FAQs

Has Adam always talked in his sleep?

As far as anyone knows, Adam never talked in his sleep until I first heard him in February 2009. Of course, no one (including Adam) can know what went on when he was in a room alone, but neither his parents nor his e-wife ever heard a peep out of him.

Do you sit up at night furiously scribbling?

Thank god, NO! I used to. As soon as I heard Adam start talking, I'd pop open the computer and start typing my fingers off, trying to keep up and get it right, without waking him. This approach had a number of issues:

1. It was very stressful, so I missed out on the pure enjoyment in the moment.
2. Adam would start incorporating the sounds of the typing into his dreams, which was sort of funny, but always ended in him waking up.
3. I was reluctant to go to sleep at all, in case I missed anything.

Once I realized that last one was happening, I knew something had to change. That's when I got our handy voice-activated recorder!

Now I press the little red button every night before we go to sleep, and go through it in the morning. I hear everything Adam says anyway, because it always wakes me up when he starts chattering. But now I can just lie there and silently laugh.


Do you edit these at all?

Believe it or not, no. I include every single thing he says, and I try to capture the little idiosyncrasies of how he says it in how I write it. I don't do any cleaning-up or guessing. To me, the beauty of it is that he actually says these things, so it would ruin it if I shaped it at all. If he says something boring, or offensive, or non-sensical, it goes in the blog (although it might not go out as a tweet or Facebook status).

I do hold a couple back on nights that he talks a lot, so that I can tuck them in my nest-egg to post on the nights that he doesn't talk at all. But, I always indicate on the day's post when I've done that.


How do you get any sleep?!

It's not as bad as it seems. All of Adam's talking happens in one, or occasionally two, bursts each night. Let's say six quotes pop up on the blog one morning. Those probably all occurred in a five or six minute window.

How did STM come to be?

Since February 2009, I just kept a running log of everything Adam said for myself and the benefit of our friends. He got pretty used to being the source of hours of laughter among pretty much everyone who knows us. I put the blog up in October 2009, more for my own amusement than anything. And then, on January 8 2010, the blog popped up on the front page of Reddit.com, and everything went crazy!

Does Adam know about the blog?

What kind of wife do you think I am?! Of course he does. And he is just as thrilled as I am that so many people are finding joy and hilarity in it.

Is Adam this funny in real life?

Well, Adam is a pretty witty guy, but he is definitely not as hilarious as STM (his speech at our wedding being the exception, he wants you all to know). In fact, he's nothing like STM! Adam is the kindest, most sensitive, respectful, delightful, humble person. And SleepTalkinMan is, well, sort of an ass, isn't he? And totally full of himself! And a potty mouth! I would NOT want to get on his bad side.

What does Adam do for a living?

Ok, we know it sounds suspicious, but Adam is in advertising. He's an account director for an agency that does marketing for films and games. And he's always looking for new clients (hint, hint... sorry).

Has Adam considered seeing a doctor about this?

The weird thing is, we've come to think this is really healthy for him. I've always been amazed at how well Adam handles some extremely challenging circumstances that we've come up against in the past couple of years (much better than I do). Now I think it is because he works out all of his anxiety and frustration in his dreams. It's like nightly catharsis. Maybe we should all do it.

Does Adam remember his dreams?

Not a one. You can imagine then, how utterly bizarre is it for him when we listen to the recordings together in the morning. He hears himself saying wacky things that he has no recollection of whatsoever. Oh well, he's used to it by now.

In fact, since media people keep putting us into rooms with sleep specialists, we have learned that sleep talking does not-- in fact cannot-- occur during dreaming. Dreaming happens during REM sleep, and you are paralyzed then. Sleep talking occurs during the lighter phase of sleep, and it's just sort of the subconscious firing off.

It's been nice to hear all of the sleep specialists in the media confirm that the way Adam talks in his sleep is very possible and, except for how funny he manages to be, quite common.

Has Adam considered being a stand-up comedian?

I gotta tell you guys, he's honestly not that consistently funny when awake. I mean, he's witty and delightful, he has his moments, but not like Sleep Talkin' Man. He'd have to be a lie-down comedian.

What's this guy's issue with lentils?

Why does Adam deride lentils so often? Because they are repulsive, that's why! Adam and I both HATE lentils. And anyone who likes them is deluding themselves. Oh, and he's also allergic to avocados, so if you read any insults against avocados, you'll know that it's actually veiled longing.

I think the blog is fake and this is all a big marketing scheme trying to ride the shitmydadsays wave! Put up video to prove it.

I totally respect your point of view. I had originally put up the blog for ourselves and our friends, and we're ok with the fact that some people don't believe it. Video of Adam sleeping just feels like so many levels more personal and invasive, we're not considering it.

After the blog had been going for a few months, I decided to start putting up the audio. But I didn't make that decision to prove the authenticity, it's just because I love listening to it so much, so I love to share it.

We'd be happy to have you come visit the blog if you'd like, but if you feel like it's just not for you, that understandable.

But, doesn't it bother you when people say they think it is fake?

Well, of course it does. I think it would hurt most people's feelings to be called a liar, especially about something that is close to one's heart. It is particularly upsetting when I think of what I would have had to do to pull this off as a hoax-- namely, spend 9 months telling elaborate lies to my friends and family to set the stage for the future blog. But, I try to keep in mind that these people don't know me, that the manner in which some people express their doubt may be thoughtless, but it is not personal.

I want a tank top, long-sleeved t-shirt, hoodie, or some other style of apparel tat I'm not seeing in the shop. How can I get one?

I can put a product in the shop for you especially as long as it's a quote that is already in the shop. Please email and let me know what product you want, which quote, which version of the quote (simple or speech-bubble), and where you are located. I'll let you know when it is up there.

Do you ever remove comments from the blog?

Almost never. We don't take down comments from respectful doubters, because they have just as much right to express their opinions as our supporters do. The only time we ever take down a comment is when it is abusive, either towards us, or towards another commenter. That includes, by the way, when a supporter is really abusive of a detractor.

How can I contact you guys?

We love to hear from pretty much anyone. Email us at contact@sleeptalkinman.com. We'll get back to you as soon as we can.