'Exploding Head Syndrome': Nearly 1 in 5 Youths Has It

A new study examines the condition exploding head syndrome, which results in auditory sleep hallucinations that cause victims to suffer from problems in which they hear explosions. Over 200 students were looked at by researchers at Washington State University, revealing that as many as one in five have experienced the problem.

"This is obviously very troubling when you are sleeping but it's not dangerous," said study author Brian Sharpless, director of Washington State University's psychology clinic, in a news release. "In most cases, it's nothing to worry about."

Exploding head syndrome generally occurrs as the person is falling asleep. Scientists believe it may be the result of a kink in the brain's mechanisms as it turns off. For instance, if you can think of the time when your brain is beginning to shut down for sleep, sort of like a computer, the initial stages involve motor, auditory and visual neurons as they begin to flick off in stages.

Yet for someone dealing with the "exploding head" phenomenon, they do not properly shut down. Instead, as they are gradually falling asleep, their auditory neurons crash, creating banging sounds.

"That's why you get these crazy-loud noises that you can't explain, and they're not actual noises in your environment," added researcher Brian Sharpless, an assistant professor at Washington State University and the director of the university's psychology clinic.

This can be quite stressful for someone dealing with the health issue; so much so that it may even prevent them from going to sleep.

In fact, findings showed that 18 percent of the participants had experienced the phenomenon at least once, while roughly one-third had dealt with isolated sleep paralysis--a condition in which a person can't move or talk when waking up.

As it stands, there are only a few available drug treatments for more severe instances of the problem. However, researchers are still uncovering the issue at this time.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the Journal of Sleep Research.

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