Scary Scenario: Sleep Paralysis

Fort
Worth, Texas - Imagine waking up in the night and being unable to move.

So you lie there for what seems like hours, trying to wiggle
your fingers or toes, but you are paralyzed.

You want to call out for help, but you can't draw a deep
enough breath to make a loud sound.

Eventually, you're able to move a little, and then your whole
body begins to respond again.

Scary, huh?

Weird, too.

It happens to people all the time.

It's called sleep paralysis, and it typically occurs at the
very beginning or end of sleep. The experience lasts only a few minutes
at the most, and there's no harm done -- aside from the fright.

"It's terrifying the first time it happens," said Dr. Barbara
Phillips, director of the Samaritan Sleep Center and chairwoman of the
board of the National Sleep Foundation.

Phillips explained in an e-mail interview that sleep paralysis
happens as the body is coming out of REM -- or rapid-eye-movement --
sleep.

"During non-REM sleep, our brains are 'turned off' but our
bodies can be active," she said. This is when people experience sleep
disturbances such as tooth-grinding or sleepwalking.

"In contrast, our brains are very active -- probably as active
as when we are awake -- during REM sleep, but we are actually
paralyzed," she said. Researchers think that's what keeps us from
acting out our dreams.

"With sleep paralysis, the paralysis that is normal during REM
sleep intrudes into the waking state for one reason or another," she
said.

Kathryn Hansen, director of the St. Joseph Hospital Sleep
Wellness Center, put it this way: "The brain wakes up before the body
wakes up."

Sometimes, sleep paralysis is accompanied by hypnagogic
hallucinations, or "waking dreams," Phillips said.

In many such cases, people think they see a dark or menacing
figure in the room with them, or they hear a strange sound but can't
pinpoint the source. Some researchers have hypothesized that people who
report alien abductions are experiencing sleep paralysis in conjunction
with such a hallucination.

The experience of sleep paralysis combined with a
hallucination "can be very intense," said Dr. Kevin Nelson, a
University of Kentucky neurologist who has studied the correlation
between sleep paralysis and near-death experiences. "They may feel like
there's a pressure on their chest, that they can't breathe. They may
feel like they're dying."

Nelson said episodes of sleep paralysis are "a very common
thing," but it's difficult to pinpoint exactly how common.

"The striking thing is, people don't talk about them," he said.

In some cultures, there
are myths to explain
the experience, or words used to describe it. In those places, Nelson
said, it is more frequently reported.

The Japanese have a linguistic term, kanashibari, for the
experience; in Newfoundland, it is described as a visit from "the old
hag."

"In some cultures it's very well-recognized," he said.

Phillips said as many as 25 percent of people might be
affected
by sleep paralysis at some point in their lives, and investigators at
Stanford University have suggested that as many as half of college
students experience it.

Nelson and other medical professionals who deal with sleep
disorders said they sometimes see patients who are disturbed by the
paralysis but have not talked to anyone about it because it seems so
strange.

"They're not alone," Nelson said. "They're not weird because
they have it."

People are more likely to experience sleep paralysis, the
experts said, if they are undergoing sleep deprivation, work odd shifts
or have erratic sleep schedules. Hansen said it also can come with
stress or anxiety.

People who are in withdrawal from alcohol or drugs that can
suppress REM sleep, such as antidepressants, also can be predisposed to
the experience. For example, Phillips said, a person who misses a dose
of antidepressant medication might be at risk.

"It really just kind of correlates to lifestyles," she said.

The "classic example is the college kid who parties hard
during
spring break, and wakes up on the beach unable to move," Phillips said.
That person has deprived himself or herself of sleep, gotten into an
odd sleep schedule and drank too much -- all three of the risk factors.

Sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations are generally
harmless, but the sleep experts said they can sometimes be associated
with narcolepsy.

In most cases, though, Hansen said they are a sign that the
person needs "to develop some good sleep habits," such as decreasing
caffeine intake before bedtime, getting regular exercise, and going to
bed and rising at the same time each day.

"If sleep paralysis and extreme daytime sleepiness persist
even
with adequate, appropriate sleep, it's time to see a doctor," Phillips
said.

Hansen said that once, when she knew she hadn't gotten enough
rest, there was a moment when she couldn't move or speak as she was
waking up from a dream.

Source: The Charleston
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