Who knew?

I was hanging out with friends yesterday and somehow the topic turned to perception, dreams and such. (Sunday afternoon, a patio and beer—conversation can take all kinds of odd turns.)

I was startled when a friend described something I’ve experienced but to which I’ve never given a second’s thought. Sometimes, as I drift off to sleep, I hear a loud BANG that wakes me with a start. It doesn’t hurt, it’s just loud and it’s entirely in my head.

Susan described the same thing happening to her. Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle—this strange experience has a name. It’s called, colorfully, exploding head syndrome. It’s a known, if not entirely understood, phenomenon. I suppose nobody is studying it because it's not harmful unless it badly interferes with sleep. At least that's what they say.

Brains are so innnnnnnnteresting. So are lazy Sunday afternoon conversations.

I've also had moments when the inside of my brain seems to get really, really big. As if all kinds of space has suddenly opened up inside it. I googled "expanding head syndrome" and didn't find anything.

I shouldn't tell you about how I sometimes hear a radio on in the other room. That's probably entirely due to the transmitter martians planted in my head.

Labels: brain science