Awaken into the Land of Eeriness: Sleep Paralysis

Someone's Going to Attack Me, Please Help!

Sleeping Anytime, Anywhere is Bad: Narcolepsy

Come dawn and everything seems normal and gay but once dusk sets in and darkness surround us there are individuals who have a skeleton or two in their closet. Sleep is the most underrated action whose quality can have everlasting effects on mankind. A good night’s sleep is essential to start the next day on a fresher note. But while we settle down to sleep not all of us are blessed with a peaceful and undisturbed bedtime. Experiences of some individuals seem straight out of a horror movie!
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What’s a life without a dream? It’s called a dream when the thoughts that surround us during sleep are positive and good but a nightmare when the events that haunt us are negative and spooky. Many individuals are attacked by this following episode-They try to shout for help during some unwanted nightmare but are unable to do so, try to squeeze themselves out but can’t and try to reach out to a spouse/parent sleeping beside but they too seem haunted. This type of a scenario has been experienced by generations and generations of people since ages. Maybe these have been the ones that paved way for the first ghost stories and spirits surrounding or entering souls. Stays in our college dorms have never been complete without stories on extortion or the dead rising from their tombs. But putting all these aside researchers have named this condition as sleep paralysis where the individual is characterized by brief episodes of inability to move or speak that happen when you’re waking up or falling asleep.

Parasomnia: Sleep Paralysis
Its not the eeriness that makes sleep paralysis sound scary but the fact that you become unable to move your hands and legs, shout for help and above all, experience terrible hallucinations. Sleep paralysis is a parasomnia, a disorder that refers to all abnormal things (except sleep apnea) such as nightmares, sleepwalking, sleep talking and REM sleep behavior disorder. More interesting information on parasomnia is available at www.firsteatright.com. Sleep paralysis distinctly falls into three categories:

• Intruder hallucination where the person feels that there is some evil individual present in his/her close vicinity and this is predominantly experienced by most people with sleep paralysis
• Incubus hallucination where the person feels that someone or something is pressing against his/her chest or abdomen trying to choke
• Vestibular-motor hallucination in which the individual feels that he/she is floating in the air and the spirit has left the body and is observing events from outside.
  
  

Sleep paralysis can happen soon after sleeping, some time after sleeping or just before waking up. Generally, most episodes occur 1-3 hours after sleeping. Episodes can occur once or twice in lifetime, once a month or more frequently on a regular basis. Though common among all age groups it is mostly present in teenagers and young adults. During sleep paralysis you might:

• Face problems taking deep breaths as you imagine your chest is being crushed or restricted
• Be able to move your eyes
• Experience extreme fear
• Feel as though someone/something is present in the room and is waiting to harm you

The duration is only for a few seconds, but some may experience it for a couple of minutes too.

Causes
There are different sleep stages and REM (rapid eye movement) is a stage of sleep when the brain is very active and dreams occur frequently. Sleep paralysis occurs when a part of the REM sleep occurs while you remain awake. Except for your eyes and the muscles that help you breathe you become immobile temporarily and this seems to be of advantage as it prevents you from acting your dreams and hurting yourself. Few theories suggested for the REM sleep include:

• Improper sleep patterns due to shift-based jobs or those as of pilots, stewards etc.
• Family history of sleep paralysis
• Insufficient sleep
• Narcolepsy, a condition where the individual suddenly falls asleep during any time of the day
• Sleeping on the back
• Sleep latency (how long it takes to fall asleep, maybe more than 30 minutes) and difficulties initiating sleep
  
  

Though we haven’t heard much about sleep paralysis from people around us studies show that almost 8% of the population has experienced it at least once in their lifetime. Also, the effect of mental health issues such as depression and anxiety on triggering sleep paralysis remains mixed but experiences of abuse in young age remains a positive trigger for sleep paralysis irrespective of whether or not the individuals remember it.

Coping with Sleep Paralysis

• Maintaining the same bed timings almost everyday
• Getting enough sleep which means that adults must sleep between 7-8 hours daily
• Restricting use of caffeine, smoking or drinking before bedtime
• Keep your sleep environment cozy, comfortable, dark and pleasant
  
  

Certain other methods proposed though not fully proven include:

1. Not sleeping on your back as studies have linked sleep paralysis with sleeping on the back
2. Practicing meditation to keep your mind calm and your body relaxed
3. Taking precautionary actions to ensure that you are not disturbed repeatedly while sleeping as this triggers the risk of sleep paralysis
   
   

When none of the coping techniques work the doctor might prescribe antidepressants to calm your sleep paralysis. 

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