Sleep paralysis is more often than not, a terrifying phenomenon wherein people wake up in the middle of the night and find themselves unable to move. They are, of course, conscious and aware. It has led many to believe that the worst is actually happening. People who experience sleep paralysis feel like they’re tied up, or have an intruder laying on top of them. Many, unsurprisingly, fall into panic and imagine the unimaginable, including the supernatural. The science behind it though debunks all theories of ghosts, spirits, and things that go bump in the night.
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| Image source: learning-mind.com |
This phenomenon can be understood more when people look at REM atonia, which is a paralysis that happens when people reach the part of sleep called REM or rapid eye movement. Sleep paralysis occurs as one falls asleep or as one awakens.
Sleep paralysis that happens when falling asleep causes the person to be aware of the body shutting down and preparing itself for REM. This is what researchers refer to as hypnagogic or predormital sleep paralysis. But when the person wakes up in the middle of REM, it’s called hypnopompic or postdormital.
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| Image source: collective-evolution.com |
Sleep paralysis usually lasts a minute or two, although (and naturally) to some people it may seem much longer.
Dr. Curtis Cripe is a neuroengineer with a background in several disciplines. Dr. Cripe currently leads the research and development department of NTL Group. Learn more about Dr. Cripe and the work that he does by subscribing to this Twitter account.
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