HAVE you ever found yourself in bed desperately trying to move your arms or legs, but your muscles feel paralysed? Sinister shadows looming over in your room as panic fills your chest?
If this scenario seems too familiar, you’ve most likely experienced sleep paralysis. Some people may claim that sleep paralysis is considered dangerous or an abnormal condition linked to health or mental problems.
Does this uncomfortable phenomenon truly pose a threat to your health? Is it true?
Verdict:
FALSE
It is completely a myth. There is no evidence that is found that sleep paralysis has long-term health effects on an individual.
Sleep paralysis can happen to anyone, even regular sleepers and is unusually more regular and widespread than one might think.
Although there are some factors that might lead to sleep paralysis and could result in health problems later on in life, the emotional and psychological impact of sleep paralysis is an additional problem.
Thus, the heightened visions, overwhelming emotions and the sense of losing control of your body may all lead to emotions of stress, anxiety and sadness.
There is, however, no substantial proof tying its occurrence to particular health conditions. The exact explanation on why or how it occurs is unknown. Sleep paralysis, according to researchers, is caused by a disrupted rapid eye movement (REM) cycle, which happens essentially when an individual enters or exits REM sleep.
There are two types of sleep paralysis events that take place when you feel as though you’ve been frozen in place.
Hypnagogic Sleep Paralysis happens when your body chooses to drift to sleep before the consciousness does, and Hypnopompic Sleep Paralysis occurs when the consciousness is awake, but the rest of you remains asleep.
These two specific sleep cycles show us the intricacies of the transitional states between wakefulness and sleep.
Sleep paralysis can be distressing for most people.
Fortunately, we are safe from major health implications and it seldom appears as an acute clinical risk in and of itself.
References:
1. https://ouraring.com/blog/
3. https://www.webmd.com/sleep-
5. https://www.news-medical.net/
6. https://www.calm.com/blog/
