The condition known under the name of ‘sleep paralysis’ appears during the passage of a person’s stage from sleep to wakefulness etc. You feel like you’re conscious and you aren’t sleeping, but you can’t move anything. It is a weird sensation that makes people very scared at the same time. Imagine being aware of where you are, you’re awake, but you can’t move!
Something About This Strange Phenomenon
As we have already mentioned, this phenomenon can be quite frightening. You actually don’t have control over your movements, but you’re awake.
This is a common phenomenon. Your body isn’t physically harmed and it appear between two stages known as “hypnagogic” and “hypnopompic.” The first one appears before you fall asleep. The second one appears when a person becomes awake from the REM sleep.
During the process of sleeping, our mind is the one becoming less aware while our body is very relaxed, but this is different during the hypnagogic sleep paralysis. The mind is aware and the body is relaxed, but this isn’t voluntary. The person experiencing this can’t move even if they try, so they end up panicking.
When we’re in the process of rapid eye movement sleep or also called REM, we have paralyzed muscles and our dreams can’t be acted out. One part of our brain becomes awake sooner while we’re in the hypnopompic sleep paralysis. It is a wakeful state, but it doesn’t have an effect over the part of our brain which is responsible for the REM paralysis. We don’t have a voluntary control over our muscles and we’re awake in a way.
Who Can Experience These Problems?
There are people who never experience sleep paralysis in their lives, there are some who experience it once or twice and some even more, maybe 2-3 times a week. There are studies made on this subject and it was discovered that even 8% of the population has sleep paralysis. It was also discovered that people who are depressed or suffer from anxiety have more common problems with sleep paralysis.
Some of the people who also experience sleep paralysis frequently are: people who have sleep conditions, people who take certain medicines and those who have sleep apnea.
These are some of the problems which can be considered as risk factors:
- Sleeping on the back
- Substance abuse
- Lack of sleep
- Changing the sleep schedule
- Bipolar disorder, stress and other mental conditions
- Some medicines, like the ones for ADHD
- Other common sleep problems like nighttime leg cramps or narcolepsy
Symptoms Of Sleep Paralysis
The most common symptom is that people can’t speak and move for a few seconds or minutes. This can appear, as we have already mentioned, after we wake up or when we’re falling asleep.
There is no treatment for sleep paralysis, but a specialist might advise you to perform some tests considering your sleep health. If your problems become even worse, try to find a sleep specialist and solve your problem with them.
Common Types Of Treatment
Sleep paralysis is a naturally occurring process. No treatment is well-known for it, but in case there is some underlying condition that might be causing it, here are some common treatments:
- Visit a sleep specialist
- Prepare a real sleeping schedule
- If you have any other sleeping problems, treat them first
- Start using anti-depressants
- Start using sleeping aids
- Visit a mental health professional
It is also very important to stop worrying and avoid any stress before you go to bed. Some natural treatments may also be very helpful.
Don’t be afraid if you’ve only experienced sleep paralysis once. You should be worried if that happens to you frequently. Make sure you know your sleeping habits well.
In case of common problems with sleep paralysis, avoid drinking caffeine, smoking, drinking alcohol or taking drugs. Make sure your bedroom is a calm place where you can relax. Don’t keep electronic devices close to you and avoid watching the TV before going to bed.
Make sure you’re aware that you might experience some sort of sleep paralysis during your lifetime. If that happens and you recognize it, breathe deeply and be calm. It will go away and everything will be fine in a couple of minutes.