"I think for many adolescents and young adults, technology has provided us another avenue of sleep walking, (or) talking in our sleep. People have answered the phone, the good old-fashioned landline, in their sleep. That's not particularly new," Dowdell said. "What we're seeing now is younger people experiencing this."

Adults can typically shrug off sleep-texting with a laugh or an apology, but there could be greater consequences for adolescents. Texting is interrupting their sleep at an age when they need it most, and they could be more vulnerable to their unintentional oversharing being posted for others to see.

If you're a sleep-texter or afraid of becoming one, the easiest and best solutions are the most obvious: Turn off your phone, set your passcode lock or place it on the other side of the room so it's not within easy reach.