Earlier This Week I Woke Myself up From Sleep Laughing
Usually I wake up in the middle of the night because I have to pee, or my neighbor slams her front door at 2:00 in the morning almost scaring the pee out of me. But this time, It was my mirthful subconscious to blame.
Telling you about the dream would be silly. Nobody REALLY likes to hear about other people’s dreams, right? I mean, my mom always listens with a sincere interest, but let’s be honest, as soon as anybody else starts talking about their dream, unless it involves me personally, I tune them out. I assume you do too.
But obviously I was enjo
ying the conversation and interaction in my dream so much that I laughed hard enough for it to wake me up.
And to be honest, it was pretty awesome…Because when I woke up, I was still laughing and I had a huge smile on my face.
I turned over on my side and I was still chuckling to myself. And to top it off, I still had another three hours left until my alarm went off.
The next two nights, it happened again.
Different dreams with different people, but yet again, I woke myself up laughing.
On the third night, not only did I wake myself up from laughing, but I woke myself up from moving while I was giggling. I was shifting my body in the same flirtatious manner I was in my dream.
What might come across as normal and flirty when I’m conscious and standing up, almost becomes violent and dangerous when I’m sleeping. I know this because my neck has been killing me all week, and I am pretty sure it’s due to this new sleep-laughing.
But honestly, I love it.
Waking up with a huge smile on my face, no matter what time it is in the wee hours of the morning, is making me smile even as I write this.
I find it incredibly enduring to know that my subconscious seems to be having more fun while I’m sleeping than she (Does our subconscious have a preferred gender pronoun?) does when she is awake.
I’ve Always Been a Sleep Talker
Talking in my sleep isn’t new. I’ve heard over the years that I talk in my sleep a lot. And some people have even tried to get deep, dark, secrets out of me.
I remember when I lived with my partner in my twenties he would try to have conversations with me when I would talk in my sleep.
“The note is in my pocket” I said out loud as we slept.
“What does the note say?” he replied in curiosity.
To his dismay, every time, his response would wake me up. I’d roll over and mumble a slur of unrecognizable words and then finally spurt out, “I’m sleep talking. Stop messing with me.”
Usually sleep talking gets worse when I am in a new location, stressed, or in unfamiliar scenario. Say, traveling abroad with friends, sharing a bed with my mom on a family trip, or having an overnight with a new gent I’m dating.
Thexy Talk
As if breaking the news to a new boyfriend that I wear a night guard to sleep isn’t sexy enough. I also have to tell him that I tend to talk in my sleep…And if I do, “It will thound thuper thexy” while also wearing my night guard. I guess that’s my true test for them. If they can handle that, he’s a keeper.
Hypnogely and Somniloquy – It’s Science
Sleep laughing and waking myself up three times in one week is impressive, but also curious, so I looked into it. You know, because, the Internets gives life to new hypochondriacs.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I have a condition. I know, it’s scary, but at least we know.
Somniloquy, more commonly known as sleep talking, is pretty common, and let’s be honest, I don’t have a brain tumor, just an active mind, and witty sense of humor.
What’s technically known as hypnogely, or sleep laughing, can symbolize a neurological disorder, but it’s rare.
I think we should all be more concerned about the fact that I laugh at my own jokes. All of them. Conscious or not.
If this “condition” got worse, I could see it becoming a problem, but for now, I’m finding it to be a fun and new way for me to connect with my subconscious.
And if I really wanted to dig in and take it a step further, and really hack what’s going on, I would consider the stress in my week, how I am feeling this week, what I’ve been eating, how much sleep I’ve been getting, etc.
Or, I could just get to the good subconscious stuff and record myself talking or laughing with this Sleep Talk Recorder App.