Thread: Sleep Paralysis

Sleep Paralysis

Over half of us can recall a time when we have been through it, mostly unintentionally. Sleep paralysis. This is when you experience the feeling of being paralyzed while you apparently should be sleeping. Either you have woken up into it, or fell asleep to it.


When do they occur?

The experience normally occurs with the onset or offset of REM sleep. You are either exiting REM sleep (more common), or you are just entering it. The term “sleep paralysis” is often misused in order to explain why we don’t act out our dreams. REM atonia is the more correct term to explain the actual paralysis we unconsciously endure during REM sleep. The difference is that sleep paralysis is simply the experience of being paralyzed while just outside REM, whereas atonia is the term for paralysis that prevents us from acting out our dreams.


Sleep Disorders

Sleep paralysis is often associated with certain sleep disorders such as insomnia (inability to fall asleep) and narcolepsy (constant inability to stay awake) for example. Sleep paralysis however, can be a disorder at itself. Termed, Isolated Sleep Paralysis (or ISP), is when sleep paralysis is a recurring problem for someone and can disrupt sleep patterns, following interference with daily life.


Hypnagogic Hallucinations

Hypnagogia is a Greek term meaning “leading into sleep”, and with sleep paralysis, they often include hallucinations.

Different hallucinations often occur during sleep paralysis. They can often be frightening which may include; being abducted by aliens, suffocating/being choked, loud irritating noises (termed Exploding Head Syndrome), demons/ghosts, falling etc. However, there are also more positive hallucinations such as floating away, etc. The key is to remind oneself that they are only hallucinations, which in fact, they could potentially control.

Keep in mind that you usually keep your eyes closed during sleep paralysis. You would be surprised on how well your mind can mimic your sleep environment really well.


WILD Technique

Sleep paralysis is often looked at as the portal or bridge to the lucid dream world. WILD (wake initiated lucid dream) involves the practice of falling asleep directly into a lucid dream, and sleep paralysis is often the last stage.