleep talk:
1. Trying to over-learn something. Reporting has always been a way of life for most of us who have gone to elementary, high school and college. We don’t always prepare while awake, some folks do recite tons of info while their eyes are shut.
2. Rehearsing/planning a play. My relatives in Antipolo were astounded with my shout: “That’s a lie!” A line in a college play I had to repeat several times to make an impact… t’was overdone and carried over in my sleep, though.
3. Bottled up feelings. Guys, it helps to smile before sleeping. Not the kind we put on to greet guests or please superiors, but the sense of relief that the day has never gone totally bad -that something about it can be appreciated. So my point? The less you smile, the more you’ll talk in deep sleep.
4. Subconscious Tongue. The subconscious tongue possibly slipped while we seem totally dead asleep. It’s an unspoken voice, unknown or unknowable, that freely escapes when we are least aware of our acts.
5. Genetics. Bed-wetters have parents that wet their beds – in their childhood days. Could we then say that somniloquists have moms or dads who talk in their sleep? Most probably. So kiddos, relax, we may blame moms and pops.
Do you find it creepy to sleep beside a somniloquist? Or you find it exciting? Even laughable? Share your thoughts.