Sleep paralysis: Opening your eyes, you can not move - what to do?
"It was three or four years ago. I went to bed as usualand then woke up in the same room, with the same decor and lighting. I woke up because someone walks around me — I clearly heard footsteps, ”says Olga. - I tried to move, but I did not succeed, and because of this, panic began. I thought three times that I was waking up, but I really woke up and was able to move only in the fourth - and I realized that all this was in a dream. A terrible feeling: panic, you start screaming inside yourself, but naturally you can't hear anything. Everything is very realistic. "The condition Olga describes is called sleep paralysis: the person confronting him realizes that he has woken up, but cannot move, as if he is paralyzed. Sometimes people develop hallucinations in this state.
What is sleep paralysis
In fact, paralysis is an integral part of sleep. When we are in the phase of REM sleep, our brain is active (at this time we usually see dreams), and the body is almost paralyzed - only the eyeballs and muscles responsible for breathing can move. Because of this, we cannot harm ourselves when we see something in a dream and want to act.
Usually the ability to move back to us before waking up, but it happens that this process is disrupted. A person is in a semi-conscious state: his brain wakes up, sometimes he may even open his eyes and look at the room, but still cannot move. This condition is called sleep paralysis - such episodes last from a few seconds to a few minutes. “The reason for the development of sleep paralysis is the recently discovered ability of the brain to sleep and only partially awake. Thus, when most of the brain has already woken up, its areas that inhibit muscle tone during dream sleep continue to“ sleep ”," the department head said medicine sleep First MGMU them. I. M. Sechenov, Associate Professor Mikhail Poluektov.
Sleep paralysis is a fairly common phenomenon: according to American studies, almost 8% of people have encountered it at least once in their lifetime. Among students and patients of psychiatric clinics, the proportion of such cases is even higher: 28% and almost 32%, respectively. Mikhail Poluektov notes that more often people encounter him: according to his data, up to 40% of people under the age of thirty years and 5% of people in the older age groups experienced the symptoms of sleep paralysis. Most often, the symptoms of sleep paralysis appear on waking up, but it can also occur when a person falls asleep.
There are other signs of sleep paralysis: in this state, many feel that their chest seems to have squeezed something, and it is difficult for them to breathe - although in fact they breathe freely. Some during this state manage to open their eyes, which is impossible to do in a normal dream. Many feel that there is someone in the room, and someone even has visual and auditory hallucinations - they see or hear a creature that wants to harm them.
Sleep paralysis is a fairly common phenomenon: according to American studies, almost 8% of people have experienced it at least once in their lifetime.
“When sleep paralysis happens, it’s hard to believe that I’m still sleeping, because the situation is exactly like reality,” says editor Julia. “I’m dreaming that I open my eyes in my room, in my bed, but I feel the presence of something“ demonic ”. And then every time fantasy throws something new: this “being” hangs over you, it runs across the room to you, it stands in the corner - and so on. The appearance of this “creature” also varies. that you cannot move a single muscle, you force yourself to shout, I will wave s hand -. The real and personal paralysis, mixed with pure horror and a heaviness in the chest, it is impossible to breathe. "
Many people note that bouts of sleep paralysis worsen when a difficult period in life comes. “I studied at the institute and worked in parallel, pouring sadness with alcohol on regular parties,” says designer Dasha. “And then sleepy paralysis began to manifest itself more severely and more often. For example, I remember how I sleep - and I get a nightmare. I wake up and see the black one incomprehensible a mass that floats in the air above me and seems to be pulling me out of my body — an eerie sensation. There was a deafening ring in my ears, it seemed that the eardrums were going to burst now. I felt so scared that I ran to sleep with my parents (I was still with them) as soon as I was able to finally wake up. "
Head of the Center for Sleep Medicine, Moscow State University MV Lomonosov Alexander Kalinkin notes that even repetitive sleep paralysis can be a separate symptom that does not affect the quality and longevity - but there are more difficult situations: "Sleep paralysis can also be a symptom of narcolepsy. It is a neurological pathology, it has several characteristic signs, chief among them - pronounced daytime sleepiness (that is, a person can fall asleep during daytime activities). " According to the expert, it is important to distinguish between such cases.
Angels and Demons
To explore sleepy paralysis began relatively recently, but there is every reason to believe that it exists much longer - just humanity for a long time considered it attacks attacks of demons and evil spirits, who attack at night. “This state is really frightening for a person, especially if he encounters him for the first time. If a person does not understand what is happening to him, he explains this with various unscientific factors - aliens, otherworldly forces and other things,” says Alexander Kalinkin. Neuroscientist Baland Jalal notes that in such a frightening situation, the human brain is trying to interpret what is happening and can connect cultural attitudes, beliefs and memories for this: "That is why people see ghosts, demons, aliens and even fictions from the past that seem want to attack them. "
Many different nations of the world can find many examples of what we would explain today with sleepy paralysis. For example, the Greek physician Pavel Aeginsky in the seventh century of our era believed that the Faun at night jumps on the chest of his victims. In German folklore, a mare is mentioned that sits on a sleeping chest. In similar demons (mara), who come at night and strangle people, believed in other countries - for example, in France, Iceland, Denmark and Norway. There are legends about succubi and incubus - night demons who seek to have sex with people.
If a person does not understand what is happening to him, then he explains this by various non-scientific factors - aliens and otherworldly forces.
The Hmong people believe in the "oppressive demon" tsog tsuam. A rather horrible story is connected with him: in the late 1970s, 117 Hmong refugees who had emigrated to the United States died unexpectedly in their sleep. It is possible that the refugees were experiencing tremendous stress due to the fact that in a foreign country they could not perform their usual rituals with shamans that frighten tsuam tsuam, and this affected their health. The sudden nightly deaths inspired director Wes Craven to create Freddy Krueger, but this is not the only possible manifestation of sleepy paralysis in culture. The most famous illustration of this phenomenon is Johann Füssli’s “Nightmare”: it depicts a sleeping woman with a demon sitting on her breast, and a blind mare next to her. Psychiatrist Jerome Schneck in 1969 decided that the picture depicted the manifestations of sleep paralysis - and this interpretation is still followed. Director Rodney Asher shot a documentary about sleep paralysis, where he wanted to show what people are experiencing when they are sleeping with paralysis - and this is probably the scariest documentary you have seen.
How to cope with sleep paralysis
Attacks of sleep paralysis scare, but by themselves they are not dangerous - and often pass by themselves over time. Sleep paralysis can be associated with insomnia or sleep deprivation, as well as violation of the regime - for example, due to shift work or getting into a different time zone. "Factors contributing to the development of seizures are heredity (the presence of the same attacks on the maternal line), sleeping position on the back, changing time zones, disrupting sleep patterns, canceling psychotropic drugs,” says Mikhail Poluektov. “Accordingly, if these factors are eliminated sleep on your back, do not disturb the sleep pattern - then the likelihood of developing attacks will be reduced to a minimum. "
Experts advise to take care of sleep hygiene: sleep for six to eight hours, try to go to sleep and wake up at about the same time, make sure that in the room where you sleep, it is dark, quiet, not too cold and not too It's hot, try not to eat tight before bedtime, do not smoke, and do not drink alcohol and caffeinated beverages before bedtime. Scientists note that sleep paralysis is more common in those who sleep on their backs - so you can try changing your favorite posture. “If sleep paralysis is a sign of narcolepsy, then in this case, medical therapy is prescribed, which can significantly reduce this condition or eliminate it completely,” notes Alexander Kalinkin.
For me, sleep paralysis is a signal that I have driven myself and I need to urgently start the unloading operation.
Julia says that a couple of months ago she had especially strong attacks of sleep paralysis - the visions continued, even when it was possible to regain control of the body. “A rather eerie sensation: you were just paralyzed and suddenly you wake up screaming with the thought“ who is crying? ”. It turns out you are. And you have been twitching with your whole body for several minutes,” she says. After the situation repeated the following night, Julia took action: "I drank herbal tinctures, tried to listen to light music, took a bath with bubbles - in other words, did everything that usually helps me relax and restore emotional balance. I can say that it helped: sleep paralysis has not recurred since then. But even if it does, it’s a signal to me that I have driven myself and I need to urgently start the unloading operation: nothing bad happens, I just need to be more attentive to myself. "
Sometimes people find their own ways to deal with the problem. "Over time, I developed a tactic of quicker waking up during sleep paralysis - I tried to move my finger with a phalanx, concentrated all my attention only on this. Then I managed to move my whole finger, my wrist, and I woke up," says Dasha. the attacks of sleep paralysis stopped as abruptly as I started, and I don’t miss him at all. "
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (1, 2, 3, 4)
