You Won't Believe What Some People Do While They Sleep!

Article by BR Kellie

There’s nothing like coming home to a courier package, or two, or three. But imagine if you didn’t know what they were or why they were there. Now imagine opening these mysterious packages and finding a payment slip with your name and details along with products you have no recollection of buying. 

In a panic, with thoughts of identity theft rushing through your mind, you check your credit card, and there it is – the proof that someone bought you a parcel and sent it to you…using your credit card. You smell a rat. Why would someone use your money to buy you something instead of sending it to themselves like a common thief would do? Even weirder, how did they know you’d been lusting after the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette for months but refused to buy it because you were on a no spend?

So you go into the darkest depths of your computer, phone or tablet and check out the history. There it is – at 2.37am on a Tuesday you went online shopping, and you have no recollection whatsoever of doing it. Sound familiar? 

Sleep shopping along with sleep texting and sleep emailing is on the rise.  And it’s not just us regular folk who are doing it, Chris Colfer of Glee fame is very open about his sleep shopping experiences. (Although I’d much rather have the Naked 3 palette than a portrait of Marie Antoinette….)

But just how does sleep shopping happen? It has been linked to a new breed of prescription sleeping tablets, which have also seen people work while sleeping, drive while sleeping, even do house work while sleeping (which, actually would be kind of handy…). But more and more people who aren’t taking sleeping tablets are finding themselves getting up to mysterious nocturnal habits. The concept of doing random things while you sleep, including sleepwalking and sleep shopping is called parasomnia. Parasomnia is often hereditary, but can also occur when you’re under stress, super busy or finding it hard to switch off at the end of the day.

While I’m tempted to be flippant and call sleep shopping sleepwalking’s much cooler and fun cousin, it’s hardly fun or cool if you’re racking up debt you can’t afford to pay off. So what can you do if you find yourself sleep shopping when you’d rather be awake shopping, or horror or horrors, not shopping at all? Recommendations from sleep experts include implementing a good bedtime routine and sticking to it and making sure you wind down before bed by turning the last hour or two into a screen-free zone. You can learn relation techniques and if all else fails turn off your phone or tablet and/or keep it in another room. 

So have you ever come home to parcels you’ve no recollection of buying only to find you bought them in your sleep? If you haven’t do you know anyone who has? And if you could do a spot of sleep shopping what would you hope your Sleeping Beauty self would buy?