10 Terrifying Things That Can Happen To You Whilst Sleeping

Exploding Head Syndrome sounds terrifying, but fear not, this does not mean that your head will quite literally explode whilst sleeping. The syndrome's name refers to the experience or sound the sufferer thinks is happening. During their sleep, they may hear a loud explosion or see a bright light which in turn shocks them to wake up. In actual fact, this exploding sensation has not happened at all and is a fabrication of the brain.

The imaginary explosions happen when the sufferer is either in the process of waking up or beginning to fall into a deep sleep, and can cause other symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, mild memory loss and an increased panicked heart rate as they try to sleep again.

More often than not, the syndrome sufferers will not experience pain, though they may be filled with fear after they have jumped awake as they attempt to figure out the noise. It can also be accompanied by short hallucinations or visions within the dream before waking like lightning or static.