Sleep walking and talking aren’t the only weird goings-on in the night. Discover the array of sleep disorders that range from plain strange to downright terrifying.
Hypnogogic Jerks: Have you ever woken yourself with muscle twitches or jumps as you’re nodding off? These mysterious jerks are often accompanied by a sense of falling.
Exploding Head Syndrome: Not quite the terrifying prospect suggested by its name, this actually harmless condition is the sensation of a super-loud noise (like an explosion or a gunshot) just as you’re falling asleep. No one’s sure what causes it.
Sleep Paralysis: Usually your brain switches off your body during REM sleep so that you can’t act out your dreams, but sometimes the timing of switching this paralysis off is out of sync, for up to several minutes. Scarily, you wake up but without being able to move or speak; some people report a feeling of being crushed.
REM Sleep Disorder: The opposite of sleep paralysis, where the brain fails to paralyse the body so a person can act out their dreams – yelling, punching, kicking and jumping out of bed are common.
Kleine – Levin Syndrome: Also known as ‘sleeping beauty’ syndrome since an affected person can sleep for up to 23 hours a day for weeks at a time. In their brief waking moments, sufferers display unusual behaviours, including binge eating, hallucinations and heightened sex drive.
Sleep-related eating disorder: Beans on toast at 3 a.m., anyone? People with this condition can cook and eat while they’re asleep and not remember a thing.
