What is Sleep Paralysis? Have you ever experienced paralysis? Do you know what paralysis means? What it is? According to Google, it is the loss of the ability to move in part or most of the body, typically as a result of illness, poison, or injury. So, now that you know what paralysis means, let’s discuss sleep paralysis and the psychology behind it. I myself am a victim of sleep paralysis and will share my personal experiences. You enter consciousness just finishing a dream, staring at the back of your eyelids. Your eyes shake with resistance as you struggle to open them. You are immobile and you feel such heavy weight on your chest. You cannot even control your own breathing. You try to yell out for help but nothing comes
…show more content…
One cycle of this lasts about 90 minutes. During NREM sleep, your body is relaxed and is in the process of restoring itself. When NREM has come to an end, your sleep transitions to REM. Your eyes move quickly and you engage in dreaming, but the rest of your body remains very relaxed. Your muscles are “off” during REM sleep. If you become aware before the REM cycle has finished, like hypnagogic sleep paralysis, you will notice that you are unable to move or speak. This is known as hypnopompic sleep paralysis.
Is it Dangerous? Although the thought of death is one of the first thoughts on someone’s mind when paralyzed during sleep, sleep paralysis has been proven to be in fact harmless and not dangerous. One anonymous online user of a sleep forum website suggested that sleep paralysis can be dangerous. He claimed that when he became conscious after sleep (but paralyzed), he was lying on his stomach with his face buried in the pillow. Not being able to move for about 20 seconds, he finally broke the paralysis and was relieved to have had regained his breath. As a matter of fact, this would have happened even if he didn't wake up into sleep paralysis. His body would have done this whether he was paralyzed or just in a dream. One is paralyzed whilst sleeping, so the only difference is being awake. …show more content…
If you have occasional sleep paralysis, you can take steps at home to control this disorder. Start by making sure you get enough sleep. Do what you can to relieve stress in your life, especially just before bedtime. Try new sleeping positions if you sleep on your back. And be sure to see your doctor if sleep paralysis routinely prevents you from getting a good night's sleep.
Lucid Dreaming By definition, a lucid dream is a dream during which one is aware of dreaming. The dreamer may be able to exert some degree of control over the dream characters, narrative, and environment. It is a hallucination that you experience after sleep paralysis. When you are paralyzed, you have a choice to either force your eyes open or keep them shut. Once your eyes are open, you will engage lucid dreaming. Your first few experiences may not be the best because you will not yet have control over the hallucination. But after several experiences, you will gain more control.
Case Study on Sleep Paralysis and Lucid
One cycle of this lasts about 90 minutes. During NREM sleep, your body is relaxed and is in the process of restoring itself. When NREM has come to an end, your sleep transitions to REM. Your eyes move quickly and you engage in dreaming, but the rest of your body remains very relaxed. Your muscles are “off” during REM sleep. If you become aware before the REM cycle has finished, like hypnagogic sleep paralysis, you will notice that you are unable to move or speak. This is known as hypnopompic sleep paralysis.
Is it Dangerous? Although the thought of death is one of the first thoughts on someone’s mind when paralyzed during sleep, sleep paralysis has been proven to be in fact harmless and not dangerous. One anonymous online user of a sleep forum website suggested that sleep paralysis can be dangerous. He claimed that when he became conscious after sleep (but paralyzed), he was lying on his stomach with his face buried in the pillow. Not being able to move for about 20 seconds, he finally broke the paralysis and was relieved to have had regained his breath. As a matter of fact, this would have happened even if he didn't wake up into sleep paralysis. His body would have done this whether he was paralyzed or just in a dream. One is paralyzed whilst sleeping, so the only difference is being awake. …show more content…
If you have occasional sleep paralysis, you can take steps at home to control this disorder. Start by making sure you get enough sleep. Do what you can to relieve stress in your life, especially just before bedtime. Try new sleeping positions if you sleep on your back. And be sure to see your doctor if sleep paralysis routinely prevents you from getting a good night's sleep.
Lucid Dreaming By definition, a lucid dream is a dream during which one is aware of dreaming. The dreamer may be able to exert some degree of control over the dream characters, narrative, and environment. It is a hallucination that you experience after sleep paralysis. When you are paralyzed, you have a choice to either force your eyes open or keep them shut. Once your eyes are open, you will engage lucid dreaming. Your first few experiences may not be the best because you will not yet have control over the hallucination. But after several experiences, you will gain more control.
Case Study on Sleep Paralysis and Lucid