# What the heck is shocking me as I lie in bed? (long-ish) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 5, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924 "2009-09-05T00:37:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/41 "2009-10-11T13:56:42Z")
> [@Alex\_Dubinsky](#): > > Of course, the nerve-degeneration theory is still valid. That stuff can feel exactly like electric shocks, because, guess what, electric shocks feel the way they do because they affect nerves. More and more, I’m fearing that this is it..that it’s all in my head, or body..and nothing actually outside of it. It hasn’t happened for awhile, not since I moved my bed, although there are times (about two weeks ago) when I’ll feel minor things, including something I can only describe as a constant, regular, inflow of twitches and mini-electric-like feelings jolting my body. Doesn’t happen when I’m sitting up or standing, only when I’m laying down and only on my bed. I meant to ask ages ago if the people below got a ceiling fan installed in the last three or four months but I keep forgetting and haven’t been up to the office in about half a year. But yeah, as much as I hate to admit it, I’m starting to wonder if it’s just some kind of sleep disorder or nerve damage or what not like what was suggested in here… ..if that was the case, though, why doesn’t it happen all the time? Why only once or twice every month or two? You’d think it’d be more regular if it was a body issue or nerve thing… Thank you, all, for keeping this bumped every so often, still trying to figure it out, and showing concern for it. Monday, for sure, I’m going to the office and asking about it. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/42 "2009-10-11T13:59:15Z")
> [@rick1](#): > > body shocks are what you are experiencing, i had them also, they were violent, bringing me out of a deep sleep. either in bed or in the lazy boy near the bed. while going for tests for sleep disorders that were pretty severe for me, the sleep doc said i had a body movement disorder, something like restless leg syndrome, which i thought was a joke, he gave me a drug called requip that quieted the nerves in my body down and that has seemed to solve the problem of the shocks. the shocks are just your body tuning itself down, most people do not have this because their nerves are working in a smooth shutdown way. some of us get these shocks because of some out of sync nerve progression. it isn’t dangerous and usually subsides. but i know how you feel. sometimes i felt like i was being lifted up in the air, they were so violent. you have to go to a sleep disorder neurologist if you want to be taken seriously. i think you can find info on the web about it as well I don’t know..the two times it happened my body was not tuning down..once was after a full nights rest, as dawn was breaking. My whole arm felt like what it feels like when an electric shock passes through it…it was unmistakeable, because I’ve had many shocks before. If it is nerves and the like, it’s very realistic. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/43 "2009-10-11T14:05:12Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I don’t think he or she is 100% sure about that. The scenario they describe makes it practically impossible to believe that actual electrical shocks are occurring as cloth makes a pretty good insulator, and 110-120 @ 15 AMPS is not going to be penetrating dry cloth, and the OP describes shocks as coming through or conducting through cloth. It’s a lot more likely it’s a nerve pain or related issue that feels just like an electrial shock. No cloth is on my mattress. I don’t sleep wearing anything, nor do I use a cover sheet. It’s just the bare mattress, with a deep, body-like, indentation that I have no doubt makes me close to touching the metal springs in the bed. Does this make it more possible/probable I’m getting shocked via my bed, somehow, sometimes, by something? Again, whatever it is, it only happens every so often, like once a month…if that..sometimes once every other month. That’s only when it’s a major shock that HURTS. Other times, more often (like once every two weeks or so), I have that feeling I said two posts up: Like my whole bed is activated by a live, electirc somthing. Makes my body thrumb, although it doesn’t hurt, per se..it IS unpleasant feeling. It makes me twitch and do regular motions like lifting my arm up and down constantly in my bed. Sort of like giving me extremely high doses of energy…all while feeling little, tiny jolts. When I get off the bed and sleep on the ground, it stops. Immediately. If it were nerve damage or restless leg/body syndrome, why wouldn’t it keep up? It’s only when I sleep in the now moved bed. Never anywhere else, never any time. I really think there’s just some sort of an electrical current running through that room somehow, and it’s accessing my mattress, no matter where it is in the room. 😛 Anyway, that’s it for now. ---
**Author:** ![bagga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@bagga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bagga)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/44 "2009-10-11T14:59:51Z")
If it’s possible to lift up the carpet and take a look under the circular indentation, do that, or check with the neighbours about the ceiling fan. Otherwise, considering all the other steps you’ve taken, it might be time to visit your doctor. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/45 "2009-10-11T15:33:41Z")
while electrical problems can be intermittent, i would think they would be more frequent than once a month or couple weeks. also all the circumstances for electrical to be the cause (ceiling fan below above the ceiling, bed springs touching) are all real long shots to be true. nerve problems are probably more likely. i’ve had nerve twinges and pains that feel like actual electric shocks. these can likely be circumstantial, your body has to be in just the right position, limbs and muscles positioned just the right way to put pressure on a nerve. a doctor may be able to tell you how it might be possible for that to happen from nerves. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/46 "2009-10-11T17:16:34Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > if that was the case, though, why doesn’t it happen all the time? Why only once or twice every month or two? You’d think it’d be more regular if it was a body issue or nerve thing I’ve had occasonally. Maybe three times in the past year. It would happen in my shoulder. Just like a single shock. So it doesn’t have to be often. I haven’t had it in a while, possibly because I’ve been taking mineral/vitamin supplements daily. > [@](#): > > Again, whatever it is, it only happens every so often, like once a month…if that..sometimes once every other month. That’s only when it’s a major shock that HURTS. Other times, more often (like once every two weeks or so), I have that feeling I said two posts up: Like my whole bed is activated by a live, electirc somthing. Makes my body thrumb, although it doesn’t hurt, per se..it IS unpleasant feeling. It makes me twitch and do regular motions like lifting my arm up and down constantly in my bed. Sort of like giving me extremely high doses of energy…all while feeling little, tiny jolts. > > When I get off the bed and sleep on the ground, it stops. Immediately. If it were nerve damage or restless leg/body syndrome, why wouldn’t it keep up? Instantly? I dunno. I’ve had really annoying cases of pins-and-needles (which I’ve also not had in a while), but those take a while to stop after I reposition myself. Why don’t you start a new thread with a title about nerves and see if there are people on here who know more about neurology than we do. (And post the link, btw.) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/47 "2009-10-11T18:00:16Z")
We’ve gone about as far as we can go on a message board to diagnose this problem. There are two hypotheses: a nerve condition and bad wiring. If the problem is the latter, it could kill you. You need to get someone with a voltmeter into your apartment ASAP to see whether it’s the wiring. If it isn’t the wiring, you need to see a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/48 "2009-10-11T18:26:26Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > No cloth is on my mattress. I don’t sleep wearing anything, nor do I use a cover sheet. It’s just the bare mattress, with a deep, body-like, indentation that I have no doubt makes me close to touching the metal springs in the bed. > > Does this make it more possible/probable I’m getting shocked via my bed, somehow, sometimes, by something? > . I’m talking about the cloth or fabric covering your mattress. Unless the cloth is wet household current is not going to be anywhere near strong enough to penetrate matress fabric. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/49 "2009-10-11T19:52:06Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > No cloth is on my mattress. I don’t sleep wearing anything, nor do I use a cover sheet. It’s just the bare mattress, with a deep, body-like, indentation that I have no doubt makes me close to touching the metal springs in the bed. > [@johnpost](#): > > nerve problems are probably more likely. i’ve had nerve twinges and pains that feel like actual electric shocks. these can likely be circumstantial, your body has to be in just the right position, limbs and muscles positioned just the right way to put pressure on a nerve. Maybe the indentation you sleep in contributes to the nerve problems, if that’s what it is. You could try flipping the mattress over or around, so you’re not in a body-shaped hole. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/50 "2009-10-18T23:59:59Z")
I… I don’t think this is what’s been happening to her. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/51 "2009-10-19T16:35:32Z")
**robbase** , did you seriously just suggest that someone is sneaking into \*\*Idle Thoughts’ \*\*home to lay a trap, and that’s what’s causing this? ---
**Author:** ![bagga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@bagga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bagga)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/52 "2009-10-21T23:48:34Z")
Spam. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/53 "2009-10-22T00:31:22Z")
Man, that’s pretty clever. Pick out a good, but uncommon keyword phrase. Optimize to first-place on Google. Spam the keywords, but have no links. Even make it look like a somewhat reasonable reply. But damn, those sites are UGLY. What the hell, they went overbudget on all the spamming or something? And what is the site for? How does it make money? ---
**Author:** ![Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enter_the_Flagon)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/54 "2009-10-22T02:38:34Z")
Lots of websites seem to exist for no other reason than to distribute spyware. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/55 "2009-10-22T16:58:43Z")
**robbase** ’s post has been removed from the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/56 "2009-10-22T17:15:20Z")
Shucks, I was really hoping we had a crazy person. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/57 "2009-10-22T17:29:04Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Shucks, I was really hoping we had a crazy person. ☹ Well, I’m pretty sure we do have at least one. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![exidee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/76d3ee/32.png) [@exidee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/exidee)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/58 "2018-01-20T14:54:55Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > I’ll try to describe this as best as possible. > > First of all, my mattress sits on the floor, there’s no boxspring or headboard, it’s just a mattress. > > Secondly, for the last six years I’ve lived here, in my apartment, I’ve always had a fan on and running (this being Arizona, it’s usually very needed). The fan is a box fan and has always stood right near the bed, sometimes/most of the time even touching it a little. > It hasn’t always been the same box fan, mind you; I’ve had about three of them in six years. > About a month or so ago, I woke from a deep sleep and reached up to touch the fan’s switch for some reason or other. I remember as soon as I touched it it felt immediately as if an electric shock was passing into my body. It hurt, very badly. I let go and even though it was only a few half seconds, it felt like my arm was on fire. I leapt to my feat and my arm started going numb a bit, and tingling. > I thought that the fan had shocked me (naturally), so later that day, a neighbor and I got it shut off and we threw it away. Time for a new one. > > I got a new one and all is fine, until about a week and a half later. This time, I’m lying in bed and SOMETHNG shocks me THROUGH the mattress. :dubious: It felt the exact same way as when I touched my fan…although not quite as strong (thankfully). It didn’t knock me to my feet nor did it continue after I pulled my hand away from the mattress. > Okay, fine…but just now: I’m lying in there and on my side and I put my hand down in one of the deep crevices of the mattress (that’s lowered a bit more from being layed on so much for so long) and OWWWW. I got shocked like NEVER before. It HURT. Badly. I jumped to my feet and my thumb was burning. It actually hurt. I’ve been shocked electrictricly before and it feels just like this. > > What in the hell is shocking me on my own bed? Could it be the fan that’s touching the mattress? Sending little short shocks through it and it’s hitting the springs (in the mattress) and that’s what’s shocking me? That’s the only thing I can think of. > Is that possible? Could that happen? The outlet that the fan is plugged into is loose a little, but that never seemed to matter before. I certainly was never shocked plugging or unplugging something in. > > All I know is, SOMETHING is giving me electric shocks, somehow, and I hope it stops. 😛 I meet the similar problem! I feel electric shock through heart while lying on my mattress (which is placed on a Tatami-like wooden/plastic platform above wooden floor, the platform is connected to wall by steel bars, and the wooden floor covers all cement ground). Before the shock, I can feel that high-frequency vibration moves near to me and suspend at some point of my mattress and lasts for a while, then the shock happens. This problem bothers me a lot. 😕 I searched Internet and find another two similar cases: > **[Neighbors Below: Is It Possible They're Causing Shocks?](https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/neighbors-below-is-it-possible-theyre-causing-shocks.325467/)** > > When I am on the computer (and even when I am not) sometimes I hear what sounds like a machine. Then, it feels like the floor beneath me is moving. Lately, I have also felt some shocks. I think the neighbors below are doing this on purpose. Is this... [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111231141628AA7R79j](https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111231141628AA7R79j) Please reply me if anyone has some idea. Thanks a lot! ---
**Author:** ![Peekaboo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e79b87/32.png) [@Peekaboo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peekaboo)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/59 "2021-02-17T13:10:01Z")
OMG! My bed just started shocking me tonight. When I press down to sit on it, I can literally see light flashes at the springs. I believe, I’ve located the problem. Phone charger. Ive unplugged everything in the sockets around the bed and pulled the bed away from the walls. My phone is charging across the room. Wish me luck. ---
**Author:** ![Katrey1981](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ab992/32.png) [@Katrey1981](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katrey1981)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2023, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924/60 "2023-08-08T07:08:44Z")
Can you please lmk what changes you did and ifit helped because I am facing simular issues when i go to bed at night and I’m losing my mind! Please assist me with whatever you have learned. I’m shocked I actually found someone with something simular going on. I have a sleep number with a integrated air pump in the box spring with a metal bed frame. PLEASE HELP! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-shocking-me-as-i-lie-in-bed-long-ish/508924.md?page=4)