If you’ve ever had an episode of confusional arousals, you may have experienced something as strange as what I’m about to describe.
After going to bed as normal one day, I later woke up in the middle of the night and sat up in bed. I’m not sure how long I was sitting there without doing anything at first, but I do remember feeling a bit thirsty.
Instead of doing the logical thing and reaching for the glass of water on my bedside table, however, I picked up my phone.
It was only when lifted it to my mouth that I must have realized it didn’t contain any liquid, and put it back on the table.
I then vaguely remember rummaging around for the real glass of water and knocking it off the table onto the stone floor.
I think the sound of the shattering glass must have snapped me out of the confused state. But even then I couldn’t quite understand what I was trying to do.
Over the next few minutes, I slowly came back to reality, and eventually got up to clean the floor. It was only when I was back in bed that it dawned on me that I hadn’t been my usual self.
It seems I’d experienced an episode of what’s known as confusional arousals. I’m sure it wasn’t the first time either, but like many people, I probably don’t usually remember the episodes.
Do you wake up confused and do unusual things?
If you sometimes behave in a confused, strange, or even aggressive way if you wake up in the night, it could be that you’ve also experienced confusional arousals.
And if it tends to happen in the morning, it could potentially be that you have ‘sleep drunkenness’. This is the popular name for what sleep experts call severe sleep inertia. Or in layman’s terms, being unusually slow to come back to life when you wake up in the morning!
In this article, I’ll be taking a look at what confusional arousals are, what’s thought to cause them, and what can be done about them.
I’ll also discuss some fascinating research that shows how common a sleep disorder it is, and who is more likely to have it.
Poll results
Way back in 2015, I ran a poll to find out how often readers experience confusional arousals.
Note that it’s a poll of people reading this article because it’s relevant to them. So the figure of 2.8% who have never had them is likely to be higher in the general population.
Interestingly though, out of 657 readers, 230 said they have confusional arousals very regularly (1-3 times per week). However, 188 people only have a few per year.
What are confusional arousals?
The International Classification of Sleep Disorders diagnostic manual describes confusional arousals as being when someone wakes up in a confused state.
That might sound obvious, but the confusion can take different forms. For example, you might be confused about who you are, where you are, or what’s happening around you.
If someone talks to you, you might have slow or slurred speech. You might give short, blunt answers to questions, or make no sense at all.
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, confusional arousals typically occur as you wake from the slow-wave, or N3, sleep stage.
In the spectrum of sleep disorders, confusional arousals are classified as a parasomnia. Parasomnias include unwanted events or experiences around sleep, such as sleep talking, sleep paralysis, and nightmares.
In an interesting research study published in 2020, the authors describe confusional arousals in a way that I think helps understand what can happen during a typical episode:
CA are episodes during which the subject sits on the bed and looks around as if confused. CA often begin with automatic movements, vocalizations or moaning and can progress to thrashing about in bed or violent behaviors towards oneself or others. Individuals usually appear with slow mentation and have poor reactivity to environmental stimuli; attempts to awaken the person are often unsuccessful and may be met with vigorous resistance.
Who experiences confusional arousals?
It’s believed that an equal number of men and women experience confusional arousals. And it’s more common in children and adults under the age of 35.
In 2014, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine published some fascinating research into confusional arousals.
The research made major news headlines, perhaps in part because they could use the captivating title of ‘sleep drunkenness’.
Importantly, the researchers discovered that it’s surprisingly common and that specific groups of people are more likely to have it.
Key points and findings
Here are the main findings of the Stanford study:
- They interviewed 19,136 adults in the United States.
- 15.2% had experienced confusional arousals in the last year. Over 50% of those had experienced it more than once a week.
Of the 15.2% who had confusional arousals, they found:
- 84% were associated with either a sleep disorder, a mental health disorder, or were taking psychotropic drugs.
- 70.8% had another sleep disorder.
- 14.8% sleepwalk.
- 37.4% had a mental disorder (mostly bipolar and panic disorders).
- 31.3% were using psychotropic medication (mainly antidepressants).
- Just 0.9% had no related condition or identifiable cause and could be said to have a confusional arousal disorder.
- 8.6% have either partial or no memory of episodes.
Different types of confusion
The study found the following were the most common types of behavior or confusion:
- Temporospatial disorientation (confusion about where or when they are): 57%
- Hallucinations: 36%
- Difficulty speaking or thinking clearly: 34%
- Confused behaviors: 20%
- Sleepwalking:15%
- No memory of episodes: 9%
Interestingly, the team concluded that confusional arousals were often reported as arising from the treatment of other sleep disorders. And that both sleep and mental disorders were important factors – as seen from the figures above.
Aggressive behavior provoked by another person
Do you or someone you know sometimes act in an aggressive way during an episode? This is understandably worrying and can be stressful for partners. So why does it happen and what can you do about it?
In 2007, Mark R. Pressman, Ph.D. published an interesting review that looked at violent episodes during confusional arousals.
He wrote that violent episodes aren’t common. But when they do happen, it’s usually in two situations:
- If someone wakes you up.
- When you behave in a complex way in bed in your sleep, and someone else tries to calm you by holding or grabbing you.
He further clarifies that:
Violent behaviors associated with provocations and/or close proximity were found to be present in 100% of confusional arousal patients
So perhaps it’s best to avoid physical contact with someone having an episode unless they are putting themselves or others in danger. And to try to avoid waking someone up who is prone to confusional arousals.
Causes and risk factors
Confusional arousals are thought to happen when transitioning from deep sleep to a lighter sleep stage, or when woken up suddenly.
Researchers in 2018 summarize what happens in a slightly more technical way:
Confusional arousals (CA) are characterized by the association of behavioral awakening with persistent slow-wave electroencephalographic (EEG) activity during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep—suggesting that sensorimotor areas are “awake” while non-sensorimotor areas are still “asleep.”
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine lists several possible causes:
- Recovery from sleep deprivation.
- Consuming alcohol.
- Sleep apnea.
- Periodic limb movement disorder.
- Psychotropic medication.
- Drug abuse.
- Being forced to wake up.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine also suggests that there are several possible risk factors.
They say you are more likely to experience confusional arousals if you have a relative who has them. In addition, the following factors can increase the chance of them happening:
- Rotating and night shift work.
- Other sleep disorders (hypersomnia, insomnia, circadian rhythm sleep disorders).
- Not enough sleep
- Stress.
- Worry.
- Bipolar and depressive disorders.
Treatment and prevention
There isn’t a specific cure for confusional arousals as such, and no one-size-fits-all treatment.
If another disorder is causing the episodes, that’s what needs to be treated. This is something to speak to your doctor about, especially if you have signs of a serious sleep disorder like sleep apnea.
The same applies to mental health conditions that can be treated and managed. And if you’re taking medication, it’s a good idea to mention the episodes to your doctor.
If you drink alcohol or take recreational drugs, it might help to see if you have fewer episodes when you don’t drink or take drugs.
It’s also important to try to focus on your sleep and make sure you’re getting enough – don’t allow yourself to become sleep deprived over time.
The standard advice from sleep professionals to practice good sleep hygiene might also help. In particular, find ways to reduce stress, and develop a consistent and relaxing bedtime routine so you go to bed in a calm frame of mind.
You’re not alone
One final note if you’ve been worrying about your behavior is to remember that you’re not alone. Don’t be embarrassed or think you’re abnormal because of what you do when you’re not fully aware.
Many people experience sleep disorders or go through periods where bizarre things happen to them at night.
If it’s worrying you or having an impact on your life or relationships, it’s a good idea to speak to a medical professional though. At the very least, they should be able to set your mind at ease.
The funny side
Personally, I choose to deal with it by trying not to take it too seriously. I try to laugh at myself when I do strange things like attempting to leave my bedroom via the wardrobe (yes, really!).
I know I have other sleep problems and am constantly working on those. So I hope that one day I’ll get on top of my sleep problems once and for all. Perhaps the confusional arousals will then resolve too.
Until then, other than worrying about replacing a broken glass, I’m able to see the funny side. I remind myself that little events like this can make life all the more colorful.
Understandably, if your confusional arousal episodes are causing problems because of aggressive behavior, sleep disruption, or complaints from a partner, you might not see the funny side.
If it’s just the occasional event of mistaking your phone for a lamp, or not knowing who you are for a moment, then perhaps a smile or laugh is the best way to stop yourself get stressed by it.
Your thoughts
If you’ve experienced confusional arousals I’d be very interested to hear from you. What exactly happens during your episodes? Have you found anything that makes them more or less frequent?
It’s often the case that readers find reassurance in knowing that they aren’t the only ones who experience a particular sleep disorder. So please feel free to share your story in the comments below.
just worried about weather it’s gong to escalate or get worse now that it’s drawn my attention and I’ve been reading more into the subject..
I’ve napped almost every day for the last two years and never once had any issues until new meds introduced 3 weeks ago..been waking up twice a week asking my family and boy friend why they’re up so dang early in the morning dressed and playing games and stuff. all worried about them because early waking a are usually a sign that they’re depressed or ulcers are actin up..they get very confused by my questioning
I have it when I get woken up abruptly I look awake can do things just like I usually would then I go back to sleep and don’t even remember and I have absolutely no cause for this.
My son sometimes falls asleep on the couch. Whenever we wake him up half way into his sleep ,he is very disoriented, we have to physically get him on his feet. Then he is still in a dream state. He mudder’s,does not make sence, and even does crazy things. He stays this way until we lay him back down. He also never remembers anything he has ever done. He also ,when he is asleep clears his throat constantly and repetively. Its like it is a Tick . This only happens at night when he is sleeping. What is going on????
Hi Cathleen
Thanks for your comment. I can understand your concern, but I think the best thing is to speak to his doctor about it to ask for their advice. Many people act in a confused way if woken up, and more so depending on the sleep stage they are in when you wake them up potentially. As for the throat noise, that’s something to get checked out to make sure his breathing isn’t being obstructed when sleeping.
Regards
Ethan
I experienced being awaked by my alarm at 5:30 am from a deep sleep. It startled me to the point I was confused and didn’t know where I and couldn’t understand know why my alarm was going off that early in the first place. I thought it was Saturday, but in fact it was Wednesday. I sat there to gather my thoughts but couldn’t remember anything from the day before. I took a shower got dressed and proceeded to work while I am still wondering in my mind what is wrong with me. Now I am in my car and it’s about 7am and I still can’t remember anything not even how to get to work (thank God for GPS). An hour later I am at work and need to sign on to my computer and guess what…I can’t remember any of my passwords to do my work! Now we are talking almost 3 hours that I am going through this! I don’t know why, when or how this happened but it really scares me because dementia and alshiemer runs in my family. As this day goes on I hope I can remember everything because this is really tripping me out.
Well I usually have them after incredibly lucid dreams, like today I had a very vivid nightmare. (My dreams are so vivid I can taste food and feel pain in my dreams) I woke up and confused and scared about what was going. Couldn’t tell you where I was or what year I was. It took me a minute to realize I was okay and I stopped dreaming. I actually have a mental illness and I hallucinate so I can see why this has a correlation.
It happened to me one time a month ago. I’m 27 yrs old. I had been partying and hadn’t slept in over 30 hours. I finally fell asleep and woke up and had no clue where I was, the room I was in didn’t look familiar to me at all (I was at a hotel) I got up and felt like Rick in the first episode of walking dead, I thought the world had ended bc I didn’t see anyone, I went and looked outside my door to see if someone was around and thank god no one was or they would had thought I was on drugs and then I heard someone in my bathroom. She was my friend, but I couldn’t really remember who she was so I asked her for help and what was going on and what happened to the world. She calmed me down and explained everything is okay and my boyfriend would be back soon and I had to ask her who my boyfriend was (I had been with him a year at this point). But after she talked to me things started coming back to me, but damn was it scary! I was about to go into survival mode and start heading somewhere on foot lol! Very weird experience
My fiance has this problem kind of often. The latest being when I woke up to her throwing her arms over me trying to hold me to the bed. When I yelled ‘hey and grabbed her, she just went shhhhh with her finger to her lips and played back down. After about 30 seconds I asked of she was awake, she Was, and remember none of it. This was the most extreme. Usually I wake up to her talking or sitting up in bed or doing something weird with pillows and blankets. One time she jumped out of bed and sprinted down stairs the the front porch. Said she thought we were racing, I didn’t wake up during that one.
I woke up last night totally confused couldn’t remember who I was where I was forgot my kids names totally freakwd out. Im in hospital fot a couple of days have been on antibiotics and do suffer from anxiety
I very frequently do and say things in my sleep with no recollection of it in the morning. I have apparently stood in front of the shower, gotten undressed, fiddled with the knobs, and went right back to bed. I have also eaten and called people in my sleep. My biggest problem is I don’t remember any of it. The people around me say that I often appear awake at the time, and are shocked that I do not know what they are talking about.
Ok sso ive been late to school a lot and my dad wakes me up some of the times and i have no memory of it than my parents get mad at me and they think im faking
Hi
For the last 4 nights I go to bed and sleep well for about 5 hours then I wake up fine but fall back asleep and start restlessness. When I get up I’m in the bathroom sitting on toilet and start talking and laughing. I am very disoriented but then I snap out of it. I am diabetic. In January I started taking Lantus could this be a side effect?
Hi Peggy
Thanks for your comment. Lantus has been known to cause some sleep problems for certain people. I’d mention this to your prescribing doctor and see what they think.
Regards
Ethan
I have this maybe twice a month. I wake up and have no idea where I am. This morning I didn’t know who my partner was. I knew his name but had no emotional memory of him. It was like my brain knew his name but everything else was gone.
I’ve moved so many times since I remarried I often dream about where the hell I am. As I get more lucid I have to tell myself that the master bathroom is over there, then from there I try to make out what house I’m living in. Then what city and state. The problem is once I’m aware; I’m awake and it could be 2AM and I have to struggle to salvage 4 more hours of sleep.
My brother has had several episodes, once he had gotten up looked at the clock and saw it was time to get up for work, he gets dress drives to work and when he got there the person there asked him why are you here so early? he said what do you mean , well it was only 5am he didn’t have to be to work till 8am.When he realized what happen he was scared and confused. This has happen many times since.What can he do???
Hi Stella
Thanks for your comment. I can appreciate your concern. I think if he is doing thins unaware to this extent, including potentially dangerous activities like driving, he should speak to his doctor about it. Hopefully they can work out whats going on and provide some treatment.
Regards
Ethan
I’m only just 18 and doing exactly this. I’ve been doing it for a couple of weeks now. Started off mumbling words in my sleep then progressed to confusions. Last night I asked by boyfriend where my “box for philosophy was” and was convinced he took it. I refused to let him in bed for this, as I fall asleep before him. There’s been a few weird things over the weeks and I had no clue what was going on as I don’t remember saying any of these things. He’s growing concerned and a little freaked out.
Hi I woke up this morning and I didn’t know who I was or where I was, I didn’t know who my husband was and the weirdest part was that I didn’t know if I was alive or dead? This has happened before, I always fall back asleep and wake up fine again
Sonetimes I have nightmare. I see irrational things in dream, for example oneday I experienced that im fighting in war and oneday I had dream that I have failed in the exam! The interesting thing about that is I wake up when these reach to a culmination and I start feeling that its never possible! And the peculiar thing is I can’t even remember what I dreamt most of the times!
Hi there ive been going through this for a whole year since i had a bad anxiety attack, and fir the last week its been hapening everyday i have to figure out where i am and who i am! Im only 33 but it scares me thinking im getting damentia i have had a ct scan, mri, and bloid tests doctor says im fine can anxiety cause this? Some times i get brain fog after it happens im honestly sick of it
I normally sleep naked. At least twice a week, I get up out of my sleep looking for my clothes thinking that I am suppose to have clothes on with my mate in the bed with me. It so weird and kind of disturbing. I actually look through my drawers looking for something to put on feeling myself thinking that my mate isn’t suppose to see me naked.
Hi Letta! This is weird because this is exactly what happens to me. Exactly!
I’ve just started googling this and found out about confusional arousals and saw your comment. It freaks me out a bit so now I sleep in pjs. Last night after months of undisturbed sleep I fell asleep in just my pants and the same thing happened again. It only ever happens when I’m naked! I’ve been with my partner for over 14 years and married for over 7 and this has been happening for the last year or so. It’s so weird!
It only happens to me when I’m naked too – I wake up and don’t recognize our room, my husband, anything. I get terrified not knowing what happened or why I’m naked until I find my pjs, and then I kind of snap out of it. It’s so weird and only started happening a few months ago
This is crazy! I’ve never met another person who does this. When I sleep naked, a lot of times I wake up in the middle of the night in a complete panic. I’ll think there is someone in my bed or someone in my room and I will be so embarrassed that I’m naked that I will get up and put clothes on and go back to bed. Sometimes I’ll think that I’m at work, even though I know that I’m in my room. It happens so often now that sometimes I leave a pair of PJs next to my bed just in case! My confusional arousal happens in many forms (thinking there is an animal in my bed, thinking there is a stranger sleeping next to me, etc) but being horrified that I’m naked is the most common one. Weird!!
Add me to the list. Once a week to once a month, I wake up scrambling for my clothes because I’m terrified there is a person in the room who will see me naked. This morning, I frantically tried to open a drawer to pull a shirt on. I couldn’t get it open for some reason. After what felt like a few minutes, I realized the person in the room was my husband, but that was just a title and I didn’t have any sense of who he was. Eventually, I remembered that he is safe. I’ve been abused and sexually assaulted in the past so I wonder if that has anything to do with it, or if it is random. Being confused when I wake up is nothing new, but this is next level.
This happens to me like 3 times a month. I wake up and don’t recognize my husband and panic that I’m naked next to a stranger. I go so far that I wake up in the morning wearing like 3 shirts.. sometimes I remember getting dressed, sometimes I don’t. So glad to know someone else is out there that does this! I don’t understand it at all… I feel so weird when it happens
This is exactly the same as me. How bizarre to think other people are dealing with the exact same problem.
Adding on here because I’ve been dealing with this for years and it’s picked up a lot the past few months. At least once a week now, if I wake up and I’m naked, I think I’m somewhere where I’m not supposed to be naked, or there are people in the room who will see me naked. If I’m laying next to my boyfriend, I’ll either not recognize that it’s him, or I’ll think my family or something is staying at my place and that us being in bed naked is inappropriate. last night, I went to sleep in underwear so this wouldn’t happen, and wound up getting out of bed to put on a bra. I’ve talked to my therapist about this and neither of us have been able to really understand why this is happening. Thank you for posting this Letta and thank you to everyone who responded.
Today, I woke up from a 30 minute nap. I knew who I was and where I was, but I had no idea when it was. I knew I was confused/still waking up, but I began to panic because it was taking so long for me to figure out the “when.” My heart was absolutely pounding and I was talking to my sister. Within a minute or so, the date/time orientation resolved, but my heart was rate insanely high. I think I panicked when it was taking too long for me to orient to the time/when. I’m still shaky now. I am 26 and a graduate student, soI am stressed. I’ve woken up confused before, but it has always resolved quickly and never resulted in such panic. There was one time I woke up unable to breathe, but that resolved quickly and never happened again. Any explanation for this most recent scare?
Thanks!
Hi Meg
Thanks for your comment. Have you spoken to a doctor about this, and the possibility of having nocturnal panic attacks? Perhaps they would be able to offer some advice and guidance for dealing with it. I’d also suggest doing as much as possible to ensure you’re calm and relaxed before going to sleep. Take a look at this article about relaxation for specific exercises you can do both before sleep and if you wake up feeling like that.
Regards
Ethan
Hi
I have suffered from this for years it started getting worse last year. Last night was the scariest I was so tired and ended up falling asleep and I woke up 20 minutes later feeling like another person. I was so confused and I kept thinking I forgot to sing a particular song before I went to bed (which I never do). I was almost in tears trying to think of the song name then all of a sudden I snapped out of it and came back to myself. I absolutely hate going through this especially when I wake up not knowing who I am or where I’m at. I had suffered from panic and anxiety attacks in the past I’m not sure if any of it is associated to this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Hi Lara
Thanks for your comment. I can understand how distressing this must be. Other than the advice in the article, it might help to talk it through with your doctor to get some advice and support. And if you feel anxiety might play a role, perhaps doing some calming and relaxing activities in bed before you go to sleep might help.
Regards
Ethan
For at least the last 10 years, I’ve woken up many times a night thinking that someone is coming over or that I’m expected to host something. I get up, usually put on clothes, make my bed. I usually remember at least the getting ready part, fuzzily. Eventually after a few minutes (I think), I talk myself into acknowledging that it’s not the morning, that no one’s coming over. I am SO TIRED in the morning, especially on nights that this happens over and over. I am so frustrated, mad at myself, and tired. I’ve had a sleep study and consulted with doctors, and the only suggestion I’ve gotten is doing major meds that could be “personality altering.” Any other suggestions?
Hi Hallie
Thanks for your comment. Other than the suggestions in the article, I’m afraid there isn’t much more I can add. If you’re not keen on strong meds, perhaps you could consider trying something lighter such as a herbal sleep aid? Did you voice your concern to the doctors, and ask if there was something they could offer which would suit you better?
Regards
Ethan
I’m 26 years old and for the last 3 years I wake up in the middle of the night not being able to breathe. It doesn’t happen daily though and my sister said they’re anxiety attacks. I don’t understand how that can be if I’m asleep. Anyway my 6 yr old was telling me that his little brother fell off the bed and asked me how I knew when to go get him. I was totally confused and denied the whole thing to him, I think I got him frustrated and he went to play outside instead. So an hour ago my husband asked me about it as well. And to my shock I had no memory whatsoever. I’m still here sitting dowm trying to remember and I can’t. My kids sleep in their rooms but I get up a few times to check on them and they usually come into my bed in the middle of the night yet I can’t remember how they got there sometimes. I’m scared because I love my boys and I would never want to hurt them so now I can’t sleep thinking that there’s a possibility that I can. What can I do? I think it has to do with myour anxiety. I’m really scared of death and every night I fight with it to fall asleep. I just can’t imagine my life after death if nothing exists after (even though I beleive in God there’s still a part of me that says what if there’s nothing). Not sure if that’s the reason under the sleep disorder.
Hi G S
Thanks for your comment. The breathing problem could be anxiety, but it could also be one of several sleep related breathing disorders. So to be sure, it’s important to speak to a doctor about it to rule those out.
It does sound though that whether or not the anxiety is causing the breathing issue, it’s probably related to problems with your sleep. Again, this is something you can work on, either with medical help or therapy, or with self-help.
I imagine you’ll be find with your kids – a mother’s protective instinct is strong! But for your sake, it’s a good idea to try to tackle the anxiety any way you can.
Regards
Ethan
Help?
Ok I’m 18, and been diagnosed a few years back with social anxiety which I went through CBT for. I have also been fighting depression since I’ve been a child, mixing with eating disorders and self harm. I’m all happy now though having been through therapy got a wonderful boyfriend of 2 years whose always been there for me, very happy rn. I’ve ALWAYS had recurring nightmares 5/7 nights ever since I was little, they are no longer the same dreams but are definitely still there often. I have always sleep walked and often into my mums room to talk a load of nonsense to her and then wander back to bed. I still sleep with a teddy as it helps me sleep. I no longer sleep walk but I often sleep talk as my boyfriend will tell me of funny things I have said but this doesn’t bother me or him. For as long as I remember if I go to sleep with my lamp off, it will sometimes be on when I wake up even though I know I turned it off. For the past couple of months my boyfriend has noticed I turn off the light, go to sleep, halfway through the night I’ll sit up turn the light on , mumble to myself and then turn it back off?! I have no idea why I am doing This any suggestions as it’s waking him up?! Thanks!!
Hi Kelly
Thanks for your comment. It could be a confusional arousal, but equally still a part of sleep walking – just without actually walking! I guess one solution would be to move your lamp out of reach in the night so you can’t turn it on. Or maybe replace it with a dim night light that won’t wake him up.
Regards
Ethan
I had a dream last night that Iwas lost somehow, but I was a little girl. In my dream I was confused too. The dream flashes from different scenarios, but I’m always lost and confused. In the dream, I’m trying to take care of my dad in different parts (my daddy and I were very close and recently passed of pancreatic cancer, December 13, 2016) of the dream. I’m trying to think of something to save him. Anyway, after a very exhausting dream, I woke up, but couldnt open my eyes at first. After I could open them, I did not know where I was, and the house phone was in my hand. I remembered that during the confusion state, I tried calling my son, but couldn’t remember what the number was. I was actually in my own bedroom. I couldn’t register that it was my bedroom for about five minutes. My son came in and asked me what was wrong. I said, I didn’t know where I was for a while. It was weird. I do have a long history of having lifelike and crazy dreams. As a child, I would walk and talk in my sleep. I actually have tons of crazy or weird dreams to this day. Anyways, I have sleep apnea, but can’t use my machine. I had these kind of dreams way before my sleep apnea sneak began. I also have many episodes where my vision is so bluury and I see double.
My wife has been having these for a while, tonight she woke up looking for an iPad in the bed when I asked her why she said her friend told her to find it for her an hour earlier, I told her it’s not possible as she’s been asleep and she said it must have been by txt and tried to find it on her phone becoming more agitated, somewhere during this conversation she starts to get angry with me , it seems like she’s now back to normal without fully understanding what’s happen , does this sound similar to what your talking about ?
Hi Rod
Thanks for your comment. It could well be a confusional arousal, yes. Possibly it was connected to a dream in which these actions would have been relevant. So perhaps she woke from the dream and took a while to come back to reality, as can often happen to people as our dream and waking states overlap momentarily.
Regards
Ethan
A few months ago, for the first time ever in 30 years, I woke up to find out that I’m not in my bed, but another room of the house. I woke up totally confused as to what had gotten me here and what was the need. I went back to my room, woke my wife up (a light sleeper) and asked her what happened. I slept off not having a recollection of anything. Yesterday, after months, something similar but different happened. I woke up not wearing any pants/underwear and wondered what happened because I had slept with them on. After a few mintutes I found out I had urinated next to my bed on the floor and threw my boxers across the room, which was semi wet as well. Yet again, I had no recollection of the event. Any suggestions as to what precautions I should take and if it is of some concern. The events have left me with deep thoughts of concern. Appreciate the advice. Thanks.
Hi A.K.
Thanks for your comment. On these days, do you take any medication, drugs, alcohol or other substances you might not take every day? Have you had a particularly difficult or stressful day, or are feeling unwell? These might be things to consider – if there’s a change to your day leading up to the sleep disturbances.
I think if it continues happening, perhaps speak to a doctor about it and see what they say. It could be that you are sleep walking, or having a confusional arousal. But it’s hard to say if it only happens rarely.
Regards
Ethan
I just had my first episode last night. I woke up, and I was rubbing my young up against the roof of my mouth and i noticed my toung ring was gone. (I took out my toung ring 4 years ago) so I thought it was in my mouth. So I was trying to spit it out and there was nothing in my mouth. So I grabbed my phone and turned on the flashlight. And tried to look for my toung ring in my bed. When I finally realized I haven’t had my toung ring in, in years. Very strange.
Hi my name is tammara I’m 56 years old and I have had the same behavior for most of my life. I am occasionally prone to sleepwalking and in fact cannot take sleeping pills because when I do I will not only Sleepwalk I will sleep drive and that is dangerous. But more and more often I find myself waking up in the middle of the night and I have to lay there and think about where I am. As in what state what type of housing who I love with everything I wake up knowing nothing except I am in a bed and my dog is with me. I live alone and have for quite some time yet I will often wake up feeling the other side of the bed and thinking that someone else is supposed to be there and. I have not had a partner for nearly three years so it seems odd that I am suddenly expecting someone to be there. I did discover years ago that having a night light on is a tremendous help it gives me a chance to look around and easier to understand where I am. I have bipolar disorder and PTSD and take Lamotrigine and Valium at bedtime along with medication for high blood pressure. For nearly 30 years I took lithium so the change to the lamotrigine has been recent and there is not been a significant change and then number of times I wake up this orientated. I was glad I found this article because quite honestly the occurrences I have become so frequent I was beginning to worry about possible Alzheimer’s or some other type condition. This is only because the occurrences have increased drastically in the past few months. Basically now every time I wake up I am confused as to where I am. I have learned to force myself to stay in bed until I become aware of my surroundings. But finding out that it is a much more common occurrence than I thought gives me hope that I really have no major issues and well quite frankly and not any crazier than I already thought I was. I do however think my dog is getting sick and tired of getting up and down all night long.
Hi Tammara
Thanks for your comment. I can understand why you’d be concerned, but hopefully it is just confusional arousals. Have you asked your doctor if the medication could be playing a part? Perhaps they can look at the bigger picture with you and see if the can help. And in the meantime, I’m sure your dog will continue to love you just the same!
Regards
Ethan
I experience confused arousals. I get up and I literally freak out. I wake up at 650 usually so when I wake up, I guess I think the clock says 7 or something, because I think I’m late. So I rush to get dressed and then end up standing there staring at the clocks for multiple minutes, when I eventually, I snap out of it and go to bed. I only remember the ending parts of all of my episodes, near when I snap out and “wake up”. This happens multiple times a night and leaves me exhausted, irritable and stressed in the morning. Last night, I woke up and I think I walked around the house(i don’t remember getting up or walking around, only “waking” to realize I’m in the kitchen) Then, my dog got up to check on me and her nails on the wood woke me up. Any tips to stop this?!
Hi Madi
Thanks for your comment. Perhaps you could experiment with waking at a different time with an alarm set to wake you from light sleep. Some sleep trackers, for example, will try to wake you up gently with a vibrating alarm on the wrist at a time when you’re most likely to wake more smoothly. It could be worth a try!
Regards
Ethan
I have a sleep disorder due to the fact that my tongue is to long for my mouth ,therefore when your body sleeps your tongue naturally relaxes back in your throat, because mine is to long it causes me to snore, gasp for air which I am unaware of & also wake with extreme headaches every morning. I do take antidepressants, more for the arthritis benefits & nerve damage. I wake up about 3 times a week not knowing where I am. It takes me looking around for several minutes before I realize I’m home. I live alone for about 8 months now. When I did have a sleeping partner they told me of my snoring, gasping for air & also my talking in my sleep even answering questions or saying pure nonsense. I even have had several episodes of laughing uncontrollably in my sleep. I had a sleep study done. The result was the cause of my snoring & headaches ( tongue) they also said I move constantly, and my mind goes from one dream sequence right into another all night long. Therefore I really do not get a restful sleep. It has just been in the last 6 months since living alone that I wake not knowing where I am. I am relieved to know now that I am not having some signs of early dimensia & that others experience this as well. Also knowing it could be due to my meds. Thank you for your article. Robin
Hi Robin
Thanks for your comment, and I’m glad the article has been useful to you. Did they not recommend any treatment following the sleep study? Have you tried any mouth devices which help to hold the tongue in place?
Regards
Ethan
Time to get my 25 yr daughter into a sleep study. 6 months ago I heard her up in the middle of the night. When I checked on her she was in bed confused telling a rambling story of going to the 24 hour store and putting air in her tires cuz they were flat. Someone there told her not to drive on her rims. Then she went back to sleep. In the morning I looked out at her car and she had wiped out the whole side with 2 tires off the rims. I woke her up and she had no knowledge of our conversation or getting out of bed. You can’t get her out of bed in the morning. She’s dead weight and you swear she is on some kind of drugs. At night she orders weird stuff online and has no knowledge of it. When it shows up at the door she has no idea what happened. For the last two years this has caused great problems between us since I swear she’s on drugs. It finally dawned on me last night that it might be a sleep disorder. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Hi Nancy
Thanks for your comment. My thoughts would be that you’re absolutely right in getting a sleep study done as soon as possible. I’d also take some safety precautions such as making sure she doesn’t know where they car keys are when she goes to bed. It could be a sleep disorder, such as an extreme case of sleepwalking, or even REM sleep behavior disorder. But really, only a sleep specialist will be able to assess and tell you what’s going on.
Regards
Ethan
I’ve experienced this for a decade or more, starting in my teens. Always occuring in the first third of the sleep cycle as described. When I first fall asleep, those are scary times. I feel as if anything can happen and I won’t have control or memory of it.
When I fall asleep on the couch and my husband tries to wake me I become violent and hostile – I have no memory of it! We laugh about it the next day, but inside I grow more and more anxious and scared. What if I end up hurting someone or myself?
But the most memorable episode was years ago when I was in the Navy on a ship. It was common occurence to get little to no sleep for days on end. During a particularly busy time I also had watch, it was the middle of the night and I was armed. Despite all my coffee drinking, I was still running on fumes. My watch team and I were standing doing our thing…then I guess I somehow slipped into a sleep – while standing! I slowly started walking around, walking to the edge of the ship, hitting a guard rail then turning around. This apparently went on until I hit a pillar of scafolding – I walked right into it and snapped out of it. My first reaction was “What the *uck?” My coworkers reinacted what happened. Again we laughed, but it’s really not funny. I was armed. What if I shot someone? What if I needed to shoot someone and couldn’t? What if I fell off the edge of the ship?
I feel like my sleep conditions stem from anxiety. It’s a cycle because the more episodes I have the more anxiety I get. I’m not on any medications nor do I want to be. I would have these sleep episodes as a teen to my mother when she would wake me up from the couch to go to bed. So I know this started at least 10 years ago and is getting worse/more frequent over time.
Every night I wake up between 3-5 times, maybe once or twice of these nights I wake up confused walking in2 the wardrobe or towards the window instead of going to the bedroom door to go toilet, my husband trys telling me im going the wrong way, im then shouting where am I which way do I go? It scares me, after a few minutes I know where am,, a couble of hours later I will wake up again to go to the toilet & id know where I am & know which way to go, ive been on amitriptylime for many years, ive never experienced this before, this only started about 4 months ago, im 48 type 2 diabetes, I also have fibromyalgia, my hubby thinks I have sleep insomnia
I’m a fifty year old male who does not drink, sleeps normal hours and have no mental health issues. I take no mediation. I have suffered with this problem almost every morning all my life. My family know not to engage with me for at least the first hour of every day.
I stare into space, give confused and often ‘snappy’ or aggressive responses to questions and work on autopilot to perform routine tasks. My wife used to try and plan the day or ask me to do things that day and would become very frustrated that she would get home to find I had no recollection of the conversations and had not followed up. She couldn’t understand it, as I seemed coherent to here when we spoke in the morning.
The thing I find most difficult is that I really struggle to navigate during the first hour or two. If i am taking the children to school first thing, I can drive perfectly well but cannot find the school I’ve visited hundreds of times. I can find it upsetting and scary.
It’s as though my mind map has been erased. I am now reluctant to drive in the mornings.
I work overnight and have for years. I usually try to sleep from about 4am-11am after i do.
One day i woke up at 7:44 am but flew into a panick because i was convinced it was the evening and rushed out the door as i thought i was an hour late for work and had slept 14 hours. I had driven to the next suburb before i realised it was still early in the morning and id slept perhaps 4 hours.
Ive had sleep pattern problems for a long time and anxiety but never acted like that.
The lightingnof the sky is about the same at 8 in the morning and evening in summer where i live.
I dont know if this ha anything to do with this but a few weeks ago i woke up in the middle of the night picked up my son and was convinced half of his body was missing i know sounds crazy i was crying couldnt speak searched the whole house looking for the other half of him it lasted about 15min i woke my mum up heart broken explaining to her she was confused telling me i was holding him and i just snapped out of it all of a sudden and went back to bed it scares me now thinking about it does this sound normal i dont know what to do x
Hi Jesd
Thanks for your comment. As much as it sounds like a horrible experience, I wouldn’t worry about it since it was a one-off experience, and hasn’t repeated in several weeks. Hopefully it will stay that way too. If you continue having experiences like this that disturb you, perhaps speak to someone about it. But for now, I’d try not to worry.
Regards
Ethan
Yeah i was laying in bed and went to get up and physically couldn’t move as if something was pinning me down … So then when i could finally move to go for a wee i got lost and didn’t know where i was and why i was there ? I walked straight to the front door tried to unlock the front door the started feeling the walls i started looking around i was lost i didn’t feel like i was in control of my body and that my body had been taken over ? I started to walk around looking for the toilet but my mind wasn’t telling me where to go ? I have CCTV so i checked myself out the next day as all i remember is feeling like i couldn’t move and i was trapped and lost and felt like it wasn’t me walking about at night
Hi I suffer from PTSD and experience confusion arousal. I don’t know where I am or who I am and it’s very frightening. When my sleep is poor, and my stress is high is usually when this occurs. I thought seriously I was losing my mind. It’s bee occur for years now, and I’m a female over 50. I’m glad it has a name and that I’m not totally losing my mind.
Thx
I fell asleep on the couch one time and my father woke me up. He does this because I have school and I need to get rest. So when I woke up I was very very confused of what was happening. When ever this happens I get a scary feeling like something bad is going to happen. So when I woke up I started grabbing random things like the TV remote and a blanket and head phones. My father told me “put that stuff down those aren’t yours”. My memory was very choppy and I had to ask my father about the phenomenon.
I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night and thinking that someone is supposed to be in the house staying over, I live alone. It seems to happen in the first portion of the night after I go to sleep . When I say someone in the house it’s someone that I know maybe a guest staying over, but there’s never anyone there that’s supposed to be there. I’ll wake up and look on the floor or look next to me thinking that someone is supposed to be there but they’re not supposed to be anyone there. This it happens at least once a week. It’s never a scary thing or ghost or anything like that it’s strictly a friend or a family member or someone that I think is supposed to be staying over. And I rarely have people stay over. I tend to wake up multiple times during the night now and we’ll go to bed at 11 o’clock wake up and its 5 after 12 and I’m thinking it’s 4 a.m. I’m a 55 year old female and I live by myself.