Thread: SP forces eyes to open??

Wearing a sleep mask helps some people, due to the little pressure on the eyes. Make sure you always reality check if you think you failed though You never know, that's how a lot of my wild's end up.

Firstly, everyone goes into sleep paralysis every night when they go to sleep; you have to in order to fall asleep. I mention this because; are you asleep or awake when you are in paralysis? If you are awake every night as a result of paralysis, you have a severe sleep disorder which deserves immediate attention and study (as that would be very rare).

If you are awake during this paralysis, then nothing you can do would seemingly give you lucidity because you are stuck in conscious paralysis. However, in ther alternative that you are unconcious, then you could use it as a signal to become lucid very easily (ie. "when I can only move my finger, I am dreaming, thus, lucid dream now!").

Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain enters slow-wave sleep. The period of slow wave sleep is accompanied by relaxation of the muscles and the eyes. Heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature all fall. If awakened at this time, most people recall only a feeling or image, not an active dream. This also explains the groggy "slow" feeling when awakening. During this time, the afferents responsible for movement are paralyzed in order to keep the body from injuring itself or taking involuntary action during sleep. The somatosensory cortex (the part of the brain primarily responsible for movement and motor control) is essentially, deactivated.

Quite simply put, sleepwalking occurs when the pathways that are closed off during REM sleep to prevent neurotransmitters from reaching the somatosensory cortex, or any other motor lobes of the brain, open up and allow neurotransmitters to reach these areas, which will then cause the body to act out actions done throughout REM sleep.

Periodic limb movements of sleep are intermittent jerks of the legs or arms, which occur as the individual enters slow wave sleep, and can cause arousal from sleep. Other people have episodes in which their muscles fail to be paralyzed during REM sleep, and they act out their dreams (sleepwalking). This REM behavior disorder can also be very disruptive to a normal nights' sleep. Both disorders are more common in people with Parkinson's disease, and both can be treated with drugs that treat Parkinson's, or with an anti-epileptic drug called clonanzepam.

Overall, 6.2% (5.7 to 6.7%) of the sample (n = 494) had experienced at least one SP episode in their lifetime. At the time of the interview, severe SP (at least one episode per week) occurred in 0.8% of the sample, moderate SP (at least one episode per month) in 1.4%, and mild SP (less than one episode per month) in 4.0%. Significant predictive variables of SP were anxiolytic medication, automatic behavior, bipolar disorders, physical disease, hypnopompic hallucinations, nonrestorative sleep, and nocturnal leg cramps.
(Journal of Neurology, http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/52/6/1194 )

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