Sleep Paralysis

You wake up.. your eyes adjust slowly… a shadow moves across the foot of your bed, the corner of your eye is all you can see it with. You try to adjust yourself for a better looks.. but.. you can’t… move… not a hair.. not a muscle. It's dark, but you're sure you feel that presence in the room, closer to you now.. at your sides… no.. on your chest… perhaps sitting on your chest… crushing the breath out of you.

Not a badly written horror movie.. but the script for something much more common. A mundane sleep disorder that people have called “Night terrors”, “Witch Hag Syndrome” and now is commonly called "Sleep Paralysis".

Understanding this problem has led to better management and less terror at night for millions upon millions of sufferers worldwide.

Researchers James Cheyne and Gordon Pennycook of the University of Waterloo in Canada surveyed 293 people, mostly women, on their experiences with sleep paralysis. They found that people were most distressed after an episode when hallucinations felt threatening and when they held supernatural beliefs regarding the cause of the paralysis.

Estimates of how many people experience sleep paralysis vary from 5 percent to 60 percent, likely because of differences in survey methods. Some people find themselves experiencing sleep paralysis frequently, while others wake up paralyzed only once or twice in their lifetimes. The good news is that sleep paralysis is ultimately considered harmless.

Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain and body out of sync. During the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) phase of sleep… dreaming is supposed to be frequent and lively… but you have a failsafe built in so that your don’t act out your dreams by accident… during REM.. your skeletal muscles will be weakened to the point of paralysis. Researchers have found that two brain chemicals, glycine and GABA, are responsible for this muscle paralysis. In sleep paralysis… you still haven’t started REM sleep.. but the Glycine and the GABA cause the paralysis prematurely.

Sleep paralysis can sometimes be a symptom of narcolepsy. This is a relatively rare sleep disorder that causes a person to fall asleep suddenly and unexpectedly, disrupting their normal sleep pattern.

Other things that increase your risk of sleep paralysis include:

• Sleep deprivation 
• Irregular sleeping patterns
• Age –it is more common in teenagers and young adults

The symptoms of sleep paralysis can often be improved by altering your sleep habits and sleeping environment. Sleep paralysis often affects people who are sleep deprived, so ensuring you get enough sleep may reduce the number of episodes you have. Most adults need 6-8 hours of sleep each night. Going to bed at roughly the same time each night and getting up at the same time each morning may also help.

If your sleep paralysis is particularly severe, see your GP. They may refer you to a specialist, such as a neurologist. A short course of antidepressant medication, such as clomipramine, may be prescribed to treat severe sleep paralysis.

Tips for improving your sleeping habits include:

1. Creating a restful sleeping environment that is quiet, dark and not too hot or cold.
2. Ensuring your bed is comfortable.
3. Exercising regularly (but not too close to bedtime).
4. Cutting down on caffeine.
5. Not eating or drinking alcohol before bedtime.
6. Giving up smoking (if you smoke) because nicotine is a stimulant.