Strange Sleeping Experiences

Exploding head syndrome

How it feels: The person wakes up from a sensation of a loud explosion or a clap. Sometimes the sound seems deafening. It can be accompanied by an increasing buzz or a flash. The phenomenon is not dangerous, but it frightens people. Some think they have had a stroke.

Why it happens: This happens when, for some reason, there is a surge of neural activity in the areas of the brain responsible for processing sound . Sometimes the syndrome is coupled with insomnia or jet lag.