When falling asleep, some people hear explosions or screams. Sound hallucinations that mainly affect young people.
During the wake-to-sleep transition, some people hear a thumping noise. An explosion so strong that their sleep is disturbed. This unrecognized and painless disorder is called exploding head syndrome. This parasomnia mainly affects young people, according to new work by American researcher Brian Sharpless published in the scientific journal Journal of Sleep Research.
Currently, the scant scientific literature on the subject estimated that exploding head syndrome was a more common disorder in people over 50 than young adults. “I didn’t believe those assumptions. Biologically, it didn’t make much sense to me, ”says Brian Sharpless, lead author of the study and professor of psychology at Washington State University (US).
Scary sound hallucinations
Carried out among 211 university students, the study reveals that nearly one in five respondents has experienced this phenomenon at least once in their life. For more than 15%, this phenomenon was even frequent.
For a minority of them, these sound hallucinations, which last from a few seconds to a minute, were very disturbing, to the point that they did not dare to tell their loved ones about it. “Some think they have an attack, others think they are going mad and ignore that a good part of the population has already experienced the same phenomenon”, explains the psychologist. Although mild, this disorder can cause anxiety, stress and affect the quality of sleep.
Sleep paralysis
In addition, more than a third of people who have experienced exploding head syndrome report that they have also had sleep paralysis. This disorder, more common in narcoleptics, can occur in anyone and is not a sign of sleeping sickness. During this phenomenon, the brain is awakened, so the person is aware of what is happening but the body is still asleep.
“The person then feels wide awake, but cannot move or speak. It can be very scary, but no big deal! They are linked to a somewhat sudden awakening in paradoxical sleep ”, explains the Morphée network on its website.
No treatment
“The same area of the brain, the reticulate formation, appears to play a role in sleep paralysis and exploding head syndrome. This could explain why some people experience these two phenomena, ”explains Brian Shapless.
For these two sleep disorders, there is no effective treatment. But it is important to see a doctor, as they could be a sign of narcolepsy or epilepsy. “The simple possibility of making the diagnosis allows people to get better”, concludes the researcher.
