Posted on 02/28/2010 1:02:13 PM PST by cajuncow
Sleep is supposed to be a time of peace and relaxation. Most of us drift from our waking lives into predictable cycles of deep, non-rapid-eye-movement sleep, followed by dream-filled rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. But when the boundaries of these three phases of arousal get fuzzy, sleep can be downright scary. In fact, some sleep disorders seem more at home in horror films than in your bedroom.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Well!
that explains the entire bag of chips I ate last night at 2am when I woke up!
For later reading
I had sleep paralysis for almost two years. It’s scary. Don’t know why it started ... or stopped.
i have sleep apnea... i am not a likely candidate for it... i am a woman... i am not overweight... it happens during stressful times... and when i am not sleeping on my side... the thing is, i can tell when i stop breathing in my sleep... often, i am dreaming... and i realize in my dream that i am not breathing... i was 17 the first time this happened to me... in the beginning i would freak out and try to force myself to wake up... i now tell myself, “okay—i’m in this dream... i am not breathing... dreams only last a few seconds... i will awake from the dream when it’s over...” and i do... and i start breathing again... this does not happen often... just from time to time... there have been a couple of instances where my husband has awakened me because he heard me trying to call for help in my sleep... i think i will die in my sleep someday...
My little brother used to play baseball in his sleep.
He ran bases in his room and called the swings.
if you die in your sleep, then you are one very lucky and blessed person......most of us only wish that would be the way we die....
I used to sleep with my eyes open. And when I woke up my eyes would be dried out and vision blurred. Sometimes they would be so dried out my eyelids would be stuck to my eyeballs and I couldn’t blink.
Speak for yourself. I would rather die from being shot by a jealous husband.
(Just Kidding!)
I’ve had the sleep paralysis thing where I wake up because I can’t breathe because im face down in the pillow, but I can’t quite move yet. It takes 20 seconds or so before I can move enough to get my face out of the pillow.
I havn’t had that one for a few years.
Worst sleep disorder? Sleep defecating. Absolutely. Worse when not sleeping alone.
I’ve always thought that wishing to die in one’s sleep to be a strange wish.
It seems to me that .. If I were to think that I may die while sleeping .. I would develop a ‘severe phobia’ against going to bed!
I have the lovely syndrome described in the article as “exploding head”. Nice to know I’m not the only one. It is startling and then annoying as hell, when it sinks in that sleep has been delayed for who knows how long.
Uh, TMI.
What do you call it when you fall asleep as soon the show you’ve been waiting all week to see finally starts.
Ever considered just getting a CPAP?
Demonic forces can cause this. Yea, yea, I know, in this country if you say demon, people think your nuts. But, if you go to South America or Africa and some other countries, and some in this country, understand the spiritual realm, they aren't in denial. They see the effects of demonic forces. I had this very thing happen to me over the course of about a year. When I was finally at the end of my rope, I was on my knees in prayer. Suddenly, I was surrounded by unconditional love, I knew in an instant that Jesus was standing behind me, I felt utter peace and joy, I felt the weight of oppression lift. I saw the demon that had been tormenting me. He looked like he was in shock, he backed away from me and disappeared. That was about 20+ years ago. It's never happened since and I now understand how to deal with them.
I used to get sleep paralysis coupled with hallucinations fairly frequently a few years ago. It went away for a long time but recently made another debut in the middle of the night. The real vivid ones can be scary, especially when you percieve an evil presence just outside your field of vision closing in on you as you try your best to snap out of it.
That's exactly how I would want to go, unlike the screaming passengers in the car.
A book I read by a forensic anthropologist said that the reason people are quite often found dead from "autoerotic asphyxiation" is that the the brain does not have a mechanism for automatically warning you that your oxygen level is too low. Maybe it's different when someone is sleeping. but maybe you should get your sleep apnea checked out.
Your not worried that ‘tonight’ when you fall asleep .. you may Never wake up again?
That’s a good one, ain’t it? What’s wierd, ever notice when you get punched in the face, there is a certain taste in the throat? Same thing on the “exploding head” phenomenon. I’m told this is often associated with what are known as cluster headaches, that are not fun.
When I was younger, the only time I sleptwalk was during a time period that I really, really REALLY wanted a motorcycle, about age 12 or so. Was saving money from paper route but it wasn’t working out very quickly. My parents said I came into their bedroom during the middle of the night, complaining that motocross racers were tearing up my bedroom and the house, I didn’t remember any of it the next day.
Zapp: If it's a lesson in love, watch out; I suffer from a very sexy learning disability. What do I call it, Kif?
Kif: [sighs] "Sex-lexia".
— Futurama, Ep. 2ACV17 (26 November, 2000)
I second the motion for a CPAP....I sleep far better now that I use one, and the machine will alarm if I stop breathing (doesn’t happen much anymore).
Surprised that the article didn't mention it, but those are also symptoms of narcolepsy.
The great thing about CPAPS is that people hate using them so sometimes you can find them at thrift stores for like 5 bucks.
I don’t have narcolepsy, but every time that sleep paralysis struck, it was always when I wasn’t getting enough sleep, or had weird irregular sleeping patterns from just staying up too late and sleeping in the day.
I will say....learning to use the CPAP totally SUCKED! It took several months for me. But now I don’t like to sleep without it, and when I forget to put it on I can definitely tell the difference the next morning.
I watched an almost transparent guy push a shopping cart from my bedroom into my bathroom and turned and looked at me. Very creepy! Very large bug crawling on my closet door... A short hollywood style demon next to my bed gnashing its teeth at me..
The most distinct one I remember is waking up to seeing a very white angel, wings and all standing close to the foot of my bed. Unlike the others this was solid. I couldn't see through it. It was also different in the fact that I could see a lot of detail in the wings, face, and clothing. I sat up and started to say something and it put it's finger up to it's mouth and slowly disappeared.
All of these strange apparitions disappear after only a few seconds.
It can be pretty frightening. I believe in both kinds of sleep paralysis; the physical kind and the demonic kind!
My did died of complications from it when he was 69--the same year the first CPAP machine came out. For two decades he went to doctors trying to find out what was the problem. I am certain he had it because I developed it about the same age he did. It was horrible. Saw myself at an early age becoming like my father. We all knew he cared deeply for us but he had bouts of anger that were not good. No wonder as he hadn't had a full nights sleep in decades.
It is nothing to put off treating. I did for 10 years and some of the damage is permanent (apnea puts on weight so right there is a reason to get treated).
The first night on CPAP, at a sleep clinic, I woke up and felt intoxicated. Really felt as if I was high. Had been so miserable for so long, I didn't know what "normal" felt like.
The test showed I was waking up 23 times an hour. 8 times an hour I stopped breathing for more than 10 seconds. That makes the heart go "BAM! BAM! BAM!". My dad died in his sleep and I have no doubt it was during one of those episodes.
Used a CPAP machine for two years now. Don't even think of not putting it on. Now and then we have a power outage and I think..."Oh no...it better come back before I need to sleep"
Had sleep paralysis. So did my sis and my uncle. Haven’t had it for a long time, but it’s scary.
Me too.
Now I am married to it.
The search for the perfect is the path to panic.
Sleep paralysis
Happens when I’m napping in my recliner. I want to get up but I just can’t come to consciousness.
I had surgery for my sleep apnea. Changed my life.
Amen, totally agree, I now love mine.
I had always had a fear in the back of my mind that what was causing the 'exploding head" noise/sensation was a micro-mini stroke, which just any day now would be followed by a massive stroke, leading to disfigurement, paralysis all the way up to "locked-in syndrome (aka the closest you can come to being buried alive , lasting for years/decades) or death. (That's where the "sleep delayed for who knows how long" comes in). Per the artcle, EHS is NOT linked to serious illnesses, so that plus knowing I'm not the only one suffering this bizarre condition is a comfort. I'm really glad I clicked on this post and followed the link to the whole article.
I’ve taken mine camping when I know there will be electrical hookups....my friends whine about the noise, until I try sleeping without it.
That’s how morning wood happens?
I used to do that, before CPAP. And I’d even dream I was up and awake and doing what ever it was I needed to do.
Nocturnal methanogenesis.
“I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming hysterically like the other people in his car.”
it would be worse if you pooped in someone else’s bed..
My dad has the CPAP..He had to get it or die..not to mention he was slamming my mom around in the bed all night long.
“Had sleep paralysis.”
I had it one time. Woke up, couldn’t move or speak, don’t know if I could breathe or not. I half expected some grays to float into view but they didn’t. It passed after what seemed like forever, then I went back to sleep. It’s never happened since.
I think my wife appreciates the CPAP the most.
Some people have problems with CPAP machines but I sure didn’t. It’s like a special blanket or pillow. Its needed! I bet if I were cured of Sleep Apnea it would take me a while to get to sleep not having the machine. It became that normal.
Get annoyed by the TV ad touting a new type of mask that isn’t a mask. Fine for those who simply cannot tolerate the regular CPAP. But the ad makes it sound as if those on CPAP are being tortured every night. I suspect some put off being tested after seeing that ad. With me and many, many others, nothing could be further from the truth. I go to sleep faster with it than before. Its a big “Ahhh...rest” when I hear that humm...
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