Dear Curious Citizen,
Sleep paralysis is a normal part of REM sleep. However, what you're
descirbing is abnormal. In an abnormal case of awareness during sleep
paralysis, "the brain is awakened from a REM state into essentially a
normal fully awake state, but with the bodily paralysis still
occurring. This causes the person to be fully aware, but unable to
move. In addition, this state is usually accompanied by certain
specific kinds of hallucinations. This state usually lasts no more
than two minutes before a person is able to either return to full REM
sleep or to become fully awake, though the sense of how much time has
gone by is often distorted during sleep paralysis." (SOURCE:
Wikipedia, "Sleep Paralysis
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep+paralysis>).
Little is known about the causes of abnormal sleep paralysis, and
there are several treatments (or preventive methods):
"[...] some have suggested that it may be linked to post synaptic
inhibition of motor neurons in the pons region of the brain. In
particular, low levels of melatonin may stop the depolarisation
current in the nerves, which prevents the stimulation of the muscles.
There is also a significant positive correlation between those
experiencing this disorder frequently and those suffering from
narcolepsy. However, various studies suggest that many or most people
will experience sleep paralysis at least once or twice in their lives.
Some report that various factors increase the likelihood of both
paralysis and hallucinations. These include:
- Sleeping in a supine position
- Irregular sleeping schedules; naps, sleeping in
- Increased stress
- Sudden environmental/lifestyle changes"
(SOURCE: ibid).
More on treatments on the Sleep Paralysis page:
Preventing and Coping with Sleep Paralysis
<http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~acheyne/prevent.html>
Sleep Paralysis
<http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~acheyne/S_P.html>
Stanford University page on the issue
<http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/paralysis.html>
So, in other words: if it happened once, it might mean that you fell
in the statistics, as it happens to almost all of us once in a
lifetime. Consider changing your sleeping habbits (getting a more
regular sleeping times; sleeping in another position). If it happened
more than once, a visit to a neurologist, who specialises in sleeping
disorders, might be in order.
I hope this answered your question. Please contact me if you need any
further clarifications on the subject before you rate it. My search
strategy has been to search for "sleep paralysis". |
