jwoody

Sleep paralysis. What's that all about?

I seem to be having episodes sleep paralysis more and more often, so I did a little research and found that I am not alone. While the following may seem a bit far-fetched, anyone who has experienced this will tell you that it's a very real phenomenon.

My personal experiences mainly fall into the 'Common Sleep Paralaysis' category, however I have recently (last night) experienced 'Hallucinatory Sleep Paralysis' and, to be honest, it scared the shit out of me.

The following has been accumulated from various souces:

There are two types of sleep paralysis: common (typical) and hallucinatory (hypnagogic) sleep paralysis.

Common Sleep Paralysis: According to research almost every adult will at have an episode of Common Sleep Paralysis (CSP) in their lifetime. In the 1950's and 60's it was discovered that occasionally sleepers gain consciousness finding their bodies temporarily "frozen".

This temporary paralysation affects the major motor functions and macro muscle groups of the body. This state lasts between 15 seconds to a minute, though subjects report that it lasts much longer.

These episodes of paralysis baffled medical professionals for centuries. It was not until R.E.M. and its co-relation to the dream state was discovered that the mystery of sleep paralysis started to unfold. Researchers discovered that hormones were released during the R.E.M./dream state that paralysed the body and prevented it from physically acting out the dream. During most regular sleep cycles the hormones begin to wear off before the dream is completed and the person will wake with a fully functioning body. In rare occasions the hormones are still actively suppressing the major motor functions of the body and upon waking the individual is aware that their body temporarily paralysed.

Hallucinatory sleep paralysis: A more terrifying kind of sleep paralysis is the hallucinatory sleep paralysis or hypnagogic sleep paralysis, also known as Hag phenomena.
There are three major differences between Hallucinatory Sleep Paralysis (HSP) and CSP.

Characteristics of sleep paralysis:

3. CSP is common and universal; HSP is rare and seems to be geographically episodic.

4. CSP is of relatively short duration; HSP can last as long as seven or eight minutes.

3. CSP may induce a sense of anxiety; HSP is accompanied by a nightmarish hallucination.

There is evidence that HSP seems to affect an area (such as a town) much like an epidemic.

The most striking difference between HSP and CSP are the horrifying hallucinations that accompany the paralysis. The source of the hallucination has often been attributed to the hypnagogic state (the state between wakefulness and sleep). An individual usually awakens either because they hear something or feel something. The thing to remember is that this occurs outside of the dream sequence/plot. The individual is awake yet paralysed like in CSP. Moments after the person awakes they are startled by a terrifying visual hallucination. This hallucination will generally take on a stereotypical form. It is usually a vision of a malevolent creature that straddles the victim. The creature will then either compress the chest or attempt to strangulate the victim.

The visual hallucination has been variously interpreted throughout time and in different cultures as being: indigestion, guilt (Ancient Rome, Egypt), witchcraft (Mexico), demons (Medieval Europe), djinn (Arabia), vampires (Europe), Hag (Ireland, Scotland), spectral foxes (Japan), cats (China), ancestral ghosts (South-East Asia), etc. Despite the various interpretations, the descriptions of the hallucinations are remarkably similar. There are various folk remedies to avoid HSP. But the most common is to not sleep on your back.

Almost all attacks have been reported by people sleeping face up.