Ira Glass

On TV, war seemed to involve a lot of running. There was crouching, there was shooting, but there was a disturbing amount of running. So I was six, and I knew I was going to die, and my mom and dad couldn't help me. Nobody could help me. I'd be dead forever. Galaxies would spin, humans would travel to other worlds, and I would miss all of that.

Nobody would remember me or anybody that I had ever known. Forever. And I'd lie awake at night, scared to fall asleep. Because sleep seemed no different than death. You know? You were gone. Not moving, not talking, not thinking. Not aware. Not aware. What could be more frightening? What could be bigger? And here was the weird part of it, I thought, when I was a kid.

Nobody would remember me or anybody that I had ever known. Forever. And I'd lie awake at night, scared to fall asleep. Because sleep seemed no different than death. You know? You were gone. Not moving, not talking, not thinking. Not aware. Not aware. What could be more frightening? What could be bigger? And here was the weird part of it, I thought, when I was a kid.

Somehow, every night, all the adults, all my relatives, every teacher, everybody who I ever heard of headed off for bed like this was no big deal. Complete annihilation. No big deal. For those of us who fear sleep, there is a lot to fear. And that's what we're going to talk about on today's radio show. It's a survey of this altered state. This altered state where we're vulnerable and just gone.

Somehow, every night, all the adults, all my relatives, every teacher, everybody who I ever heard of headed off for bed like this was no big deal. Complete annihilation. No big deal. For those of us who fear sleep, there is a lot to fear. And that's what we're going to talk about on today's radio show. It's a survey of this altered state. This altered state where we're vulnerable and just gone.

Having dreams where anything at all can happen. Not in control of our own bodies. Listen to what happened to this woman, Denise.

Having dreams where anything at all can happen. Not in control of our own bodies. Listen to what happened to this woman, Denise.

As Denise got older, this paralysis has happened more and more. And sometimes when she's lying there, paralyzed and awake, she hallucinates. She sees family members who aren't there, or she hears them. And sometimes they're mad at her. Though the only time all this happens to Denise is when she takes a nap during the day.

As Denise got older, this paralysis has happened more and more. And sometimes when she's lying there, paralyzed and awake, she hallucinates. She sees family members who aren't there, or she hears them. And sometimes they're mad at her. Though the only time all this happens to Denise is when she takes a nap during the day.

Then there's Ron Vagley. He'd wake up after an hour or two of sleep and find himself, for example, still in bed, there with his wife,

Then there's Ron Vagley. He'd wake up after an hour or two of sleep and find himself, for example, still in bed, there with his wife,

Is that it?

Is that it?

Nocturnal seizures... This is from a DVD put together by Drs. Carlos Schenck and Mark Mahowald of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorder Center. The number of adults with troubled sleep, they say, is a lot higher than you probably think. Somewhere between 1.5 and 4% of all adults have had recent sleepwalking episodes, depending on what study you look at. That's millions of people.

Nocturnal seizures... This is from a DVD put together by Drs. Carlos Schenck and Mark Mahowald of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorder Center. The number of adults with troubled sleep, they say, is a lot higher than you probably think. Somewhere between 1.5 and 4% of all adults have had recent sleepwalking episodes, depending on what study you look at. That's millions of people.

Another 2% engage in sleep-related violence. People eat when they're asleep. They have sex when they're asleep. And one of the most affecting things to watch on this DVD that they assembled to educate people about various sleep disorders is a 51-year-old Japanese man who was videotaped while having a bad dream.

Another 2% engage in sleep-related violence. People eat when they're asleep. They have sex when they're asleep. And one of the most affecting things to watch on this DVD that they assembled to educate people about various sleep disorders is a 51-year-old Japanese man who was videotaped while having a bad dream.

Oh...

Oh...

The man later told researchers that in this dream, he's fighting off snakes. And in this kind of grainy nighttime footage, you can see him swat away snakes with his arms. He kicks at one with his foot. The metal sound you're hearing is the bed frame. Finally, he picks up a pillow like it's a rock and beats one away. There's something completely naked about this footage.