The sleep paralysis It is within the international classification of sleep disorders, it is located within the group of parasomnias.
It is a condition in which the person cannot move or speak when they just fall asleep or when they wake up, that is, it is the temporary inability to perform any type of voluntary movement. It appears in the transitions between the state of sleep and wakefulness.
The unusual thing about this disorder is that you are fully aware of what is happening. The person’s brain is awake but the body is not. The person who is under this paralysis is cognitively awake but the physical side of him is not, experiencing this sensation of paralysis in almost all the muscles, except for the eyes and the respiratory diaphragm.
That is why these episodes can be experienced with great anguish since people do not usually understand what is happening and do not understand why there is no voluntary movement possible. While it is disconcerting and causes a lot of anxiety, sleep paralysis is not serious nor is it a paranormal phenomenon.
How long are the episodes?
Its duration is variable. They are generally of a short duration, between twenty seconds to two minutes. The important thing is that the patient knows that he is not in any danger and that after this period of time, the paralysis will subside spontaneously and without consequences.
What can people who suffer from sleep paralysis experience?
1) Episodes may be accompanied by hallucinations (which are actually pseudo hallucinations since the person suffering from them knows that they are not real). They can be auditory, visual or tactile. Many patient testimonials speak of feeling presences near the bed, seeing species of “monsters” among other phenomena.
2) The first time you suffer from this disorder, it may happen that the person believes that they are dead or that they have suffered a transient ischemic attack. This is normal since she cannot move any part of her body. But as we have said before, although it causes a lot of anxiety and anguish, it is not serious.
Why it happens?
To understand what this paralysis is, we must understand how the sleep mechanism works. The sleep cycle consists of two stages. The REM (rapid eye movement stage) and the NON-REM (non-rapid eye movement) stage. A person does between 4 and 6 cycles per night. In the first part of the night the REM stadium predominates and in the second part of the night the NON-REM stadium. This is what normal sleep consists of.
During the REM period you have a very high brain activity, similar to what you have when you are awake. As there is a lot of mental activity, what The body does is to tone the muscles in a certain way and thus prevent us from moving while we sleep. In other words, having isolated muscles is useful to not move according to what we are dreaming of.
Sleep paralysis occurs when there is a delay in the onset of muscle tone. Therefore, the person wakes up and can only move the eyes. There is no illness or injury, It is simply a functional alteration in the return of muscle tone as an exit from REM.
the causes
Although the exact cause of sleep paralysis is not known, research shows that these may be some of its possible causes:
1) Not getting enough sleep or sleep deprivation
2) Having irregular sleep-wake schedules (for example, those people who work night shifts or rotating shifts)
3) Sleep on your back
4) Go through a moment of stress
5) jet lag
How to prevent these episodes?
The key is not to worry. We can prevent paralysis from appearing by getting enough sleep, having regular sleep schedules, practicing some kind of meditation or mindfulness to reduce stress, not sleeping on your back, doing relaxation techniques before going to bed, but above all not to think about this when we are about to sleep.