Weird things we do in our sleep

[Spot's Meow]

I actually remember the last time that I sleepwalked. I have no memory of doing it any other time, but the last time I remember slowly becoming conscious of standing at the foot of my parent's bed, not scared or anything, just slowly realizing that I was sleepwalking. My mom asked me what I wanted, I said "nothing" and then went back to bed. I never sleepwalked again after that (according to my parents and others I've lived with).

[auntiehill]

Kestra wrote:

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I firmly believe that any person who wants to share my bed has to be prepared to stand his ground and defend himself from being pushed off the bed or having the covers stolen. If I can push you around in my sleep, what am I going to be like when I'm awake?

My sentiments exactly.

[Emher]

thestrangequark wrote:

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I am coherent, according to the family, roommates, friends, and boyfriends who have seen it. I have conversations, but apparently it doesn't take too long before they realize that I'm asleep. It weirds me out!

I'm sure there have been studies, but I wonder why some people have it more then others?

When I first discovered my cousin talked in his sleep was when I was spending the night at his place and slept on a mattress on the floor, and he suddenly starts talking. It took me about a minute before I asked "Dude, are you asleep?" and failed to get a logical response.

My sister used to sleepwalk a whole lot as well. One time she tried walking over a table covered with lit candles! Took the combined strength of me and my parents to hold her back.

[Dimesdan]

According to the other half, I tend to snore when I'm going off to sleep, this is normally exacerbated if I've been drinking that night, I have no conscious awareness of my doing this. I am aware though that I do do that little full body jerk thing as I'm drifting off, sometimes they are big enough to wake me, other times, not so much. I'll also wake up, or just be more aware of things in the middle of my sleep cycle and discover the duvet is my side more than hers, not sure if that's because she pushes it towards me, I pull it towards myself or a bit of both.

She on the other hand will fidget in her sleep and will even sometimes push me in her sleep. We've also had quiet a few conversations in the middle of the night, once even asking me to sing, luckily or not, she can't remember such conversations come morning, something I find rather amusing.

[Redfern]

Hmm, my sleep patterns are positively mundane compared to the anecdotes shared here.

I will say I am far more prone to snoring (or possibly just snoring far more loudly) if I'm flat on my back and will startle myself awake if I'm just drifting off and make a loud "snort". Also, I tend to dream more vividly, or maybe I just recall them with better clarity if I've been sleeping upon my back. And since the events I recall tend to be unsettling, I try to avoid sleeping on my back. My preferred position is quasi-fetal, my left side against the mattress.

(On a semi-related note, I've read if one has a "dominant" side to his or her body, the other side tend to be a bit more limber. That's seems to be the case with me. I can bend my left arm and leg into tighter, somewhat more "odd" positions than my right limbs. As such it seems as though the left side of my body and handle the weight a bit better, thus motivating me to sleep with that side against the mattress.)

Sincerely,

Bill

[Captrek]

My own sleepwalking experience:

I once woke up outside, nude, and locked out of the house.

Then I woke up again. I had dreamt the whole incident.

Then I went back to sleep and the same thing happened again. And again. I'm not sure whether I had essentially the same dream repeatedly or it was all one dream.

[scotpens]

^^ I dreamt I was naked and locked out of my house while I was actually safe in bed. Or am I dreaming that I'm safe in bed while I'm actually naked and locked out of the house?

[John Clark]

I used to walk and talk in my sleep. One incident ended up with me being sat on the shore of a lake we were near at the time.

I'm also somewhat restless, but not as bad as I used to be. When I was younger, I tended to rotate 180 degrees and have my feet on the pillow in the morning

[macloudt]

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

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Once when I was a freshman in college, my roommate produced an audio recording of what he claimed was me snoring. I dispute this claim. If I snored that loud, I would wake myself up. And the ASPCA would have arrested me for torturing an elephant, because that's what it sounded like.

I snore like a docker and am also a very light sleeper, but have never woken myself up with my snoring. If my husband makes the slightest noise in his sleep, however, that does wake me up. Odd, but there you have it.

I suspected I may have sleep apnoea, or something like it, because I wake up a lot at night. One time I woke up, wasn't breathing, and, for a few seconds, was unable to start breathing again. I was trying to remember how to breathe! That was scary as hell, and confirmed that, yes, I must stop breathing in my sleep at times.

[Mr. Laser Beam]

auntiehill wrote:

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My sentiments exactly.

You're both Klingons! I knew it!

[propita]

I snore. Hubby snores. Doesn't matter if we're on our backs or sides. We don't snore all the time. Last night, Our snoring woke me up. I nudged him onto his side and turned the other way.

[Gryffindorian]

I'd like to add that I sometimes wake up screaming from a nightmare. It doesn't happen very often, but still, I hate having bad dreams.

I want to share something that's somewhat related to this thread. Has anyone heard of The Great Courses, a company that specializes in selling prerecorded DVD lectures on a host of subjects? Well, recently I ordered a DVD on the science of sleep and started watching the first chapter last night. I must say the professor's lecture was very enlightening.

There's a serious health problem in America that's highly unrecognized: sleep deprivation. A good night's sleep is just as important as proper diet and exercise. While people of different ages require varying hours of sleep every night, a person who doesn't get enough sleep starts to accumulate sleep debt. There's even a term coined by experts for massive sleep debt that affects many Americans--what's referred to as the National Sleep Deficit, a clever analogy to the U.S. financial deficit.

Sleep deprivation can cause a host of health problems and has been linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, etc. It's been linked to countless industrial accidents and disasters, including the Exxon Valdez oil spill in the late '80s. Will post more info later ...

[RoJoHen]

^Indeed. Sleep and diet are more important than exercise will ever be.

[Gryffindorian]

If anything, sleep deprivation is one of the biggest weird thing that could happen to anyone. Although, unfortunately, in reality, most of us suffer from it.

Drowsy driving is a clear and present danger to motorists. I myself have experienced it due to my sleep apnea and must constantly rely on caffeine every day to get me home safely.

Employers lose an average of $3,000 per employee a year on sleep related ailments and conditions.

Sleep deprived doctors and nurses are responsible for medical errors that lead to patient fatalities. You can't begin to quantify the amount of money spent on lawsuits, not to mention the loss of human life related to sleep deprivation.

[Captrek]

Remember Nancy Reagan’s Just say "No" campaign? We need a Just say "Zzzzz..." campaign.