How To Deal With Sleep Paralysis

hᎬᏞᏞᎾ humᎪᏁs ᎪᏁᎠ ᎬxᏆᏒᎪᏆᎬᏒᏒᎬsᏆᏒᎥᎪᏞs

today i’m going to be talking about a little thing called sleep paralysis. it’s become more known about now because there’s some memes about “my sleep paralysis demon” but i’m here to go into more depth about how to help if you have sleep paralysis.

ᎳhᎪᏆ Ꭵs sᏞᎬᎬᏢ ᏢᎪᏒᎪᏞᎽsᎥs?

a temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or upon waking.

ᎳhᎪᏆ ᎬxᎪᏟᏆᏞᎽ hᎪᏢᏢᎬᏁs

basically it can happen out of no where, it can be random or chronic and it can happen to pretty much anyone. many people who experience sleep paralysis are known to see some form of evil presence, may that be your “sleep paralysis demon” or just the feeling of something being in the room with you.

”a study published in the journal Sleep Medicine last month reported that out of 185 patients diagnosed with sleep paralysis, about 58% sensed a presence in the room with them, usually something non-human, and about 22% actually saw a person in the room, usually a stranger.”

some other common things that can happen is a feeling of pressure on your chest, or parts of your body moving without you controlling it.

to some it is a lightweight and enjoyable experience, but to most it’s a disturbing and horrifying feeling.

ᏒᎬm

what does REM mean?

”rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep, REMS) is a unique phase of sleep in mammals and birds, distinguishable by random/rapid movement of the eyes, accompanied with low muscle tone throughout the body, and the propensity of the sleeper to dream vividly.”

your amygdala (in charge of memory, decision making and emotional responses) is a big part of REM.

"you have part of the brain actively responding to fear or something emotional, but nothing in the environment to for that. so the brain comes up with a solution to that paradox."

- daniel denis a postdoctoral scholar in psychiatry at the beth israel deaconess medical center in boston.

the real cause to the hallucinations is unknown but given sleep paralysis only takes place when you’re transitioning into a sleep mode (hypnagogic), or coming out of it (hypnopompic). many believe it has something to do with how our brain paralyzes so we don’t act out our dreams but when woken up sometimes you are left still stuck in that state.

ᎳhᎪᏆ ᏆᎾ ᎠᎾ ᎠuᏒᎥᏁᎶ sᏞᎬᎬᏢ ᏢᎪᏒᎪᏞᎽsᎥs

remain calm, there is no way to stop it once it starts so the best thing to do is to stay calm during it happening.

the first time it happened to me i remained calm because i knew what it was. i had heard shane dawson talk about it and so i realized what it was and ended up falling back asleep.

the second time was more traumatic because no matter how much i tried to ignore it i couldn’t fall back asleep and when i would try to i’d feel like i was going to be sick. it lasted longer from my standpoint than the other one but eventually i was able to go back to sleep.

both times i didn’t see demons, which lead my friend to say that “it wasn’t sleep paralysis” but given that it’s just your imagination conjuring up the demon it can be sleep paralysis without one. it’s an added feature to be absolutely terrified by something trying to get you while you can’t move.

hᎾᎳ ᎠᎾ ᎽᎾu ᏢᏒᎾᏉᎬᏁᏆ sᏞᎬᎬᏢ ᏢᎪᏒᎪᏞᎽsᎥs?

sleep paralysis most often occurs in people who have narcolepsy or sleep apnea, but it can affect anyone. so basically it’s a very common thing with around 3 million people experiencing it.

if this has happened to you don’t worry because there are some ways to help with it.

”the main treatment is improved sleep habits (sleep hygiene) including going to bed at the same time every night, ensuring a comfortable sleep environment free of distractions, and avoiding caffeine before sleeping.”

if you have more serious issues with sleep paralysis you can also specialists that can help you deal with it.

ᏆhᎪᏆ’s ᎪᏞᏞ

i really hope that you learned a lot by reading and if you do have sleep paralysis i hope it’s helped!

resources

Sleep Study

Sleep Paralysis Facts

Mayo Clinic

Sleep Paralysis: Demon in the bedroom

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