- 1. Walking while sleeping
- 2. Feel that you are falling
- 3. Not being able to move after waking up
- 4. Talk while sleeping
- 5. Having intimate contact during sleep
- 6. Hear or see an explosion
In most cases, sleep is a calm and continuous period in which you only wake up in the morning, with the feeling of being relaxed and energized for the new day.
However, there are minor disorders that can affect sleep and that can leave the person feeling tired and even scared. Here are some of the most curious sleep disorders:
1. Walking while sleeping
Sleepwalking is one of the most well-known altered behaviors of sleep and usually happens because the body is no longer in the deepest phase of sleep and, therefore, muscles are able to move. However, the mind is still asleep and, therefore, although the body is moving, the person is not aware of what he is doing.
Being sleepwalking does not bring any health problems, but it can put people at risk, as one can fall or even leave the house in the middle of the street, for example. Here are some practical tips for dealing with sleepwalking.
2. Feel that you are falling
The feeling that you are falling is more frequent in the phase when you are trying to fall asleep and it happens because the brain is already beginning to dream, but the body is not yet completely relaxed, reacting to what is happening in the dream and if moving involuntarily, which creates the sensation of falling.
Although this situation can happen on any day, it is more common when you are very tired, with lack of sleep or when your stress levels are very high, for example.
3. Not being able to move after waking up
This is one of the most frightening situations that can happen during sleep and that consists in the inability to move the body after waking up. In this case, the muscles are still relaxed, but the mind is already awake and, therefore, the person is aware of everything, he just can't get up.
The paralysis usually disappears in a few seconds or minutes, but in that time, the mind can create illusions that make some people able to see someone beside the bed, for example, which leads many people to believe that it is a mystical moment. Learn more about sleep paralysis and why it happens.
4. Talk while sleeping
The ability to speak during sleep is similar to sleepwalking, however, muscle relaxation does not allow the entire body to move, allowing only the mouth to move to speak.
In these cases, the person is talking about what he is dreaming about, but these episodes only last about 30 seconds and are more frequent during the first 2 hours of sleep.
5. Having intimate contact during sleep
This is a sleep disorder, known as sexonia, in which the person initiates sexual intercourse while sleeping, without being aware of what he is doing. It is an episode very similar to sleepwalking and is usually not related to the way a person behaves when he is awake.
Understand sexonia better and what its signs are.
6. Hear or see an explosion
This is a more rare episode, known as explosive head syndrome, which can affect some people during the first hours of sleep and makes the person wake up very frightened because they heard an explosion or saw a very intense flash of light, although nothing has happened.
This happens again because the mind is already falling asleep, but the body's senses are still awake, reflecting some dream that is beginning.
