Laughing in your sleep is a rather common phenomenon for many people. This can be observed in young children, babies, and infants, as well as adults. Although most of your body is paralyzed while asleep to protect you from harm, you are still able to talk and laugh.
The most common cause of laughing when your sleep is due to laughing in a dream. In order to dream, you have to find yourself in REM, also known as rapid eye movement sleep. REM is the deepest form of sleep, and most commonly where the laughing in your sleep starts to occur.
Many people who laugh in their sleep have reported that once they wake, the dream that caused them to laugh was actually rather unfunny and in certain cases even bizarre. So, what’s the spiritual meaning of laughing in your sleep?
Spiritual meanings of laughing in your sleep
The spiritual meaning of laughing while being asleep has a wide variety of interpretations. Some of the most common ones include the following.
1. Success
It is believed that laughing in your sleep is a sign of success. This could be tied to many areas of your life. However, people mostly connect this sign to career and professional life.
2. Good luck
Generally, laughter while sleeping has been thought of as a good omen. Especially since the act of laughter usually bears no ill intention. Many cultures believe that laughter while sleeping is an indicator of good luck. Laughing in your sleep is a sign of positive energy and telling of the fact that good news may be reaching you soon.
3. A warning
Some other traditions believe that laughing while you’re asleep should be seen as a warning. This can be a warning of negative energies that surround you, and in some cases even points to negative people in your circle of friends and loved ones.
4. Sign of an escape
It is sometimes believed that laughing in your sleep is a sign of trying to escape. This means that you are unhappy and have a hard time finding joy in your waking life, regardless of it being due to your circumstances or other factors. Laughing while you are asleep means you have to find joy in the world of dreams, therefore signaling an escape from your reality.
5. A pleasant encounter
One of the more common interpretations is that you have simply encountered something pleasant or funny in your dream, which made you laugh.
6. Providing some relief
Some people even believe that laughing in a dream is due to your higher self trying to provide you some sense of relief. Perhaps you have found yourself more stressed than usual lately. Laughing while you are dreaming may be the universe’s way of giving you a slight break, and wanting you to feel a burst of joy to disconnect from all the stress you face in your waking life.
7. Seeing angels
For many years and in many different parts of the world, babies laughing in their sleep have been a sign of the presence of an angel. It is widely believed that babies are able to see with a different sight than adults, and laughing while being asleep has for a long time been connected to seeing angels.
8. Insecurities
If laughing during your sleep is a result of a dream where you were being laughed at, or laughing at someone else in a rude, mean or degrading way; this could be a sign of your own insecurities. It can also point to your jealousy and need for attention.
9. Remain observant
laughing in your sleep can sometimes seem or feel disturbing. If this is the case it could be a warning that you need to remain observant and be on the lookout for certain people who do not have good intentions, or future life situations that may disguise themselves differently from what they actually are.
10. Stress and anxiety
Most people don’t remember laughing in their sleep. And when questioned about what they were laughing at, they sometimes even remember the dream in question, not being funny, being bizarre or ridiculous. Laughing in these instances is often seen as a sign of stress and anxiety. This could be a way of signaling to you that it is of dire importance that you start paying attention to your mental health.
Is laughing in your sleep harmful?
Sleep laughter is very common, and can usually be found more in children than in adults. Usually, there is nothing dangerous or harmful about laughing in your sleep.
However, certain studies have connected this symptom to a small group of neurological disorders and other sleep disorders, most commonly parasomnia. Although parasomnia is not necessarily harmful or dangerous, it can involve unusual movements and behaviors which may affect your quality of sleep.
There are also rare cases of something called gelastic seizures, which are known to affect infants. This seizure can cause episodes of uncontrolled giggling that can last anywhere from 10-20 seconds. A minority of cases continue to have issues in adulthood.
This can also be seen in children who experience sleep terrors. Many people who experienced sleep terrors during their childhood no longer express any severe symptoms of rem sleep behavior disorder.
Collected data from brain waves and other brain activity during a sleep study or a sleep assessment show that rem sleep behavior disorders shown in the early stages of life have a high chance of reducing a lot and in some cases almost completely.
If you or your partner are experiencing a lessening of sleep quality, sleep deprivation or feel uncomfortable as a result of these patterns and behaviors, then it might be a good idea to discuss these concerns further with a professional.
What is parasomnia? (Spiritual Meanings)
Parasomnia is a sleep behavior disorder that occurs during your REM sleep, which is the deepest sleep and also when you are able to dream. In the majority of cases when it comes to parasomnia, it disables the ability to temporarily keep your muscles paralyzed while you sleep and dream. Without this ability present, simple behaviors such as laughing, talking or grunting may occur. However, in more severe cases this may also affect your ability to perform bodily movements as you are dreaming, such as kicking, punching, jumping or sleepwalking.
What are the reasons for parasomnia?
Although there is no definitive knowledge on what exactly causes parasomnia, it has been shown to be related to neurological problems.
Many studies also show that sleep behavior disorders can be connected to other more severe sleep disorders such as narcolepsy and periodic limb movement disorder.
Narcolepsy
- a sleep disorder that affects the person’s sleep cycle. This may cause them to feel excessive sleepiness, and may contribute to hallucinations, snoring or sleep paralysis. This neurological condition can be better managed with medications.
PLMD – Periodic limb movement disorder
- PLMD is a repetitive movement that is also involuntary and occurs during sleep, usually affecting the legs. They can be characterized as cramping or jerking of the legs, and also a restless and disturbed sleeping pattern.
Conclusion
Laughing in your sleep is completely normal. It happens to every person at least once, and is more commonly found in babies and young children rather than adults.
The spiritual meanings for laughing in your sleep differ a lot depending on the emotions felt both during and after the incident. Mainly sleep laughing is a good omen, and brings signs of success, good luck and pleasant encounters in the dream world.
However, Â If laughing, talking or involuntary moving in your sleep has caused you or your partner to receive less quality sleep, then it could be the right choice for you to discuss your concerns with a professional.
