21/07/2022
What Is Sleep Paralysis?
While we usually think of being asleep or awake as clearly defined and distinct, conditions like sleep paralysis challenge these fixed boundaries.
Sleep paralysis is a temporary inability to move that occurs right after falling asleep or waking up. Individuals remain aware during episodes, which frequently involve troubling hallucinations and a sensation of suffocation.
These episodes of sleep paralysis involve elements of both sleep and wakefulness, which is part of why they can give rise to distressing symptoms.
While much is still unknown about sleep paralysis, a review of its types, symptoms, causes, impacts, and treatment can enable a better understanding of the condition and how to try to prevent it.
Sleep paralysis is a condition identified by a brief loss of muscle control, known as atonia, that happens just after falling asleep or waking up. In addition to atonia, people often have hallucinations during episodes of sleep paralysis.
Sleep paralysis is categorised as a type of parasomnia. Parasomnias are abnormal behaviors during sleep. Because it is connected to the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of the sleep cycle, sleep paralysis is considered to be a REM parasomnia.
Standard REM sleep involves vivid dreaming as well as atonia, which helps prevent acting out dreams. However, under normal circumstances, atonia ends upon waking up, so a person never becomes conscious of this inability to move.
As a result, researchers believe that sleep paralysis involves a mixed state of consciousness that blends both wakefulness and REM sleep. In effect, the atonia and mental imagery of REM sleep seems to persist even into a state of being aware and awake.
What Are the Types of Sleep Paralysis?
In the medical literature, two terms are commonly used to categorise cases of sleep paralysis.
Isolated sleep paralysis is when the episodes are not connected to an underlying diagnosis of narcolepsy, a neurological disorder that prevents the brain from properly controlling wakefulness and often leads to sleep paralysis.
Recurrent sleep paralysis involves multiple episodes over time.
In many cases, these two defining characteristics are combined to describe a condition of recurrent isolated sleep paralysis (RISP), which involves ongoing instances of sleep paralysis in someone who does not have narcolepsy.
What Does Sleep Paralysis Feel Like?
The fundamental symptom of sleep paralysis is atonia or the inability to move the body. It occurs shortly after falling asleep or waking up, and during an episode, a person feels awake and is aware of this loss of muscle control.
While we usually think of being asleep or awake as clearly defined and distinct, conditions like sleep paralysis challenge these fixed boundaries.
An estimated 75% of sleep paralysis episodes involve hallucinations that are distinct from typical dreams. As with atonia, these can occur when falling asleep (hypnagogic hallucinations) or waking up (hypnopompic hallucinations).
Hallucinations during sleep paralysis fall into three categories:
Intruder hallucinations, which involve the perception of a dangerous person or presence in the room.
Chest pressure hallucinations, also called incubus hallucinations, that can incite a feeling of suffocation. These frequently occur along with intruder hallucinations.
Vestibular-motor (V-M) hallucinations, which can include feelings of movement (such as flying) or out-of-body sensations.
Episodes can last from a few seconds to around 20 minutes, and the average length is between six and seven minutes. In most cases, episodes end on their own but occasionally are interrupted by another person’s touch or voice or by an intense effort to move that overcomes atonia.
Is Sleep Paralysis a Serious Problem?
For most people, sleep paralysis is not a serious problem. It is classified as a benign condition and usually does not happen frequently enough to cause significant health problems.
However, an estimated 10% of people have more recurrent or bothersome episodes that make sleep paralysis especially distressing. As a result, they may develop negative thoughts about going to bed, reducing time allotted for sleep or provoking anxiety around bedtime that makes it harder to fall asleep. Sleep deprivation can lead to excessive sleepiness and numerous other consequences for a person’s overall health.
Treatments for Sleep Paralysis
Many people don’t know that the condition is relatively common and thus see themselves as crazy or shameful after episodes.
Because of the connection between sleep paralysis and general sleeping problems, improving sleep hygiene is a common focus in preventing sleep paralysis. Sleep hygiene refers to a person’s bedroom setting and daily habits that influence sleep quality.
Examples of healthy sleep tips that can contribute to better sleep hygiene and more consistent nightly rest include:
1. Following the same schedule for going to bed and waking up every day, including on weekends.
2. Outfitting your bed with the best mattress and best pillow for your needs.
3. Setting up your bedroom to have limited intrusion from light or noise.
4. Reducing consumption of alcohol and caffeine, especially in the evening.
5. Putting away electronic devices, including cell phones, for at least a half-hour before bed.
6. HYPNOTHERAPY is one of the excellent metods for helping people with sleep paralysis.