Skip to main content

Weird Sleep Disorders to Worry About

By Every Day Story16 items
Share
🔥 2.5K votes

About this list

Having trouble sleeping? Here's some freaky information to make it worse. There are many weird sleep disorders, ranging from comical to deadly. Some are rare, painful, and life-changing. You might wish they were as minor as sleep talking. Let's explore these conditions, from the known to the newly terrifying.

Crowd-ranked
Science & Medicine
updating live16 items
  • 1
    Sleep Paralysis
    Sleep ParalysisScience Medicine

    Wake up unable to move. You see but might not breathe; your body is paralyzed. A strange demon might sit on your chest, or a dark shape looms. Then, you move and breathe again. You are awake and alert, probably terrified. This happens with sleep paralysis.

    Sleep paralysis was once linked to evil spirits, but now people think it signals something else.Your body stops moving naturally during normal sleep stages.Sleep paralysis is not harmful, but it can feel scary and stressful. It sometimes connects to mental health issues. There is no cure, but drugs and home remedies can help you sleep better.

    Science & Medicine
    🔥 448 up · 70 down▲ 1 above editor
  • 2
    Fatal Familial Insomnia
    Fatal Familial InsomniaScience Medicine

    Fatal familial insomnia is very rare. Still, it remains terrifying.Fatal familial insomnia is listed among 'Weird Sleep Disorders to Worry About'.Fatal familial insomnia is a genetic condition affecting the brain and nervous system. It starts with sleeplessness, causing vivid dreams during sleep. Next, high blood pressure, hyperventilation, and bladder problems appear. Finally, ataxia sets in, and death follows, usually months or years after symptoms begin. No cure or way to slow it down exists. Medicine only eases symptoms.

    Science & Medicine
    🔥 401 up · 36 down▼ 1 below editor
  • 3
    Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome

    Sudden unexpected death syndrome is exactly as the title states; it is terrifying. SUNDS involves falling asleep and then suddenly, simply...Sudden unexpected death syndrome causes dying of cardiac arrest before you wake up.This happens. It occurs without warning. Most people in Southeast Asia or of Southeast Asian descent experience it, but anyone can get it. Doctors find no cause for death. No one can predict when it will happen. No treatment exists. It just happens.

    Science & Medicine
    🔥 308 up · 44 down
  • 4
    Night Terrors
    Night TerrorsScience Medicine

    Nightmares are bad; no one denies that. But they have a much scarier, more severe relative called...Night terrors are listed in 'Weird Sleep Disorders to Worry About'.You might have a vivid nightmare that spills into reality. You sweat, scream, flail, and sometimes stand up and walk while mostly asleep, thinking the nightmare is real and you must fight or flee.

    Night terrors happen most often in children. While most episodes last seconds, some last minutes or longer. Drugs rarely help. Changing sleep habits and managing stress often help.

    Science & Medicine
    🔥 287 up · 44 down
  • 5
    REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

    Rapid eye movement behavior disorder is like talking in your sleep, the deluxe version. During REM sleep, where most people dream, you might start toAct out various activities in your dream.Movements might flail, speech might occur, or you might try tasks. Your actions may sometimes seem violent, and your sounds might frighten those nearby. You might even punch your sleeping partner. This is usually harmless (at least to you), but REM sleep behavior disorder connects to Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia. This sleep disorder could signal an early sign of a severe neurological disorder on your horizon.Rapid eye movement behavior disorder is a severe neurological disorder.This disorder is on your horizon.

    Science & Medicine
    🔥 255 up · 57 down
  • 6
    Exploding Head Syndrome
    Exploding Head SyndromeScience Medicine

    Imagine you are settling down for sleep. You close your eyes, relax, and drift off. Suddenly, BANG!BANG!A loud noise hits your head, and you wake up suddenly. People call this exploding head syndrome.Exploding head syndrome occurs.Exploding head syndrome means perceiving a loud noise when falling asleep or waking up. It does not cause pain, yet it can feel very unsettling. Some scientists suggest a link to temporal lobe seizures. Antidepressants help sometimes, but there is no cure.

    Science & Medicine
    🔥 217 up · 59 down▲ 1 above editor
  • 7
    Narcolepsy
    NarcolepsyScience Medicine

    You likely know this condition: falling asleep anywhere, anytime. Narcolepsy is more distressing than that.Narcolepsy causes a little more distressing symptoms.Unlike hypersomnia, where you are sleepy all the time, narcolepsy involves hallucinations, sudden sleep, loss of muscle control, sleep paralysis, and an uneven sleep schedule. The brain lacks hypocretin, causing the condition. There is no cure, but treatment allows people to live full, normal lives. Only about 1 in 2,000 people have narcolepsy.

    Science & Medicine
    🔥 184 up · 43 down▼ 1 below editor
  • 8
    Kleine–Levin Syndrome
    Kleine–Levin SyndromeScience Medicine

    This disorder also has the name Sleeping Beauty Syndrome, but this is not a pleasant condition.Kleine–Levin syndrome exists.You fall asleep and stay asleep for very long periods without waking. This mostly affects teenagers but can happen to anyone. Episodes last from days to months; extreme cases last years. Strangely, people with this syndrome stay healthy during long sleep periods. However, this disrupts jobs, social life, and school, so treatment is sought. No cures exist, and we do not know the cause.

    Science & Medicine
    🔥 191 up · 63 down▲ 2 above editor
  • 9
    Cataplexy
    CataplexyScience Medicine

    Cataplexy is a sudden muscle relaxation that usually causes an emotional outburst, like laughter, crying, or terror. This happens most often with narcolepsy.Narcolepsy most commonly involves cataplexy.Cataplexy in sleep happens on its own, and it feels really unsettling. It looks like a seizure, but it means you suddenly twitch and laugh, or shudder and cry without warning during sleep. Onlookers find it terrifying. If it happens while awake, people know they did something against their will, so it can be embarrassing. Doctors do not know the cause, making treatment difficult.

    Science & Medicine
    🔥 159 up · 44 down▼ 1 below editor
  • 10
    Sleep Apnea
    Sleep ApneaScience Medicine

    Sleep apnea is incredibly common, affecting about 1 in 5 people. This disorder can be very serious.Sleep apnea means your breathing stops and starts during sleep. This causes snoring, panic, lack of sleep, morning headaches, and bothers your loved ones. Stopping breathing for ten seconds or more is startling. Many things cause sleep apnea. CPAP masks, oxygen therapy, or surgery treat and manage it in severe cases.Sleep apnea is when breathing repeatedly starts and stops during sleep. This causes snoring, panic, lack of sleep, morning headaches, and annoyance for loved ones. Stopping breathing for ten seconds or more is startling. Many factors lead to sleep apnea. CPAP masks, oxygen therapy, or surgery treat and manage it in extreme cases.

    Science & Medicine
    🔥 160 up · 45 down▼ 1 below editor
  • 11
    Hypersomnia
    HypersomniaScience Medicine

    If you have a long, boring job, you might feel sleepy all the time, or unable to stay alert. Coffee usually helps, but not for people with hypersomnia. This condition means feeling sleepy constantly, being able to fall asleep anywhere (even while driving), and needing constant naps and long sleep periods. Though less severe than narcolepsy, this constant sleepiness makes work and social life tough. Treatments range from stimulants to behavioral therapy.

    Science & Medicine
    🔥 144 up · 48 down
  • 12
    Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder

    For most people, their bodies signal exactly when to wake up and when to sleep. People with Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder lack that signal.Non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder have.trouble keeping normal body clock rhythms, so they do not match their sleep schedule with the night and wake up during the day. They might need more than one sleep session in 24 hours, or sleep none at all. This harms mental and physical health. Blind people often have this because light strongly triggers when to sleep and wake up. Treatments exist, but there are no cures.

    Science & Medicine
    🔥 127 up · 41 down
  • 13
    Sexsomnia
    SexsomniaScience Medicine

    Sexsomnia might sound like a fake disorder, but it is real.it is very real., and it is not funny. About one percent of people experience sexsomnia. They have sex, touch others sexually, or masturbate while actually asleep. This seems silly, but it causes injuries for people or others, ruins relationships, and makes intimacy hard. It also strains mental health and resists medical control.

    Science & Medicine
    🔥 147 up · 61 down
  • 14
    Somnambulism
    SomnambulismScience Medicine

    This is just a fancy term forSleepwalking.Somnambulism, which can cause major problems, is most common in children. Fourteen percent of kids experience it at some point. Sleepwalking often stops, but it causes injury, confusion, and uneven sleep. Epilepsy and mental illness can link to sleepwalking. Psychotropic drugs treat sleepwalking. About a quarter of kids continue with it into adulthood.

    Science & Medicine
    🔥 114 up · 47 down
  • 15
    Nocturnal Sleep-Related Eating Disorder

    Many people crave food near bedtime. But what about after bedtime? Some folks have midnight snacks.This happens whether they want to or not.People with NSRED wake up, only partially aware of their actions. They wander to find food, eat until satisfied, then return to sleep. People often do not know what they did upon waking. Unhealthy, high-calorie foods often cause this. This affects health and food bills. Sleep apnea links to this disorder. A sleep study usually shows what is wrong and how to treat it.

    Science & Medicine
    🔥 102 up · 54 down
  • 16
    Sleep Bruxism
    Sleep BruxismScience Medicine

    Everyone knows grinding teeth is a bad habit. Bruxism, tooth grinding and clenching, causes headaches, jaw problems, damaged teeth, and other issues. Those who grind their teeth face these problems.Bruxism usually happens at night.Bruxism occurs while sleeping, so people cannot control it. It often links to snoring and sleep apnea, making it unpleasant for sleepers nearby. Doctors sometimes use drugs, like muscle relaxants, or behavior changes to help. You can also buy a mouth guard to protect teeth and jaws while resting.

    Science & Medicine
    🔥 75 up · 63 down

Comments (0)

Join the conversation

Sign in to share your take and reply to others.

First take? Share what stood out to you.

More like this