the take
one of us laughs in his sleep, and the other finds it genuinely scary. his defense: isn't that the purest thing in the world? her rebuttal: it sounds like a 1920s cartoon bank robber, and it's so typical of a man to be having a delightful little time while asleep when women are out here having nightmares or not sleeping at all. his closing argument: god forbid a man enjoy himself. no verdict was reached. he's happy for him.
this is the hosts' commentary and speculation for entertainment, not a statement of fact about anyone in it.
the backstory
Laughing in your sleep has a name: hypnogely. It's fairly common and usually harmless, and most episodes happen during REM sleep, the stage with the most vivid dreams. The dreams behind it are often weird, or not even funny once you're awake. In rare cases sleep laughing can be a symptom of a sleep or neurological disorder, so if it comes with things like acting out dreams, it's worth mentioning to a doctor.
On the men versus women part, the clip is half right. There's no good evidence that men laugh in their sleep more than women do. But women are more likely than men to report insomnia, and they report nightmares more often too, so the 'girls are having nightmares or can't sleep' line has some data behind it.
where it's from
transcript
auto-transcribed from the clip audio. speakers aren't labeled and there may be small errors.
- 0:00You also laugh in your sleep, which is like really scary.
- 0:04I don't like that.
- 0:04Isn't that just like nice?
- 0:06No, it seems sinister.
- 0:07Is that like the purest thing in the world?
- 0:09Like if you-
- 0:10Well yeah, anybody laughing in their sleep
- 0:11probably seems sinister.
- 0:12It's like hee hee hee.
- 0:14Like it's not like that at all.
- 0:15But like-
- 0:16There's no way.
- 0:16You know what I mean?
- 0:17I'm like why are you laughing?
- 0:181920s like cartoon like bank robber in my sleep.
- 0:21Honestly, it is so typical of a man
- 0:24to be sleeping and be laughing.
- 0:26You're like having-
- 0:27Oh yeah, God forbid a man like enjoy himself.
- 0:30God forbid you have a moment's happiness.
- 0:32You're like even like getting mad at me
- 0:33for having one in my sleep.
- 0:35Girls are literally like having nightmares
- 0:38or like literally incapable of sleeping.
- 0:40And you're just like literally having
- 0:42such a delightful time sleeping
- 0:43that you're like chuckling.
- 0:45Like that's crazy.
- 0:46I'm happy for me.
faq
- What is it called when you laugh in your sleep?
- Hypnogely. It usually happens during REM sleep, when you're dreaming.
- Is laughing in your sleep bad?
- Usually not. It's mostly a harmless side effect of dreaming. Rarely it can be linked to a sleep or neurological disorder, so check with a doctor if it comes with other symptoms.
- Do women have more nightmares than men?
- Women tend to report nightmares more often than men, and they're also more likely to report insomnia.
