"FUUUUUUKKK!! Why can't I move?! What's happening? Wait......whose there....Help!" is what a person who experiences sleep paralysis for the first time is likely to think.
It's natural to freak out when you suddenly wake up (sometimes with an erection) and notice that you are paralysed,
unable to move anything but your eyeballs and notice something sinister lurking around.
Sleep paralysis is the transitional state between wakefulness and sleep. It is a phenomenon in which an individual, either during falling asleep or awakening, briefly experiences an inability to move, speak, or react.
Sleep paralysis is often associated with hallucinations because this is the state where the brain is 'dreaming' with open eyes and active visual perception.
Signs and Symptoms
Inability to move upon awakening, lasting for a few seconds to a few minutes.
Vivid hallucinations are much more common for people with anxiety and stress.
Causes
The reason behind the paralysis is the inactivity of muscles, the stage called Antonia, while the person is asleep but is also awake and conscious.
What causes the above can not be simply pinpointed.
Sleep paralysis is closely related to REM atonia, the paralysis that occurs as a natural part of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.
REM is a unique phase of mammalian sleep characterized by random movement of the eyes, low muscle tone throughout the body, and the propensity of the sleeper to dream vividly.
Sleep paralysis occurs either when falling asleep, or when awakening from sleep. When it occurs upon falling asleep, the person remains aware while the body shuts down for REM sleep.
Fatigue, stress, anxiety and sleep deprivation are the major causes of sleep paralysis and it has also been linked to disorders such as narcolepsy, migraines, stress and anxiety disorders.
It is believed that there may be a genetic component in the development of sleep paralysis due to a high concurrent incidence of sleep paralysis in twins.
Effects
Pressure on the chest, hallucinations, (like shown in the above gif), tingles down the spine and suffocation are some common events related to it, while hallucinations are much more common in people with anxiety and stress.
Humming, hissing, static, zapping and buzzing noises are reported during sleep paralysis. Other noises, such as imagined vocalizations like voices, whispers and roars are experienced.
These symptoms are usually accompanied by intense emotions: such as fear and panic.
One can experience more than a single events of paralysis during sleep.
Prevention
The safest treatment for sleep paralysis is for people to adopt healthier sleeping habits.
People should be evaluated for narcolepsy if symptoms persist.
However, in more serious cases tricyclic antidepressants or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may be used.
There is currently no drug that has been found to completely interrupt episodes of sleep paralysis majority of the time.
Yoga is prescribed for relaxation and stress relief, which is found to be very effective for patients.
Trivia
1. Sleep paralysis feels like waking up from the dead.
2. It is more common among young adults.
3. Its nothing new. People have been trying to explain this weird phenomenon for centuries.
4. People have blamed sleep paralysis on many things witches, UFOs, ghosts, demons, vampire etc.
5. There’s no evidence confirming that it can be fatal.
What Girls & Guys Said
Opinion
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Coolios! I get it all the time lol