View Full Version : Anybody ever wake up punching/kicking?
PugnacAutMortem
10-22-2015, 15:48
So my wife tells me this morning that I woke her up in the middle of the night punching the ever-loving crap out of my pillow. I barely remember waking up and her asking me something, and I thought she said I was punching something but I wasn't nearly awake enough at that point to understand what she was asking me so I fell back asleep.
It's got me freaked out all day though, what the hell am I doing punching something in my sleep like that? I'm just glad that it wasn't her that I was punching, but I definitely am scared now that it's a possibility in the future. The worst part is she told me that her dad (who is LEO) woke up one time choking her mom. That was when he was on the child sex crimes unit so I'm sure he was stressed out of his gourd 24/7...but I don't want anything like that to ever happen. I think she was said it trying to make me feel better but it just freaked me out more.
Any of you guys have an experience like this? If so, was it stress induced or just a random occurrence?
Another option is pharmaceutical. A co-worker talks in his sleep when he takes NyQuil and is unaware of it. Some people taking ambien do all kinds of crazy stuff in their sleep.
How muscles are paralyzed during sleep: Finding may suggest new treatments for sleep disorders (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120711131030.htm)
I read another article that indicated repeated head injuries can also trigger this.
Kraven251
10-22-2015, 19:35
My ex grabbed my arm once to wake me, and I almost broke her hand, but that is slightly different.
Happened a few times when my wife and I first got together. One night I had a dream I was violently punching someone. While I was pulling my arm back to punch in the dream, I had a handful of my wife's hair in real life. She was sleeping soundly when I jerked her head right off the pillow. Her scream startled and woke me.
I'd never done anything like that in my life, and only exhibited that behavior a handful of times in about a two week period. Never again after that.
My wife tells me that I do talk in my sleep, often swearing in anger at someone. Our daughter talks in her sleep as well. It's probably just the Parkinson's though.
For about 15 years now different women I've shared a bed with have complained about me kicking in my sleep. I also mumble or moan a lot and my wife swears I have nightmares, even though I never remember having any dreams.
JohnnyEgo
10-23-2015, 09:12
I had these problems a lot when I was younger, but I appear to have aged out of them. I used to do the sorts of things people do on Ambien, just without the Ambien. I cracked a guy's rib in the Navy climbing out of my rack and shouting for everyone to get to the helo. Fortunately, I had good shipmates who woke me up, pointed me back to my rack, and elected not to rat me out. In my teenage years, I once found myself urinating in the pantry (Mom loved that one), as well as waking up in the back yard shed with no idea of how I got there. And then there was all the kicking, shouting, and apparently carrying on semi-lucid conversations with people while sound asleep. I once mule-kicked my first wife right out of the bed at 3:00 AM.
Whatever was going on (Parkinsons) tapered considerably in my mid 20s. It's been many years since I've beaten on anyone in my sleep, and I apparently don't talk in it or move around much, either. Every now and then I will wake up in the middle of a dream with parts of it still carrying over into reality, but I haven't gone anywhere and it fades quickly.
There might be something to the life stress component. I am considerably more mellow now than in my youth, and even the most stressful things that happen rarely make it into my dreams. When they do, I am more likely to be angry that I am not being paid for doing work in my sleep than any other emotion.
My wife is an incredibly violent sleeper. On numerous occasions she's punted our little dogs across the bed or, in some cases, even off of the bed entirely. I woke up one night laying on my side with my back to her with her teeth clenched on my back. Hard. Fortunately (in this instance) she grinds her teeth so she wears night guards which probably prevented her from biting a massive chunk out of my back. I had a rather nice bruise/welt for a bit and I generally don't bruise if that's any indication how hard she bit me. She violently jerks herself awake probably 25% of the time when she falls asleep. She kicks, punches, runs and talks like crazy in her sleep. She does fall asleep nearly instantly every night when her head hits the pillow which I'm jealous of and can sleep anywhere anytime which also makes me jelly but it seems her quality of sleep isn't as good. It bothers her that she kicks and stuff because she's worried about harming the dogs. Thanks for thinking of me, sweetie. lol
Anyway, she doesn't take sleeping aids but does have a drug store worth of over the counter drugs for ever ailment you can think of that she takes regularly. I never even owned Ibuprofen before she moved in with me. She has had closed head injuries from being run over on her bicycle as a kid so that's a possibility. I too though have had lots of head contusions from various high speed motorcycle accidents and sports so I'm not sure that's the sole causation but possibly since I know everyone is different. The mention of Parkinson's scares the shit out of me to be honest because it's not like I ever thought it could be the sign of something more serious. I just laugh at her for the most part and keep her talking for my own entertainment generally. Over the years I've grown bored with that and don't even acknowledge it most of the time. I guess for the most part I never really worried about it other than the dogs because I'm a pretty tough dude and if she did clock me or something it wouldn't bother me too much. The choking thing is a bit bothersome and not something I thought of to this point. I do worry sometimes about having guns in the house but they aren't as easily accessible on her side of the bed although her purse hangs on the wall and her carry Glock is in there so it would be the most likely thing she went for in her sleep I guess. She hasn't sleep walked once yet in about 15 years of sharing a bed so I'm not as worried about that.
Interesting to read this stuff though as I didn't realize it was so wide-spread and didn't think it was really that big of an issue before reading this thread.
PugnacAutMortem
10-23-2015, 11:01
Well as of now it's only a one time thing, but definitely something to watch out for in the future. I definitely think it's stress induced though as I don't take any medicine and my job has been stressing me out something fierce for the better part of 2 years. Stress does some awful things to the body.
Well as of now it's only a one time thing, but definitely something to watch out for in the future. I definitely think it's stress induced though as I don't take any medicine and my job has been stressing me out something fierce for the better part of 2 years. Stress does some awful things to the body.
Next you'll probably develop a case of shingles. I got a mild case of stress induced shingles when I was in college.
JohnnyEgo
10-23-2015, 11:14
Always look on the bright side of life!
Always look on the bright side of life!
Said no mole ever.
You could always take on of those sleep tests, most of them are not covered by insurance though.... But I could be wrong, the hard part is falling a sleep with sensors and crap in a building . But they should be able to tell your sleeping patterns and what goes on your brain.
It could be bad dreams, past experiences or just the brain being extremely active.
Sometimes when I start falling a sleep, all of a sudden I think that I am falling or about to fall and I jump, my wife wakes me up asking me if I am alright... My whole body jumps like if I was a fish, I am like... How the hell do I even do that ?
But yeah, get some consultation and above else, avoid pills for now.
I used to sleep walk like crazy as a child. My parents awoke to me attempting to flush all my Dad's black socks down the toilet at 2 or 3 in the morning. I had the same creepy reoccurring dream at least once a month for over 10 years. And I still get the sensation I'm falling and jump up out of bed. I also talk in my sleep from time to time. I have found drinking plenty of water before bed, using the head before bed and having semi regular sleep patterns has dissuaded this type of unwanted nocturnal behavior. Hey at least I haven't grown fur and started eating the neighborhood cats.
Yeah, I had some moments of sleep paralysis, and I tell you... It is not fun at all, scary as shit too... And it's not from not being able to move, but the shit that you hear and see.
As for the insomnia, if you are still having sleeping issues, this is definitely an attribute to it , sleep deprivation has all sorts of negative effects, daily stress too and negative energy ( such as you wanted to punch some one in the face but held back ) stores in your mind it never gets released until you re-live the moment ? Not sure about that part though...
It's hard to tell, some studies just target 100 people out of 300 million (as an example )
Parkinson, and most degenerative conditions are genetically passed, sometimes there is just nothing you can do, except doing what you can to delay the symptoms and enjoy life.
My Grandfather died of Alzheimer, took him fast too, less than a year... Not sure if it was due to genetics or not, but like I tell my wife, if I ever get to an age that I cannot wipe my own arse, take me a to a nice place in the mountains and put a round in me.
I cannot see my self living like that...
Anyways, I digress.
I hope that you can find a good way to calm your nerves about the issue or find a fix for it (positive one, lol )
Yeah, I had some moments of sleep paralysis, and I tell you... It is not fun at all, scary as shit too... And it's not from not being able to move, but the shit that you hear and see.
As for the insomnia, if you are still having sleeping issues, this is definitely an attribute to it , sleep deprivation has all sorts of negative effects, daily stress too and negative energy ( such as you wanted to punch some one in the face but held back ) stores in your mind it never gets released until you re-live the moment ? Not sure about that part though...
It's hard to tell, some studies just target 100 people out of 300 million (as an example )
Parkinson, and most degenerative conditions are genetically passed, sometimes there is just nothing you can do, except doing what you can to delay the symptoms and enjoy life.
My Grandfather died of Alzheimer, took him fast too, less than a year... Not sure if it was due to genetics or not, but like I tell my wife, if I ever get to an age that I cannot wipe my own arse, take me a to a nice place in the mountains and put a round in me.
I cannot see my self living like that...
Anyways, I digress.
I hope that you can find a good way to calm your nerves about the issue or find a fix for it (positive one, lol )
Can you go into detail on that part? I've heard that sleep paralysis can be caused by some sleep aid medications but I wasn't aware of symptoms other than waking up and not being able to move which seems bad enough already.
People tend to feel like there is something at the end of the bed trying to pull them off, or tighten the covers around them. Every once in a while, nearly every night at the same time, for several nights in a row, I'll be startled awake into a sitting position and there is almost always a floating black shape hanging over the end of the bed, or directly above me on the ceiling. This has happened so many times in a row (but really not all that often in my life overall), that I've had time to analyze it and figure out that the "black mass" is just like reverse tunnel vision. What I mean is that I have clear vision every where except the very center, so it makes it appear as though something is in the room with me. After a while I figured it out and can stay calm and watch my vision clear up and it goes away. I've never actually experienced the paralysis though. I think this episode I'm describing is right on the edge of the paralysis. I can imagine waking up not being able to move would make me panic, hard, and my vision wouldn't clear as fast.
Can you go into detail on that part? I've heard that sleep paralysis can be caused by some sleep aid medications but I wasn't aware of symptoms other than waking up and not being able to move which seems bad enough already.
For me it was cause sleep deprivation, I've spent around 2 years having broken sleep and sleeping less than 4-5 hours daily ( even on the weekends ) The moving part is somewhat bad, but what makes it works that everything that you hear and see ( at least for my case ) was augmented, as in the buzzing sound in your ears ( if you have any ) becomes like a screech, you feel everything in the room, see shapes and hear sounds that you have never heard before or you have heard in scary movies, whispers and such, the harder you try to move, the worse everything gets, when I finally got out of it, lets just say that scared shitless is short of it. Needless to say, after that experience, I said F it and fixed as much as I could my sleeping schedule and found ways to reduce stress.
It almost sounds like hey man you must be high or probably had shrooms, lol. But yeah...
I do not wish for anyone to experience that, try to sleep as much as you can, sleep paralysis can happen from many ways, not just sleeping pills but also by sleep deprivation, getting woken up after REM ( but this is a low chance ) and so forth, there is plenty of info out there, not much you can do once you hit that part, all you can do is ride out and\or fight it until your brain wakes your body up.
OtterbatHellcat
10-25-2015, 08:09
Since I was a kid, I've had very vivid dreams.....I remember a lot of what I dream. I've woken up punching the headboard or inadvertently someone within arms reach.
Bitch of it is, I can never manage to command them, which sucks because I could seemingly have a very interesting dream life if I could.
I don't know what the hell it meant, but as a child I had lots and lots of dreams where everything was going just fine until...................I began to rise up off the ground. This is always where the dream got stupid shitty because I would rise up 20 feet or so and hover around for a short time, and then off I would go up into the clouds. Then gravity would do it's thing and I'd begin the rapid return back down to earth.
I would always wake up right before I hit the ground and turned into a pile of mushy flesh and bones....glad I don't have those anymore at least.
My wife woke up screaming and crying just last night saying how she couldn't breathe and to call 911. Interesting timing with this thread going on, as she's never done this before. I knew what was going on and could tell by how much she was yelling and huffing that she could breathe just fine. I just held her to calm her down and everything was fine. I was trying to tell her about sleep paralysis this morning and she said, "I knew you were just going to write this off as that sleep paralysis thing. I wasn't paralyized, I couldn't breathe, stupid." So everything is back to normal at my house.
My wife woke up screaming and crying just last night saying how she couldn't breathe and to call 911. Interesting timing with this thread going on, as she's never done this before. I knew what was going on and could tell by how much she was yelling and huffing that she could breathe just fine. I just held her to calm her down and everything was fine. I was trying to tell her about sleep paralysis this morning and she said, "I knew you were just going to write this off as that sleep paralysis thing. I wasn't paralyized, I couldn't breathe, stupid." So everything is back to normal at my house.
That sounds a lot more like a symptom of sleep apnea, which I'm unfortunately very familiar with.
Yeah, fuck all that noise in regards to all of these stories I'm reading. Glad I don't have those issue (yet) and I hope my wife doesn't go through that stuff either. Just violence towards me currently which I can deal with.
The odd part is how polar opposite in every way her and I are in terms of sleeping. She has tons of rich dreams that she can (and does) tell me about regularly. I seemingly never have dreams and if I do it's most often a nightmare of some sort and that's only once every few months or so but man, when I do... they're intense. She can fall asleep instantly and it takes me hours sometimes. She needs to sleep a minimum of 8hrs to be functional and I have had countless nights of no sleep and you would't know the next day if I didn't tell you. She's violent and I'm still. She jerks herself awake frequently (often having dreams of falling or similar) just as she's falling asleep and I have only had that happen once or twice my whole life. There's more but I think you get the point. Weird stuff.
That sounds a lot more like a symptom of sleep apnea, which I'm unfortunately very familiar with.
I doubt it in her case. I think this event is an anomaly.
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