Will be half asleep and sometimes hear very strange things... Anybody experience this?
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For the past several months now, maybe longer, when I'm sleeping at night I'll be half asleep after waking up and will hear very weird things. I have a bad habit of propping myself up on my pillow with my elbow and will fall asleep like that and right before I fall asleep I'll hear very strange sounds. Last night for example, it was around 2:00 AM and I had my eyes closed and was just about to fall asleep with my elbow resting on my pillow when I heard a loud BANG! coming from the wall at the end of my bed. It scared me so bad I thought I was going to have a panic attack. It took me a while to catch my breath. I was fully awake and didn't hear anything else. I rested my head on my pillow and went back to sleep. This doesn't happen often but when it does it scares the living hell out of me. Other times, I've even heard what sounds like voices, but they're not really saying anything that I can understand. I know what you're probably thinking, my house is haunted right? I've been living in this house for over 18 years now and it was a brand new house at the time and I've never noticed anything like this any other time. I know for a fact it isn't haunted lol but what I'm asking is maybe this could be almost like sleep paralysis or maybe it's something that's common when your brain is about to fall asleep and noises will just happen for no reason. It was very weird though, I thought something had fallen in my closet so I checked this morning and everything was in the same place as yesterday. Any thoughts on this? Anybody else every experience something similar? BTW I always take 37 mg of Quetiapine right before bed for a sleeping aid. I've been taking this medication every night for the past several years now.
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lily65668 Bnertt12312
Posted
Well, I'm not thinking your house is haunted. Like you, I'm thinking you have a mild form of sleep paralysis (SP hereafter). I've had it for more than 50 years so know a thing or two about it.
Not everyone is aware of the paralysis. Some just experience the hallucinations - which is what your explosions and voices are.
Although SP normally strikes immediately on waking, it can also occur while falling asleep. I have both versions, though in most cases my episodes only occur while waking up. Most people will have one or two isolated incidents of SP in their life, but around 5% will get it on a regular basis. Of these, approximately half will hallucinate. It's caused by a harmless glitch in the temporal lobes of the brain. It's strongly hereditary (my father, at least two of his siblings and my grandmother all had it) but like all minor mutations it has to start somewhere. The most usual age of onset is between 15 and 25. (I was 23 when mine started.) It can, however, start at any age.
I suspect a bit of sleep hygiene wouldn't go amiss here. SP is more likely to occur when you're not very deeply asleep, and this strange habit of sleeping propped up on one elbow is clearly stopping you from falling deeply asleep at the outset. I'm wondering why you do this. Are you, for instance, watching TV or looking at your phone while falling asleep? Both are bad ideas, as they disturb you while you're falling asleep, whether you're aware of it or not.
You're right not to worry about hauntings, spirits etc. I'd suggest trying to fall asleep in a normal position, in the dark, with no interference from TV, radio, phone etc. That may be enough to put a stop to these episodes, though it may also be that you'll always have a tendency to SP. In the latter case, I can give you tips for managing it. If you have any further questions don't hesitate to post them here or send me a private message via this site.
Bnertt12312 lily65668
Posted
Hi Lily,
Thanks for getting back to me. I only sleep like that if I wake up in the middle of the night and am thirsty, I'll take a drink of water and then, being I'm half asleep, will continue to prop myself up on my pillow instead of actually placing my head down. It's a bad habit, I know. I'm really trying to stop myself from doing that. In the middle of the night when I'm sleeping, I don't wake up and use my phone or watch TV, I'll only drink some water. I find because of the medications I'm taking I get really thirsty in the middle of the night. I'm going to see my family doctor tomorrow to see what he thinks but I was thinking about the possibility of it being SP as well. Thanks for all the information, it was very useful! If I have anymore questions I'll make sure to reach out. Enjoy your day!
lily65668 Bnertt12312
Posted
You might want to be a bit careful with your doctor. Most doctors either don't know anything about SP or won't touch it with a barge pole. Not sure why this is, but I've been on a lot of patient forums the past 20 years and have heard a few horror stories of doctors treating it as psychosis and medicating massively (due to the hallucinations).
In my own case, I was a student nurse at a major London hospital at the time, just coming up to final exams. After my first episode - which was much scarier than yours - I confided in a friend, who well-meaningly took it to the matron in charge of students' health. (No internet in 1967.) Almost before my feet touched the ground I was standing in front of the hospital's chief psychiatrist, who never attempted to explain what was happening, but just bawled at me that if I ever mentioned it again I'd be banned from taking my exams or continuing my training anywhere in the UK. Not sure how I managed to pass my finals, given I hardly slept for the next two months, but I did, and went on to do the post-diploma neuro nursing course offered by the hospital. I finally found a one-paragraph reference to the phenomenon in a textbook, which reassured me.
Given that we're now in the 21st century, I hope you have a better experience when consulting your doctor. But don't be railroaded into taking antipsychotics. SP isn't a psychiatric illness, it's completely harmless and can be managed without drugs in a way that reduces frequency and severity of episodes.
Oh, and good night. It's 03:20 here!