Sleep paralysis - yes it's as scary as it
sounds. It's what happens when you wake up in the middle of the night and find
yourself unable to move or speak, and sometimes it can be accompanied by
hallucinations, usually scary ones. I tend to get sleep paralysis a lot more
often than most people do, and it didn't start until I was in high school. I
don't usually see anything scary, but I always feel like something or someone
is there. No matter how hard I try to move or scream, I can't. I've felt
something at the foot of my bed staring at me, other times, I've felt the
actual weight of someone get on top of me, but recently I've been having sleep
paralysis multiple times in one night where it's like a dream inside of a
dream. I think I wake up but I'm not really awake and get it again. All the
times I've gotten sleep paralysis it feels so real and I think that I'm awake
when I'm really not.
Studies have
shown that sleep paralysis occurs in the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) cycle of
sleep and can happen when you're either falling asleep or waking up. When
you're falling asleep your body relaxes so much that so you won't act out your
dreams. So when you get sleep paralysis as you're falling asleep, your body is
already relaxed, but your mind is still awake enough to realize that it's no
longer in control of movement or speech. When it happens as you're waking up,
your mind wakes up before your body does. So your body is still relaxed but
your mind wakes up before the REM cycle is over. Waking up before the cycle
ends can also cause you to hallucinate. These hallucinations can be scary and
may be the reason that leads people to believe that sleep paralysis is when a
demon is sitting on your chest. This is true in hispanic culture where they
refer to sleep paralysis as "se te sube el muerto" which translates
to when a dead person gets on you. It's another way to describe the feelings
that sleep paralysis gives you. But they see it as something that has to do
with demons and the devil and it happens to you because you were doing or
watching things you shouldn't be doing, for example, watching scary
movies.
Reference:
What Causes Sleep Paralysis During REM Sleep? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/what-you-should-know-about-sleep-paralysis.
This is so interesting – I had never read much about sleep paralysis or known anyone who experiences this and it made me curious what might make some people more susceptible to it.
ReplyDeleteThere is not a ton of literature on the exact pathophysiology of sleep paralysis, but it is often discussed as a component within the broader category of “REM sleep disorders” (the others include narcolepsy and seizure disorder) (Olunu et al., 2018). Olunu et al. describes the pathophysiology of SP as due to a “flawed brainstem” that causes activation of the amygdala during that initial awakening/paralysis, explaining the feeling of being in danger during this time (Olunu et al., 2018).
Risk factors for sleep paralysis include narcolepsy, insomnia, anxiety, hypertension, PTSD, panic disorders, and ADHD (Donfrancesco et al., 2019; Olunu et al., 2018). A review cited additional SP risk factors including substance use, stress and trauma, genetic influences, physical illness, personality, intelligence, anomalous beliefs, sleep quality/disruptions, and other psychiatric disorders (Denis, French, & Gregory, 2018).
This leaves me more confused than when I started, as it seems most sleep conditions have overlapping effects and cause each other. The only conclusive fact established is that overall improved sleep hygiene is often required to ameliorate any or all of these conditions, and that solving one issue usually resolves others (Olunu et al., 2018). If you can determine what underlying physiological or psychological factor might be causing SP, you have a better chance of eliminating it (Sharpless & Klikova, 2019)
Cited Literature
Denis, D., French, C. C., & Gregory, A. M. (2018). A systematic review of variables associated with sleep paralysis. Sleep Med Rev, 38, 141-157. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2017.05.005
Donfrancesco, R., Melegari, M. G., Di Trani, M., Borrelli, E., Ferri, R., & Bruni, O. (2019). Sleep paralysis in two children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Minerva Pediatr. doi:10.23736/S0026-4946.19.05529-4
Olunu, E., Kimo, R., Onigbinde, E. O., Akpanobong, M. U., Enang, I. E., Osanakpo, M., . . . John Fakoya, A. O. (2018). Sleep Paralysis, a Medical Condition with a Diverse Cultural Interpretation. Int J Appl Basic Med Res, 8(3), 137-142. doi:10.4103/ijabmr.IJABMR_19_18
Sharpless, B. A., & Klikova, M. (2019). Clinical features of isolated sleep paralysis. Sleep Med, 58, 102-106. doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2019.03.007