Sleep paralysis: what is it and the causes, symptoms, what to do

Panic - one of the strongest and most vivid feelings that a person can experience in his life. Negative emotions such as fear, horror, rage break out and take possession of him, he stops thinking soberly and tries to perform inconsistent actions. All this accompanies sleep paralysis, having experienced which at least once in a lifetime, no one wants to repeat. What it is and how to behave with it, we will figure it out below.

Facts and definition

Sleep paralysis (old witch syndrome) Is a syndrome that occurs due to the stressful state of the body during sleep. It is of two types:

1. Hypnagogic - manifests itself during falling asleep. Its scheme is simple: the part of the brain responsible for the movement of muscles turns off, and consciousness does not have time. At this moment, a person experiences the same thing as with ordinary paralysis - he cannot move a single part of the body, but he understands everything.
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2. Hypnopompic - manifests itself when a person wakes up. The essence of the process is the same, however, the opposite happens - consciousness wakes up, and the muscles do not have time.

Patients describe the condition at this time as follows: there is no way to move any part of the body, a strong fear appears, often even horror, it does not come out either to scream or call for help. This can last from a few seconds to two minutes, but subjectively, it may seem to a person that sleep paralysis was much longer.

In addition to real sensations, this state is accompanied by fictional reactions, hallucinations. In general, here is a complete list of symptoms that may or may not appear in each case:

• The senses are sharpened. A person sees, hears and feels everything around him much brighter, even invented things seem more real;
• The body seems to vibrate or tremble uncontrollably;
• Feeling both awakening and asleep at the same time. Man is, as it were, in an intermediate state, when the world around him is not yet completely real, but not fictional either;
• Vivid nightmares, monsters and monsters, a changing environment and other signs of sleep;
• Realistic sound hallucinations. It can be laughter, shouting, roar - nothing too complicated, not meaningful speech;
• The feeling of someone's unwanted, frightening presence, for example, may seem like a thief or rapist is hiding behind a curtain;
• The pulse and heart rate increase, the body is in a state of stress, a decent amount of adrenaline is released into the blood;
• Difficulty breathing, it seems that someone sat on top and blocks access to oxygen, strangles.

For all the horror and panic that a person experiences when sleep paralysis or syndrome occurs the old witch (popular name) this state itself is harmless enough and does not pose a danger health. It is akin to a very realistic dream that a person will soon be able to take under control, and the less scared he is, the faster it will happen.

A little about myths

The rich human imagination and the ability to think creatively gave rise to many beautiful and terrible myths. The state of consciousness on the border of sleep and reality is an excellent reason for an overworked brain to materialize all fears into something more real than just images in the head. This is where visions and horrors appear during sleep paralysis.

At the same time, sleep paralysis or old witch syndrome means little more than just a sleep disorder. Occult figures believe that at this moment a person is able to leave the body and feel his immaterial essence, religious fanatics in this embody heavenly punishment and everything in the same spirit.

Each person can relate to this syndrome as he pleases - it is a matter of faith. The causes of such paralysis are more or less studied by science, but the condition itself does not even belong to diseases. For the most part, this is a consequence of nervous tension and irregular sleep. It is unscientific to discuss the divine intent or the occult side of this phenomenon.

It is worth noting that logically thinking people who deny the mystical side of this state endure it much easier and later, it does not stay with them for a long time - it is erased from memory after following the recommendations doctor.

Why does this paralysis appear?

Sleep paralysis can occur for many reasons, more precisely, they increase the risk of such a condition:

1. If the mode of night sleep has been drastically changed, and the person himself either cannot get enough sleep at all, or does it at a completely unusual time for himself;
2. Work and other loads greatly exceed the energy consumption of restorative sleep;
3. Psychiatric pathologies;
4. The constant finding of the body and psyche in a stressful state;
5. If the position in which the person sleeps is very uncomfortable or unnatural for our species;
6. Restless legs syndrome - uncontrolled movement of the legs before bed;
7. Narcolepsy - an irresistible desire to fall asleep at the wrong time of the day, outside of the schedule;
8. May happen as a side effect when taking sleep-walking medication;
9. Various addictions, ranging from drug addiction and ending with smoking tobacco products.

It should be noted that most often this condition manifests itself in mentally ill people. Their body is almost constantly in a state of stress, especially for patients with manic-depressive syndrome. In general, about 30 percent of all "inhabitants" of psychiatric hospitals are subject to varying numbers of attacks of sleep paralysis.

On the other hand, ordinary men, women, children can also be affected by this condition. Of the mentally healthy people, adolescents and students are at greatest risk. They do not get enough sleep and get tired much more often, their schedule is not normalized and often fluctuates, sharp and significant stresses constantly occur.

How is it diagnosed?

In order to determine this disease, the doctor must carefully listen to the story of the patient himself. Usually, the diagnosis becomes clear already at this stage. It is necessary to tell the doctor in detail what exactly happened, and how the patient felt during the attack. In the case of a single manifestation, the doctor will simply recommend some actions that will get rid of a problem such as sleep paralysis or old witch syndrome.

If the problem manifests itself quite often and begins to bother you seriously, the doctor will recommend keeping a diary in which you will need to record in detail everything that happens before and during the attacks. On the basis of this information, the specialist must understand the cause of the phenomenon, and subsequently help to resolve them. Other mental conditions such as bipolar disorder can be detected this way.

Doctor's recommendations

After sleep paralysis or old witch syndrome is discovered, the doctor will recommend the following actions to get rid of this condition:

• Create an acceptable and consistent schedule. Get up on time in the morning, go to bed in the evening. It is important that it is about the same time every day, including weekends and holidays.
• It is important to set an alarm. Sleep paralysis occurs only if a person wakes up by himself. If it is a harsh sound, the patient will simply wake up, without unnecessary "effects".
• We need active physical labor in the fresh air. Pulling grass in the country, football, tennis, jogging in the park and everything in the same spirit will do. This makes the nervous system stronger and prevents any sleep problems at all.
• It will be good to avoid stress, and if this is not possible, then simply react to them calmly, detachedly, as to something inevitable and distant;
• Baths with lavender oil before bed will be the key to a great, sound sleep.
• Airing the room before going to bed, reducing the temperature in it to 18-20 degrees will also be an effective method for healthy sleep.

If this does not help, but the problem remains or intensifies, this indicates more serious mental abnormalities, and therefore requires a medication solution. Antidepressants are commonly used to treat this syndrome.

What to do to alleviate the condition?

Thinking in real life about what sleep paralysis is and how easy it is to survive it, many people do not quite understand the state of horror that patients experience. He is on the subconscious, more easily expressed at the animal level, and is completely irrational. In order to alleviate these emotions, it is worth following the following rules:

• In general, you need to think about your condition, ask the question: what is it, what is happening to me? If you get together and answer it simply and clearly - everything just seems to me, this is a game of the sleepy brain and soon it will pass, the fear will recede.
• There is no need to resist and overcome the muteness of the muscles. For some reason, the brain begins to resist this and increases the realism of the phenomena. The person begins to experience even greater horror and so on in a circle.
• You need to breathe as deeply as possible, making decent pauses between rhythmic exhalations.
• It is worth trying to move at least some muscles, for example, tongue or eyes. This helps in many ways to dispel feelings of helplessness.
• If this happens regularly, it is worth asking your spouse to help and wake up, reassure the patient during an attack. It can be noticed by an unnatural, twisted posture, a grimace of horror on his face, invisible but palpable twitching.
• In order to avoid a recurrence of the attack in the future after waking up in the middle of the night, you should get up, wash your face with cool water and calm down well.

Sleep paralysis or old witch syndrome – just one of the "system errors" of our brain when it is overloaded.

It is worth taking this calmly and be sure to consult a doctor to be sure that this phenomenon is not a symptom of a more serious deviation.