Sleeping is absolutely vital to our lives, so it’s hardly surprising that sleep disorders can cause havoc to our health. This can take the form of your run-of-the-mill insomnia, narcolepsy, when you feel drowsy during the day, sleep apnea, in which the breathing starts and stops often caused by snoring and then we have atonia – otherwise known as sleep paralysis.
Even the words sleep paralysis are enough to scare many. If you’ve ever woken up unable to move any part of your body, it can be a distressing situation. This is probably made worse by the fact that little is known about this peculiar sleep disorder that isn’t often openly discussed.
Can we really become paralysed while we’re sleeping? Is it dangerous? What should you do if you wake up and it happens to you? These are all common questions around this sleep disorder, so let’s dive in and start answering them. Here’s what you need to know about sleep paralysis.
What is Sleep Paralysis?
Sleep paralysis occurs because of a short term loss of muscle control, which in the scientific world is known as atonia. Essentially you are unable to move or speak for a short period while the body remains in a state of temporary sleep paralysis. It typically occurs while you are falling asleep or waking up and can also involve some very vivid hallucinations.
Sleep paralysis isn’t exactly common, but not entirely uncommon either with roughly 8% of the UK population having experienced sleep paralysis.
But here’s the really interesting part that many don’t know. When the body enters the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep cycle, the body always becomes completely paralysed. This is a completely normal occurrence and while scientists don’t know everything about it, considering this is when we normally dream it does make sense that the body would paralyze itself. Imagine if your body acted out what was going on in your mind when you’re were dreaming!
After falling asleep, our bodies pass through our circadian rhythms and enter REM sleep after around 90 minutes of being asleep. While in this rapid eye movement sleep, our brain activity quickens and we begin to dream. Almost always, the body remains is a sleep paralysis state until it moves onto the next stage of sleep, but occasionally things don’t go smoothly and it’s here that sleep paralysis can occur.
What exactly happens and what are the symptoms of sleep paralysis?
Those suffering from sleep paralysis may wake up unable able to move or speak , often shortly after falling asleep or just before waking up. This might go on for as little as a few seconds to several minutes or as long as 20 minutes, but will eventually subside. Sometimes the sleep paralysis can be broken by somebody else touching or speaking to you.
Those suffering from sleep paralysis report feeling anxiety or fear during the event and may also experience hallucinations – on top of not being able to move or speak that. – I know, this is getting all the more terrifying, but our dreams are simply hallucinations, so when it happens during sleep paralysis, it is simply the conscious and sub-conscious merging in a slightly messy and unwelcome way. The brain has habit of doing that. It’s the greatest computer in the world, but still far from perfect and when you load it with anxiety and pressure from the every day life, it occasionally goes a little wonky.
75% of sleep paralysis incidents involve hallucinations, so it is relatively normal. There three main types of hallucinations:
- Intruder Hallucinations – Yes this one sounds bad, and it is exactly what you might think. An intruder hallucination might give you the feeling that an unknown person is with you in the room. Not great when you have an inability to move, but remember, it’s all in your head!
- Chest pressure hallucinations – Again, not a particularly nice hallucination to have and might give the impression of having pressure on your chest or a feeling of suffocation.
- Vestibular-motor (V-M) hallucinations – Lastly, and probably best, vestibular-motor hallucinations typically give you the feeling of movement, such as flying, or out of body experiences – which sounds much more attractive than the other two options.
How serious is sleep paralysis?
No doubt some of you are reading through with a growing sense of horror, but the truth is that sleep paralysis is not considered a serious medical problem. That being said, it can be a highly distressing experience to wake up unable to move and it might help to speak to a doctor who can explain things in a clear medical way to put your mind at rest.
This is why it’s important to educate people about sleep paralysis. For those who experience it for the first time it can feel like a very serious condition, but those who suffer from it regularly it is often a case of just getting used to it. The very definition of mind over matter.
Who suffers from sleep paralysis?
As mentioned earlier, our knowledge of sleep paralysis is still fairly limited and because of that we still don’t know much about the causes or who might be more susceptible. We do know that sleep paralysis often happens during the teenage years (as if being a teenager wasn’t hard enough), but it is during your 20’s and 30’s that it’s most common.
Research suggests that around 8% of the population experience sleep paralysis at some point in the lives, with around 10% of suffers experiencing repeated epsisodes.
Is sleep paralysis related to other sleep disorders?
As we mentioned earlier, humans suffer from a broad range of sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome, insomnia and excessive sleepiness. In reality, we’re only just beginning to understand these sleep disorders and if they are linked to sleep paralysis.
Currently there is no evidence that sleep disorders are inherently linked, although they can all be brought on by a wide range of common human ailments such as anxiety, stress, mental health issues and a general poor standard of health. The brain is a complex, confusing machine and it has the power to seriously alter our sleep habits. Once our circadian rhythms are knocked out of balance, it effects our REM sleep and without it, the doors to potential sleeping disorders are gradually nudged open.
We’ve also been asked about sleep paralysis and whether it’s more common if you have a family history of sleep disorders. While there is some evidence that genetics might be linked to sleep paralysis, it’s still too early to give any definite answers on this. A recent medically reviewed study did reveal that sleep paralysis appeared high than normal within identical twins, so watch this space.
Are there any treatments for sleep paralysis?
Yes and no. Unfortunately, medical knowledge around sleep paralysis is still somewhat limited , but should you experience repeated scary paralysis episodes you definitely should medical advice and explain the situation to a doctor. There is a belief that simply acknowledging the problem and speaking to somebody about it can help. Many sufferers see it as a stigma and that there is something wrong with them, but in reality that is just not the case.
While there is no “cure” for sleep paralysis, one of the strongest links surrounding it has been with general sleeping problems. In short, if you don’t sleep well, you are more likely to experience sleep paralysis. Here are some things to try that could help the situation, many of which should be considered for a general sleep disorder whether you have sleep paralysis or not:
- Sleep Routine – Try going to be and waking up roughly around the same time.
- Pre-bed Routine – It’s amazing how little we consider our actions just before going to bed. Thoughts, images, music and people can all squeeze their way into your subconscious while you sleep. Try to set up a routine that relaxes you for a good hour before going to bed.
- Improve your comfort – Another aspect we often don’t address is our level of comfort. Is your mattress old and uncomfortable? Is your bedding comfortable to lie down in? Do you feel like you are floating on clouds while in bed? If not, try to make some changes. Also, try to minimise light and noise coming into your room.
- What is going into the body before bed – Alcohol and caffeine, especially close to bedtime can cause havoc on the body. If you’ve ever woken up wide away at 4 am with an alcohol sweat, you’ll know full well. Caffeine can be equally harmful and both can seriously affect the body’s ability to sleep well
- Problems falling asleep or waking – These two issues might seem on the opposite sides of the spectrum, but they are clearly related. If falling asleep is difficult, ask yourself why. Are you going over events of the day constantly? Or is your body simply not tired? When you can’t sleep, don’t just lie there staring at the ceiling, get up and do something for 20 or 30 minutes (no that doesn’t mean sit in front of the TV). If you have problems waking in the morning, it could either mean your body is getting enough sleep, or that you might be suffering from excessive sleepiness.
While there are various forms of sleep medicine on the market, most of what is aimed at treating sleep paralysis is considered anti-depression drugs, including imipramine and clomipramine. Like any drugs of this kind, it’s important to remember that they often help short term but do little to address the underlying causes. We’re not saying don’t take them and if your life is being ruined by sleep paralysis it might be the best option, but anti-depressants should be approached with caution
What are your takeaways regarding sleep paralysis?
Like many sleep disorders, we don’t know a huge amount about sleep paralysis. But we are almost certain that it is not a serious problem. If you experience sleep paralysis, try to remain calm and be aware of what is happening. The inability to move can be a terrifying experience, but it’s important to remember that it’s normal and temporary.
If this is something that is persistently happening, see you doctor or seek other medical advice and try some of the steps that we mentioned above. As we said right at the beginning, sleep is vital and so improving sleep habits should be a high priority. Repeated episodes of sleep paralysis may begin to effect the mental health as well as leading to narcolepsy and it’s here that more dramatic problems can occur.
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