# Do you ever hurt yourself in your sleep? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 28, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963 "2004-12-28T18:05:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/21 "2004-12-29T14:44:54Z")
I’ve never really hurt myself, but I did have a brief period when I was a kid where I would sleepwalk. It didn’t last for very long, but my most memorable experience was waking up in my garage sprawled across the hood of my dad’s car. Given all the tools and sharp pointy things he used to leave lying around the garage, I’m glad I didn’t get hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/22 "2004-12-29T15:15:17Z")
I once punched the wall next to my bed while asleep, scraping the knuckles of my hand (and causing no damage to the wall). I don’t remember what I was dreaming about. ---
**Author:** ![bafaa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@bafaa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bafaa)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/23 "2004-12-29T16:05:14Z")
My fiancé does the twitching/kicking thing as she is falling asleep and the other day actually punched herself in the head. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/24 "2004-12-29T20:10:06Z")
What happened to me about seven weeks ago might qualify. I tore a lot of muscle fibers in the m. biceps femoris (the muscle that bends the leg) in my right leg; first I could hardly walk or sit, now I still hobble along and cannot walk more than a few km/d. Curiously enough I did not notice it when it happened (when you tear a muscle you usually do notice it; in this case the it did not seem like much in the first days but a sonogram showed it to be definitely a torn muscle and hematoma). I asked the doctor (a specialist for sports medicine), and said I recalled no incident that was good for a trauma. He said it might have happened in my sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/25 "2004-12-29T20:34:51Z")
I am and always have been a heavy sleeper. When I was a teen and lived with my parents, my bedroom was in the semi-finished basement - the walls were studded out but not drywalled. My bed was against one of the stud walls and I kept my alarm clock on a horizontal 2x4 between two studs. One night I must have gotten tangled up in the power cord for the clock. All I know for sure is that I woke up with the clock on my blood soaked pillow and dried blood caked around a nice hole in my temple. Gee, I’ll bet that _hurt_. ---
**Author:** ![5que](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/3bc359/32.png) [@5que](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5que)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/26 "2004-12-29T20:50:12Z")
I thrash around a lot when I sleep, so I frequently wake up with very sore leg muscles – even when I haven’t exercised the previous day. I think last night I must have hit myself in the nuts, because my left testicle is very, very sore today! ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/27 "2004-12-29T21:46:37Z")
Dislocated my right knee. Have NO idea how I did it. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/28 "2004-12-30T02:40:08Z")
I wouldn’t call it an injury, but as a sidesleeper I often put too much pressure on one arm or the other, and it hurts like a bastard when it wakes me up. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/29 "2004-12-30T03:25:41Z")
I’ve had some close calls where I get up abruptly after awaking…only to find that my leg(s) are asleep, nerly crashing into the floor or furniture. It’s been awhile since that happened, since the last time I made it a point to test my leg before standing up, but the last time I woke up with two asleep legs and an intensely full bladder :eek: , I had to control my legs through biofeedback/muscle memory alone, like the people whose senses in their legs are permanently negated and have to consciously control every step. So I wonder if I should again precipitously arise again with an asleep leg if I’ll be able to do this again before I fall. Probably not, since the time needed for a conscious action is about .5 of a second or more. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/30 "2004-12-30T03:47:28Z")
I’ve mentioned before how I once woke up with a broken shoulder. I was in bed, not on the floor, so either I rolled over at just the wrong angle or had a seizure with the arm over my head. (I later did have a seizure with a witness, so maybe that was it.) I now have a replacement shoulder, just like Granny has her new hip. ---
**Author:** ![krisolov](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krisolov/32/3724_2.png) [@krisolov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/krisolov)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/31 "2004-12-30T13:50:41Z")
I somehow managed to chip a tooth while asleep. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Serpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@Silver\_Serpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Serpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/32 "2004-12-30T17:21:28Z")
I usually have long nails, filed to points. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve jabbed my thumbnail into my chin, clawed my cheek, or poked myself in the eye. Sigh. Not self-inflicted, but it happened while I was asleep: A few weeks ago, my cat Crash apparently had it out for me. One day he woke me up by running up my stomach and trying to use the back of my right arm as a ramp (I sleep with my arms above my head). Nasty scratch that goes almost from shoulder to elbow, and will certainly leave a scar. A few days after that, I woke up with two scratch marks on my left forearm. That didn’t wake me up, but it looks like his handiwork. Might scar. A few days after THAT, I was twitching my feet as I was falling asleep, and despite the fact that I do that almost every night without being attacked, Crash decided my foot was a toy. Big ol’ clawmark on the exact line where my sandals sit/rub when I walk. Limped for a few days. Possible scar, but not likely. He’s still my buddy, tho’. ---
**Author:** ![KYELANDRA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f1d935/32.png) [@KYELANDRA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KYELANDRA)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/33 "2012-03-07T18:18:30Z")
I hurt myself everynight while sleeping Im not sure why but i do everything from cutting hitting scraching and leaving deep gashing all over my body their is not one place that i leave unmarked. I take sleeping meds but that doesnt seem to help me. I have lately considerd restaints but have not yet Im waiting to see my med doctor.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/34 "2012-03-07T19:22:46Z")
Back in college, my dorm room had a bunk bed and I slept on the bottom for all four years. The metal hooks where the springs for the upper bunk connected both to each other and the bed frame were exposed and I managed to reach up and scratch my hands on them in my sleep several times. Luckily, I never sat up too fast or I could have done a number on my face. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/35 "2012-03-07T19:40:06Z")
Shot a zombie in my pajamas once. How he got in my pajamas I’ll never know. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/36 "2012-03-07T19:41:43Z")
My first zombie! Awww! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/37 "2012-03-07T20:07:58Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > My first zombie! Awww! 🙂 Only the first one is free. It’s actually funny that this came back up when it did. Yes, I hurt myself, and recently. I have no idea what I did, but one morning I woke up extra early, then went back to bed ten minutes later. When I woke up the second time, I had a stabbing pain in my side. From that point on, twisting, deep breathing, coughing, and even sniffling were major pain events. For a few days I was walking like an old man. It’s amazing how much we use those muscles for! That was about 4 weeks ago, and it’s just now feeling almost healed. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/38 "2012-03-07T20:10:23Z")
No I don’t hurt myself in my sleep. As far as friends and family have let me know, I sleep like I’m dead. Mouth slightly agape, eyes half open, unresponsive to almost anything happening around me, which seems appropriate for a zombie thread. ---
**Author:** ![Vita\_Beata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@Vita\_Beata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vita_Beata)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/39 "2012-03-07T20:22:07Z")
You folk are dangerous sleepers! No, can’t say I’ve hurt myself sleeping. ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963/40 "2012-03-08T12:03:24Z")
I half fell out of a bed in my aunt’s house when I was a teen - I can’t really explain it, I woke up with my leg hanging out of the bed jammed between the bed and the wall, I didn’t know my leg was hanging out of the bed, and when I moved I nearly dislocated my hip. A shelf fell off the wall and landed on my head (thankfully it was a very small shelf and only had a couple of small stuffed toys on it) While sleeping at someone else’s house, I [half asleep] went to get out of bed on the left side and splatted myself into the wall. :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-hurt-yourself-in-your-sleep/281963.md?page=3)