Is it possible to sneeze while you're asleep?

I’ve never done it before or heard of anyone else doing it, but I’d think that if you can cough while asleep, then you could sneeze while asleep.

I have woken myself up sneezing.

Interesting question. I think it depends upon where you are in the sleep cycle. During REM sleep you enter into a kind of paralytic state. You may not be able to sneeze during that cycle, but I’m not sure.

I believe the irritation that comes before a sneeze will wake you to the point of a sneeze.

I went to another site and coopied this. The link is at the bottom.

we don’t sneeze in our sleep at all.
The Roots of the SneezeA sneeze is a reflexive response to external stimulants slipping past your nose hairs and reaching the sensitive mucous membranes that line the nasal passage (another common cause is the “photic sneeze reflex,” a genetic trait that causes sneezing when a person is suddenly exposed to bright light). Nerve endings in the membranes send signals to the brain about the foreign invaders, and the brain sends signals to muscles in the face, throat and chest to go ahead clean house by expelling air from the nose and mouth.
We’re actually more prone to sneezing while asleep, since the mucous membranes swell when we lie down, but because there usually isn’t much airflow or movement to stir up dust or other particles while we sleep, the membranes don’t come into contact with as many stimulants as they do when we’re awake.
Our odds of have having to sneeze during sleep are already reduced, but our bodies have a neat little trick up their sleeves to keep us at rest. It’s called REM atonia, a state caused by the shutdown of the release of certain neurotransmitters during REM sleep that results in motor neurons not being stimulated and reflectory signals not being sent to the brain. So, even if there were various stimulants being kicked up while you slept (say, by an evil cat playing with his rubber ball or biting your toes at five in the morning), and a few got into your nose, the brain wouldn’t be alerted to the matter.
It is possible, if the external stimulants are sufficient (say, by an evil cat dusting your mustache with pepper), for a person to wake up to sneeze.

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/16991

@SarasWhimsy If its possible for me to speak in other languages and laugh while asleep, I think anything is possible while you’re asleep.

You mention snoring, talking, coughing as being things you’ve woken from, but waking oneself up from their own flatulence is truly a classic.

While on the topic of sneezing, it’s physically impossible to open ones eyes during a sneeze. Try it.

I’ve awakened sneezing, snoring, talking, yelling, laughing, crying, foot or leg-cramped, falling off the bed, too hot or too cold, sweating, needing to pee, and dear God, flatuating (which maybe is why I’m living alone).

what do you think?