The Rare Syndrome That Distorts Reality

Alice in Wonderland syndrome makes people perceive their surroundings as unnaturally tiny or massive. Objects may seem to shrink or stretch while your sense of time and distance also warps completely.

Named after Lewis Carroll’s famous book, this condition often strikes people at night when they are trying to sleep. It can leave patients feeling like giants in a room full of dolls or suddenly tiny in a vast, menacing space. While the experience is unsettling, it is usually harmless and most common in children. Scientists believe it is caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain, sometimes linked to migraines or simple viral infections.