7 Sleep Disorders That Will Make You Fearful

If you think sleep is the simple act of lying on a comfortable mattress, closing your eyes, dreaming, drooling, snoring, and waking up, you are relatively right, but there is actually a lot more complexity about sleep than you can imagine. . Doubt? So check out some sinister everyday nap-related disorders:

1 - Nightmare Disorder

Nightmares are those absurd dreams that involve bizarre scenarios, giant monsters, lack of voice, murders and so on. When you have a nightmare you probably wake up, look around and think, “Whew! That killer talking bear isn't stalking me ”and goes back to sleep.

What you probably do not know is that there is a nightmare disorder, which is when the person has intense nightmares very often and wakes up physically frightened, with palpitations, sweating, chills and even pain. These are people who are usually afraid of falling asleep.

Nightmares usually appear in those who are experiencing stress or have been sleepless for a long time. They may also appear as side effects of certain medications. The good thing is that there is a way to treat the problem: usually a warm bath before bed already helps, but those who have frequent nightmares can seek medical help. Sleep must be a good thing. Ever.

2 - Sleepwalking

It sounds like a cartoon, but crises of sleepwalking not only happen in real life but affect the lives of at least 15% of adults - the percentage is even higher in children. Still not sure what causes some people to walk in their sleep, but stress is one of the factors most associated with this type of event, as is genetics.

Contrary to what you might think, sleepwalkers don't go around with their arms outstretched. They usually roam the room but are also able to open doors and swap furniture. A study published in 2003 found that 19% of sleepwalkers have been injured during their closed-eyed adventures.

3 - Exploding Head Syndrome

It usually happens when the patient reaches the deepest level of sleep. Suddenly, the person wakes up hearing a really loud and scary noise. You get the feeling that a bomb exploded on your side or, worse, inside your head. The good thing about this feeling is that, incredible as it may seem, it does not involve the onset of pain or any serious health problems.

4 - Sleep Hallucinations

When you are sleeping, your dreams are crazy and you transport yourself to a typical Alice in Wonderland world. So far so good. But what about when you see things when you're falling asleep or just after waking up? Well, then the situation is a little different.

We call hypnagogic hallucination the bizarre sensations and visions that a person has before falling asleep. Already the hypnopompic hallucination is that one has soon after waking up. These hallucinations include the feeling that one is seeing ghosts, objects, or people. A relatively common sight is that of insects or animals walking the walls.

Sleep hallucinations are more common in patients with narcolepsy, a neurological condition that causes episodes of excessive sleep. So if you get a lot of sleep during the day, and feel that you are losing muscle control, you should seek medical help.

5 - Sleep paralysis

When your body reaches REM sleep, your voluntary muscles become immobile. This happens so that you do not move much during deep sleep. The problem is that sometimes this muscle paralysis persists even when you are already awake. It feels like you know you're awake, and even if you want to move, you can't.

The problem does not stop there. Not infrequently, sleep paralysis is accompanied by sleep hallucinations. Reflects. A study published in 1999 found that 75% of people with paralysis also reported hallucinations.

Again: it doesn't stop there. When hallucinations occur in someone who can't move, they are much worse. Patients reported the clear presence of malignant creatures, as well as the feeling of suffocation and crushing. Many scientists believe that alien abduction experiences are actually episodes of sleep paralysis and hallucination.

6 - Night eater syndrome

This life is very unfair indeed. You may have all the willpower in the universe and stop eating that chocolate, but if you have this night eater syndrome, you're likely to get out of bed, just like a sleepwalker, but go to the kitchen looking for the to eat. Anything goes from raw ingredients to frozen dishes to tablespoons of butter.

It is not yet clear what causes this type of sleepwalking behavior, but treatments include the use of drugs that stimulate dopamine production.

7 - Sexonia

If you found it awkward getting up asleep and robbing the fridge, the sexonia is there to show you what's really weird. A study published in 1996 described the case of seven people who, during sleep, had pictures of reproducing sexual noises and even masturbation. In such cases, the danger is even greater as patients even use dangerous objects to masturbate.

In five very controversial episodes, rapes by sleeping men have been reported. We already talked here at Mega Curioso about people who committed crimes while sleeping, remember?

In any case, cases of patients who exhibit sexual behavior during sleep are still considered extremely rare, but they do exist.

***

So, did you already know these faces of sleep? Which one is most surprising to you? Tell us in the comments!