Sleep Paralysis

What is sleep paralysis?

Sleep paralysis is a normal part of the sleep process, and medically known as muscle atonia.

When you go to sleep your body is placed into a state of paralysis, which is thought to happen to stop you from playing out your dreams in REM sleep. Such as flailing your arms and legs about when dreaming you are running.

Waking up during sleep paralysis

Usually your mind and body wake up at the same time, but rarely your mind can wake up before the body, and you will only be able to move your eyes and have slight control of your breathing

Your body cannot move, but your eyes are open, and what you are seeing is the real room in front of you, but you may also be experiencing hallucincations known as hypnogogic imagery, which paniced this can make the hpnogogic image take on a nightmarish feel, often feeling a prescence next to the bed.

Sleep paralysis can be scary because you cannot move and panic can set in, you may try calling out - but cannot

Sleep Paralysis is thought to explain peoples accounts and claims of alien abductions and seeing bright lights

For a small period after sleep paralysis, you may also experience panic effects.

Inducing sleep paralysis

The first stage of a lucid dream technique called WILD is to induce sleep paralysis.

Reduce the chance of Sleep Paralysis

There are certain things you can do to remove the chance of sleep paralysis

Dont sleep on your back
Keep Stress Levels Down
Try to get a regular sleep pattern