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Calling my name while Sleeping

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 7:06 pm
by Pixie Tales
Sometimes when I am asleep I hear people Yell my name. Loud and it Startles me.. It doesn't sound scared or mad or any specific Tone.

People, not sure who's voices they are, Yell my name. It startles me and wakes me up...

Does this happen to anyone else? Can it mean something?

:?:

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 7:19 pm
by Elem
This happens to me, but it's more commonly when I'm almost asleep or when I get half-awoken by something in the middle of the night. I'll hear someone shout my name, and if I'm sleepy and 'out of it' enough to believe it was real, I shout back.. Which confuses everyone :lol:. Oops!

Like I say, it's more common when I'm falling asleep.. It's at the point now where I'll hear whole sentences - things people have said to me before - yet I hear them as perfectly as if they were standing next to me and talking. These voices become easier to control the more sleepy I get, and I find I begin to be able to create sounds.. Then, shortly after, slip into a lucid dreaming state.

I fully believe that these sounds / voices are simply a pre-cursor to dreaming, and as such also occur when you are half-woken from a dreaming state in the middle of the night.. You're still dreaming, and 'hearing' things as if they were being said / shouted in 'real life'.. But you're actually just dreaming them.

As I've posted elsewhere, I believe this state is called Hypnogogia (when it occurs as you're falling asleep / half-roused) or Hypnopompia (when it occurs as you're waking up). You can read more about it here - http://www.nowtryus.com/article:Hypnogogia

In particular, I'd draw your attention to:
Sound plays a secondary role in hypnagogia. The most common phenomena include crashing noises, one’s name being called, a doorbell ringing, references to spoken conversations, music, explosions, footsteps, and scratching.
It's nothing to worry about, really, just a slightly peculiar sleep 'thing' :). Try to make sure you get into a regular routine with your sleep, as I believe this helps.. Not that I'd know, since I find it impossible to sleep regularly haha :lol:.

Hope that information has been helpful :).

Elem

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 11:29 pm
by jcrowfoot
My ex used to do this, I think. He'd wake me up in the middle of the night, demanding to know what was so important that I had to wake him up. (he was really grumpy after he wakes up without enough sleep) The irony being that I never woke him up or said his name, no *I* was asleep! For the longest time, he thought I did it on purpose. :x

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 9:19 am
by Sercee
This hasn't happened to me in a while, but it used to happen fairly regularily. Not every night or anything, but every few months or so. It's a little disconcerting, because it always sounds like either calling my name in warning (like "Duck!") or calling for help. So I try to stay extra alert for a few days in case I need to notice something.

Come to think of it, this has probably only happened once since I started smoking pot heavily, but I quit recently and my dreams are coming back to their usual vividness, so I wonder if that will return, too...

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 3:14 pm
by Pixie Tales
Thank You All...

Im glad Im not the only one. I just wasnt sure if it was something I need to watch like if someone was trying to get me to help them.

As I said before, they dont sound hurt or scared or in any trouble.

I just wake up startled.. Sit up in my bed.. Look around.. Breathe.. Calm myself down a little and then try and go back to bed..