How do I stop talking/moving/walking/yelling in my sleep?

July 11, 2011 11:37 AM

How do I stop talking/moving/walking/yelling in my sleep?

Over the past few years I've become a fairly "active" sleeper. Many nights I talk or sit up in bed, all while I'm asleep.

On a few occasions I've woken up yelling, walking around in the dark scared because I didn't know where I was, and even grabbed my wife (in my dream I was typically saving her from some perceived danger). None of these exactly go over well with her, and rightfully so.

So what I can I do to stop being so "active" so her and I both can actually get through a night with me causing a stir?

I'd prefer to not medicate.

posted by JPigford to Health & Fitness (10 answers total)

You need to get your anxiety level down, in whatever way you want - talk therapy, exercise, whatever works for you. Your stress and anxiety are coming out when you sleep, so you need to get them out another way to have undisturbed sleep.
posted by amro at 11:38 AM on July 11, 2011 [4 favorites]

Do you eat or snack late at night? If I eat too late, I have really fitful dreams (though I've never been an "active" sleeper).
posted by phunniemee at 11:47 AM on July 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

I see that you say you'd prefer not to medicate, but when these behaviors become irritating, sleep medicine doctors treat them very successfully with klonopin. It has made a huge difference in my ability to sleep without injuring myself or startling other people by doing exactly what you describe.

So I'd urge you to see a sleep medicine specialist. It's the fastest moving area of medicine. The doctors are therefore well-informed about the latest research and innovations in treatment. My understanding is that you only need to take a small amount of klonopin to get the benefits, and that other benzos are not generally used to treat what I call the "sleep crazies."
posted by vincele at 12:05 PM on July 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

I would add that in my case I had no anxiety or stress. Neither causes my sleep disorder. There is not necessarily a connection.
posted by vincele at 12:06 PM on July 11, 2011

This may not be applicable to your situation at all, but my *insane* sleep stirrings completely stopped when I stopped having wine/alcohol in the evenings.

I typically drank 2 glasses of red while cooking and eating dinner, but I stopped when I went on a diet earlier this year. My husband reports that my sleep ramblings also completely stopped. There's no more talking, trying to leave via the front door (dressed only in my nightshirt), streams of gibberish, or walking around the house. It all just ended.

(Now that I think about it, I also stopped all carbs when I quit wine. So it may have been the carbs. But I'm putting my money on the alcohol.)
posted by Kronur at 12:18 PM on July 11, 2011

I'm more like this when my sleep is too light, too low quality. This occurs when I'm too far behind on sleep, when I've had too much caffeine, when I've had too much alcohol, when I ate too close to bedtime, when I'm at altitude, or sometimes (although less consistently) when I'm stressed.
posted by J. Wilson at 5:44 PM on July 11, 2011

Get yourself checked out by a professional. You don't want to go to the extremes that Mike Birbigilia had to go through.
posted by mmascolino at 6:29 PM on July 11, 2011

My sleep talking and thrashing around went away when I changed careers to something less stressful.
posted by fingersandtoes at 6:36 PM on July 11, 2011

Get a sleep test ASAP. It could be anxiety, it could be sleep apnea (this links to someone whose sleepwalking is caused by apnea; struggling for breath causes agitation and sleepwalking). You might be benefited by something as simple as meditation or changes to your diet/caffeine intake or you might need Klonopin or a CPAP.

Here's another link to a PubMed article (pdf) about sleepwalking. CPAP helped most patients who used it. (Yes, it sucks to use a machine to sleep with but it's a lot better than sleepwalking for you AND any sleep partners you have!)


But do get thee to a doctor! Sleep is meant to be quiet, horizontal, and refreshing. If it isn't, something is wrong.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:29 AM on July 12, 2011

And, just because, listen to this amazing, hilarious, true story from Mike Birbiglia.
posted by D.Billy at 7:55 AM on July 12, 2011