What Is Sleep Paralysis?
So what actually is Sleep Paralysis?
Well, to be honest nobody really knows for sure. Lots of people have their opinions ranging from the scientific to the downright weird (in my opinion) and there is much to learn about this fascinating subject.
As a long time sufferer since my early teens I am at least qualified to tell you what the symptoms are and as you read you may find something that sounds familiar to you.
The most common symptoms are:
* Waking up to find ones self totally paralysed from head to toe, you can also become paralysed drifting into sleep
* Hearing a loud buzzing or whooshing noise in the ears
* Heart palpitations
* Voices or other noises which cannot be explained such as music or crowd noise. The voices can be pleasant and sometimes disturbing.
* Visions which can include: a shadowy figure, an old hag, demon like creatures, small goblins, a beautiful woman/man.
* Sexual encounters with the presences which can be disturbing or pleasurable depending on the hallucination.
* A feeling of electricy all over the body or around the head.
* A sensation of leaving ones own body and floating around.
If you have experienced any or all of these symptoms then you have definately had a sleep paralysis experience.
Sleep paralysis is a common sleep disorder in which a person has just woken up and is incapable of movement or speech. Quite often a suffer will also experience forms of hallucination of a horrific kind. This can be quite distressing for the sufferer since this experience can last for up to 5 minutes or so.
Sleep paralysis can affect anyone of any age group. Although it’s certainly more common amongst people in the 17 – 30 age group. The disorder is quite rare in people over the age of 30, but there have been several reports of people of the age of 70 suffering from sleep paralysis. It’s estimated that an incredible 30% of the worlds population have experienced this disorder at least once.
There are some common features of this sleeping disorder, not everyone will experience these features, but they’re certainly the most common. Features include; breathlessness (sufferers have reported they feel like someone is sat on their chest), people being seen at the bedside, visual and auditory hallucinations (sense of an evil presence, voices in the room), preserved eye movements and often occurs when sleeping on one’s back .
What can a suffer do to prevent this distressing sleeping disorder? If you’re suffering from this disorder, it’s probably down to sleep deprivation or anxiety issues. Sometimes the disorder is caused underlying health issue… in which case it’s best to consult medical advice from a professional who will be able to tell you on the best course of action to take.
