More than just sleepwalking! Here are some weird things about sleep

People spend at least one-third of their lives sleeping. If there is a problem with sleep, the quality of life will be greatly challenged. Let's take a look at those things about sleep>>>

Compiled by New Media Editor Duan Dawei

Recently, a man in Chongqing jumped out of the window on the 7th floor while sleeping, and slid down to the 4th floor canopy and the 5th floor security net on the outer wall protection net. Fortunately, the firefighters arrived in time and the man escaped successfully. According to surveys, about 1/3 of the world's population has sleep disorders, and the number of people with various sleep disorders in my country is as high as 38.2%. At present, more than 80 diseases related to sleep disorders have been identified, but many sleep disorders that are common in clinical practice are not known to everyone, such as sleepwalking, rapid eye movement behavior disorder, sleep paralysis, etc., which may occur more or less in people around you.

✷ ✷ ✷

Sleepwalking cannot reach "fairyland"

Sleepwalking, or somnambulism, is not a popular behavior, and sleepwalkers do much more than just "swim".

Although sleep is a relaxation process, it is not a simple process for the brain. EEG shows that sleep is actually composed of a cyclic pattern (non-rapid eye movement sleep-rapid eye movement sleep), which repeats 3 to 5 times every night. In non-rapid eye movement sleep, deep slow-wave sleep is a restorative sleep stage. People in this stage are calmer, sleep more deeply, and are generally difficult to wake up. Sleepwalkers suddenly wake up in this stage and start walking.

According to an article about sleepwalking on QUICK GUIDE, sleepwalkers may appear to be awake at first glance, but they are not fully awake or fully responsive, and may rashly engage in dangerous behavior. Afterwards, their memories of these events are also vague, which proves that they are indeed asleep.

Some sleepwalkers may engage in quiet, everyday activities, such as getting a child ready for school, or eating breakfast at 2 a.m. Another type of sleepwalker is a sleep terror, in which a child may cry inconsolably. In most cases, this occurs in the first third of the night and lasts only a few minutes, but in extreme cases it can last for hours.

New manifestations of sleepwalking are also being discovered. Some patients (mostly women) go into the kitchen every night to eat, but this sleep-related eating disorder is different from nocturnal bulimia (although eating is compulsive in both disorders). People who sleepwalk eat before eating have fallen asleep and will eat things that are not allowed to be eaten, such as animal food, sandwiches with tobacco, or drinking detergent, and will resist violently when stopped.

✷ ✷ ✷

Sleeping with eyes open has many disadvantages

▲Zhang Fei sleeping in a TV series. (Image source: Screenshot from the 1994 version of Romance of the Three Kingdoms)

Friends who have read "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" should know that Zhang Fei sleeps with his eyes open. This way of sleeping is not only unhealthy, but also makes people feel "creepy". But there is indeed a disease called nocturnal blepharitis, which causes the patient to be unable to close his eyelids when sleeping. It is reported that this condition occurs in up to 5% of adults. It may be caused by a variety of factors, including protruding eyes or abnormal eyelids.

There are also unexplained conditions that cause you to sleep with your eyes open. Protruding eyes at night can make it difficult to close your eyes, and can cause eye pain or even more serious problems, such as corneal ulcers. If you wake up with red or painful eyes, or if someone has told you to sleep with your eyes open, be sure to consult your doctor.

✷ ✷ ✷

"Practicing martial arts" in dreams

"I dreamed of fighting with someone at night, kicking and hitting, and when I woke up, I found a large purple patch on my lover's leg." This situation is probably not uncommon. This situation is likely to be caused by rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, which is also a precursor symptom of Parkinson's disease.

Mei Junhua, deputy chief physician of the Sleep Medicine Center of the Department of Neurology of Wuhan No. 1 Hospital, said that for ordinary people, people will also dream during the rapid eye movement period of sleep, but because the skeletal muscle tension is widely suppressed, people's bodies can still remain still. Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder is caused by the fact that muscle tension does not disappear during sleep, causing patients to express their behavior in dreams through limb movements. Although this disease is not common, it is not only dangerous to patients, but it is also worth noting that this disease is also a prodromal symptom of many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy.

✷ ✷ ✷

There are no ghosts in the "ghost paralysis"

Some people have such feelings when they sleep, frequently waking up from dreams, half asleep and half awake, wanting to scream but unable to open their mouths, wanting to move but unable to move, and often having nightmares. Superstitious friends may think it is "sleep paralysis". However, according to Wang Fang, deputy chief physician of the Department of Neurology at Wuhan Central Hospital, "having such symptoms may be caused by sleep paralysis, also known as sleep paralysis, which is a type of sleep disorder." Sleep paralysis usually occurs in the early morning when you are about to wake up or are about to wake up. It is the result of asynchronous awakening of the brain's nerve center and the motor nerve center. It is understood that the human sleep cycle is in the order of falling asleep, light sleep, deep sleep, deep sleep, and finally rapid eye movement. Sleep paralysis occurs in the rapid eye movement period when dreaming begins. At this time, except for the respiratory muscles and eye muscles, other muscles are in a very low tension state, but if the brain wakes up suddenly, it will cause a situation where the consciousness does not listen to the command, coupled with its own fear, resulting in hallucinations.

Moreover, sleep paralysis may be hereditary, and the cause of the disease is related to long-term stress, fatigue, excessive use of the brain before going to bed, anxiety and tension, and incorrect sleeping posture. Sleep paralysis can occur at any age, and you don’t need to be too nervous if it occurs occasionally, but if it occurs too frequently and affects your normal life, you should go to the hospital in time to determine the severity of the disease and receive psychological and drug treatment if necessary.

||||

(Source: QUICK GUIDE| VOLUME 28, ISSUE 22, PR1288-R1289, NOVEMBER 19, 2018, China News Network, Jimu News, Jiupai Health, Science Popularization China, Beijing Science and Technology News, etc.)

Produced by: Science Central Kitchen

Produced by: Beijing Science and Technology News | Beijing Science and Technology Media

Welcome to share to your circle of friends

Reproduction without authorization is prohibited