This episode of DNews is brought to you by Harry’s.
Have you ever been asleep and been jolted awake by a SUPER loud sound?
Science says that sound only exists in your head!!
*mind blown* Oh,wait... actually that might be considered insensitive.
Exploding head syndrome sounds like someone is going to have a lot of cleanup to do, but
it's not about heads that REALLY explode, but rather a sleep disorder.
Have you ever been asleep or drifting off, and been suddenly JOLTED AWAKE by a super
loud sound?!
THAT'S exploding head syndrome.
The sound has been associated with a gunshot, explosion, a thunderclap, or a cymbal clash;
and though it seems real, it's all in the mind of the person experiencing it.
I've never heard of this, but I've TOTALLY experienced it; so obviously I have to know
more.
Exploding head syndrome (EHS) was first described in the 1870s in Virginia Medical Monthly as
a "sense of a pistol shot or a blow on the head."
It was largely ignored, until 1988 when the Lancet published a paper that gave it a name[1].
Today, the American Sleep Association (ASA) characterises EHS as a painless loud sound
sometimes accompanied by a flash of light followed by anxiety, increased heart rate
and shortness of breath[2].
It can interfere with normal sleep patterns, which has any number of other effects -- search
DNews; videos for sleep.
There are a lot.
In March, the Washington State University researchers announced the findings of their
study of 211 undergraduates and found about one in five students had experienced EHS[3];
though it'a ms most common in people over 50; and SLIGHTLY more common in women[4],[5].
Other studies have found the prevalence closer to 1 in 8[6].
EHS isn't a minor disorder.
People are jolted awake, and with a huge amount anxiety, believing someone is breaking in
or a bomb went off a simply cannot determine what has happened!
It's so disturbing to some people that the've contrived a conspiracy theory involving electronic
microwave burst harassment by the gub-ment[7].
[a]
In the early 90s, scientists hooked people up to electroencephalographs, electrooculographs
and submental electromyograms EEGs or similar devices to watch activity in the brain, and
they didn't find any evidence of problem.
But they did note brain patterns tipped toward alertness just before the onset of an "attack"
and then everything returned to normal with no lasting effects[8].
Scientists have tested its connection to headaches and neurological disorders like epilepsy,
and have yet been unable to determine a cause, or a good test for it.
But they have a hypothesis for why it happens.
When the brain settles in for sleep the brainstem reticular formation begins to take over from
the major control neurons.
The BRF controls heartbeat, breathing, eye movement, and sensorimotor reflex and control[9].[b]
Scientists think in people with exploding head syndrome, the neurons don't shut down
correctly and instead they fire all at once for some reason causing this fantastic sound.
Evidence seems to point to the brainstem reticular formation, because it also controls sleep
paralysis, which is occasionally associated with EHS.
A German study of EHS found that while there is no cure, the best treatment is to reassure
people that YES it's in your head.
It's completely fine.
And it's not going to harm you.
But it's weird and strange and research is ongoing, and needed.
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Have you experienced Exploding Head Syndrome?
Tell us!