Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Sleep

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler. Need more advice on your childs development? Sign up to our Ages and Stages newsletter here.

What is the worst thing that has ever woken you up?

283 replies

OliveCrab · 29/09/2024 18:04

A fire

OP posts:
ticklecrabs · 29/09/2024 20:17

A millipede crawling over me. A gift from my cat.

Whatineed · 29/09/2024 20:19

Snowdrops17 · 29/09/2024 19:53

@Whatineed Need the rest of this story ...

Llived in a ground floor flat in S. London years ago, bedroom looked out onto a grassy verge on a quiet-ish part of the South Circular.

It was a summer evening so I had the blinds tilted open and the sash window up by about 10 inches. I decided to have an early bath, then to sit on the bed watching TV and doing my pedicure etc.

It was so hot that I ended up on the bed in my dressing gown and hair towel enjoying the breeze, and accidentally drifted off, I had the light on, so outside you could see me on the bed dozing if you got close to the window.

I woke up to the sound of the blinds clacking and thought it was the wind, realised it was late and I'd fallen asleep. Sat up to close the window only to see a hand under the blind grab the candle holder from the windowsill, and then next a shoe and bent knee edging in under the blind.

For some reason half asleep I shouted my ex's name, as if he was in the living room "D, what the fuck is all that banging, what's going on in there, come in here now".

The leg disappeared sharpish so I ran over and slammed the sash window down and locked it, ran round the flat checking the other windows, closing the blinds and chaining the door.

I waited alone for 3 hours for the police to come. They covered the windowsill with a carrier bag, and after two weeks forensics came out to dust for prints, but shockingly couldn't pick up any good ones from the sill or the candle holder.

feelingalittlehorse · 29/09/2024 20:20

Three words-

Profuse
Labrador
Diarrhoea.

😭

floorchid · 29/09/2024 20:26

I have very fine, thin hair that tangles into a bird nest while I sleep. I once woke to find a cockroach tangled into my hair at the back. Took me ages to get it out as it scuttled around, getting hair wound around its thorny little legs.

I also once opened my eyes to see my eldest child, aged about 3? Spreading her bum cheeks to show me what a good job she had done at wiping her bum.

YellowTassels · 29/09/2024 20:26

Pick axe headache, so painful.

HornyHornersPinger · 29/09/2024 20:37

Rolled over in the night once onto something cold, wet and slimy - it was a massive slug that had obviously come in stuck to the cat who was curled up asleep nearby.

Remember as a child being woken by an almighty clap of thunder that literally made my whole body jump and rise from the bed with fear coursing through every fibre of my being. Have since had a reasonably irrational fear of thunderstorms, especially at night.

And yeah, migraines 😕

Dogstar78 · 29/09/2024 20:43

A phone call to say my Dad had died....on my birthday, almost to the time I was born.

Mammyof22020 · 29/09/2024 20:46

2 men breaking into our shed in the garden at our old house.

New house 2 lads kicking in the front door of the lovely elderly lady across the road.

Had to wake up hubby on both occasions as he's a deep sleeper!

reallifeboogie · 29/09/2024 20:46

Aged 11 being woken up by my 19 year old brother raping me. Happened more than once.

Fengipack · 29/09/2024 20:48

A 3am call to say my died had passed away from covid .

Downtoyou · 29/09/2024 20:48

My son having his first seizure in hospital after his cancer had spread. Scariest night of my life. He has since passed away.

dizzydizzydizzy · 29/09/2024 20:52

A cat jumped on my chest. It was absolutely terrifying until I realised what had happened.

onlymyselftoanswerto1 · 29/09/2024 20:52

A bomb - more than once (growing up in NI in the 80's/90's they were a common occurance close to where I lived)

On a lighter note (but probably more scary for me!!) the scuttling noise of a huge spider running up my bed towards me face. Scared the crap out of me 😱

whataballbag · 29/09/2024 20:55

Scratching which my still half asleep brain convinced me was rats living in the walls.

Turned out it was a woodlouse that had got itself stuck in the plastic tray bit of a milk tray. It was SO loud!!

HiFillyJonk · 29/09/2024 21:02

A phone call to say I needed to come to my 3-day-old premature baby's incubator immediately because she'd deteriorated and probably wouldn't make it through the night.

Somehow - after two operations and the most terrifying wait - she pulled through but I will never forget the ice-cold fear I felt in that moment when I picked up the phone.

Daisymae55 · 29/09/2024 21:02

Husband gets terrible night terrors. Not very often but usually when he’s very stressed. This has involved him leaping out of bed and running into a wall, rolling onto me and punching me while dreaming he was in a fight with someone (something he’d never ever do awake), and most recently, screaming our daughters name as if something truly awful had happened.

He always either stays asleep or if he wakes falls straight back to sleep. I spend hours awake fucking shaken up 😣

AllstarFacilier · 29/09/2024 21:08

I was sleeping in a tent at a festival and someone stepped through it and onto my head.

I’ve slept through an earthquake, a fight and a burglar downstairs though.

lavenderlou · 29/09/2024 21:09

Cat dropping a live mouse on my stomach...

Wallywobbles · 29/09/2024 21:10

A tick crawling over the lip of my duvet to come and join me in the bed under the covers.

UmbrellaEllaEllaElla · 29/09/2024 21:10

A burglar.

Alohamo · 29/09/2024 21:13

I must have slept on my arm leaving it completely numb through lack of blood flow and then somehow rolled over and flipped my arm onto my face.

Woke up to a heavy, dead hand and arm on my face.

Went absolutely ballistic; screaming, clawing, biting and scratching this arm trying to remove it as I was convinced I had a dead body on me. Woke up DH who had to show me that it was actually my own arm that I'd been attacking..

Thewalrusandthecarpenter · 29/09/2024 21:14

reallifeboogie · 29/09/2024 20:46

Aged 11 being woken up by my 19 year old brother raping me. Happened more than once.

That's absolutely awful. I'm so sorry.

torturedpoet13 · 29/09/2024 21:14

A car crashing right outside my house or the sound of my mum screaming

torturedpoet13 · 29/09/2024 21:15

torturedpoet13 · 29/09/2024 21:14

A car crashing right outside my house or the sound of my mum screaming

Cos my sister was having a severe asmtha attack

*pressed send to early

ForGreyKoala · 29/09/2024 21:15

A big earthquake