Sleep Disorders Forum - Strange Sleep Event

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Q: Strange Sleep Event

asked by: aplhabox on July 4th, 2004

New User

Hi everyone, this is my first post..

I was curious about a number of strange experiences
that I experienced while I was in half-sleep state.

It is always the same, and it happened to me a few times and it is not very frequent.

Last time it happened it was in the middle of the night..
I was dreaming (don't remember what), and suddenly my heart starts pounding, and I start experiencing intense fear,
and my ear-drums start shaking creating a strange very low frequency effect.
Both the hear beats, the buzz in the ears and the fear
are getting stronger and stronger until I wake up rapidly as if I had a nightmare.

The strange thing is that the fear I experience is not caused by anything I dreamed or anything that I can think of, it is just as if my body starts producing hormones that cause fear for no reason.

The whole thing lasts for about few seconds.

And it is never a result of a bad dream or anything.
I'll describe one incident here:

i remember that one time I was dreaming that I was on my knees and I was lowering my head slowly to the ground as if I am falling to sleep. As my head was closer to the ground
the more my heart was beating, and the panic and fear grew, and the buzz in the ears was stronger.
One time it happened while I was falling to sleep (on the limit of being in the sleep state) and was not dreaming anything. That time I was sort of trapped in this ear buzz state and was trying to wake up but it was like a seizure.

The buzz in the ears, is more a shaky feeling than an actual sound, it is as if someone puts a finger in my ears and starts shaking fast. The feeling is not compleatly negative, it almost feels like scratching when you heave an ich (i hope this is the right word, my english is not very good)

but the whole experience is very negative, and the feelings
of panic and fear are very intense.
Sometimes when it happens in the middle of the night it leaves me very uncofortable even after it happened and I am awake.

What could this be? Did anyone have any similar experiences?

Replies(11)

Aalexyz

replied on October 27th, 2004

New User

I Had a Similar Experience... I Think... Only Not???

Sooo, what accually brought me to this site in the first place was with the hope that I would find information on a similar experience I had. It didn't involve fear, though, really...
I was about half asleep (though, my mind was slightly restless at the time), and out of nowhere I felt as though I was being electricuted or something. In my half- conscious state, I thought my bed (set up in the loft of a camper i'm not really used to) was somehow conducting electricity through me. Of course, after it had passed five or more seconds later, I knew better. I was wide awake and more aware of what i'd experienced. But at the time, I couldn't move or scream or really breathe. I thought it may have been a seisure of some sort, but I didn't really move or anything.
Anyhow, if anyone has info or ideas, that'd be cool to hear.

spongebob

replied on November 10th, 2004

New User

Hello, i'm new here. I was searching information about chronic fatigue syndrome, and found this thread. Yes, I have same sleeping experiences from time to time, as described here. I don't know the cause of that. I have depression and chronic fatigue, maybe thats somehow related to each other. Anyhow, i'm going thru psychoterapy course, so I hope to find the problems and deal with them. And I hope you manage to get over you problem and have healthy sleep Smile

ralphwiggum2119

replied on November 29th, 2004

New User

Hey. I also have very similar experiences -the fear. I think I did have the fear when it first started but now i'm so used to it and I feel so conscious that I can almost control it. I actually had almost the same exact experience aalexyz had. Very strange, I would definately like to know what it is.

brucey

replied on January 6th, 2005

New User

Possible Solution to Strange Sleep Events

Hello to everyone on the forum, I have been reading a few messages that have had similarities to problems of my own. In the past four years I have had weird and frightening experiences in my sleep/half awake.
I feel as though I am waking from the middle of a dream and I am suddenly overtaken by the feeling of extreme fear, my body feels in a state of paralysis and my breathing is very laboured as though being choked. The best way to explain it is a feeling of sheer panic as though something evil is decending upon me. I have had this experience only three times in my life, the first time being four years ago, the most recent being only three days ago and by far the worst, very, very scary.
I have since looked on various web pages for some answers and it now seems that the probable cause is a condition called 'sleep paralysis'(sp).
For some good info have a look on a web page titled 'the evil's of sleep paralysis'. Hope this has been of some help.
Brucey

KittyCalderon

replied on February 1st, 2005

New User

Re: I Had a Similar Experience... I Think... Only Not???

It sounds like a seizure, I had one similar, only I see things when i'm awake, that I should only be seeing in my dreams. I close my eyes and they're still there, but i'm awake in the middle of the night, having just woke up from a dream. Once I dreamt of lightning and just began shaking all over, like electricity or someone super human just shaking me back and forth really fast. Faster than any normal person could. Were there flashing lights were you were? Or did you go in and out of the light?

P.S. If your waking like that it's because you've stopped breathing in your sleep, do you get dry mouth? Snore? Does it happen often? My bf has sleep apnea, too. He'll be snoring, then start breathing funny as if something is stopping his breath half way in, then he'll jolt awake breathing hard, heart thumping and wonder what just happened. Of coarse i've been awake the whole time from his snoring so I noticed what was going on. All he knew was that he woke up with his heart thumping. Your body is waking itself in a panic to tell you to remember to breathe. Are you tired a lot during the day? Over weight? High blood pressure even? All are tied into sleep apnea.

rockinhippy

replied on April 22nd, 2005

New User

Strange Sleep Thing

Hello, I was brought to your post, by doing a search, on numbness & tingling, I recognised most of your question, so joined site, & put in search for your post, but this seems to be a different 1???,
anyway, I was going to reply so will anyway.
I think it may be fibromyalgia, I have this, & though mostly affects women, about 20% sufferes are men, though mostly older, it can be any age.I was only recently diagnosed as it got a lot worse, but i've had this since child hood, & I often had these waking dreams when I was younger, it affects sleep patterns, & leaves you exhausted, & in pain, can be bodywide aches, like flu, can be numbness & tingling, they are not yet 100%sure of the cause, but think its a malfuntion of brain chemicals (nuerotransmitters) suffferes feel pain more, don't get restorative sleep, & body overreacts to stimuli such as sress, sound, etc, check out .......
<> for more information , buzzing ears etc, also fit
hope that helps you
x
rockinhippy

bgclean

replied on April 30th, 2005

New User

Strange Sleep

I have something similar to what you are having, but mine is not as intense. I notice some slight ear buzzing and dizziness at the time i'm just falling asleep, but then I wake up, take some deep breaths and shake my head, then I go to sleep after that without any other incidents.

I hear that a hot bath and a few minutes of meditation before you go to bed will help relieve your anxiety.

klelvliln

replied on February 10th, 2007

New User

Re: I Had a Similar Experience... I Think... Only Not???

aalexyz wrote:

sooo, what accually brought me to this site in the first place was with the hope that I would find information on a similar experience I had. It didn't involve fear, though, really...

I was about half asleep (though, my mind was slightly restless at the time), and out of nowhere I felt as though I was being electricuted or something. In my half- conscious state, I thought my bed (set up in the loft of a camper i'm not really used to) was somehow conducting electricity through me. Of course, after it had passed five or more seconds later, I knew better. I was wide awake and more aware of what i'd experienced. But at the time, I couldn't move or scream or really breathe. I thought it may have been a seisure of some sort, but I didn't really move or anything.

Anyhow, if anyone has info or ideas, that'd be cool to hear.

i had a similar experience! I felt like a current was passing through me and I saw my room and everything, but could not move! It also is combined with panic and I noticed my eyebrows moved alot. This happened few times in a row.

mindash

replied on July 20th, 2008

New User

just do some research on sleep paralysis, basicly to sum things up its one of the bodies natural ways to protect itself from acting out dreams. when drifting into the sleep state the brainstem releases a kind of brain chemicle that causes the body to become paralyzed so that if say you slip into a dream where your running around and wake up prematurely you dont go running off a cliff, basicly a way to keep the body from hurting itself. as for the the weird sounds and electircal feelings, those can be attributed to someting called a myoclonic jerk i believe is the phrase, the body thinks its dieing so it sends out electrical impulses to keep itself jumpstarted and everyone goes through these processes but most are unconcious before they ever have a chance to notice them. so in summary
sleep paralyzation is a bodies way to keep itself from harm
hallucinations or visions in this state are literally dreaming while your concious
and the electircal efefcts are the body being too aware that its drifting off into sleep and because of this, is misinterpreting falling asleep as dieing and in turn the body trying to compensate.

this has all been a major area of interest for me for a number of years now and if anyone has any further questions and uses aol or aim, feel free to message me as AshNineFallen and ill be happy to try and clarify anything you may wish to know in regards to the matter

ride the spiral and i hope this info allows you to rest much easier

p.s.
these kind of experiences open up a whole new world in regards to lucid dreaming and if your taking any sort of opiate based pain medication it tends to make these sorts of experiences more noticeable.
and remember, fear is the mindkiller, fearnot and grow Cool

mei2009

replied on March 2nd, 2009

New User

I Had a Similar Experience...

Among this week,i got 3 times this problem held for me.
I was about half asleep (though, my mind was slightly restless at the time), and out of nowhere I felt as though I was being electrocuted or something. actual it not cause by Evil.I experienced and find the solution my self.This is cause by our brain(mind) when it was too restless.
For this i just take a panadol Active fast(is medicine for headache,).
whenever i work with no restless for mind.Before bedtime i took 2 tablet,and go on sleep.
The are no problem .everything ok...and fine

genypha

replied on May 12th, 2009

New User

Sleep Paralysis

I think I have the symptoms of sleep paralysis only I don't get the feeling that I am being 'sat on' or being choked. There is someone in the room - usually sitting on my bed and I can actually feel the bed going down as they sit on it. I can also hear people talking loudly outside my house. My whole upper body feels heavy and I can't move. Then that 'person' seems to try and lie beside me as I can feel the bed covers moving close to me. I think I'm awake and try shouting out but nothing comes out. It's always very frightening but now I know what it is I will try to overcome these feelings. I've just gone downstairs and had a hot chocolate drink in the hope that it will relax me and having read up on the subject it looks as though it could be caused by my having irregular sleep patterns, i.e. napping during the day and then going to bed very late at night? Anyway, I'm hoping that sharing this with you all will help me too.

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