Thursday, September 10, 2009

Sleep apnea and sleep paralysis

Did you ever wake up and couldn’t move? Unfortunately this type of temporary paralysis does occur. Even though it only lasts for a short it can be very frightening. This type of condition is called sleep paralysis.

While in the REM stage of sleep the body is naturally paralyzed so no injury occurs. This is a concern because during the REM stage the brain is very active and without the paralysis the sleeper may try to “act” out their dreams which may include hitting, kicking or jumping out of bed. With sleep paralysis the sleeper wakes before the REM stage is over but the paralysis isn’t.

Why this occurs is generally unknown but there is some suggestion that sleep apnea may have a connection with parasomnia conditions which is what sleep paralysis is.

This condition is also referred to as “Hag phenomena” because at one time sleep paralysis was considered to the work of the supernatural. You couldn’t move because a witch was riding on your chest.

I haven’t ever had this condition but I have heard of people who have and it can be very frightening. Sleep paralysis isn’t harmful other than scaring you to death but you should check it out with a doctor in case it is related to another health or sleep disorder.

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12 comments:

  1. I have had sleep paralysis a lot of times. I had not had it for a long time until yesterday which was a completely different experience than the previous ones. I felt like the nerves in my brain are going to explode and I am going to die.

    When I used to have sleep paralysis a year ago, I would just have visual hallucinations and moderate breathelessness due to a feeling that some dark figure is sitting on my chest. But this time, it was scary because I had a feeling that my head would explode because of the pressure in my nerves.

    For now, I am guessing it might be becasue of my high sodium diet. But I would like to hear from people who have had similar encounters like I did yesterday.

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  2. That is interesting about the hallucinations and the breathlessness. I know that must be frightening!
    I am curious about the connection between the sodium diet and sleep paralysis. I didn't know that sodium played a part in it.
    Thanks for comment
    and stay in touch
    David

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  3. I was officially diagnosed with sleep apnea 3 years ago during my freshman year of college, but I've been experiencing sleep paralysis since I was 12/13 years of age. Generally with each episode I feel a deep sense of paranoia that someone/something else is in the room with me. Often times, I see what appear to be demonic figures. The experience is always very frightening. I am completely unable to move and talk. Sometimes the figures have audible voices. The episodes occur only at night if I am alone in a room. It does not matter if other people are in the house, as long as they are not in the room. The episodes worsen if I am more tired and stressed, but can still occur if this is not the case. 7-8 years later I still experience these episodes. I have done a lot of research and it seems this condition is more common amongst patients with other sleep disorders. Unfortunately, CPAP does not seem to work for me, and with the lack of sufficient healthcare and a college students budget I am really at a loss. Any advice would help greatly appreciated.

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  4. Hi Don,
    Seek medical help as soon as you can
    good luck
    David

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  5. Have any of you with Apnea tried the dental device that sets the jaw slightly forward (which widens the space for air in the throat) It does help if you can tolerate it. My, not so great, insurance paid for half of it--but had to take Ambien because it kept me awake most of the night if I didn't.

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  6. hi,
    thanks for commenting on the surgery that moves the jaw forward, at one time I considered having it. I'm glad I didn't
    thanks again
    David

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  7. This is a terrifying condition truly. I've experienced audible hallucinations during paralysis which include someone scratching on the wall or door and a voice threatening me from my phone on my night stand (as if it were on the other line). Has anyone experienced a combination of sleep paralysis and choking from apnea (not necessarily simultaneously). I awoke last night from a particularly troubling inability to breathe in. I could breath out but not in. This has happened to me before but it lasted for much longer than usual this time around. Sleeping is now a horrifying experience for me. It's awful.

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  8. I have had the experience about three or four times. I consider myself to have quite a strong resolve but to wake up unable to move or breathe is horrendous. I focus so hard on trying to move and snap myself out of it but it is almost impossible - I have been researching online and most conclusions are that the body will eventually kick in and it is just connected with REM. Everyone's experiences help so please post any you have.

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  9. Thanks Reesy, I will definitely look for more information on this strange phenomenon.
    David

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  10. Hi. I've had sleep paralysis now for years, probably starting in my early teens. Mine seem to be exactly as described by Reesy. The only thing that seems to works is focusing all of my energy into my body, to make it move and snap out of it. One technique that has really helped me a lot is to focus on opening my eyes, rather than moving my arms/legs to snap out of it. I'll do everything I can to open my eyes, and it usually results in me only being able to squint them slightly, but it's usually enough to get me to snap out of it. It's definitely easier than trying to move my arms, which are almost always completely paralyzed at that point.
    Over time, I've learned various "tricks" like this to help wake up, and I think others will get a sense of what works for them as well. Also, I've never had sleep paralysis when I wasn't sleeping on my back, so maybe that might help.

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  11. Thanks for the advice and the comment
    David

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  12. Ok this is going to scare everyone a bit lol. Well I am 30 years old and I have been suffering from sleep paralysis for many years since I was 12 and I have experienced everything that you could possible experience with this disorder or whatever you want to call it, from breathless, choking, hallucinations, out of body, lucid dreaming, waking up eyes opening but cant move, times of horror and times where I have had it calm and collected basically every persons experience that I have read I had been through. Now here is the scary part my hallucinations which according to science or medical fact I have read, that is basically all they are just hallucinations of demons or spirits etc are not real just hallucinations. Just one of my experiences to mention is seeing three female spirits one on my chest suffocating me and hearing her speak to me and two of her friends playing around the room, I'm in horror when this happens and I can clearly see how they look like. Now if they are hallucinations why did I meet a stranger at a cafe I was having coffee at turned around and said to me I had three girls next to me one by my side and the other two playing a few metres away. I was shocked and asked the man please describe what these girls looked like and he described them to the exact detail, mind you I couldn't see them but he could. Now can someone explain that. Personally from that experience it has lead me to believe this has to be linked to some psychic ability or a link to a different frequency to see the other side.

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