What’s the most complex thing y’all have done…in your sleep?
And I don’t mean in dreams. But sleepwalking certainly counts.
I mean, most, if not all, of us have had times when, in sheer exhaustion, we’ve performed tasks in the real world while we were more than half asleep. Most of the stories I’ve heard involve “blacking out” during a commute to work, but still managing to make it there in one piece. But I’ve heard stories from Military personnel as well—my Dad, for instance, recalled one incident at a training Drop Zone in Arizona, where he and several other Marines jumped up out of a sound sleep to run to meet a landing helicopter. They actually managed to get a few yards before waking up, on their feet and still moving, and realizing that the chopper wasn’t even landing there at all.
So, anyone else have any similar tales that they’d like to recount?
When I was about twelve or so I was able to get out of bed, walk down a filght of stairs, put on my windbreaker, and open the door to go out while sleepwalking. Luckily my dad hear the noise I was making and came down to see what was up. He didn’t stop me from doing what I was doing until I tried to step foot outside. He didn’t want to wake me because of what they say about waking a sleepwalker. But when I tried to go out he guided me back to bed and tucked me. I had no recollection of that when I woke up the next morning but I knew something was up because I still had my jacket on. My dad later recounted the story during breakfast. I was amazed I didn’t remember a thing.
I don’t know that I ever actually have sleepwalked (sleptwalk?), but just recently I “dreamed” getting ready for bed and setting my alarm clocks. I overslept the next morning because my two alarm clocks were set to 3:26 AM and 11:49 PM or something else equally nonsensical. No one else in the house to change them for me, and they’re both across the room, so…There were other parts to the dream (taking a shower and whatnot), but fortunately there were no telltale signs of anything else.
Since that’s the only evidence I have of sleepwalking, I guess that’s the most complex thing I’ve done.
AFAIK, I’ve never done anything much complex or amazing in my sleep myself, but I recall an episode involving my sister back when I was about 12 and she was 7:
One night, after her bedtime, but before mine, I met her sleepwalking in the hallway of our house. She was in her nightie and heading for the stool next to the phone table. The stool is of normal width and height, with a round seat, and I realised she was sleepwalking when she tried to “raise the lid”… When that didn’t work she got annoyed. I think she must have “figured”, still in her sleep, that the lid was already up, because she then started to raise her night gown. This was when I intervened and led her, still sleeping, by the arm back the hallway and to the actual bathroom and the toilet there:)
Come to think of it, there is one thing I do… According to a couple of my regular bed mates over the years, I can carry on a conversation in my sleep. As in giving comprehensible answers and give valid input when spoken to. And I won’t remember sh*t about it! Slightly strange:)
It was a kind of a silly sleepwalking experience, but here goes… it happened about 5 years ago.
What I did was I got out bed, opened my room door and walked down the corridor into my parents bedroom. When I was in there I just stood and quietly called my dad. He woke up, I muttered something else (he couldn’t tell what I was saying), went back outside into the living room to turn on the TV and then proceed back to my bedroom and back to sleep.
My dad told me everything the next morning and it scared the shit out of me.
One time I laid down for a nap, and woke up talking on the phone. The caller said I was quite incoherent at first…
My son, when he was about 6, got up, came down the hall to the mechanical closet (next to the bathroom, BTW), and peed all over the water heater. I was mad and laughing at him at the same time.
I sleep walk very frequently, about once a week or so, and I actually remember details about the event the next morning I usually shut my bedroom door or something very simple.
One time, I was dreaming of eating a cheeseburger while in bed and I dripped ketchup on the pillow. I went to the bathroom and got a washcloth, got it soaking wet and actually tried to clean the pillow and the sheets before the stain set in.
However the other night, I was extremely exhausted and went to bed with some dishes in the sink soaking in hot water. I sleep-walked about an half hour into my sleep, (i remember looking at my alarm clock) and finished washing the dishes!
For the record, I rewashed them the next morning as I didn’t do a very good job scrubbing the dishes. And also for the record, don’t read into these anecdotes that I am a very tidy person. Very far from it.
I once fell out of bed, walked into my parents’ room, announced that I had fallen out of bed, and went back into my room to sleep.
Every day I come home from school and fall asleep on the couch for a couple hours. Apparently, I can hold a semi-coherent conversation and have on many occasions. I can also listen to the TV and remember details from whatever was on when I wake up.
I did this as well. Fell asleep after studying for some gruelling finals, got a phone call from my friend, made plans to go into the city (SF) over the weekend & do some clubbing, set a time, hung up, resumed sleeping.
My friend called, quite ticked that Saturday when I did not show (I was supposed to drive). I didn’t remeber a single word of our conversation, but she SWEARS I sounded perfectly coherent…
I usually fall asleep with the TV on at night, and I think that whatever was on TV was happening in real life. I feel like I get up and go looking for the people to either respond to a comment that was made, or laugh at a joke that was made. I finally come to and realize that I haven’t moved at all, and I was simply laying down the whole time, and I had called people on the phone. I will only call two people, so when this happens, they understand.
I also organized my DVD collection one night when I had a high fever, and was half concious. I did a pretty good job, but I can’t recall doing it. I know I was out of bed, but that was it. I also got online and sent off these “deep thoughts” kind of emails, and when I got the responses, man did I feel silly.
I don’t have this problem much anymore, cause I don’t think I ever really sleep. Think Ed Norton’s character in Fight Club.
When I was in high school, (many years ago) I awakened to find myself standing in my parents bedroom next to my fathers nightstand urinating into his waste paper can.
Talk about spooky and terrifying, my old man was a tough SOB raised in the depression. You can guess what he’d a done if he had woke up. I very quietly slipped back to my room and the next day dumped out and washed the can. The bathroom was opposite their room, apparently I turned left instead of right.
About 15 years ago, I was dead asleep, we had been on a road trip, up for several days, I was out cold (This was witnessed by three people) a couple of girls came by that night to check on me and my roommate. We had a small efficiency w/ the beds in the living area.
We had both crashed for the night when they came by. My roomie got up and let 'em in. I never woke, I had taken a couple of muscle relaxers to go to sleep so I was zoned. When they came in one of the girls pitched her keys on the foot of my bed (according to the two girls and my roomate) When the keys hit the bed, I instantly grabbed her and pulled her down on the bed.
They say they couldn’t tell what I was going to do. (damned survival instincts courtesy of the USMC)
The three of them got me settled and the girl was in shock…thought she was fixin to die.
A few minutes later I woke up sitting on the foot of my bed w/ them tripping and trying to wake me. Still to this day I have no recall of that event.
My two sisters and I used to have piano lessons at this nice old lady’s house. While waiting for my turn one time, I dozed off. Somehow I managed to walk over to the piano when it was time for me to start, lay out the sheet music, and then start playing something completely different than the Debussy I was supposed to be learning. The poor teacher was totally freaked out…
I sleepwalk a lot…unfortunately, I sometimes do scary things while asleep. One night, I woke up to the sound of screaming, only to look down and see my wife pushing me away with all her strength because I was trying to bite off her nose! Another time, she came home from hanging out with my sister, and I was already asleep…when she walked in to our room, I leapt out of bed with a bellowing roar, and she screamed and dived for cover. I didn’t wake up until I was halfway to the front door, still roaring like some deranged lunatic. But the most complex thing I have ever done while sleepwalking was getting up, getting dressed for work, driving 40 minutes across town, going in to my work, and getting set up for the day (at a call center). I didn’t wake up until a friend of mine who worked there noticed I was an hour and a half early, and came over to see what was up. He woke me up, and we both noticed my clothes were on inside out! It was a truly terrifying moment, and I was so ashamed that I had driven so far while asleep. I could have killed someone! My wife and I now have a standard policy that I am not allowed to leave the house in the morning unless I come to her and say goodbye. She wakes up when I do, and waits until I leave before going back to bed, just to make sure I really am awake before I hit the road.
I also seriously hurt my foot (in the same incident)
With fractured vertebrae and foot too hurt to touch the floor (let alone walk on) I climbed back into bed (still asleep) and woke up the next morning unaware of how I did it. To this day I still don’t know how I did it. It’s been suggested that I fell down the stairs, but there are not enough bruises elsewhere for that.
Got out of bed, put on some clothes, walked down stairs and out the front door and stood on the sidewalk looking to my left. When my dad caught up with me and asked me what I was doing, I said, “It sure is late - I guess I better be getting back home.” Daddy said, “OK, let’s go home then.” He walked me back inside and put me back to bed. I was about 17 at the time.
I used to sleepwalk frequently. Most of the time I would wake up in my back yard, but once I managed to get about a mile away from home. Fortunately, I was never hurt doing this and I haven’t done it in several years. (At least, I don’t think I have.) I still wake up standing or sitting beside my bed sometimes, or in another room of the house, but I can live with that.
Another time, she came home from hanging out with my sister, and I was already asleep…when she walked in to our room, I leapt out of bed with a bellowing roar, and she screamed and dived for cover. I didn’t wake up until I was halfway to the front door, still roaring like some deranged lunatic. But the most complex thing I have ever done while sleepwalking was getting up, getting dressed for work, driving 40 minutes across town, going in to my work, and getting set up for the day (at a call center). I didn’t wake up until a friend of mine who worked there noticed I was an hour and a half early, and came over to see what was up. He woke me up, and we both noticed my clothes were on inside out! It was a truly terrifying moment, and I was so ashamed that I had driven so far while asleep. I could have killed someone! My wife and I now have a standard policy that I am not allowed to leave the house in the morning unless I come to her and say goodbye. She wakes up when I do, and waits until I leave before going back to bed, just to make sure I really am awake before I hit the road.