Het grote en centrale Sleep Paralysis topic.

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Sleep paralysis is a condition characterized by temporary paralysis of the body shortly after waking up (known as hypnopompic paralysis) or, less often, shortly before falling asleep (known as hypnagogic paralysis).

The Nightmare, by Henry Fuseli (1781) is thought to be one of the classic depictions of sleep paralysis perceived as a demonic visitation.Physiologically, it is closely related to the normal paralysis that occurs during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, also known as REM atonia. Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain is awakened from an REM state into essentially a normal fully awake state, but the bodily paralysis is still occurring. This causes the person to be fully aware, but unable to move. In addition, this state may be accompanied by hypnagogic hallucinations.

More often than not, sleep paralysis is believed by the person affected by it to be no more than a dream. This is the reason why there are many dream recountings which describe the person lying frozen and unable to move. The hallucinatory element to sleep paralysis makes it even more likely that someone will interpret the experience as simply a dream, as one might see completely fanciful objects in a room alongside the normal vision one can see.

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The primary symptom of sleep paralysis is partial or complete skeletal muscle paralysis during the hypnopompic or hypnagogic states. In other words, it is the sense of being aware that one is unable to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up. Sleep paralysis may also be accompanied by hypnagogic hallucinations.[1] These hallucinations can be auditory, tactile, and/or visual. If a polysomnography is taken, at least one of the following will be shown: skeletal muscle tone suppression, REM sleep at sleep onset, or dissociated REM sleep. The sleep paralysis persists anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes [1] before the person is able to either return to REM sleep or to become fully awake.

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Sleep paralysis occurs during REM sleep in order to prevent the body from manifesting the sleeper's dreams. Little is known about the physiology of sleep paralysis. However, some have suggested that it may be linked to post-synaptic inhibition of motor neurons in the pons region of the brain. In particular, low levels of melatonin may stop the depolarization current in the nerves, which prevents the stimulation of the muscles, to prevent the body from enacting the dreamt activity (ie. preventing a sleeper from running when dreaming about running.)

There is also a significant positive correlation between those experiencing this disorder frequently and those suffering from narcolepsy. However, various studies suggest that many or most people will experience sleep paralysis at least once or twice in their lives.

Some report that various factors increase the likelihood of both paralysis and hallucinations. These include:

Sleeping in a supine position (facing upwards)
Irregular sleeping schedules; naps, sleeping in, sleep deprivation
Increased stress
Sudden environmental/lifestyle changes
A lucid dream that immediately precedes the episode. Also conscious induction of sleep paralysis is a common technique to enter a state of lucid dreams.
Artificial sleeping aids or antihistamines

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Hypnagogia (also spelled hypnogogia) are the experiences a person can go through in the hypnagogic (or hypnogogic) state, the period of falling asleep. Hypnopompia are the experiences a person can go through in the hypnopompic state, the period of waking up. The term hypnagogia often encompasses hypnopompia as well. Hypnagogic sensations collectively describe the vivid dream-like auditory, visual, or tactile sensations that can be experienced in a hypnagogic or hypnopompic state. These sensations can be accompanied by sleep paralysis, the sensation that the body is temporarily paralyzed after waking or before falling asleep.

The term hypnagogic is derived from the French word hypnagogique, coined by the 19th century French psychologist Louis Ferdinand Alfred Maury from the Greek words hupnos, meaning sleep, and agogos, meaning leading. Frederic William Henry Myers coined the complementary term hypnopompic, from hupnos and pompe, meaning sending away.

Hypnagogic sensations are vivid dream-like experiences that occur as one is falling asleep or waking up. Accompanying sleep paralysis can cause the sensations to be more frightening. The features of these sensations generally vary by individual, but some are more common to the experience than others:

Most common

Vividness
Fear
Falling sensation

Common

Sensing a "presence" (often malevolent)
Pressure/weight on body (especially the chest).
A sensation of not being able to breathe
Impending sense of doom/death

Fairly common

Auditory sensations (often footsteps or indistinct voices, or pulsing noises). Auditory sensations which are described as noise instead of sensations of legible sounds, are often described to be similar to auditory sensations caused by Nitrous Oxide by persons who have experienced both.
Visual sensations such as lights, people or shadows walking around the room

Less common

Floating sensations (sometimes associated with out-of-body experiences)
Seamless transition into fully immersive lucid dreaming, also associated with out-of-body experiences
Tactile sensations (such as a hand touching or grabbing)

Rare

Vibration
Involuntary movements (sometimes the feeling of sliding off of the bed or even up walls).
The feeling of being pulled in different directions

During the hypnagogic state, an individual may appear to be fully awake, but still has brain waves indicating that the individual is still technically sleeping. Also, the individual may be completely aware of their state, which enables lucid dreamers to enter the dream state consciously directly from the waking state (see wake-initiated lucid dream technique). Many artists, musicians, architects, engineers, and others demanding creativity to be successful have benefited from hypnagogia, where the mind can be free and open to creative and new ideas.

An experience of the hypnagogic state is not an uncommon occurrence with 30 to 40 percent of people experiencing it at least once in their lives.[citation needed] However, it could be a sign of a sleep disorder, such as narcolepsy and insomnia, or associated with temporal lobe epilepsy.

The hypnagogic state can be accompanied by or associated with anomalous phenomena such as alien abduction, extra-sensory perception, telepathy, apparitions, or prophetic or crisis visions. This conduciveness to anomalous phenomena can be correlated with the initial increase of alpha and the later increase of theta brainwaves.

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A night terror, also known as sleep terror or pavor nocturnus, is a parasomnia sleep disorder characterized by extreme terror and a temporary inability to regain full consciousness. The subject wakes abruptly from the fourth stage of sleep, with waking usually accompanied by gasping, moaning, or screaming. It is often impossible to fully awaken the person, and after the episode the subject normally settles back to sleep without waking. A night terror can occasionally be recalled by the subject.

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Night terrors vs. nightmares

Night terrors are distinct from nightmares in several key ways. First, the subject is not fully awake when roused, and even when efforts are made to awaken the sleeper, he/she may continue to experience the night terror for ten to twenty minutes. Unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during the deepest levels of non-REM sleep. Even if awakened, the subject often cannot remember the episode except for a sense of panic, while nightmares usually can be easily recalled. After the night terror is complete, it can often result in a seizure, which is commonly a tonic-clonic type (although the subject may not be epileptic). The subject often has no recall of the dream, nor the fit.

Unlike nightmares, which are frequently a scary event dreamt (e.g. a monster under the bed, falling to one's death, etc.), night terrors are not dreams. Usually there is no situation or event (scary or otherwise) that is dreamt, but rather the emotion of fear itself is felt. Often, this is coupled with tension and apprehension without any distinct sounds or visual imagery, although sometimes a vague object of fear is identified by the sufferer. These emotions without a focusing event or scenario increase emotions in a cumulative effect. The lack of a dream itself leaves those awakened from a night terror in a state of disorientation much more severe than that caused by a normal nightmare. This can include a short period of amnesia during which the subject may be unable to recall his name, location, age, or any other identifying features of himself. This state generally passes after only one or two minutes.

While each night terror is usually different, all episodes of the same person will generally have similar traits. One of the most common qualities of night terrors is a strong sense of danger. For these people there is always a being, tangible or otherwise, who wishes to hurt the sleeping person. Many sufferers of night terrors are reluctant to speak of them because of their violent and often disturbing nature.

In children

Children from age four to six are most prone to night terrors, and they affect about three percent of all youngsters[citation needed] (although people of any age may experience them). Episodes may recur for a couple of weeks then suddenly disappear. Strong evidence has shown that a predisposition to night terrors and other parasomniac disorders can be passed genetically. Though there are a multitude of triggers, emotional stress during the previous day and a high fever are thought to precipitate most episodes. Ensuring that the right amount of sleep is gained is an important factor.

Treating night terror episodes

The consensus for treating night terror episodes is three-pronged: gentleness, disposal of anything nearby that might hurt the subject, and avoiding loud voices or movements that might frighten the subject further. It is also critical to remember that the person experiencing the terror is unaware that they are experiencing one. As a result, they may become even more agitated if told that "it was just a dream," as they are quite convinced that the experience is real. The quickest remedy is simply to calm the person by telling the person that everything is alright and that what they think is happening, is not really happening. Knowing the person's source of "calm" helps immensely. If he/she has a favorite companion dog or cat, telling them that the cat or dog is warm in bed, safe and asleep, and that they need to sleep as well could also be a good trigger. Calm the person and convince them to "go back to sleep" (although they are, in fact, already asleep). In some cases, they may be calmed by the mere presence of familiar person. Night terrors are transitory so medical help is often unnecessary, but options may range from treatment of sleep apnea to prescription of benzodiazepines and psychotherapy. A successfully used method for treating night terrors is to have the sufferer sit down and watch something light-hearted and harmless on television. This helps to distract the sufferer from their perceived experience, and let them regain consciousness. More calming, positive reinforcement can then be administered.

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Op zondag 8 oktober 2006 02:36 schreef milagro het volgende:
1 keer gehad, doodeng, want wist niet wat het was, wilde roepen, maar ook dat lukte niet

en ik zou niet weten wat de reden was toen, het enige wat anders was dan normaal is dat ik heel zwaar getafeld had en spicey en vrijwel direct daarna naar bed gegaan was.

stress mwoah, dan was het wel vaker gebeurd, en moeheid, ik ben chronisch moe dus

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Op zondag 8 oktober 2006 02:43 schreef ScottishAsshole het volgende:
Mag ik even zeggen dat die lap tekst in het Engels niet echt gaat uitnodigen hier even lekker inhoudelijk op in te gaan? Maar goed...

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Ik heb het ook heel vaak. Blijft niet bij verlamming. Levensechte 'dromen' , soms verschrikkelijke pijnen, gevoel hebben te stikken, mensen in je kamer zien, soms het gevoel hebben aangeraakt te worden.

Patroon wat ik heb kunnen ontdekken is dat als ik onregelmatig leef het vaker voorkomt. En ik leef heel onregelmatig.

Ik was er lang heel bang voor, omdat het bijna altijd gepaard gaat met de symptonen die ik hiervoor beschrijf. Nu begrijp ik het meer en blijf ik vrij kalm. Vroeger ging ik enorm vechten en dat kostte altijd heel veel energie.

Vreemde is ook dat als ik eenmaal zo'n verlamming heb gehad 's nachts, dat het blijft terug komen, heel snel achter elkaar, dus elke keer als ik in slaap val. Maar dat inslaap vallen is bijna niet te voorkomen omdat ik me dan zó hondsmoe voel, dat ik de kracht bijna niet heb om uit bed te gaan ofzo. Moet me er echt toe dwingen, of de muziek aan zetten, dan is het voorbij...

Als ik teveel slaap krijg ik het ook geheid, dus als ik uitgeslapen ben maar toch blijf liggen.

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Op zondag 8 oktober 2006 02:45 schreef ScottishAsshole het volgende:

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Ik wed dat je je ogen de hele tijd dicht had. Ik heb ook heel lang gedacht dat ik mijn ogen open had tijdens zo'n verlamming. Dat omdat ik mijn hele kamer zag en alles zo levensecht leek. Maar in feite is dat dus niet zo...
Soms zag ik namelijk ook dat het heel donker werd op mijn kamer terwijl het al licht was.

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Op zondag 8 oktober 2006 02:40 schreef milagro het volgende:

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nou, de ervaring an sich was al hallucinerend genoeg

alleen verlamming, alleen mijn ogen kon ik bewegen, en stem werkte dus ook niet.
ik heb mijn ogen dicht gedaan en paniekerig gewacht tot het over ging na me eerst proberen te realiseren of ik nu wel wakker was of niet

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Op zondag 8 oktober 2006 02:57 schreef ScottishAsshole het volgende:

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Ik weet niet hoe lang je er al last van hebt, maar het heeft mij toch zeker bijna 2 jaar geduurd voordat ik mijn angst onder controle kon houden.

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Op zondag 8 oktober 2006 03:06 schreef ScottishAsshole het volgende:

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En toen je echt wakker was het ook 2.34 uur?

Ik heb namelijk al ontelbare keren dingen gezien die zo levensecht waren! Het wasgoed in de hoek, de tv die aan stond enz. enz.

Je hersens maken zo'n levensecht plaatje aan ! Daarom dacht ik in het begin ook dat mijn ogen open waren tijdens zo'n verlamming.

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Op zondag 8 oktober 2006 03:20 schreef milagro het volgende:

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en ook dan ben je gewoon (half)wakker, althans je geest, alleen je lijf loopt achter.

maar je ogen worden niet gehinderd door slaapverlamming, sommige mensen slapen ook met hun ogen (af en toe) open

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Op zondag 8 oktober 2006 03:22 schreef ScottishAsshole het volgende:
Trouwens dat op je rug slapen als mogelijke oorzaak herken ik ook wel, heb gemerkt dat ik het dan vaker heb, waarom is mij een raadsel echter.