At night
we’d like to sleep peacefully and restore energy. Nevertheless,
it is difficult to find a person who has never encountered some strange
and unpleasant sensations accompanying sleep.
How it feels: The
person wakes up at night and cannot move. Added to this are frightening
hallucinations and a feeling that there is someone else in the room.
In antiquity, this state was associated with mischiefs of evil spirits.
Why it happens: Normally,
when we fall asleep, we are paralyzed so that we don’t sleepwalk and
such. With sleep paralysis, our muscles "turn off" when the brain
is awake.
Approximately 7% of the population have experienced sleep paralysis at least once (source). They say this is more likely when sleeping on the back.
How it feels: When
a person is on the verge of sleeping but still awake, he sees weird
pictures before his eyes. Often these are scary faces and fantastic
creatures.
How it feels: The
person sees a dream, then wakes up, but strange things continue
to happen to him. It turns out he was just dreaming that he woke up.
This has been explored in the movie Inception. Upon the film’s success, many people reported having experienced this phenomenon.
Why it happens: Esotericists
believe that if you have such a dream, this indicates your
predisposition to spiritual practices. Official science can’t explain
why this happens.
Sleepwalking
How it feels: This
state is the opposite of sleep paralysis — the consciousness is asleep,
but muscle paralysis does not occur. In their sleep, people can walk,
clean, or even leave the house, which is often very dangerous. In the
morning, they don’t remember anything.
Why it happens: Somnambulism occurs in about 4.6-10.3% of the population, with children affected more often (source). The cause is still unknown, as are methods of treatment.
Exploding head syndrome
How it feels: The
person wakes up from a sensation of a loud explosion or a clap.
Sometimes the sound seems deafening. It can be accompanied
by an increasing buzz or a flash. The phenomenon is not dangerous, but
it frightens people. Some think they have had a stroke.
Why it happens: This
happens when, for some reason, there is a surge of neural activity
in the areas of the brain responsible for processing sound (source). Sometimes the syndrome is coupled with insomnia or jet lag.
Sleep apnea
How it feels: Sleep
apnea is a sudden stop of breathing in a dream. The person wakes
up as a result. The quality of sleep decreases, the brain experiences
oxygen starvation, and it becomes difficult to get enough sleep.
Arterial pressure also fluctuates during an attack, which may cause
heart problems.
Why it happens: During
sleep, the pharynx muscles relax, which sometimes leads to blockage
of the airways. Obesity, smoking, and old age increase the risk. Fun
fact in a world of anxiety: one may alleviate it by playing the
didgeridoo, an Australian wind instrument (source).
Recurring dreams
How it feels: Probably everyone has had strange recurring dreams, which constantly reproduce the same plot.
Why it happens: Psychologists
believe our brain uses such dreams to pay attention to something
we didn’t notice in our daily life. These stories will return until the
situation is resolved (source).
Falling onto the bed
How it feels: Sometimes
we feel like we’ve been thrown onto our bed from high up. We flinch and
wake up. Sometimes before that, we dream that we are flying
or stumbling and falling — a rather unpleasant feeling.
Why it happens: Sleeping
is similar to dying — the heartbeat and breathing slow down, muscle
tone is reduced. The brain "gets frightened," perceives this as a real
death, and checks whether the person is alive, sending impulses to the
muscles.
Out-of-body experience
How it feels: This
is a neuropsychological phenomenon during which a person, half-asleep
and half-awake, sees himself from a place outside his body. For mystics
and occultists, this confirms the existence of the soul.
Why it happens: The
phenomenon is very difficult to study. While scientists know that the
illusion of getting out of the body does exist, it is not clear how
it works and why it arises. It’s also unclear how to deal with this. Yet
some know how to enter this state deliberately. They do so to expand
the boundaries of their cognitive capabilities.
Sudden enlightenment during sleep
How it feels: Sometimes
we can’t find a solution to a problem for a long time, and
so we constantly think about it. And then, in a dream, the brain
gives us a clue. Now the most important part is to remember it.
Dmitri Mendeleev,
a Russian chemist, was obsessed with creating a periodic table
of elements — and then he saw it in a dream. Something similar happened
with the chemist August Kekulé when he dreamed of a formula for benzene.
Why it happens: Sometimes
our subconscious already knows the answer, although it has not yet
reached consciousness. During sleep, the subconscious is more active and
could provide the insight. Sleep is great, but sometimes it comes with
even more perks.
courtesy: brightside