Why Do People Scream in Their Sleep?

Sometimes, when you're sleeping, your brain is still busy working on things from the day. You might even talk or scream during your sleep, like a real-life monster in the night! This happens because your brain doesn't fully switch off while you’re asleep.

Why it happens

Your brain can be confused between being awake and being asleep. It's kind of like when you're half-asleep on the bus, and you're still thinking about what happened at school.

What it means

This kind of sleep screaming is called a parasomnia, it’s like your brain is acting out its thoughts while you’re still asleep.

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Examples

Your brother suddenly screams in the middle of the night while he’s sleeping, it sounds like a monster is inside his head!
Your mom shouts out 'What's wrong?' during her sleep, even though she was fine earlier that day.
You hear your friend yelling at someone who isn’t there when you visit them late at night.

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Categories: Psychology · sleep disorders· dreams· parasomnias· sleep behavior· nocturnal disturbances