It happens in movies and it happens in literature, but it’s never happened to me. Does anyone wake to an alarm, nightmare, obscene sexual act, whatever, and automatically throw themselves into an upright seated position? If so, often, or just rarely?
(This came up when trying to arrange furniture in my new apartment. Had to figure out how much headspace the bed really needs 
)
I never have, but my grandmother has. I’ve seen it. I had to share a bed with her once when I was young (crowded house, Christmas visiters), and she had a nightmare, sat bolt up in bed, and screamed.
That was a memorable night.
Did this just the other night. I had seen a small spider in the living room just before going to bed, but decided, meh, it’s late, live and let live. Just as I had drifted off to sleep, something, probably my hair, triggered the “It’s a SPIDER ON MY HEAD!!!” reflex. I was startled awake, screamed, sat up, and beat madly at my head. God bless my husband for his bemused tolerance :).
My wife does, and I have no idea why. No matter how gently you try to wake her, a light hand on her shoulder, a whispered, “Time to wake up, Dear,” and she sits bolt upright with a gasp.
Criminy, people are going to think I’ve been abusing her or something. Luckily, her kids vouch that she’s always done this. She has no idea why she does it either.
I have had nightmares where I have done this.
It shocks the living hell out of whoever I’ve been sleeping with.
Not me.
When I wake up with night panics, I scrabble at my pillow or massage my throat trying to breathe.
Yeah. Typically because I’ve stopped breathing.
Occasionally if I take ibuprofen in the evening, I’ll get acid reflux while I’m sleeping, at which point I will sit bolt upright in bed in reaction. Lemme tell you, this is pretty much the suckiest way to wake up.
Just last night there was a big thunderstorm at 3 AM. I have no idea how long it was going on before the crack of thunder that made me sit straight up.
I think I pulled a muscle in my side. Hurts like hell today.
I have had it happen, but only a very few times in my life. I can’t recall it happening in the past few years.
Only once.
I was home alone, sleeping. Mr. Del was away on a business trip. The sound of the front door banging open woke me up, and I sat bolt upright in bed, my heart in my throat.
As I was sitting there, waiting to be murdered, I thought to myself “hey, I just sat bolt upright in bed! I always thought that was just a figure of speech!” Can you imagine if that had been my last earthly thought?
Of course, it was Mr. Del returning home in the middle of the night, they had finished early and he took the chance of returning stand-by on the last flight out that night rather than wait until his scheduled flight the next day.
No, but only because I sleep on my stomach. I occasionally do suddenly push myself up to, well, a push-up position, if I hear a funky noise in the middle of the night and I want to get my ears off the pillow to improve my sensory perception. If I slept on my back I suspect I’d do the ‘bolt upright’ thing.
When I first started having strong nightmares about two years ago, it happened on occasion. It seemed to alternate with waking up with all of my muscles so tense I couldn’t move at all for anywhere from five minutes to an hour.
Just once that I can recall, the last time I had a legitimate nightmare, somewhere in my teens. By legitimate I mean an actual heart-racing terror-inducing dream, as opposed to one that is just sorta vaguely disturbing, which I still get once in awhile.
But this one was the full on deal - not only did I sit bolt upright, I actually did so while yelling a name out loud, drenched in sweat. It was pretty classic.
Mr. Athena does. He has very vivid dreams at times that sometimes end up with him jumping right out of bed. Scared the shit out of me when we were first dating.
Nowadays I just roll over and say “get back in bed, you’re dreaming.”
I’m another in the just-once column. I dreamed the stuffed moose head mounted above my bed had come to life. Well, more accurately I dreamed that there was a stuffed moose head mounted above my bed, and it had come to life.
You know, you see stuff like this in sitcoms and screwball comedies and it seems pretty fun, but it’s actually kinda scary.
No, I don’t think I could even physically do that without using my arms to push me up. My version of sitting upright is to prop myself up on one side with my arm (I usually sleep on my side) or in the case of the “OHMYGODTHERE’SASPIDERONME!” dreams I usually flail about and throw myself off the bed.
Interesting stories, thank you all!
Hmm, so if I put my bed there then I better not date any tall girls…
Lilbro has done it sometimes. Doesn’t mean he’s awake, usually his part of the conversation goes something like “UH?eh?oh, mk… zzzzz”
Are you my husband? I freak out if woken up at night.