Have you ever fallen asleep after which been jolted away from bed by the sound of a bomb exploding in your head? If so, you might have probably experienced exploding head syndrome, a mysterious and poorly understood sleep problem. Exploding head syndrome (EHS) belongs to a family of sleep disorders referred to as parasomnias. Other parasomnias include sleep paralysis and hypnotic jerks – the explanation for the unpleasant feeling of falling that we sometimes experience when falling asleep.
EHS has been known to healthcare employees for no less than 1876and apparently a French philosopher and scientist René Descartes I even have experienced this. Despite this, we all know surprisingly little about this condition.
A typical episode is characterised by the experience of a sudden loud noise or a way of explosion inside the top that happens throughout the transition from wakefulness to sleep. Sounds heard during EHS are variableand include perceptions of gunshots, slamming doors, or unspecified screams. Importantly, the sounds which can be heard are all the time temporary (a number of seconds or less), very loud, and with none obvious external source within the environment.
Next to the sounds, some people experience accompanied by temporary visual hallucinations, akin to shiny flashes. Others have also reported a sense of intense heat or a sensation of an electrical charge flowing through the upper body.
It is difficult to accurately estimate how many individuals experience EHS. One reason is just the dearth of accessible data. Only a number of studies have attempted to look at the prevalence of EHS in the final population.
One early study found that 11% of healthy adults experienced EHS, while one other test in undergraduate students, 17% of participants were found to have experienced multiple episodes of their lives. In my very own, newer study, also with undergraduate students, my colleagues and I discovered that one third in our sample experienced no less than one episode of EHS of their lifetime, with roughly 6% experiencing no less than one episode per thirty days.
These studies show that EHS is a comparatively common experience, no less than in young adults. However, it appears to be less common than other parasomnias, akin to hypnotic jerks, which occur in 70% of individuals.
Triggers
The exact explanation for EHS is unknown. While many theories have been recommend concerning the root explanation for EHS, hottest implies natural brain processes that occur throughout the transition from wakefulness to sleep. On a typical night, as we transition from wakefulness to sleep, activity within the reticular structure of the brain is reduced.
This reticular formation is a set of brain structures positioned primarily within the brain stem and hypothalamus that acts as an “on-off” switch for the brain. As reticular activity slows within the transition to sleep, our sensory cortex, which controls vision, sound, and motor movement, begins turn off.
It has been proposed that the experience of EHS is brought on by a disruption of this normal shutdown process, which ends up in a delayed and disjoint increase within the activation of sensory neural networks within the absence of any external stimuli. These temporary increases in activation are then perceived because the loud, nonspecific sounds that characterize EHS.
Although the precise neural basis of EHS stays speculative, we’re starting to learn more about other aspects that make an episode of EHS more likely. In one among the primary studies to take a look at the aspects involved, my colleagues and I discovered that well-being variables, akin to life stress, were related to experiencing EHS. This association was mediated by insomnia symptoms. In other words, life stress was indirectly related to EHS, but was not directly associated by first disrupting normal sleep patterns.
Is EHS dangerous?
Despite its provocative name, EHS is harmless. However, it is crucial to differentiate an episode of EHS from other conditions, particularly from various forms of headaches. EHS episodes are very temporary (a number of seconds) and frequently don’t involve any pain. If there’s pain, it’s mild and transient. In contrast, many headaches last more and involve much higher levels of pain.
This doesn’t mean that EHS can’t be a terrifying experience. last examination Of the greater than 3,000 participants who experienced EHS, we found that 45% of respondents reported moderate to severe levels of fear related to their EHS. A quarter of participants also reported high levels of stress in response to experiencing EHS, with increased levels of stress being related to more frequent episodes.
Unfortunately, no systematic studies have been conducted to research potential treatments and coping strategies for people combating EHS-related distress. In our studyparticipants reported that changing sleeping position to avoid sleeping on their backs, adjusting sleep patterns, and using mindfulness techniques were effective strategies to stop EHS. Whether any of those techniques will prove effective in clinical trials stays to be tested.
Encouragingly, just learning that EHS is a typical and harmless condition can go a good distance. patient case studyreassurance and education concerning the experience have been reported to stop episodes from occurring. At least for now, the very best advice appears to be to try to grasp that these experiences are natural and don’t indicate that anything is unsuitable. Simple techniques, akin to improving sleep habits, can go a good distance toward stopping stressful episodes from occurring.
