Is it possible to experince a fainting episode while sleeping and if so what would the experience be like?
Another question in the wrong forum.
Manny, would you do the honors, please?
your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
geez…wrong forum?
We have a forum for stupid questions?
I think you’re being somewhat presumtuous, TubaDiva. It may sound like a dumb question, but just ask yourself how you would explain the answer in medical concepts. As I will attempt to do now.
Insider: The likelihood of fainting while asleep is actually quite remote, and if it were to occur, you would merely pass from being asleep to being unconscious.
Most fainting episodes are caused by a transient drop in cerebral perfusion. Unlike muscular tissue, the brain has no residual stores of oxygen or glucose, hence a drop in supply means a corresponding drop in conscious state. Usually such episodes can be attributed to transient fluctuations in blood pressure, which resolve spontaneously in most cases.
That said, any episode of unconsciousness should be checked out by a medical professional, as it may be a warning sign of a bigger problem.
Fainting while sleeping may be rare, but passing into unconsciousness while asleep is common. Anyone who dies in their sleep presumably passes through an “unconscious but not dead yet” state. The same would be true of anyone who slipped into a coma or had a stroke, for example, that rendered them unconscious while sleeping.
In the few times in my life when I’ve fainted, returning to consciousness was an odd sensation, not at all like waking from sleep. I suppose if that sensation were strong enough while I was asleep, it would wake me and I’d have some vague recollection of it. If I didn’t wake up at that moment, however, I can’t believe I would remember the episode at all.