Sleep paralysis or old hag syndrome is a phenomenon that occurs in 7.6% of the population. For many, this experience is quite unpleasant and scary.
What's the worst thing that happens with sleep paralysis, and what's a person who can't get rid of it to do? Let's see.
You can't move
As the name suggests, sleep paralysis paralyzes you.
No matter how desperately you try to move your limbs or sit up in bed to stop this horrible condition, you can't. This happens during the BDG phase - rapid eye movements.
This is the stage of light sleep and it is in this stage that you can have dreams. Here's what scientists from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine at the University of Southern California report: Your mind is active and your body can't communicate with it, it's paralyzed. It can be really scary. The good news is that this state does not last long - a few seconds or minutes. So you just have to wait: soon you will be able to move again.
You feel short of breath
A frequent companion of sleep paralysis is a feeling of terror and panic, complementing the inability to move. Therefore, many people feel that they cannot breathe, as if something is suffocating them. According to the experts, in your mind, you are still in the BDG stage where the breathing is very shallow. At the same time, you are already awake and want to breathe deeply - and you can't.
Patients often describe it this way: it seems that someone invisible is sitting on your chest and squeezing the free airflow. If this happens to you, the most important thing is to stay calm. Remember that no matter how terrible you feel, it will soon be over.
You may be hallucinating
As if temporary complete paralysis and suffocation weren't enough, you can also experience hallucinations. These could be snakes or giant insects crawling into your bed while you are motionless and helpless.
Another companion is sleepiness - the feeling that someone has entered the room through a door or window. Your mind has awakened and is in an extremely anxious state. This leads to the appearance of hallucinations and the feeling of an external presence. The advice, in this case, is the same as before - not to give in to fear and calmly wait.
Paralysis can be caused by overload or stress
The most common cause of sleep paralysis is the disruption of biorhythms, for example, during flights over several time zones. When you finally fall asleep, your body jumps into that phase of sleep that the body needs the most - this is BDG.
The more time you spend in it, the more likely you are to have this unpleasant experience. Stress and anxiety disorders also increase the chances of sleepiness, as does taking certain medications, such as antidepressants.
This can happen when falling asleep
Most people think that sleep paralysis only happens when you wake up in the middle of the night. But many, especially those who suffer from narcolepsy, can experience this sensation when they fall asleep. They fall almost immediately into the BDG stage, which is why paralysis can occur almost instantly. In healthy people, the first stage of BDG usually occurs after half to two hours of sleep.
Good advice
Some people report that focusing on their thumbs or trying to scream helps them overcome their paralysis. You can try. But if this does not help, then the most important thing is to calmly wait for the paralysis to subside and not to panic.
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