Sleep paralysis can feel incredibly frightening The lines become blurred between reality and fantasy and you may genuinely believe that your dream is real. In addition, it's common for people to experience a hypnopompic hallucination during sleep paralysis.
For most people, sleep paralysis is not considered dangerous. Though it may cause emotional distress, it is classified as a benign condition and usually does not happen frequently enough to cause significant health effects.
Sleep paralysis may include hallucinations, such as an intruding presence or dark figure in the room, suffocating or the individual feeling a sense of terror, accompanied by a feeling of pressure on one's chest and difficulty breathing.
What Causes a Sleep Paralysis Demon? Although the exact cause of sleep-related hallucinations remains unknown, many experts believe that hallucinations during sleep paralysis occur when people experience the vivid dreams of REM sleep while they are awake.
During an episode of sleep paralysis you may: find it difficult to take deep breaths, as if your chest is being crushed or restricted. be able to move your eyes – some people can also open their eyes but others find they can't.
Causes of sleep paralysis
insomnia. disrupted sleeping patterns – for example, because of shift work or jet lag. narcolepsy – a long-term condition that causes a person to suddenly fall asleep. post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Sleep paralysis can affect men and women of any age group. The average age when it first occurs is 14 to 17 years. It is a fairly common sleep problem. Estimates of how many people have it vary widely from 5% to 40%.
Recurrent isolated sleep paralysis (RISP): multiple episodes over time that are unrelated to any sleep disorder or medical problem that may cause excessive daytime sleepiness due to fear of sleeping. Note: RISP is extremely rare, occurring in less than 0.5% of healthy people.
Sleep paralysis can occur in otherwise normal sleepers, and is surprisingly common in its occurrence and universality. It has also been linked to certain conditions such as increased stress, excessive alcohol consumption, sleep deprivation, and narcolepsy.
Sleep paralysis occurs when you temporarily cannot move or speak upon waking up or falling asleep. While sleep paralysis is fairly common and does not cause any physical harm, it can be scary.
It's entirely safe to wake someone up from sleep paralysis. In fact, they will probably be hugely grateful. If you suspect your bed partner is experiencing sleep paralysis, you could try talking to them, tapping their shoulder, or gently shaking them.
Similarly, the auditory (hearing) hallucinations in sleep paralysis can range from routine to bizarre. Many people hear various noises, but hearing voices is the most common. The voices may sound like whispers, screams, or laughter.
Key facts about sleep paralysis
It's a brief sensation and at most it will last for a few minutes. Despite the scary name, it's not harmful. While it might feel bizarre, it's completely normal. Lack of sleep can trigger an episode.
Signs and symptoms
The core symptom of sleep paralysis is the inability to move the body when falling asleep or waking. However, during these episodes, people may experience other symptoms, including: being unable to speak during the episode. having hallucinations and sensations.
After an episode of sleep paralysis, you may feel absolutely exhausted. The experience may be emotionally overwhelming and some patients wake up gasping or crying. Other symptoms are sometimes reported, such as a rapid heart rate.
If you've never experienced sleep paralysis—consider yourself lucky, but beware as it can happen to anyone. Ever woke up in the middle of the night with a feeling of dread slowly encapsulating you, but you're totally terrified, unable to move and not able to speak/shout.
During an episode of sleep paralysis, people may feel like they can't breathe, but that's not actually the case — a person continues to breathe throughout the episode. Sleep paralysis can happen just once and never again.
While people talk about “night terrors,” this is not, in fact, a diagnosable condition, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual fifth edition (DSM-V). It contains elements of conditions known as nightmare disorder, REM sleep behavior disorder, and Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) Sleep Arousal Disorder.
Episodes of sleep paralysis last from a few seconds to 1 or 2 minutes. These spells end on their own or when you are touched or moved. In rare cases, you can have dream-like sensations or hallucinations, which may be scary.
ADHD paralysis happens when a person with ADHD is overwhelmed by their environment or the amount of information given. As a result, they freeze and aren't able to think or function effectively. This makes it challenging for the individual to focus and complete their tasks—including urgent ones.
Somniphobia is the intense fear of sleep. People with this phobia may be afraid of having nightmares, experiencing sleep paralysis or dying in their sleep. Often, people who have somniphobia try to avoid going to sleep for as long as possible.
Sleep paralysis victims often complain of hypnogogic and hypnopompic hallucinations, such as seeing space aliens and shadow-people in their bedroom (Cheyne et al.
The night hag or old hag is the name given to a supernatural creature, commonly associated with the phenomenon of sleep paralysis.