According to a new study conducted by the Washington State University, researchers have discovered that nearly one in five students suffer from a bizarre sleeping disorder known as ‘exploding head syndrome’. Researchers said, 18 percent of the college students suffered from the syndrome at least once.
Researchers said, they have gathered data from 211 undergraduate students. Study author Brian Sharpless, a Washington State University Assistant Professor and Director of the University Psychology Clinic said, he conducted the new research because data from previous researches didn’t add up. According to the previous research the symptoms can be found in the middles aged individuals and was considered as a rare diseases. In a statement Sharpless said, “I didn’t believe the clinical lore that it would only occur in people in their 50s. That didn’t make a lot of biological sense to me.”
Sharpless said, the research hypothesizes that the noise that people hear in their heads “stems from a momentary neural hiccup as the brain transitions into sleep mode.” He said, “That’s why you get these crazy-loud noises that you can’t explain, and they’re not actual noises in your environment.” But he also said that for most of the people this condition does not cause any long-lasting harm. Researchers also reveal that only 2 percent of the sufferers get so surprised or confused that, they suffer from a condition the study identified as, “clinically significant distress and/or impairment.”
Sharpless explained, “Some people have worked these scary experiences into conspiracy theories and mistakenly believe the episodes are caused by some sort of directed-energy weapon. They may think they’re going crazy and they don’t know that a good chunk of the population has had the exact same thing.”
The researchers said, this condition sometimes is transpired by another disorder known as Isolated Sleep Paralysis. According to the health experts, people suffering from Isolated Sleep Paralysis remain in a dream like state with their eyes open, unable to move or speak when they wake up. According to the health experts, many people experiencing this condition described it as a terrifying experience. The researchers revealed that one third of the people suffering from ‘exploding head syndrome’ also suffer from Isolated Sleep Paralysis.
According to the health experts, none of the conditions have any well-established treatment. But researchers of the new study suggested that with more information people who suffer from the symptoms may feel some comfort. Sleepless said, “There’s the possibility that just being able to recognize it and not be afraid of it can make it better.”