Posts tagged with "Reddit"

Above, fake photos generated by artificial intelligence software appear to show Pope Francis walking outside the Vatican in a designer puffer coat. (Photo source: CBS New)

Pope prank: Fake photos of the pontiff in a puffer jacket go viral, conveying the power and peril of AI

March 29, 2023

It was a cold wind that blew through St. Peters Square at the Vatican over the weekend; but that didn’t deter Pope Francis from taking a stroll outside to greet the faithful, as he often does. When images appeared online showing the 86-year-old pontiff dressed to fight the elements in a stylish white puffer jacket and silver bejewelled crucifix, they soon went viral—racking up millions of views on social media platforms, reports CBS News.

The picture, first published Friday, March 24, on Reddit along with several others, was, in fact, a fake. It was an artificial intelligence rendering generated using the AI software Midjourney.

While there are some inconsistencies in the final rendered images—for example, the pope’s left hand, which is holding a water bottle, looks distorted and his skin has an overly sharp appearance—many people online were fooled into thinking they were real pictures.

Some Twitter users were shocked and confused. “I thought the pope’s puffer jacket was real and didn’t give it a second thought,” tweeted model and author Chrissy Teigen. “No way am I surviving the future of technology.”

The “pope in the puffer jacket” was just the latest in a series of “deepfake” images created with AI software. Another recent example: pictures of former President Donald Trump that appeared to show him in police custody. Although the creator made it clear that they were produced as an exercise in the use of AI, the images, combined with rumors of Trump’s imminent arrest, went viral and created and entirely fraudulent but potentially dangerous narrative.

Midjourney, DALL E2, OpenAI, and Dream Studio are among the software options available to anyone wishing to produce photo-realistic images using nothing more than text prompts—no specialist training required.

As this type of software becomes more widespread, AI developers are working on better ways to inform viewers of the authenticity, or otherwise, of images.

CBS News’ Sunday Morning reported earlier this year that Microsoft’s Chief Scientific Officer Eric Horvitz, the co-creator of the spam email filter, was among those trying to crack the conundrum—predicting that, if technology isn’t developed to enable people to easily detect fakes within a decade or so, “most of what people will be seeing, or quite a lot of it, will be synthetic. We won’t be able to tell the difference.”

In the meantime, Henry Ajder, who presents a BBC radio series entitled The Future Will be Synthesised, cautioned in a newspaper interview that it was “already very, very hard to determine whether” some of the images being created were real.

“It gives us a sense of how bad actors, agents spreading disinformation, could weaponize these tools,” Ajder told the British newspaper, i.

There’s clear evidence that this is happening already. Last March, video emerged appearing to show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy telling his troops to lay down their arms and surrender. It was bad quality and quickly outed as a fake, but it may have been merely an opening salvo in a new information war.

So, while a picture may speak a thousand words, it may be worth asking who’s actually doing the talking.

Research contact: @CBSNews

Photo source: The Fact Site

Mom cheating on husband with clown hired for her kid’s birthday sparks fury

July 1, 2022

An unusual post on Reddit by user mikesTHrowawayforme has attracted a very mixed reaction online and given a new meaning to the phrase “scared of clowns.” In the post, the writer describes how—after his wife insisted they hire a clown for their son’s birthday—she then cheated on him at the party with said clown, reports Newsweek.

“My wife insisted on hiring a clown for my son’s birthday despite my protests because A) Who the f*** hires clowns anymore B) I have a (not aggressive but present) fear of clowns,” the user writes. “I gave in to my wife because I love her…The biggest regret of my life. She was pissy at me all day, she disappeared during the party around the same time as the clown was on break.”

At the request of other users, he goes into more detail. “Hmm okay I’ll try to keep my cool cause the whole thing feels so ridiculous and like i said initially is humiliating,” he writes. “I had noticed they were chatting in the kitchen right after his break, he was making her laugh (which i guess he’s paid to do) it didn’t seem overly flirtatious so I went bout enjoying the party.

“Only to return to the kitchen and neither of them were there, I wandered around the party looking for my wife not too concerned with where the clown was at all. Anyway, I eventually found her leave the direction of my study and she literally (this is where it gets ridiculous) had some clown makeup on her lip and cheek. I pointed it out to her, she wiped it off without an explanation.

“She escorted me away from the study. a few minutes later I was within eye-line of my study and the clown peaks his head out and waltzes out back to the party. He finished his shift but he seemed more distracted than the first half glancing over at my wife who was clapping with the children.

“Once the party ended I noticed something [peaking] out of the top of her dress. Now with warranted suspicion I took it out and it was the clown’s business card tucked into her bra…

“That’s when I confronted her and she confessed almost immediately.”

Research contact: @Newsweek

Above, in a new U.S. TV ad, Reddit encourages consumers to 'find your people.' (Photo source: Screen grab from Reddit ad)

Reddit invites consumers to ‘Find your people’ in its first-ever U.S. TV campaign

June 30, 2022

In an entrée into U.S. television advertising, Reddit is inviting viewers to “Find your people.” The integrated campaign, part of a broader North American push, was created out of the New York City-based agency, R/GA, and showcases the social platform’s ability to bring people with common, niche interests together, reports Advertising Age.

The TV ad, directed by Pete Marquis, depicts people sharing ideas that draw blank stares or unhelpful responses from those around them:

A man muses over a shower thought to his partner, who simply walks away;
A woman worries about her dying plant, so her roomie coldly suggests she “get a new one”; and
A cosplayer gets called a “role player” by his significant other.

Copy on the ad offers reprieve through Reddit threads: “r/ShowerThoughts,” “r/PlantClinic” and “r/Cosplay.” The spot ends with the cosplayer finding community in r/Cosplay. “My people get me,” he murmurs.

While the work is the brand’s first national U.S. TV campaign, Reddit previously made a splash on television during the Super Bowl with its “glitchy” ad out of R/GA that won audiences over despite a limited ad buy.

“Reddit is a place where you can find communities of people deeply passionate about just about anything—from stocks to socks, there is a community to get involved in and be a part of,” said Bryan Gregg, R/GA VP-executive creative director, in a statement, adding, “For this campaign we talked a lot about how sometimes the people closest to us do not always ‘get’ us, but Reddit is a place where you can truly ‘find your people’—a place to express our passions, share our insecurities, learn from each other or just connect about what we’re into.”

“As real-life moments continue to highlight our shared need for understanding and belonging, ‘Find your people’ showcases Reddit’s communities as spaces for everyone to connect and gain honest perspectives from real people with similar interests,” said Reddit CMO Roxy Young.

The campaign’s official launch follows a soft debut at the year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where “Find your people” appeared on out-of-home ads greeting festival-goers. The campaign will run through the fall.

Research contact: @adage

Above, as Natalie Franko Larason scattered Biscuit's (inset) ashes, they reformed (upper right) into a familiar shape at the last second. (Photo source: Natalie Frank Larson/YouTube)

Ashes scattered after dog dies form ‘miraculous’ shape in the wind: ‘They never truly leave us’

May 31, 2022

A photo shared on Reddit has gone viral, after thousands of people got emotional at the sight and others were flooded with memories of pets gone by, reports the Good News Network.

The picture—and video—show a woman scattering the ashes of her beloved departed dog, Biscuit, at a local park.

She called it a “miracle” after seeing the handful of ashes had formed into a familiar shape at the last second—the shape of her 12-year-old German Shepherd and collie mix, who passed away suddenly a few months ago.

Natalie Franko Larason, who had rescued Biscuit from the no-kill shelter, PAWS Chicago, told GNN that she scattered the ashes at one of their favorite parks in Southern California—where together they enjoyed long walks and many hours of romping with the ducks and turtles.

“I’m still shocked at this experience, and have found it healing to connect with so many … and hear their stories of love and loss.”

When she posted the iPhone video capturing the moment, Larason wrote, “I was astonished. The shape they formed looked exactly like her. I took it as a sign of her final goodbye… It’s miraculous.”

She hopes her fellow animal-lovers will take comfort in the video and photo, just as she has.

“Rest in peace, my sweet Biscuit,” she wrote on YouTube. “I’ll meet you at the Rainbow Bridge.”

Research contact: @goodnewsnetwork

Above, on April 24 in Lincoln, Nebraska, hundreds of people battled with pool noodles for the rightful ownership of the name Josh. (Photo source: Kenneth Ferriera for the Lincoln Journal Star)

No ‘Joshing’: Armed with pool noodles, hundreds battle to be rightful owner of the name ‘Josh’

May 26, 2022

At the peak of pandemic boredom, an absurd idea popped into Josh Swain’s head.

The 22-year-old University of Arizona student was in the midst of a Zoom lecture last April, “staring into the abyss,” he said, when he spontaneously decided to start a Facebook group with a bunch of strangers who share the same name, reports The Washington Post.

“You’re probably wondering why I’ve gathered you all here today,” he wrote to nine fellow Josh Swains. One person promptly responded by stating the obvious: “Because we all share the same names?”

Swain replied with an unusual request: “Precisely, 4/24/2021, josh, meet at these coordinates (40.82223286, -96.7982002),” he wrote. “We fight, whoever wins gets to keep the name, everyone else has to change their name, you have a year to prepare, good luck.”

The Facebook message was purely intended as a joke, Swain said, but to his astonishment, his name twins—and thousands of others on the Internet—didn’t think he was just joshing. They actually took his request somewhat seriously.

Indeed, one year after he sent the original message—on April 24, the exact date specified—hundreds of people gathered at a field in Lincoln, Nebraska, near the random coordinates Swain picked out, both to spectate and participate in what later became known as “Josh

“When I first made the post, I thought zero people would actually show up,” Swain said. He was mistaken.

He originally shared screenshots of his Facebook message on Twitter a year ago, with the caption, “there can only be one.” It went viral, garnering thousands of shares and likes across multiple social media platforms. Some strangers took things a step further, starting a number of Josh Swain Reddit pages, which feature countless memes.

“It was so weird when it blew up,” Swain said. Eventually, though, the buzz died down, and he assumed that was the end of the “Josh Fight.”

But the name battle, he soon learned, had yet to truly begin. Two months ago, out of nowhere, “people started to remember,” Swain said. Panic set in after he spotted a post online of someone outlining plans to drive across the country for the event.

Swain’s reaction: “Sorry, what?!”

Not only did his original post suddenly resurface, but the mock event somehow evolved from only being intended for Josh Swains, to an all-out Josh battle —sans surnames.

According to data from the U.S. Social Security Administration, the name Joshua is the 21st-most-popular name for men. Naturally, Joshes from every part of the country who saw Swain’s original message got amped up for the battle.

“I never intended to follow through with the fight,” said Swain, who studies civil engineering and is graduating in May.

Things got serious when someone created a dedicated website with a countdown. Swain decided he had no choice but to book a flight from Phoenix to Lincoln for the event.

It got to a point where he knew “people were going to show up, regardless of whether I was there or not,” he said. Given that he inadvertently started the viral, unplanned event, he felt compelled to help control it.

So he took the reins, and in the week leading up to April 24, he hashed out some details. Swain started by contacting the Lincoln Police Department to notify them of the event, and enlisted local help to scout out an appropriate location, because it turned out the original coordinates are actually on someone’s private property.

He also decided to use the occasion to collect money for a good cause, he said. Swain started a fundraiser —which has raised nearly $12,000—for the Children’s Hospital & Medical Center Foundation in Omaha.

“I thought it would be a good way to give back, and I think everybody can get behind children’s health care,” said Swain, who also encouraged attendees to bring nonperishable food for the Lincoln Food Bank.

Finally, he laid out some ground rules in a Reddit post, under the username “ACTUAL JOSH.”

Mainly he emphasized that “there will be no physical violence,” writing: “Joshs, I am calling on you to uphold the honor that the name possesses and to be good stewards of this event.” He went on to outline the rules for what he called a “Pool Noodle Battle Royale,” which only people with the first name Josh would be permitted to participate in. He also urged everyone to wear masks. Then, after much anticipation, it was finally time for Josh Fight—also known as the Josh

By noon on the designated date, the field was flooded with hundreds of Joshes and their supporters. “There was upward of 1,000 people,” Swain estimated, adding that attendees ranged in age from 4 to about 40, and some arrived from WashingtonSstate, Florida, New Jersey, Kentucky, Texas and elsewhere across the country.

A sea of people named Josh wielding colorful foam pool noodles dueled for more than 10 minutes, until finally there was only one Josh standing: four-year-old Joshua Vinson Jr., from Lincoln.

Once it was clear that he was the victor, “I ran over with the megaphone, and I was like, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, this is your champion,’” Swain said. “It was this incredible moment.”

The crowd cheered as the boy—whom everyone called Little Josh—was hoisted into the air wearing an oversize Burger King crown and clutching his weapon, a red pool noodle.

His father, Joshua Vinson Sr., said it was something his son will never forget.

“We had a blast. Little Josh came out victorious,” Vinson Sr., who stumbled upon the event on Facebook, said. “He got hit a couple times, but he didn’t go down.”

“It’s been a hard year, and I think everybody needed something like this. It was such a wholesome event, there’s nothing negative about it,” Swain said. “That’s what made it so spectacular.”

“We’ll see what happens,” he continued. “We might have to make it an annual thing.”

Research contact: @washingtonpost

Above, a collage of the 104-lot CryptoPunks that was slated for auction at Sotheby’sday. (Visual source Sotheby's)

Sotheby’s suddenly canceled a $30 million NFT auction. Was it a ‘rug pull’ or were there no bidders?

February 28, 2022

Sotheby’s big NFT auction went from $30 million to zero in the blink of an eye on Wednesday night, February 23, reports Fortune magazine.

What exactly are NFTs? An NFT, which stands for non-fungible token, is a unique unit of data employing technology that allows digital content—from videos to songs to images—to become logged and authenticated on cryptocurrency blockchains, primarily Ethereum, Artnews says. Once content is logged onto the blockchain, every transaction from transfers to sales is recorded on-chain, creating an easily accessible ledger of provenance and price history. The main impact of NFTs is making it easy to own and sell digital content.

The auction house had planned the sale of a collection of 104 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for up to an estimated $30 million at its New York City location on Wednesday evening. But 25 minutes after the auction was scheduled to begin, the consignor backed out of the sale, tweeting that he decided to “hodl,” or hold, on to the digital asset instead.

The anonymous collector who goes by 0x650d on Twitter then posted an aging 2015 Drake meme.

In the crypto world, Fortune notes, rug pulls or rugging are when a developer abandons a project after taking an investor’s funds.

The last-minute withdrawal of the collection of blockchain-based pixelated collectibles, otherwise known as CryptoPunks, shocked the Sotheby’s sale room according to a report by The New York Times, and deepened the valley between highbrow art institutions and the cyberpunk culture surrounding blockchain.

Sotheby’s spokesman Derek Parsons said in a statement on Wednesday night that “the lot was withdrawn prior to the sale following discussions with the consignor.” Other specialists told The New York Times that auction withdrawals typically happen when there are legal concerns or a fear that the reserve price won’t be met.

People in the NFT community are hurt and worried about credibility damage.

Others argue that Sotheby’s wasn’t rugged at all, but instead the collector 0x650d couldn’t clear the minimum reserve so he pulled out to save face.

Farokh.eth tweeted afterward, “It was embarrassing. For all of us in the space.”

On Reddit, user RdudeDdude posted, “It’s annoying to see how ‘successful’ these scammers seem to be. Regardless of whether they will get caught, it’s bad publicity.”

User XnoonefromnowhereX quickly retorted, “No one scammed here that I can see. Just a loss of face for Sotheby’s and this guy reinforcing some negative stereotypes about crypto culture.”

Others think this is a time of bubbles imploding. Still others made references to the approaching doomsday and whether or not any of this matters at all.

Research contact: @FortuneMagazine

Above, Uru was once the largest city in the area that is now known as southern Iraq. (Image source: Google Maps)

Google Maps user finds 4,000-year-old desert ghost town that once was home to thousands

February 23, 2022

An eagle-eyed Reddit user has discovered an abandoned city on Google Maps—once the bustling home of over 65,000 people and now taken over by the desert sands of Iraq, reports the Daily Star UK.

The social media user, known as u/mystery_unrolles, shared several aerial images of the historical city of Ur—showing huge buildings peeking out of the sands of modern-day Iraq that have taken back the land.

The Redditor noted: “City of Uru/Ur, founded in 20th century BCE [Before Common Era, 4,000 years ago]. At that time, it was the most populous city with 65,000 inhabitants.”

He or she added that the site is located at 30°57′42″N 46°06′18″E—and that the city isn’t the oldest around.

Indeed, the observant Google Mapper said, “There are urban cities [that] are older than Ur. [Mohenjo-Daro] of Indus valley civilization was founded 4,500 years ago (most likely).”

According to Britannica, the district in southern Mesopotamia, which is now classified as southern Iraq, was once situated on the former Euphrates River and remains one of the oldest cities in the area.

Settlers arrived sometime in the 4th millennium BC and Ur was once a capital city before its decline.

It is mentioned in the Bible as Ur of the Chaldees and is believed to be the early home of Hebrew patriarch Abraham (circa 2000 BC).

Research contact: @dailystar

Above, the trending game, Wordle. (Photo source: AOL)

The New York Times buys red-hot digital game, Wordle

February 2, 2022

The New York Times has acquired Wordle, the explosively popular game that gives players six chances to guess a five-letter word daily, reports CNN.

The Times, which announced the purchase of the game on Monday, January 31, is adding the puzzle to its portfolio of word games—among them, The CrossWord, The Mini, and Spelling Bee. As of December 2021, The New York Times had over one million Games subscriptions.

According to the statement, “The Times remains focused on becoming the essential subscription for every English-speaking person seeking to understand and engage with the world. New York Times Games are a key part of that strategy …. Wordle will now play a part in that daily experience, giving millions more people around the world another reason to turn to The Times to meet their daily news and life needs.”

Josh Wardle, a Brooklyn-based software engineer formerly at Reddit, released the game in October 2021—and it quickly became a cultural phenomenon. Millions of people now play Wordle every day, according to the Times.

In his own statement released on Twitter Monday, Wardle wrote of the game’s success, “I’d be lying if I said this hasn’t been a little overwhelming. After all, I am just one person, and it is important to me that, as Wordle grows, it continues to provide a great experience to everyone.”

According to CNN, Wordle, purchased for a price the Times described as being “in the low seven figures,” will initially remain free to new and existing players. “We don’t have set plans for the game’s future,” Jordan Cohen, executive director at The Times, said in an email. “At this time, we’re focused on creating added value to our existing audience, while also introducing our existing games to an all new audience that has demonstrated their love for word games.”

Wardle is working with The Times to ensure that, once the game moves to the paper’s site, existing players’ wins and streaks are preserved, according to his statement.

Research contact: @CNN

Above, five local cats warmed up on a recent day. (Photo source: Aaron Taylor [@tippen22] on Twitter)

‘Catellite’ dishes: Elon Musk’s Starlink Internet dishes are attracting cats

January 4, 2022

Looks like SpaceX’s Starlink—Elon Musk’s bid to establish his space company as a heavyweight Internet service provider using constellations of satellites—is attracting four-legged fans on planet Earth, reports Futurism.

Indeed, the platform’s receiver dishes are attracting local cats on cold days. In a recent Starlink customer’s tweet, we counted at least five cats cuddled up on one of the dishes—apparently to stay warm and take advantage of the heat it produces.

“Starlink works great until the cats find out that the dish gives off a little heat on cold days,” Twitter user Aaron Taylor tweeted on New Year’s Eve.

Starlink is SpaceX’s internet service that uses orbital satellites, some of which recently kicked off an international incident after the Chinese space station had to swerve out of their way — but there may be no avoiding the cute, terrestrial feline infestation as long as the dishes aren’t in use.

One Reddit user said that, in the working position, Starlink dishes aren’t flat, or parallel to the ground, so they shouldn’t make good cat beds. However, when it’s not running, the angle allows small animals to fit snugly on top.

It’s possible the dishes also attract other small critters at its various angles, and one Reddit user even went so far as to use thermal imaging to determine why animals may congregate around their dish.

“I was checking my dish with a thermal sight and it actually looks like the whole dish, even the back side is warm,” he reported. “So you might [see] animals under or around it in general if it’s ground mounted.”

Other users expressed concerns that birds perched on the rim of the dish might drop messes, potentially presenting performance issues. It’s unclear if the intruders cause service interruptions, in part because the non-working position is apparently what allows them to, ahem, fit and sit.

In the past, however, publications, including The Verge, have poorly reviewed the Internet provider, so even if reports of animals sitting on dishes abound, it would take thorough investigation to figure out whether they’re the actual cause of any problem.

Research contact: @futurism

Jabber-wacky: What does it mean when we talk in our sleep?

December 30, 2021

If you’ve ever heard your partner emphatically blurt out 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 also can be a bit disconcerting, if your bed partner starts 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—recently told SELF Magazine that the simplest explanation for sleep talking is that your sleep-wake switches aren’t working efficiently and may be a little sloppy.

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.

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.

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 the National Sleep Foundation.

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, explained during an interview with 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 a sleep talker. 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.”

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, found that up to 66% of 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.

Sleep talking often co-occurs with other sleep disturbances, such as 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.

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.

Stress is another contributing factor, according to Dr. Dimitriu. This is most likely caused by disturbing the natural depth of your sleep. “Whenever something wakes you, even slightly, you are prone to do something strange—as you are half asleep—sleep talking is one of those things, and sleep walking is another,” he says. Certain medications (either sedating or stimulating), anxiety, or just being really tired can sometimes trigger an episode of sleep talking in some people but not in others, Dr. Dimitriu adds.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, depression, daytime drowsiness, alcohol, and fever can cause sleep talking, too. Underlying medical conditions could also cause sleep deprivation, leading to sleep talking. This includes sleep apnea, a sleep disorder where breathing is repeatedly interrupted during sleep.

The good news in all of this? “There is no danger to random isolated episodes of sleep talking,” Dr. Dimitriu says. However, if it begins to occur frequently, or there are other symptoms, such as insomnia, waking up several times per night, or being sleepy by day, he says it may be worth speaking with your doctor, and considering a sleep study. For most people, though, sleep talking is a short-lived phenomenon and no treatment is really necessary.

Research contact: @SELFmagazine