2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43
Sleep paralysis is a condition that is simply explained by the science of sleep, but it can be frightening and unsettling for those who experience it
Imagine waking up at night and finding yourself completely unable to move, pinned to the bed, and apparently lost all muscle function. Add to this the feeling of pressure on your chest or the vague sense of someone in the dark hiding in a room just out of sight. This dire scenario can naturally scare you.
The reality is actually much less disturbing. Sleep paralysis is a condition that can affect about 8% of the population at some point in their lives, often during childhood or adolescence, although in a minority it occurs regularly and persists into adulthood. While sleep paralysis is well understood by experts and is not considered harmful, it can be terrifying even for those familiar with it.
Sleep paralysis symptoms are not always identical, but temporary inability to move is key. The science behind this paralysis is pretty simple. Doctors explain that rapid eye movement (REM) sleep - the type of sleep during which dreams usually occur - involve almost complete loss of muscle function. Sleep paralysis occurs when the function of this muscle does not recover for a short period after awakening.
During REM sleep, we all experience muscle atony - a loss of muscle tone - which is an evolutionary mechanism that is likely preventing us from acting out our dreams. Sleep paralysis occurs during the transition to or from sleep, when this atony persists for a few seconds or minutes before being awake.
Possible causes of sleep paralysis
Sleep paralysis is a relatively poorly understood phenomenon, and there are very few data on it. While recent research suggests that approximately 8% of the population will suffer from sleep paralysis at some stage, it is believed to be more common among students and people with mental disorders.
The physiological mechanisms that cause loss of voluntary muscle function that persist while awake are not well understood, but some have suggested it may be more common in those who sleep on their backs while sleep deprivation, irregular sleep patterns, and psychological stress is believed to increase the likelihood of sleep paralysis.
Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain is not as smooth as it should be when it switches between different sleep stages, so this element of REM sleep remains awake. Anything that disrupts normal sleep can cause sleep paralysis, such as lack of sleep, anxiety, and certain types of sleeping pills that cause muscle weakness.
In most cases, the first priority is to convince patients that sleep paralysis is not dangerous or threatening and will not have long-term consequences. Conviction is often enough, but for people who are suffering more regularly or severely, we would look at potential triggers to help them reduce the frequency of episodes, and in some cases, we may consider treatment.
What are the possible treatments for sleep paralysis?
Somnologists use self-control methods, and most of them prescribe medication only as a last resort to those patients whose daily life is heavily dependent on sleep paralysis. Basic psychotherapy can be aimed at developing an adequate understanding of the sleep paralysis process in the client. So instead of horror, a person will gradually begin to relate to sleep paralysis calmly. Although it is generally recognized that sleep paralysis is not dangerous, it is worth undergoing a medical examination in order to play it safe and exclude any neurological disorders.
Author`s site: psiholog-filippov.kiev.ua
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