Sleep Paralysis

“I’m aware, I feel awake, but I cannot move.” This phenomenon is considered mystical by some but it has a scientific explanation. This is sleep paralysis.Many people experience it once or twice in their lifetime, most often during adolescence or early adulthood. What is the cause of this phenomenon? Should you be worried?

Our sleep consists of a succession of cycles that follow one another throughout the night. Sleep paralysis usually occurs during the paradoxical sleep phase.

During this period, which lasts from 15 to 20 minutes, the brain activity is intense since it is at that moment that the dreams occur. Sleep paralysis appears either:

when the person is in a paradoxical sleep, and about to wake up.  very soon after falling asleep, when you switch from wakefulness to sleep.

During REM sleep, the body becomes naturally atonic (we do not move). This is why people who experience sleep paralysis cannot move.

But what is it? It’s quite simple: when we dream, a neurotransmitter, glycine, paralyzes us to prevent too much movement and to “live” our dreams to the fullest. Except that these hormones that normally dissipate during the waking phase, remain active and continue to annihilate the motor functions of the body when awake.

So, we freak. Our brain, which is still in the west, in a state of consciousness intermediate between the dream and the awakening, tries to understand what is happening and, stubborn like a mule, created even things that could explain our paralysis Like the impression that you have heavy eyelids, that you are stuck in a dream in Inception mode, that a weight is placed on your belly or that a monster is there, trapping us.

Sleep paralysis is promoted mainly by lack of sleep and lying on the back, but sometimes stress, anxiety, overwork, a sudden change in lifestyle (mourning, moving, new job), or irregular sleep schedules. It can also exist in a family way, or in people who are anxious, or who have experienced sexual abuse. It is also part of the symptoms of narcolepsy.

Sleep Paralysis

“I’m aware, I feel awake, but I cannot move.” This phenomenon is considered mystical by some but it has a scientific explanation. This is sleep paralysis.Many people experience it once or twice in their lifetime, most often during adolescence or early adulthood. What is the cause of this phenomenon? Should you be worried?

Our sleep consists of a succession of cycles that follow one another throughout the night. Sleep paralysis usually occurs during the paradoxical sleep phase.

During this period, which lasts from 15 to 20 minutes, the brain activity is intense since it is at that moment that the dreams occur. Sleep paralysis appears either:

when the person is in a paradoxical sleep, and about to wake up.  very soon after falling asleep, when you switch from wakefulness to sleep.

During REM sleep, the body becomes naturally atonic (we do not move). This is why people who experience sleep paralysis cannot move.

But what is it? It’s quite simple: when we dream, a neurotransmitter, glycine, paralyzes us to prevent too much movement and to “live” our dreams to the fullest. Except that these hormones that normally dissipate during the waking phase, remain active and continue to annihilate the motor functions of the body when awake.

So, we freak. Our brain, which is still in the west, in a state of consciousness intermediate between the dream and the awakening, tries to understand what is happening and, stubborn like a mule, created even things that could explain our paralysis Like the impression that you have heavy eyelids, that you are stuck in a dream in Inception mode, that a weight is placed on your belly or that a monster is there, trapping us.

Sleep paralysis is promoted mainly by lack of sleep and lying on the back, but sometimes stress, anxiety, overwork, a sudden change in lifestyle (mourning, moving, new job), or irregular sleep schedules. It can also exist in a family way, or in people who are anxious, or who have experienced sexual abuse. It is also part of the symptoms of narcolepsy.

Symptoms

hallucinations, lucid dreaming …

During sleep paralysis experience, the person wakes up unable to move or speak. The only active muscles are the eye muscles and the respiratory muscles. The sensation is similar to that of a waking dream. Seizures are usually short and do not exceed a few minutes. They can occur at the time of falling asleep or waking up. This paralysis is generally associated with hallucinations, of a variable nature depending on the case. The most frequent hallucinations result in the impression of feeling a hostile presence in the room or a pressure on the body (most often on the chest, sometimes a person sitting on the chest of the sleeper). It can also be auditory hallucinations (crunches, footsteps), visual (perception of objects or light) or kinesthetic (feeling of falling, floating, vibration, getting out of your body and levitate). These hallucinations can be a source of anxiety.

Paralysis of Sleep

Possible Treatments

Above all, it is important to avoid aggravating factors such as: 

  • sleep on the back;
  • the bad hygiene of life;
  • stress ;
  • jet lag ;
  • lack of sleep.

Currently There are no medications for this disorder, but a set of techniques can be learned to manage a sleep paralysis situation and to reduce the anxiety symptoms that result.

The Techniques are as Follows:

Breathe abdominally to calm down.

Change your thoughts by practicing positive thinking and visualizing feelings.

On the other hand, it is interesting to learn techniques for a quick awakening by focusing on the only muscles that are not affected by the natural atony that characterizes paradoxical sleep, and trying to get them moving in order to wake up completely and get out of paralysis.

Many studies have shown that simply knowing the underlying mechanism of this sleep disorder is enough to help people who are regularly victimized. Knowing the very existence of sleep paralysis helps to adopt the right attitude when it occurs.

The brain holds the information and can therefore react pragmatically while implementing the necessary process to engage the total awakening of the body.

Once the crisis is over, to prevent it from starting again, it is advisable to turn on the light, “get up, drink a glass of water”, even do some exercises before going back to bed, “but not on your back! Three-quarters of sleep paralysis occurs when we sleep in this position. “

It is also recommended to note on a notebook the details of the experience, the emotions felt, the content of the previous day, to be able to better tame it next time it happens

You can also associate with other experiences, memories, traumas. Being able to talk about it is already a great support. “