Well recently we ran across a number of people
that seem to be describing an episode sleep paralysis. Now
never having experienced this first hand I can't speak of the exact
feelings and fears that are associated with such an episode.
The interesting thing I find is that apparent episodes of sleep
paralysis are often associated with some of our worst fears : a
haunting (possibly demonic) and alien abduction.
Sleep paralysis occurs during REM sleep preventing our bodies from
acting out the movements in our dreams so we can't hurt ourselves or
others. REM sleep is described or theorized as when the electrical
brain activity is similar in ways to a wake state where blood flow
through the brain increases, tension in muscles change and Rapid Eye
Movement (REM) can be observed. The adult human body is said to go
through 90 minute cycles of Non-REM and REM sleep. Deprivation of
REM sleep one night is thought to lead to increases in total REM the
following night. Being deprived of REM sleep over a long period of
time is thought to be linked with hallucination and psychotic
disorders.
The circumstances most often described by people that experience
sleep paralysis seem to be they awaken from a sound sleep only to
find themselves unable to move, paralyzed and sometimes feeling as
if a heavy weight is on their chest making it difficult to breathe.
Another common element seems to be very vivid detailed
hallucinations. Either someone or something physically holding them
down. Often people can describe either a haunting demonic type of
episode or an alien abduction scenario in vivid detail.
We need to be careful how we handle these situations because they
can be complex. People who experience sleep paralysis often believe
what they are describing really happened to them and you can't
convince them otherwise. We owe people who suffer through these
episodes of sleep paralysis understanding because such events can
truly be terrifying. The other possibility is even more terrifying,
that in some cases the experiences may actually be real.
By
Steve Sarachman
© 2006
All
Rights Reserved. Philadelphia
Area Paranormal Society™
