Exploding head syndrome is one of the forms of parasomnia, in which, when falling asleep or waking up, a person hears a sudden sound, like a shot, a door closing or an exploding bomb. Such sounds occur in the patient’s head and in most cases are accompanied by a visual addition in the form of lightning flashes.
Detailed description of the syndrome
Exploding head syndrome was first described in detail by Silas Mitchell in 1876. But in the International Classification of Sleep Problems, this kind of parasomnia appeared only at the beginning of the 21st century. Up to this point, mention of the syndrome could only be found in special medical directories.
Until now, the nature of the lesion is not fully understood. There are a large number of unsubstantiated conjectures (for example, quantum consciousness), but along with them, scientists were able to provide sound explanations for this form of parasomnia.
Manifestation of violation
As already mentioned, attacks of the exploding head syndrome occur at the time of falling asleep or awakening, as well as during night rest. A paroxysmal state may look like hallucinations, for example, the sounds of a strong wind, a loud explosion during which the patient feels as if his head is torn to pieces. Together with an unpleasant noise, bright flashes may appear in front of the eyes.
Awakening with the syndrome takes place against the background of a short panic attack, which disappears after a couple of seconds. It is important to remember that only in some cases do such attacks lead to headaches. Many doctors believe that pain in the exploding head syndrome occurs due to psychological disorders.
This paroxysmal condition can occur only once during a night's rest, and can continue with a number of attacks. Observation of a patient who is concerned about such a disorder has shown that the lesion can manifest itself once a week or a month. But in patients with an acute form, seizures are repeated every day.
Most often, the symptoms of night outbreaks of an exploding head are similar to stroke attacks or brain hemorrhages, but with a full examination by a doctor, such problems are not detected.
Features of the disease
Attacks of an exploding head are not well understood, but there are many theories of their appearance. Observation of sleeping patients helped put forward the theory that the syndrome is due to disturbances in the brain. This form of parasomnia appears due to a violation of the natural processes of excitation and inhibition, which take place in the network-like formation.
During falling asleep, when the patient has not yet completely gone into a state of sleep, certain parts of the brain are turned off one by one. Gradually, the shutdown of auditory, motor processes, as well as visual neurons, begins.
Also, flashes and loud noises in the head can appear due to the fact that auditory neurons come to an operational state instead of disconnecting. This is what can trigger unpleasant explosions in the head and visual hallucinations.
In addition, people suffering from such a lesion have reaction delays in the reticular formation (the part of the brain that is responsible for the main reflexes and activation of the cerebral cortex). At this time, alpha waves sent by the brain are significantly suppressed, helping a person to normally go to sleep.
Main reasons
Common causes of this form of parasomnia include:
- mild cramps that spread along the temporal lobe of the brain;
- severe disturbances in the structure of the middle ear;
- emotional depression, depression;
- lack of sleep (its complete absence);
- hearing impairment;
- end of taking tranquilizers;
- stop taking benzodiazepines;
- strong physical activity;
- difficulties in the functioning of the nervous system;
- other sleep problems;
- regular intake of alcoholic beverages or drugs;
- mental problems;
- chronic diseases of internal organs.
To a greater extent, women are prone to the appearance of an exploding head syndrome.
It was previously believed that the syndrome occurs mainly in the elderly, but according to studies conducted in 2014 at the University of Washington, it was found that the violation is more common in young people. When interviewing university students, 18 percent of them showed signs of violation.
General clinical picture
Sound and visual hallucinations pass without attacks of pain. Awakening from sudden sounds is accompanied by a feeling of fear, as well as sleepy paralysis.
The main symptoms of exploding head syndrome :
- Sounds of a strong explosion, which occur as if in the head and tear it into small pieces. Such sounds also include breaking the strings, a bursting ball, the sounds of a scream, a shot and a knock.
- Sudden cramps.
- The appearance of a short panic attack during awakening.
- Night outbreaks with exploding head syndrome.
The attack of an exploding head is transient, lasting only a few seconds. If parasomnia arose due to severe stress or mental stress, then experts advise the patient to just have a good rest. After relaxation, in most cases, sounds with exploding head syndrome immediately pass.
Disease definition
To identify the problem, it is not necessary to conduct lengthy examinations. A neurologist or somnologist can quickly determine the disease after collecting an anamnesis and talking with the patient.
With severe sleep difficulties, the doctor may prescribe a study such as polysomnography. During polysomnography, brain waves, heart rate, and breathing during sleep are studied in detail. Also, during the examination, the doctor notes all movements of the limbs.
Polysomnography helps to establish a connection between sound hallucinations in the head during sleep and possible other difficulties. In some cases, the disease is accompanied by severe pain. It is very important to conduct a differential diagnosis of all the signs that may indicate a different source of headache.
Patient care
Exploding head syndrome has appeared in medicine recently. While there is no specific method of therapy. For the treatment of exploding head syndrome, medications are most often used. The doctor prescribes the following medicines to patients:
- medicinal soothing herbs, homeopathic remedies;
- antihypoxants;
- hypnotic;
- tricyclic antidepressants.
If the disease leads to other problems with sleep (for example, insomnia), then doctors prescribe calcium analogues. Sometimes calcium blockers can completely relieve seizures, but more often they reduce their frequency.
In the treatment of such a lesion, it is allowed to use physiotherapy: massage, electrosleep and acupuncture.
Is treatment important
After numerous observations of patients, it was found that the exploding head syndrome has no consequences. The disease rarely causes severe discomfort, mainly replaced by almost instant sleep. If you do not think about this problem, and more often rest and avoid strong stresses on the mental system, then you can completely forget about the attacks.
But in the event that the syndrome adversely affects night rest, does not allow normal relaxation, leads to panic attacks, it is very important to consult a doctor on time. At first, it is important to consult a neurologist for a full examination and identification of concomitant pathologies, and then consult a somnologist.
To avoid possible sleep problems, it is best to prevent relapses in advance. To do this, the patient must normalize sleep patterns (at least 7-8 hours), reduce stress, improve diet, begin to lead an active lifestyle and get rid of bad habits that worsen health.