# flatulence while sleeping? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 28, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatulence-while-sleeping/178130 "2003-05-28T22:04:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![phoebecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a8b319/32.png) [@phoebecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phoebecat)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatulence-while-sleeping/178130/1 "2003-05-28T22:04:11Z")
I haven’t been able to find any information on this on the Web, so I’m here to ask a rather simple question: Is is possible to fart in one’s sleep? My boyfriend says that it’s not possible because that would mean the sphinchter muscle would have to relax during sleep, which would not be a good idea because it wouldn’t be able to discriminate in a sleep state between passing gas and passing a bowel movement. My nose, however, knows otherwise. But he wants proof. (I wake him up after he lets one fly to “smell the evidence” and he says it must have been me because I was the one who was awake!) Is there a doctor (or a Cecil or an otherwise accredited professional) in the house who can confirm this? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatulence-while-sleeping/178130/2 "2003-05-28T22:06:55Z")
Good Lord! Have you never owned a dog? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatulence-while-sleeping/178130/3 "2003-05-28T22:12:42Z")
> [@](#): > > **Dear Doctor** : I’m a 16 year old male and I have a…problem… I know pediatricians usually deal with younger children, but I couldn’t find any other doctors on the web and I’m too embarrassed to ask a real doctor. Anyway, here is the problem: > I’ve been told by my parents that, when I sleep, I have a problem with constantly flatulating… > > **Dear DJ** : There isn’t any medical condition that would make a person flatulent only when he sleeps, so we have to look to your diet and your bowel habits for answers. Even if you eat properly, some things will increase you chances of being gassy. If you don’t have even a hint of gas during the day, since meals can take up to three hours to be digested and start their course through the intestines, we have to look at your dinner… From [this page](http://www.askdrwarren.com/qa970602.htm). ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatulence-while-sleeping/178130/4 "2003-05-28T22:20:47Z")
My fiancee proves that it’s possible to fart in your sleep nearly every night. And no, I’m not joking. Though it’s damn funny when I’m awake, it’s not so… Aw, hell, it’s just as funny at 4 in the morning as it is now. You’re getting information from a girl with a really disgusting sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatulence-while-sleeping/178130/5 "2003-05-28T22:43:28Z")
Sorry, but bf is full of flatus! Flatulence during sleep is quite the norm, especially during lighter phases of sleep such as REM sleep, when dreams occur. QtM, MD ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatulence-while-sleeping/178130/6 "2003-05-28T22:57:58Z")
Sheesh! I’ve frequently slept in bunk rooms, tents, and camps with crews of guys, and I can assure you that this kind of night music is very common. I’ve had a few girlfriends that were no slackers either. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatulence-while-sleeping/178130/7 "2003-05-28T23:06:17Z")
Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt. TheLadyLion can tell some stories about me. Once she almost sat bolt upright because she thought it was the dog barking. We have a big dog. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatulence-while-sleeping/178130/8 "2003-05-29T00:15:36Z")
Your sphincter is a most talented muscle. It knows how to let just the gas out while keeping the rest in…most of the time anyway. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatulence-while-sleeping/178130/9 "2003-05-29T00:33:32Z")
“Never assume it’s just a fart.” - P.J. O’Rourke, _Advice for Elderly Gentlemen_ (maybe - I’m going on pure memory) ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatulence-while-sleeping/178130/10 "2003-05-29T21:17:49Z")
Try recording yourself while you sleep! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![trabi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@trabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabi)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatulence-while-sleeping/178130/11 "2003-05-29T21:47:53Z")
My brother likes his fibre. Once he fell asleep at the beginning of a long bus journey. When he woke up everyone is his immediate vicinity had moved to the back of the bus and you could cut the air with a knife. Needless to say he was so embarrassed he closed his eyes again and pretended to be asleep for the remainder of the journey. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatulence-while-sleeping/178130/12 "2003-05-29T22:20:04Z")
My SO even lifts his left cheek in his sleep when he farts (something he does when awake farting). ---
**Author:** ![xvxdarkknightxvx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/34f0e0/32.png) [@xvxdarkknightxvx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xvxdarkknightxvx)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatulence-while-sleeping/178130/13 "2003-05-30T00:48:54Z")
My brother does it all the time. Quite funny.