EXPLODING HEAD SYNDROME

Despite the sensational name, there's no danger that your head will actually blow apart.
"When most people hear of it, they visualize an individual's head exploding," says Kline That's not what happens."

Marie Raymond sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night, heart pounding, freaked out by the sound of her name being shouted loud and clear. Other times she'll be awakened by the sound of a huge crash, as if someone has broken a window or knocked over a set of dishes. 

"The sound is terrifying — super loud, like someone has broken in," says Raymond, a 38-year-old arts administrator from Seattle. "But when I get up to look around, nothing's amiss and everything's quiet." After dealing with it off and on for the last several months, Raymond believes she may have exploding head syndrome. She hasn't seen a doctor about it, but has done some research online.

Exploding head syndrome is a rare and relatively undocumented parasomnia event in which the subject experiences a loud bang in their head similar to a bomb exploding, a gun going off, a clash of cymbals or any other form of loud, indecipherable noise that seems to originate from inside the head.It is a form of hallucination called hypnagogic in which the sufferer sometimes experiences a sudden loud noise coming from within their own head. 

"It's usually described as a loud bang or pop that occurs in the first third of the night," says Dr. Neil Kline, sleep physician and representative of the American Sleep Association in Wilmington, Del. "It's a sensory phenomenon. The individual senses that some type of explosion has occurred nearby, but ultimately realizes it's in their head. It's not associated with pain or with any disorder that we know of and there are no physiological medical consequences that are associated with it."

First described in 1920 as a "snapping of the brain," there is little to be found on the phenomenon in medical literature. Some patients experience a bright flash of light along with the loud explosion or crash, according to a 1989 study in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry that looked at 50 patients suffering from the syndrome. In almost every case there are physical aftereffects, such as "a sense of alarm, together with a cold sweat, labored breathing and tachycardia" (a rapid heart rate).

Exploding head syndrome is said to happen more often after the age of 50 (although there have been reports of it happening in children) and believed to be more common among women. Due to the rarity of the syndrome, though, it's hard to establish any kind of parameters., Exploding head syndrome is thought to be highly connected with stress and extreme fatigue in most individuals. What actually causes the sensation in individuals is still unknown, though speculation of possible sources includes minor seizures affecting the temporal lobe, or sudden shifts in middle ear components.

Since the phenomenon is often linked to stress, sleep experts suggest relaxation techniques  like exercise, reading before bedtime or yoga to help alleviate the episodes. According to studies, a few patients have also found relief by taking certain types of antidepressants. A 2001 study in the journal Current Pain and Headache Reports found "most sufferers require only reassurance that the spells are benign in nature." 

BY: OPEOLUWA ADETOLA