How to explain the mysterious sleep paralysis?

Imagine that you are lying on your bed, staring on the wall of your bedroom, when you hear a strange noise. You are a bit nervous as you do not understand where it comes from. Then, a moment after, you see that the curtains on the window are fluttering. Something dark and huge creeps out of it. The noise becomes louder and transforms into a heavy breath, right next to your ear. Now you start to panic and try to get up from the bed, but you cannot move. The dark matter starts to take shape, and now you see a faceless demon, climbing on your bed. It gets closer and closer. You desperately try to move your head or arm or even finger but your attempts are useless. You sweat and tremble inside, tears start to fall from your eyes. You are afraid of it so much that you think you will die right now from this horror. The demon gets on your body and leans to your face.

Suddenly, you are completely awake and your body can move again. Your bedroom looks normal and it seems that there wasn’t anyone in it.

Only the feeling of bone-chilling terror reminds you that a moment ago you were not alone in your cosy bedroom.

It may seem that I’ve just described a scene from one of the thousands of horror movies. But in fact, it is just the way a person, who suffers from sleep paralysis wakes up.

Sleep paralysis always seemed to me like something mysterious, terrible and a bit magical. I have these feelings as in the past people believed that during the sleep paralysis a person cannot breath or move because a demon is sitting on his chest and strangles him.

Today, the whole process of sleep paralysis can be described scientifically.

According to American Sleep Association, an organization with a mission to improve public health by increasing awareness about the importance of sleep and the dangers of sleep disorders, when you sleep well, the brain sends signals to the nervous system that now is the time to relax the muscles, so you won’t hurt yourself, if you move a lot while sleeping. In the phase of a quick sleep the brain is ready to wake up, that’s why it gives a command to remove artificial paralysis.

People, who suffer from sleep paralysis, experience it exactly in the quick sleep phase. They are conscious, but still cannot move or talk. Their muscles did not receive the important signal from the brain, which would allow them to move freely.

There are two types of sleep paralysis. The first one is isolated, which is short, around two minutes, and can occur only once or twice during your whole life. The second one is a recurrent isolated sleep paralysis (a scarier one), which is a chronical disease. This type can last for more than an hour.

People, who suffer this disease say that when they wake up they do not have a control over their body, they wake up “dead”. The mind has already woken up, but not the body. You are in a trap, you cannot move any part of your body, even a finger, and it is really creepy. However, some people can move their face muscles and it helps them to wake up. But if you are not this lucky one, the only way to overcome sleep paralysis is to wait.

Not only you cannot move, but also you feel that you are suffocating. Before studying sleep paralysis people thought that it is a devil, sitting on their chest, that caused sleep paralysis. Now there is an explanation for this mysterious phenomenon. It happens because a person wakes up in the “wrong” time. The quick sleep phase has not finished yet, so the muscles, including the chest ones are still sleeping. But a diaphragm is already awake and it makes you feel that there is not enough air, and something heavy is sitting on your chest.

Also, during sleep paralysis you have terrifying hallucinations as you are stuck between sleep and wakefulness. Your mind has woken up, eyes are opened, but the body is still unconscious. You have living nightmares. Someone is leaning to your body, you hear a heavy breath behind you, you can even feel the touch, but you cannot do anything. You constantly have a feeling of someone else’s presence.

According to the studies of Michael J. Breus, a Clinical Psychologist and both a Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and a Fellow of The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, around 65% of people may suffer an episode of sleep paralysis at some point in their lives. Especially people who have lack of sleep, chronical stress, bipolar personality disorder or drug addiction.

In addition, according to the Andrew Emery’s article in the Guardian around 30% of people questioned in a recent study reported experiencing it at least once, though a more conservative estimate suggests around 10% of the population get it frequently.

So if you do not want to experience that horror you’d better overcome your addictions, visit a specialist (if you suffer depression or other disorders), and sleep decent number of hours.

However, if you are a risky person, an adrenaline seeker, or a horror writer, looking for inspiration, you can try to put yourself in this sleep paralysis condition, by having for example, lack of sleep. Just be prepared that it can really blow your mind.

Daria Doronina is a third year student in an American University in Bulgaria. She studies Journalism and Mass Communication and Psychology. Daria is interested in Psychology and mental disorders, that’s why she chose to write about sleep paralysis.

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