MEDCHROME:MEDICAL AND HEALTH ARTICLES
Home » Sleep problems, Supernatural

Sleep Paralysis: Medical Explanation


“I couldn’t move and I could continuously hear a disorienting buzzing sound in the room but I could not turn to look at it because I couldn’t move, I struggled, I couldn’t cry for help and I could sense a weight on my chest like someone was sitting on it. It was like being awake in a nightmare and I told no one because I thought that there was some kind of demon that came to menace me but people wouldn’t believe me.”

khyaak Sleep Paralysis: Medical Explanation

Khyaak - The Demon Of The Dark

One of the commonest experiences of sleep paralysis (once called Old Hag Syndrome) has been quoted above. In its simplest form, sleep paralysis is a condition in which people wake from sleep to find that they are unable to move. In Nepal, experiences similar to that of sleep paralysis are often reported and ascribed to covering of the body by Ghost of the dark “Khyaak” during sleep. Constantly reported about for thousands of years, different cultures at different parts of the world have different figures associated with such kind of experiences. What makes “sleep paralysis” interesting is the fact that it has been associated several uncanny phenomenon like alien abduction, angelic or demonic visitations. Now let us look at it from the perspective of Medical science to make it more interesting. I will not make in truth claims here and leave it for you, dear readers to decide if the explanation makes sense.

MEDICAL CONCEPT

Medically, sleep paralysis is a common condition characterized by the inability to perform voluntary muscle movements occuring either during sleep onset (hypnagogic form) or upon awakening (hypnopompic form) and can often be accompanied by hallucinatory experiences. An attack of sleep paralysis is usually harmless and self-limited. It tends to be over in a minute or two as soon as the brain and body re-establish connections and the person is able to move again. It is most commonly associated with nacrolepsy, a neurological condition causing excessive uncontrollable sleepiness and sleep episodes occuring at anytime of the day. In the absence of nacrolepsy, sleep paralysis is termed as Isolated Sleep Paralysis (ISP) which occurs in otherwise healthy individuals and in some cases can be familial as well.

Classical symptom tetrad of Nacrolepsy:

  1. Excessive day time sleepiness
  2. Cataplectic attacks (sudden loss of muscle tone triggered by emotional stimuli like anger, fear, etc.)
  3. Sleep paralysis
  4. Hypnagogic and Hypnopompic hallucinations
sleep cycle Sleep Paralysis: Medical Explanation

Understanding normal sleep pattern:

The depth of sleep changes periodically. During sleep, your body alernates between orthodox or NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) sleep and paradox or REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep and the depth of sleep gradually increases with the beginning of NREM sleep. One cycle of NREM and REM sleep constitutes a sleep rhythm is repeated every 90 to 120 minutes and approximately 5 to 6 times within one night. NREM sleep occurs first and takes upto 75% of your overall sleep time. REM sleep is referred as paradoxical sleep because while the brain and other body systems becomes active (eye movement, accelerated respiratory and heart rate, rise in blood pressure, etc.), muscles become more relaxed. Dreaming usually occurs during each REM phase of sleep due to increased brain activity but only the last dream that took place before spontaneous awakening is remembered. Muslce atonia during dreaming state prevents our body from acting out your dreams.

Relation of REM Sleep with Sleep paralysis:

In a book “Speaking of Sleeping Problems” by Dietrich Langen, he explains about hypnagogic hallucinations:

Sensations occuring during sleep onset consist of optical or acoustic sensory experiences that are not the result of any external stimulus. They include flashes of light, colored rings, waves and other geometric figures, partly disfigured or fragmentary. Whole scenses with action sequences similar to visions also occur. Acoustic phenomenon include the perception of voices, hearing one’s name called or hearing entire fragments of conversation or music.

Sleep paralysis occurs in transition between wakefulness and sleep or vice-versa . The difference from normal REM sleep is that the REM atonia persists but waking consciousness is largely retained in sleep paralysis i.e. your brain is partially conscious and partially in dreamy state and often external environmental stimuli can be remembered. It may be either, a rational mind trying to make sense of dream sensations or a dreamy mind trying to percieve environmental stimuli but the hallucinations often turn horrific due to the fear that sets in due to paralysis.

Here is an Interview with Dr. Irshaad Ebrahim from London Sleep Center to asnwer your sleep paralysis related questions:

  1. What is sleep paralysis?
  2. Can sleep paralysis have long-term effects?
  3. Does sleep paralysis affect many people?
  4. At what stage of sleep does sleep paralysis occur?
  5. How can you treat sleep paralysis?
  6. What is happening to the brain during sleep paralysis?

A LOOK AT OTHER CONCEPTS

  1. Demon like Khyaak, Succubus or Incubus sitting on a chest
  2. Out of Body Experience (OBE) expained by Astral projection or travelling (separation of soul from the body during sleep)
  3. Alien abduction
sleep paralysis Sleep Paralysis: Medical Explanation

And in the end, few tips regarding prevention and treatment of sleep paralysis:

  1. Improve sleeping habits as it is frequently associated with chronic sleep deprivation, sleep disruptions and irregular sleeping schedule.
  2. Avoid stress and alcohol as they can lead to irregular sleep schedule and sleep disruptions.
  3. Sleeping by lying on sides as sleep paralysis is mostly experienced in supine position (lying on back).
  4. Medications for treatment of depression may be needed.
  5. Evaluation and treatment of nacrolepsy may be needed.

Popularity: 22%

Tags: alien abduction, khyaak, narcolepsy, REM sleep, sleep paralysis

Last updated: May 9, 2012



Share/Bookmark this!

11 Comments

  • S K S says:

    Both concepts explained, Great article.

  • Ryan says:

    An excellent review that respects both the medical model and the cultural diversity of the phenomenon! thanks. As a sleep paralysis educator, I help people who have isolated SP (no narcolepsy or other sleep disorders), specifically by working with their fear. When SP/HH is encountered with an open heart and curious mind, negative apparitions can transform into helpful “entities” including angel visitations, ancestral encounters, and even sexual experiences.

    I had never heard of the Nepalese tradition before — is there any reading material about this (in English)?

  • [...] Medically, sleep paralysis is a neurology flaccid paralysis at sleep onset or on waking and in otherwise healthy person characterized by an inability to ‘kickstart’ the voluntary muscles, resulting in a transient ‘locked-in’ syndrome. It is associated with narcolepsy, Pickwick syndrome, sleep apnea, cataplexia and hypnagogic hallucinations. There is a high prevalence of sleep paralysis of about 40%. To learn about how sleep paralysis leads to ghostly hallucinations : http://medchrome.com/patient/sleep-problems/sleep-paralysis-alien-abduction-demon-or-physiological/ [...]

  • [...] actually being visited regularly the world would know. Alien abductions are also misinterpreted as sleep paralysis where “demons” of the night haunt our minds. It has happened to me once, where I woke [...]

  • i can’t wait for taylor lautner’s new movie abduction to come out…he’s so awesome!

  • Sarah king says:

    Hi
    I’m new to this and have just started doing some reserch into sp.I had another episode last nite,it felt as tho the air became thick and I couldn’t move or cry out.I heard a voice say to me if you open your eyes you will see me.but I didn’t as I was afraid of what I may see.I felt a presence in the room and as soon as it went I could move again.any feed back would be gratefully recieved.
    Many thanks.

  • marie says:

    i am so happy to find this site..I have suffered with this paralysis as I fall asleep for months…last night it came over and over again, every time I started to doze off…the terrorizing paralysis and attacks…the screaming in my ears, the pushing on my chest, my head, my face…the evil I feel…it’s horrible. And worse,, i am aware and completly unable to move a single muscle, not an eyelash. My dog lays next to me sleeping, unaware of the horrific attack that is taking place to his master..I change postion,change to another room, another bed, no help..once I have an attack …more will follow …all night they torment me, just at the moment of falling…

  • sarah says:

    I have had this happen to me often especially since I’m pregnant I’ve heard many things like my fiance is mexican and his family tells me theirs a demon trying to take a pure soul or something like that. But I don’t think that I think its a succubus because I get turned on when it happens to me. How I describe it is I feel like theirs something or someone in the room and then all off a sudden I can’t move but I can control my breathing it feels evil but like.. I’m not sure how to explain it like a sex evil its really strange

  • Madhumanti says:

    I hv also experienced similar events,an evil stood by my bed every night,grabbed me,pulled my legs and i could not move or breath,i tried to call my room mate sleeping in d same room but no voice..it happend continuously for 2 weeks..i became severely ill out of fear,lack of sleep..at last my fiancé consulted a psychiatrist,i was given clonazepam and escitalopram and had a few counsellings done…i am completely alright now.it was all out of excessive stress.

Leave a reply

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS.

Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

You can use these tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

 

Who wrote this article?

This entry was posted by on June 23, 2010 at 8:08 pm and filed under Sleep problems, Supernatural category.

Get Updates

Subscribe Via Email

Enter Your Email To Subscribe

Top Contributors

Sulav Shrestha
Administrator
Jemesh Singh Maharjan
Dr. Sujit
Dr. Mandeep Kunwar
Dr. Binit Vaidya

Log In

BMI Calculator



Calculate calories burnt »

Recent Comments

Relevant links

Proudly Hosted in Nepallink

Medchrome Info

"A physician who is a lover of wisdom is the equal to a god." - Hippocrates

Medchrome offers medical students, physicians and other health professionals an easy access to medical information and education materials. It also includes simplified health articles for readers interested in health and well being.

Some of the key features of Medchrome:
Medical cases, Picture galleries, Presentations, Health and Medical Videos, Mnemonics, Medical Student life and Ebooks.

online medical magazine, usmle, mbbs, nepalBloggers - Meet Millions of Bloggers Submit my blog General-Health Visit blogadda.com to discover Indian blogs