Sleep Paralysis

[Xenon]

Eek. Are any of you concerned that you might find the blanket or pillow on top of your mouth and nose, and instead of waking up and moving it, you would be stuck, and die a terrifying death? <shudder>

I assume you'd wake up fully if you couldn't breathe, just as you would if you were normal REM sleep. After all, the paralysis is a normal part of the sleep cycle. It's just that it's only supposed to happen while you're unconscious.

 

[Rail Tracer]

I assume you'd wake up fully if you couldn't breathe, just as you would if you were normal REM sleep. After all, the paralysis is a normal part of the sleep cycle. It's just that it's only supposed to happen while you're unconscious.

I've been reading that some people do end up dying because of paralysis, especially if it involves the feeling of being unable to breathe well/being choked.

 

[Xenon]

^Where did you read that?? I thought I'd heard it all.

My first thought is there has to be something else going on there along with the sleep paralysis. Sleep apnea maybe? Because of the connection to disturbances in the sleep cycle, I imagine the paralysis sometimes results from another sleep disorder.

 

[Rail Tracer]

^Where did you read that?? I thought I'd heard it all.

My first thought is there has to be something else going on there along with the sleep paralysis. Sleep apnea maybe? Because of the connection to disturbances in the sleep cycle, I imagine the paralysis sometimes results from another sleep disorder.

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1740

Understanding more neural concepts of Sleep Paralysis, some researchers now hypothesize that a very rare condition called Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome (SUNDS) may closely relate to Sleep Paralysis (1). Upon the death, a SUNDS victim produces no body movement even though he experiences a myocardial infarction and strong breathing difficulties and should straggle in agony (5). The death may be caused by the extreme muscle atonia during Sleep Paralysis, which is so severe that even the cardiac muscles and the diaghragm paralyze (5).

Then again, it is just a hypothesis. I would think some cases could potentially be severe that extreme difficulty to the point of gasping for air becomes a very real thing.

To bad the links leading to those pages don't work... I would like to read more into it. It could be inter-related with sleep apnea though.

 

[/DG/]

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1740

Regarding this quote in your link:

Understanding more neural concepts of Sleep Paralysis, some researchers now hypothesize that a very rare condition called Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome (SUNDS) may closely relate to Sleep Paralysis (1). Upon the death, a SUNDS victim produces no body movement even though he experiences a myocardial infarction and strong breathing difficulties and should straggle in agony (5). The death may be caused by the extreme muscle atonia during Sleep Paralysis, which is so severe that even the cardiac muscles and the diaghragm paralyze (5).

I'd just like to point out that it's not uncommon for people to not feel pain during a heart attack. Also, because you can lose consciousness during an episode, it definitely makes sense why you wouldn't wake up if you had a heart attack during your sleep. I find things like these to make much more sense than sleep paralysis being a cause of someone not moving during a heart attack.

I agree with blankpages. You'd likely "snap out" of sleep paralysis if something was obstructing your breathing, just as you would awake from a normal sleep.

 

[mmhmm]

it happened to me once, i remember i couldn't move,
but the most memorable thing was how loud everything
was, i could hear the train moving closer and closer.
i think i freaked out because i thought the train would
just bust through and run me over and i wouldn't be able
to get away. couldn't cry out for help. or do anything.
just trapped.

in thailand we have a phrase for it, roughly translates to
"ghosts playing tricks"

 

[A window to the soul]

It only happened to me three times. I'm proud to say that I kicked ET in the nuts and WHALA I was free!! Never happened again.

 

[Xenon]

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1740


Then again, it is just a hypothesis. I would think some cases could potentially be severe that extreme difficulty to the point of gasping for air becomes a very real thing.

To bad the links leading to those pages don't work... I would like to read more into it. It could be inter-related with sleep apnea though.

Interesting. I did find this wiki page on SUNDS which says underlying medical conditions have been identified in these people. Most common culprit is Brugada syndrome, a heart rhythm disorder.

Victims of this might well experience sleep paralysis and hallucinations during their nighttime heart attacks, but that doesn't mean this was the cause of death. As your link explains, sleep paralysis happens when normal neurological events of the sleep cycle become out-of-sync. Paralysis of the respiratory muscles and cardiac arrest are obviously not normal parts of the sleep cycle.

 

[Sarcasticus]

It used to happen to me all the time about 15 years ago or so. Usually I also perceive that there is someone in the room but I can't move or cry out. It's pretty terrifying.

 

[Totenkindly]

It only happened to me three times. I'm proud to say that I kicked ET in the nuts and WHALA I was free!! Never happened again.

How do you know it won't happen tomorrow, though?
You know only you've stopped experiencing it in your past.

(Not trying to be a smartass, it's a logical thing I wonder about... you just don't know. Sort of why people who have had one seizure, even if put immediatetly on meds, typically lose their driving privileges for a year or more in my state.)

 

[figsfiggyfigs]

How do you know it won't happen tomorrow, though?
You know only you've stopped experiencing it in your past.

(Not trying to be a smartass, it's a logical thing I wonder about... you just don't know. Sort of why people who have had one seizure, even if put immediatetly on meds, typically lose their driving privileges for a year or more in my state.)

I dont really think you do.... now that I think about it. I recall "waking up" from my dreams, still not being able to move or talk, being fully aware, yet seeing all sorts of things moving/floating about, talking, even trying to get me to talk back. The only way to not freak out is to be aware of whats happening, and accept sleep paralysis for what it is- an experience. I NEVER freak about anymore, only the first few seconds, until I realize " oh, this isn't real, I'm still dreaming, yet I'm awake... time to ride out the storm". I just lay there till I drift off again....
So, that said, although I don't experience it BEFORE I sleep anymore, I still do from time to time half-way through sleeping. And I don't believe you can just " kick it's ass"... I notice it happens to me when I am most exhausted. My body requires it so badly, it falls asleep before my mind has fully drifted off into Oz... I guess the best way to combat Sleep Paralysis is to sleep on schedule, and not over-exhaust your system.

 

[A window to the soul]

How do you know it won't happen tomorrow, though?
You know only you've stopped experiencing it in your past.

(Not trying to be a smartass, it's a logical thing I wonder about... you just don't know. Sort of why people who have had one seizure, even if put immediatetly on meds, typically lose their driving privileges for a year or more in my state.)

It never happened again (past tense), but I can't say it will never happen again. It's been at least 10-years since I've experienced it. I buy the scientific explanations for the cause.

Real or imagined, I saw the boogie man and this wasn't Boogie Nights. I was really frightened. I was also skeptisch I was dreaming after it happened a second time. Third time was game on!!

 

[Rail Tracer]

It never happened again (past tense), but I can't say it will never happen again. It's been at least 10-years since I've experienced it. I buy the scientific explanations for the cause.

Real or imagined, I saw the boogie man and this wasn't Boogie Nights. I was really frightened. I was also skeptisch I was dreaming after it happened a second time. Third time was game on!!

Think of all the things you can do by lucid dreaming. . I would of been badass also.

 

[Mal12345]

One thing that could be even scarier than a nightmare is the sleep paralysis itself. Depending on what chemicals are active at the time your body is still around REM sleep while on sleep paralysis, it could be the most horrifying (the word doesn't go far enough,) annoying, or just plain strange. During the phrase, your brain sends chemicals to your body to prevent you from doing something stupid while you are asleep (like hitting yourself or grabbing something) thereby paralyzing you. When you wake up, another chemical sets in/another part of your brains becomes active, and that chemical can be described as part of your sleep paralysis.

In my case, I only had it once that I can think of. It was to the point that my fear reached a new high. It was to the point that I felt like I might actually get hurt or be killed. Objects (clothes and shadows) in my room started turning into horrifying images. Ghastly images like the tales of aggressive ghosts haunting a home to hurt people who intrude. Instead of not being able to see them, they were there, and they were ready to get me. I can't fully describe it but menacing, terror, ghastly, and probably a whole multitude of adjectives and adverbs could be used to describe what had happened. It was just terror like there was never before. In a scale of 1-10, it would be 10 or higher. It was threatening. At the same time, I could not move, I could not talk(no yelling or screaming.) The only thing that actually moved was my eyes. It was at that time, I told myself that these images weren't real. I shut my eyes hoping that these images would disappear by the time I open my eyes again.

Has anyone actually have gone through the scenario of sleep paralysis or more than just one episode?

I've briefly had sleep paralysis. I didn't even know it had a name until now.

 

[scantilyclad]

I hate sleep paralysis. I experience it pretty regularly and I really find it awful. I can usually slip into lucid dreaming, but it's usually only after horrifying things and hallucinations happen.

One time I was watching myself sleep. Like, standing over the bed watching myself. I also always see a dark figure with a knife right beside my bed, which I assume is just me since I can see myself sleeping. It's all weird and terrifying.

 

[Glint]

I experience sleep paralysis sometimes if my alarm clock goes off while I'm dreaming... the repeating tune drives me insane but I can't wake up/get up to turn it off.

 

[Tellenbach]

I've heard sleep paralysis is a precursor to out of body experiences (Albert Taylor wrote a book about it.). I've experienced it twice; both times, I was unable to sleep (probably due to drinking too much tea at night). The sleep paralysis was accompanied by a vibrational type of sound which was unsettling but not terrifying since I was expecting it; I did not experience any visual effects.

 

[Noll]

I have it very often, it seems to come almost exclusively in the mornings. It's quite annoying when I just want to sleep in peace.