Exploding Head Syndrome, Hypnic jerks and Sleep Paralysis

[Sir Les Patterson]

I have never suffered Sleep Paralysis but I used to suffer Exploding Head Syndrome and it is horrible and I suffer hypnic jerks even whilst awake and trying to go to sleep

 

[Aspiegirl75]

Could you please explain what that means, as in how it feels like? The exploding head and hypnic jerks.

 

[yotimbo]

I have never suffered Sleep Paralysis but I used to suffer Exploding Head Syndrome and it is horrible and I suffer hypnic jerks even whilst awake and trying to go to sleep

Exploding head syndrome?? What on earth is that. Sounds like the worst possible thing anyone could ever have ever.

 

[Sir Les Patterson]

Sure. Oh Hai, AlienGirl. Long time.
So hypnic Jerk is more often said to describe a sudden waking up from sleep as part of you body's muscels jerk and may accompany a sense of falling or disorientation.
That is not what happens to me. My type of Hypnic jerk are not rare but not as common as this other sort of hypnic jerk. With me I will be winding down and feeling comfortable and waiting for sleep and suddenly I will feel the muscels in my thigh start to tighten and constrict. Then at the top of my knee and in my calf and down the sides of my shin. By this time it causes my leg to involuntarily kick and at that point the leg is fine. There is a real build up of about 30-60 seconds and so it doesn't scare or concern me. It is similar I guess to if you get a sudden chill down your back or whatever or a spasm.

Exploding Head Syndrome? Well, that is something entirely different and for all its funny name and such is terrifying. I have heard some people do a bit of I have that, to describe something which doesn't seem to marry up to what I have experienced with this. Perhaps they were not telling the truth, perhaps they experienced something similar but different or perhaps what they experienced was another or lesser form of what I experienced. In fact, I have only heard one other person who had the same thing. She too was freaking out and had no idea what it was and could not rationalise what she was experiencing. Because it is not rational.

Okay, you are dropping off to sleep and "BANG!". Your body jolts from the...impact/scare/noise? It is close. You are up and out of bed. looking to see what fell on you, or landed near you. Looking around out of your bedroom. Around the house. Then you realise that a noise THAT loud MUST have attracted attention. There are no dogs barking. No lights on in the neighbourhood. You go back inside and reverse track. You search around your bed again. It was that loud. It scared Hell out of you. There was nothing. It dawns on you. It was in your head. You have started to hear noises that are not there.

I kept experiencing this. I did not tell anyone. How do you broach it? The last thing I wanted was to confess that I had begun hearing noises that were not there and was likely starting to suffer an undiagnosed mental illness. The fact that the onset was a time of great stress was indicative, I thought.

The noise is horrible and I honestly used to wonder if someone had hit me over the head with something hard. You may ask about the lack of pain BUT because your neck shoulder and back automatically hunches and tenses it is exactly the reaction if someone had hit you on the head and maybe you were knocked out and you are waking remembering the noise? But of course the noise as loud as it was and as clear and frightening was always disembodied

 

[Sir Les Patterson]

Exploding head syndrome?? What on earth is that. Sounds like the worst possible thing anyone could ever have ever.

It's horrid.
I have not suffered with it for about 4 years and I am so very thankful. I have really worked hard on stress management and sleep management. I think the fact I suffered regularly from bouts of insomnia much of my life may have made me susceptible to sleep disorders. I used to get by on 3-4 hours sleep a night on average except when I suffered from bouts of insomnia and this would reduce markedly.

 

[Aspiegirl75]

Sure. Oh Hai, AlienGirl. Long time.
So hypnic Jerk is more often said to describe a sudden waking up from sleep as part of you body's muscels jerk and may accompany a sense of falling or disorientation.
That is not what happens to me. My type of Hypnic jerk are not rare but not as common as this other sort of hypnic jerk. With me I will be winding down and feeling comfortable and waiting for sleep and suddenly I will feel the muscels in my thigh start to tighten and constrict. Then at the top of my knee and in my calf and down the sides of my shin. By this time it causes my leg to involuntarily kick and at that point the leg is fine. There is a real build up of about 30-60 seconds and so it doesn't scare or concern me. It is similar I guess to if you get a sudden chill down your back or whatever or a spasm.

Exploding Head Syndrome? Well, that is something entirely different and for all its funny name and such is terrifying. I have heard some people do a bit of I have that, to describe something which doesn't seem to marry up to what I have experienced with this. Perhaps they were not telling the truth, perhaps they experienced something similar but different or perhaps what they experienced was another or lesser form of what I experienced. In fact, I have only heard one other person who had the same thing. She too was freaking out and had no idea what it was and could not rationalise what she was experiencing. Because it is not rational.

Okay, you are dropping off to sleep and "BANG!". Your body jolts from the...impact/scare/noise? It is close. You are up and out of bed. looking to see what fell on you, or landed near you. Looking around out of your bedroom. Around the house. Then you realise that a noise THAT loud MUST have attracted attention. There are no dogs barking. No lights on in the neighbourhood. You go back inside and reverse track. You search around your bed again. It was that loud. It scared Hell out of you. There was nothing. It dawns on you. It was in your head. You have started to hear noises that are not there.

I kept experiencing this. I did not tell anyone. How do you broach it? The last thing I wanted was to confess that I had begun hearing noises that were not there and was likely starting to suffer an undiagnosed mental illness. The fact that the onset was a time of great stress was indicative, I thought.

The noise is horrible and I honestly used to wonder if someone had hit me over the head with something hard. You may ask about the lack of pain BUT because your neck shoulder and back automatically hunches and tenses it is exactly the reaction if someone had hit you on the head and maybe you were knocked out and you are waking remembering the noise? But of course the noise as loud as it was and as clear and frightening was always disembodied

And I thought I had it bad!!! This all sounds horrible and terrifying! Especially the head explosion part! You must have been going out of your mind! I'm so sorry you ever experienced that!
Have you ever considered having a sleep study done? I had one done some time ago when I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It really helped me and my doctor understand the problems I was having and helped her prescribe the right medication for me. Maybe it would be helpful for you as well.

 

[Mia]

Had not heard of this before you alluded to it here. Off and on throughout my life they have occurred, still do, although it's somewhat rare now. They began when I was quite young. Didn't know there was a name for them. Used to think of them as imagined loud, sharp, bright sounds. Flashes like lightning inside my head, when my eyes were closed. And then becoming drenched in perspiration with my heart beating loudly, and looking for the source of the sound. Which I never could find. They've happened so infrequently over the years, I could never predict a pattern.

 

[Sir Les Patterson]

Had not heard of this before you alluded to it here. Off and on throughout my life they have occurred, still do, although it's somewhat rare now. They began when I was quite young. Didn't know there was a name for them. Used to think of them as imagined loud, sharp, bright sounds. Flashes like lightning inside my head, when my eyes were closed. And then becoming drenched in perspiration with my heart beating loudly, and looking for the source of the sound. Which I never could find. They've happened so infrequently over the years, I could never predict a pattern.

Well, hugs if you need them. Yup they are terrifying.

 

[Sir Les Patterson]

And I thought I had it bad!!! This all sounds horrible and terrifying! Especially the head explosion part! You must have been going out of your mind! I'm so sorry you ever experienced that!
Have you ever considered having a sleep study done? I had one done some time ago when I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It really helped me and my doctor understand the problems I was having and helped her prescribe the right medication for me. Maybe it would be helpful for you as well.

I had very bad sleeping patterns throughout my life. Night time was a time I feared as a child because it was when my father got home after the pub. He was drunk and scary as a kid. Aggressive and violent. It took until the age of nearly 40 to break the terrible sleeping patterns of a lifetime. Ironically I had not seen my father at that stage for a good ten years. The occasions prior to that I had beaten crap out of him and so it was not fear as such but just habits of a lifetime.

 

[Streetwise]

HAVENT had it for years noise sensitivity is terrible since the panic disorder started
and hyper viligance is unnerving
panic masks pain but if it eases slightly the pain is indescribable
and also makes perceived pain unbearable
wish i could take tryptophan but the British nhs is almost non existent so my gp wont bother

 

[Aspiegirl75]

I had very bad sleeping patterns throughout my life. Night time was a time I feared as a child because it was when my father got home after the pub. He was drunk and scary as a kid. Aggressive and violent. It took until the age of nearly 40 to break the terrible sleeping patterns of a lifetime. Ironically I had not seen my father at that stage for a good ten years. The occasions prior to that I had beaten crap out of him and so it was not fear as such but just habits of a lifetime.

Yup, that'll do it! I'm so sorry you had to go through that especially as a child! The sins of the fathers...!!!
We have become conditioned through all the events that happened in our lives, and if /when we realize the problem it takes years to make a breakthrough.
May you never ever suffer a head explosion again!!!!!

 

[Sir Les Patterson]

Yup, that'll do it! I'm so sorry you had to go through that especially as a child! The sins of the fathers...!!!
We have become conditioned through all the events that happened in our lives, and if /when we realize the problem it takes years to make a breakthrough.
May you never ever suffer a head explosion again!!!!!

Thanks. I was trying just as an explanation rather than an attempt to illicit sympathy but your well-wishings are very much appreciated.

On another note. I am a single Dad and my teenage daughter does not see me as a scary Dad, so I broke that pattern as well.

 

[Aspiegirl75]

It wasn't sympathy my friend, as a mother I feel protective of ALL children and it makes me mad how some people abuse the privilege!!!
Great for you and your daughter that YOU broke the pattern!!
Be well.

 

[Sir Les Patterson]

I wish that the protectiveness of mothers extended to my own mother or the mother of my daughter, but it was not the case.
I do think that parenting is a duty and a privilege. We do not all get it right all the time but we should try to set good examples and be open and accommodating. I think I do that and having read a little bit on you, you seem to do so too. Parenting is a hard gig but I think we do okay.

 

[RiverSong]

Wow. I've never heard of exploding head syndrome before. That sounds awful.

I've had sleep twitches before (that's what I call them). I mean, I've never heard of hypnic jerks before but I've often experienced a sudden startling twitch just as I'm about to fall asleep. Sometimes its my neck, arm, or leg that will suddenly twitch, waking me just as I'm dozing off. It's pretty annoying especially since I have a hard time falling asleep anyway.

I've even had it happen on planes a few times when I've tried sleeping then twitch awake, which is kind of embarrassing when there are other people around. I've noticed these twitches have happened more in the last few years. I'm not sure why. It could be stress induced. But I've always had bad sleeping habits too. The twitches had never been bad enough that I thought about seeing a doctor though. They just seem to come and go.

I've also had sleep paralysis. It's only happened once, and I pray to God it doesn't ever happen again. It came on around 10 years ago. I went to bed like usual. I'm not sure how long I was asleep but I suddenly woke up with an immense pressure on my body. It felt like someone turned up the gravity in my room and I was being crushed alive. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I could only move my eyes and think.

I was trying to scream for family to help but no sound came out of me. And the weirdest part was that there were these shadow figures standing around my bed during all of this... I know that sounds crazy. But I wonder if I had somehow woken during a nightmare and some way, the sleep paralysis triggered. So, I was in between a nightmare and that deep REM state where your body stops its movement so you don't suddenly lash out when you're dreaming. I was in some kind of freakish limbo, I guess.

What terrified me was that the paralysis kept lasting and I started suffocating. For the life of me, I couldn't get any air in my lungs. I thought I was going to suffocate right there in my bed. Then suddenly the paralysis broke. I mean it stopped just like someone switched it off. And the air came rushing into me. I remember I snapped up straight in bed gasping, panicking. I will never forget that feeling. Strange thing was everything in my room felt perfectly calm. I remembered thinking that I must have just had a really bad nightmare, that was all.

I didn't find out about sleep paralysis until years later. I've read that it's something that can happen more often after the initial occurrence. But I haven't had it since, don't ever want it again, and I certainly don't wish it anyone else.

 

[WildCat]

I've never had to deal with sleep paralysis, so I can't comment there. I do get sudden, sometimes pronounced jerks and what I would describe as flashes of light (accompanied by a buzzing noise) just as I'm getting ready to drift into sleep. It catches me off guard every single time.

Not sure if that's exploding head syndrome or not, and looking for answers I jumped to other conclusions that made no sense at all. Hasn't had a noticeable impact on my life though which is what's most important, so I no longer worry about it.

 

[Maelstrom]

Hmm....I guess I had that last night on a small scale seems to happen when almost falling asleep and then snapping out of it at a noise or something?
I never thought of it as a big deal my self...just normal sleep issues...maybe mine is less severe!
The Nightmares are worse!
Those I could do without...really bad sometimes!

 

[Sir Les Patterson]

Sorry to hear that

 

[aut-couture]

I get both, since coming off ssri meds last year, what a disaster they were! Anyway, exploding head syndrome manifests in completely different rounds or sensations each time, annoyingly happens as I'm trying to fall asleep. Could be a loud dog bark in one ear, an electric shock, my whole body suddenly feeling hot, the sensation of a small animal running underneath me, a loud bang. Yep they are startling but not painful. They are also associated with stress and sleep apnoea, so by reducing your stress as much as possible and sleeping with a few more pillows under you, you can reduce them a bit. Will let ya know when they go... hopefully soon

 

[TBRS1]

I used to experience sleep paralysis frequently, sometimes 3-4 times per week. It is often stress-triggered, and while in college it was THE WORST.

The hallucinations were nightmare horrible; giant flies crawling on my face, dried corpse hands holding me down - all while feeling completely awake, but also completely unable to move. My SO used to wake me up when they heard me whimpering in my sleep.

The absolute worst part, though, was the feeling that, if I could not force myself to move, I would - beyond doubt - die.

Weirdly, it happened so often that I was able to get used to it and discovered that, if I don't fight it, I don't die.

I just fall into normal sleep.

This is a case where it just doesn't pay to fight the monsters.