Has anyone heard a snapping sound before they deep sleep?

It has happened a few times, when I am just about to drift off into deep sleep I hear an electrical sounding snap, I could say it is like hearing a clapper board when slowed down for editing or something, or a fast sound slowed down, very wierd.

Nope! But I do know that many people have it happen to them. Over at www.dreamviews.com forum you will see that many other people have this experience.

I believe this is related to Exploding Head syndrome , though a less severe case.

What you describe has to do with the handoff, where your subconscious shuts down external stimuli, allowing you to hear in dreams. When the handoff occurs, and the brain turns off your ability to consciously hear, it can sometimes have energy pulses accidentally pulsed through that are interpreted as a loud noise.

It does not sound like it is in my ears but external from me, it is electrical sounding or a snap of a vacume of air.

reply to post by The time lord


Do you have any associated flashes of light with the sound ?

It could be `exploding head syndrome` a.k.a auditory sleeps starts .


Edit to add ; SNAP

[edit on 2-12-2009 by UmbraSumus]

i had that about eight years ago, a couple times. i thought maybe it was an interdimensional observer opening a gateway. just a hunch based on what i was doing and thinking at the time (which i'd rather not discuss), and i have no reason to think it.
but, still, that's what i thought at the time.

I think I've had this happening to me a few times, not very often.
Doesn't feel very nice.

I am sure it is not in my head, there is something else though but I won't quite mention it just yet, takes time for me to warm up on these personal subjects. No flashes of light but rather something like dark like a line in the air when I just about see it happen or then again it is my imagination.
It's not an exploading sound either.



[edit on 2-12-2009 by The time lord]

From what I have searched before, it happens when your pineal gland (third eye) is "energizing" or opening. You might hear it right before astral travel or related things. I also remember someone that used a lot of drugs saying that they would hear it before hallucinating and they used to think that their brain was detaching from the skull or cracking.
I believe that it is the gland opening to release its fluids.

Edit: Also another thing that causes these electric snaping sounds is static electricity.

Edit 2: Ghosts produce static electricity, you can get a meter to tell you if the ghost is near!!!!

[edit on 2-12-2009 by Elieser]

[edit on 2-12-2009 by Elieser]

I guess that is an idea about detecting Ghosts, I have had a form of sleep paralysis where I can not move my body, but I get angry and fight it off and I usually win. I did hear once something like wings flapping at a very high speed but I only manged to get a blur from it when I turned around.

Has anyone had the odd stings or pinches when you go shopping or other odd stuff usually around the calves or neck?

If I had to add a theory to top it up I say Locusts from the Abyss but that is a light year long shot theory.

I'm so glad you asked that question. I've been experiencing that for years. My doctor looks at me like I'm crazy when I ask him about it, and my husband say's it's because my brain is dying (joking).

And thanks to all of you who answered with the information. I will go searching now to understand.

It has happened to me many times also and i read somewhere that in some cases it could be a bloood vessel snaping. IF YOU GET A HEADACHE immidiatly following one of these snaps, go to the hospital quickly.

Dr. DG

I've had the snapping sound a few times - I have quite bad tinnitus, it's there 24/7 and it does make sleeping difficult...

The most common thing I get that kind of relates to your problem is what I call spikes - that is where the tinnitus noises suddenly leap in intensity, seems like a thousand fold for a very brief time, like a second or less... It's always when I'm drifting off to sleep or just waking up, scares the hell out of me, but apart from getting my heart pumping there don't seem to be any other effects like headache or pain of any sort...

Sometimes I also get like a whip crack noise, that's much rarer... And that exploding head syndrome - I heard about that a while ago, so I thought I read a bit about it... No word of a lie, that night just as I was drifting off to sleep I had the loudest one ever, just like a gun shot went off right by my head! - So there must be something psychosomatic about it, no way that was a coincidence - never had it just like that before or since!

reply to post by dgtempe


i think this is different. it sounds like it's coming from somewhere else that you can pinpoint the location of like any other sound coming from a real thing in 3d space.
it's not an internal sound.

I get that all the time when I'm drifting in and out of sleep. Sometimes its in the form of snapping, other times an indistinct yell or some sort of dull explosion. I've never seen any reason to not just label it as what it is: Hypnagogic imagery

I've heard it, but it's not always a snap for me. Just as I'm about to dose off I hear a clap, pop, or even explosions and they can startle me back awake and I ask my wife if she heard anything and nope....

Originally posted by billybob
reply to post by dgtempe

 

i think this is different. it sounds like it's coming from somewhere else that you can pinpoint the location of like any other sound coming from a real thing in 3d space.
it's not an internal sound.

I thought about the possibility that I might be hearing some faint sound and ust exaggerating it due to my vulnerable state of sleep, but I've asked my wife if she hears the slightest pops or crack of the house or anything and she says no.

Originally posted by Elieser
From what I have searched before, it happens when your pineal gland (third eye) is "energizing" or opening. You might hear it right before astral travel or related things. I also remember someone that used a lot of drugs saying that they would hear it before hallucinating and they used to think that their brain was detaching from the skull or cracking.
I believe that it is the gland opening to release its fluids.

I've heard those snaps as well while meditating and it could be perceived as the same thing while falling asleep.

The wierd thing is that it sounds like there is a build up and it snaps like thunder I guess. This happened when someone else was in the bedroom but they did not hear it. Theory - Could it be a static build up or something from body heat and maybe bed covers that are made from certain static endusing materials ionising the air?

Anyway it is one of many odd things in my life, maybe I look too closely or my senses are very responsive.

Jesus christ you guys. Automatically saying it's interdimensional gateways or ghosts flying by?! Without any actual clues. I understand if "seeing with your eyes closed" would be linked to the third eye if you have experienced positive sight with eyes actually closed, but a snap while falling asleep... c'mon!

What you are describing is the stapedius reflex (or auditory reflex) switching to the damping mode so that sounds would not distract you so much while sleeping.

I happen to know this since during my work at a psychiatric hospital i "cured" one patient who was there because he thought he was insane since he heard gunshots while going asleep or taking a nap. He came for his first round of ECT just because no-one of the doctors that had treated him before had a clue---

I get a similar effect at times, usually in the morning after waking up, but only if I remain motionless and relaxed in mind and body. Its a weird rush of energy that zips through my body, as if tugging me into the dream realms, sometimes i'll get 5-10 of them.

Only once have I actually "popped through", I was laying on my side, head on my pillow with my right hand resting in front of my face. I was in that same state of mind, relaxed mind and body, all of a sudden I saw through my closed eyes, I looked at my hand, opening and closing it with amazement(I am a quadriplegic IRL; I can't open and close my hands). It was completely seamless, Im sure I didn't nod off. My hand was sort of transleuscent and glowing. Unfortunately I went back to normal shortly thereafter and opened my eyes.

In closing I would have to agree with the poster who said it's the 3rd eye activating(or squirting '___' or something). Which can take you directly into a completely lucid dream, far more lucid than most other dreams where I've became lucid during the dream, in those it seems like i'm still held partially blocked from complete lucidity, or blocked from my memories of my Earth life.
Peace