Imagine this. You are laying in bed, sleeping peacefully but all of a sudden you notice you're awake. But it's not how you would normally wake up. You are awake and basically paralyzed in one of your nightmares. You try to move and try saying something but you can't, then a scary, dark figure starts walking over to you but you can't do anything. Then you wake up a while after and realize what just happened. This my friends, is called sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is the feeling of being conscious but unable to move and here are just a couple of things you might have not known about sleep paralysis.
1. Hallucinations are present during sleep during sleep paralysis.
Hallucinating during sleep paralysis is really common. It can bring feelings of fear, difficulty breathing, and muscle tightness. Experiencing the sensation of falling and feeling a presence in the room is also common during sleep paralysis. Also, sleep paralysis has also been linked to people who believe they have been abducted by aliens, claims of witchcraft, and sometimes even sex!
2. It can happen to anyone.
Almost anyone in the world can experience it. It's been known that up to four out of every 10 people can have it and anyone at any age can have it as well. Luckily for us, we can know the factors that might make us a candidate for sleep paralysis. These factors include: A changing sleep schedule, lack of sleep, stress, substance abuse, and certain medications. It's helpful to know the factors because the more the you know, then the more you can be able to reverse the problem.
3. Waking yourself up can seem impossible.
Some of you may be thinking, "well why can't you just wake yourself up?" Well it's not that easy. Sleep paralysis can last up to as long as a few minutes and basically being paralyzed for that long. This is because of a thing called "atonia," where your brain causes your muscles to relax. So you can forget about screaming or moving yourself to wake up.
4. Can you die from sleep paralysis?
Sleep paralysis is one of the most terrifying things that can happen to your body, but can you die from it? The truth is, there is nothing to be worried about when it comes to this phenomenon. It may make you feel like you're dying but it's just a transition from you sleeping to waking up.
Even though it is a relief knowing you can not die or receive any harm from this sleep disorder, it is scary just knowing you aren't able to move a muscle or simply stop yourself from having this horrific nightmare.
