Sleeping Irrational
Posted on: December 15, 2008 - 5:34pm
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Sleeping Irrational
Last night I was sleeping and I was woke up with my covers getting pulled off me slowly as if somebody was there doing it. This happened at least 4 times within the night, and I basically couldn't get to sleep because it was quite eerie but I'm an atheist, and a skeptic so I was trying to think rationally , but this was too weird. This happened to me a couple of years ago as well one night but never experienced it again until last night.
I must say, I did have four bottles of energy drinks between about 6pm and 12pm, and went to my bed at 2am so could that have caused this? Can somebody explain this to me rationally, was this some sort of sleep deprivation or what?
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well, thank you, motherfucker, now i'll never get to sleep tonight!
(yes, i have totally irrational night fears that are usually dormant but when they're not, they're almost crippling, and they cause my wife a lot of irritation. i also try to talk myself out of them but to no avail. i've never had anything like YOUR situation happen and if i did, it damn sure wouldn't happen 4 times in one night, or even 2 times, because i'd be up the rest of the night and probably several nights after. i would probably also insist on moving our bed to another room, which might lead to divorce proceedings.)
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
Just a thought here, but some bedding is slick and doesn't offer a clinging surface. When you move around at night it can cause it to begin sliding. As the weight of the cover builds up in an area, it causes the sliding to speed up, sort of perpetuating the action. Comforters are very prone to this, and it is the time of year that a lot of people are using comforters here in the States.
If you feel that something else is the cause, perhaps you could set up a camcorder to record what is happening.
It takes a village to raise an idiot.
Save a tree, eat a vegetarian.
Sometimes " The Majority " only means that all the fools are on the same side.
Sounds like somebodies dead Uncle was paying them a visit
What Would Kharn Do?
If those energy drinks were high in caffeine, chances are good you were tossing about in your sleep (caffeine interferes with the mechanism that "paralyzes" you during REM sleep, as well as keeping your CNS nice and active during the rest of your sleep cycle). This tossing around could have arranged your bedding so that slightly more than half was off the bed, meaning gravity would do the rest for you, causing the bedding to slide off you in a way not dissimilar to someone removing it. Because of your more delicate sleep state due to the energy drinks, you awoke because of the feeling of the blankets moving. Voila! Instant scary moment.
Hope this helps
"Anyone can repress a woman, but you need 'dictated' scriptures to feel you're really right in repressing her. In the same way, homophobes thrive everywhere. But you must feel you've got scripture on your side to come up with the tedious 'Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve' style arguments instead of just recognising that some people are different." - Douglas Murray
beautiful! can you solve my problem too?
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
Thanks for the feedback.
Damn it Iwbiek! shes intelligent, not a psychiatrist!
What Would Kharn Do?
yeah i know but
a. she's smarter than me, and
b. it was a poor attempt at flattery.
i'm terrible, i know.
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
Meanwhile: When you find yourself in the midst of an episode, get up and go to another room for a few minutes. Do a little deep breathing, stretch, get some water if you're feeling thirsty. Then return to the bedroom and stand at the end of the bed and give the room a good looking over, making note of specific items one at a time, naming them in your head and remembering how they got there. It shouldn't take long before you feel more "grounded" in the reality of the room, and the phobic feeling has ebbed. In some cases this exercise is all you need to not only control an episode but given several repetitions of it, prevent them in future.
Tell your wife that a certified therapist says to try to be more understanding about the problem. It's not something you chose.
"Anyone can repress a woman, but you need 'dictated' scriptures to feel you're really right in repressing her. In the same way, homophobes thrive everywhere. But you must feel you've got scripture on your side to come up with the tedious 'Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve' style arguments instead of just recognising that some people are different." - Douglas Murray
"Anyone can repress a woman, but you need 'dictated' scriptures to feel you're really right in repressing her. In the same way, homophobes thrive everywhere. But you must feel you've got scripture on your side to come up with the tedious 'Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve' style arguments instead of just recognising that some people are different." - Douglas Murray
touche o_O
Silly, atheists. You're just so desperate to find a scientific explanation for everything but are too scared to consider that some things just might be unexplainable. What, are you afraid of being wrong or somethign?
[/impressions]
A place common to all will be maintained by none. A religion common to all is perhaps not much different.
lol thanks. i was exaggerating a bit. she's not so mean about it. she mostly just makes fun of me the next day.
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
Night terrors, Whatever!
Everybody knows sleep gives you cancer !
Hey, this reminds me; about four years ago, I would wake up unable to move with a electric tingling in the back of my neck. Really
scary feeling.
This was a dream of course and I would really wake up completely relaxed.
This happened for about two weeks and never returned. I never mentioned it.
About a month later a roommate's newagey reiky practicing girlfriend that had been staying with us, complained about this mean old
man ghost that had been holding her down and keeping her from moving at night. Creepy huh?
Eden had a 25% murder rate and incest was rampant.
i've been conscious during sleep paralysis before. it's something like that. i've literally heard myself screaming in my mind and been unable to part my lips the slightest bit. funnily enough, as susceptible as i am to suggestion during the night, i was never really creeped out by it. just simultaneously frustrated and fascinated with the feeling that my own body had "betrayed" me.
by the way, though i do occassionally experience night terrors (when i was a teenager they were terrible: at least once a month i would scream bloody murder and wake the whole house, but that hasn't happened for years), my sleep problems go beyond that. basically, i still experience the old childhood fear of the dark every once in awhile. i know there's nothing there and i've never seen or heard anything, but the feeling overwhelms me so much i'm afraid i might hallucinate something one day, and that would probably drive me crazy. seriously.
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
Yes, but how do you feel about pickles?
"Yes, I seriously believe that consciousness is a product of a natural process. I find that the neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers who proceed from that premise are the ones who are actually making useful contributions to our understanding of the mind." - PZ Myers
Pickles rock, but too many give me heartburn & that keeps me up if I've not followed a pickle binge with a dose of ranitadine.
Dr. Jill (see what I did there?), would probably tell me that the sleep issues I have are down to stress. Difficulty getting to sleep in the 1st place, waking up with an aching jaw, a worried girlfriend (who just bought me a special mouthguard to muffle the sound of grinding teeth,) etc.
All manifest since we started discussing who we're going to have to lay off at work.
Normally, the issue is more my getting woken up in the middle of the night by an elbow in the ribs when I'm at the girlfriend's place or when she's at mine. Apparently I have a tendency to breathe out then not breathe in for several seconds. A sore point - I'd argue that I've managed to follow exhalation with inhalation every night for the last 28 years without the elbow, but can't really be pissed off by an action motivated by her concern for me.
Stop that... It's silly.
I've experienced sleep paralysis quite a few times before, but thankfully not in a while now. I never had the sense of somebody else in the room (who wasn't supposed to be there) or anything else night-terror-like and for that I am glad. On the other hand, I did often find it difficult to breathe when I was going through one of these episodes, and that was pretty scary. Usually there was no particular reason for the difficulty breathing, I just couldn't move into a more comfortable position, or take the deep breath I so desperately wanted to. All I could muster were really shallow breaths until I eventually was able to move normally.
The times where there WERE reasons that I couldn't breathe and yet couldn't move were also bad, like if I had a cold and my nose had blocked up, or if somehow the sheet was over my face.
Ooo. I haven't had sheets come off my bed unexplainably, but I do tend to suffer from being somewhat conscious when my body goes into it's paralytic mode. It sometimes freaks me out because I know I'm in bed, and I know I'm awake, but my eyes are closed, and I have absolutely no ability to move my body. It almost feels as if I weigh a ton, and something is pulling me down into or across my bed. I think it might also be caused by my ability to be somewhat aware of my dreams while I'm having them. My mind tends to overlap reality with dreams while I'm asleep. kind of a catch 22.
BB
iwbiek: If your night terrors involve hallucinations (like mine), I recommend just stealing yourself as best you can (even if you need to turn-on as many lights as possible. I do) and going to walk around the space where the apparition was. Like Jill was saying, ground yourself - examine the surroundings, tell yourself, "Okay; there's my 'X', there's my 'Y', there's my 'Z'," etc. If you're really shaken-up, go do something mundane that involves as many of your senses as possible - percolate a pot of coffee (personal favorite), make some toast and turn on the TV, etc. The immediate contrast between the imaginary constructs of your mind and the real constructs your senses experience, for me, is very calming.
Unfortunately, I haven't myself found anything that prevents a night terror from being, well, terrifying. But there are definately things you can do afterward that quickly settle your nerves.
- Leon Trotsky, Last Will & Testament
February 27, 1940
I think that's known as hypnagogic sleep paralysis. It's quite common. I've experienced it, too.
Saint Will: no gyration without funkstification.
fabulae! nil satis firmi video quam ob rem accipere hunc mi expediat metum. - Terence
Sleep paralysis...*shudder*
I'm glad it only happened to me a couple of times. It sucked ass.
Eden had a 25% murder rate and incest was rampant.
It's probably sleep paralysis. You are paralyzed and fearful, and you often hallucinate. It's the most probable cause for what other less rational people consider alien abduction. You brain is just getting tricked by your senses into believing that the covers are being pulled off. Your insane amount of energy drinks most likely cause you to be a little more awake during this episode. By the way, I'm premed and I would like for any of you to explain if my argument is invalid so I can correct it or make a new one. :D
Evolution cannot be debated. 'Tis real.
thanks for the tips. i have very brief hallucinations sometimes, usually rats or spiders. i tend to throw my pillow at them.
i definitely turn on all the lights. thankfully my wife can usually sleep through that. if it was really bad, i have to put in a dvd (usually something like the simpsons or family guy, something lighthearted and familiar) and fall asleep to it. then i can turn off the lights. it always works.
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson