Most Annoying Sleeping Habits

Annoying sleeping habits vary from person to person, and so do others' tolerance levels toward them. While some habits reflect an underlying medical condition, most are harmless and will cause more annoyance than illness. Spouses, parents and other household members are all affected by people with annoying sleeping habits. Raising awareness and monitoring these habits could help eradicate them.

Parents

• Bed-wetting is among the most common sleeping habits that annoy parents. Bed-wetting, or nocturnal enuresis, is a normal occurrence in children under five and sometimes older children. It rarely affects young adults. It occurs more often in children whose parents also suffered from the condition. In addition to annoying parents, bed-wetting sometimes lowers a child's self-esteem. Though bed-wetting may be linked to neurological disorders, most children overcome this affliction as their bladder develops and they practice waking up to empty it.

Spouses

• Spouses who share beds regularly complain about their partner kicking and and stealing covers. These habits often result in couples sleeping in separate beds. Kicking generally arises from irregular sleeping patterns or bad sleeping posture. Whilst relatively harmless, frequent kicking for long periods may signal a disorder such as periodic limb movement disorder or restless leg syndrome. Cover thieves are usually not accustomed to sharing their sleeping space and will sometimes resort to using separate sheets.

Household Members

• If loud enough, snoring will likely annoy all household members and even neighbors. Snoring basically consists of vibrations of the soft palate in the nose and throat as airway muscles relax during sleeping. Several factors worsen snoring, including nasal problems, alcohol, smoking, sleeping tablets or obesity. Suggestions offered to alleviate snoring include raising the head of the bed, sleeping on one's side and clearing nasal passages. Surgery is also available as a last option for severe cases.

Other Habits

• Other strange yet common habits include sleepwalking and sleep talking. Sleepwalkers carry out random actions while still asleep, usually with their eyes open. Sleepwalking events vary, with reported cases of eating, urinating or even driving a car. Sleepwalkers can become confused or even violent when awoken, and some go back to sleep on their own. Sleep talkers mumble or shout random phrases or even have entire conversations. Some phrases are nonsensical and inaudible, while others are loud and sometimes vulgar.