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‘Sleep paralysis’ not uncommon sensationMcCLATCHY TRIBUNEImagine waking up in the night and being unable to move.So you lie there for what seems like hours, trying to wiggle your fin gers or toes, but you are paralyzedYou want to call out for help, but you can't draw a deep enough breath to make a loud soundEventually, you're able to move a little, and then your whole body begins to respond again.Scary, huh?Weird, too.But it happens to people all the time.It's called sleep paralysis, and it typically occurs at the very begin ning 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 hap pens.” said Dr. Barbara Phillips, di rector of the Samaritan Sleep Center and chairwoman of the board of the National Sleep Foundation.Dr Phillips explained in an e mail interview that sleep paralysis happens as the body is coming out of REM or rapid eye movementsleep.“During non REM sleep, our brains are ‘turned ofT but our bodies can be active,” she said. This is when peopleexperience sleep disturbances such as tooth grinding or sleepwalking.In contrast, our brains are very active (probably as active as when”They mayjeel like there's a pressure on their chest, that they can t breathe. They may feel like they re dying.'— Or. Kevin Nelson. University of Kentucky neurologist,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 in trudes into the waking state for one reason or another, she said.Kathryn Hansen, director of the St Joseph Hospital Sleep Wellness Cen ter, put it this wray: The brain wakes up before the body wakes up.’' Sometimes, sleep paralysis is accompanied by hypnagogic hallu cinations, or “waking dreams,” Dr. 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 hallucinationThe 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 cor relation 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 ”Dr 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, Dr Nelson said, it is more frequently reportedThe 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 Dr Phillips said as many as 25 percent of people might be affected by sleep paralysis at some point in their lives, and investigators at Stan ford University have suggested that as many as half of college students experience it.Dr. Nelson and other medical pro fessionals who deal with sleep disor ders said they sometimes see patients who are disturbed by the paralysis but have not talked to anyone aboutit because it seems so strange.“They’re not alone,” Dr Nelson said “They're not weird because they have it.”People are more likely to experi ence sleep paralysis, the experts said, if they are undergoing sleep depriva tion, work odd shifts or have erratic sleep schedules Dr Hansen also said it 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 expe rience For example, Phillips said, a person who misses a dose of antide pressant 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, Dr. Phillips said That person has deprived himself or herself of sleep, gotten onto an odd sleep schedule and drunk to much all three of the risk factors Sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations are generally harm less, but the sleep experts said they can sometimes be associated with narcolepsy.In most cases, though. Dr. 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.
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Annapolis Sunday Capital
Annapolis, Maryland, US
Sun, Feb 04, 2007
Page 40
Full Page
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CA, USA 03 Feb 2025
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