Sleep Paralysis: A Waking Nightmare Lexi Tucker
1 Imagine waking up but being unable to move—and seeing something terrifying at the foot of your bed. This is what happens during sleep paralysis, a condition that affects roughly 1 in 20 people at some point in their lives. It’s believed to be an unintended side effect of dreaming; when you dream, your brain sends a signal to your muscles to go limp so you don’t act out the dream. This signal is supposed to stop when you wake up, or when the dream ends. But people who suffer from sleep paralysis find themselves paralyzed and fully aware of their predicament. What’s worse, the sleeper often experiences a frightening series of additional symptoms: difficulty breathing due to a perceived pressure on the chest (as if someone or something were sitting on the dreamer’s chest); hallucinations (often seeing or hearing an intruder in the room); and powerful fear.
2 Taken together, the symptoms of sleep paralysis may explain stories of “alien abduction” in recent years, or being harassed by demons in ages past. (The hallucination1 of an intruder would account for the presence of an “alien” or “demon.”) Sleep paralysis is also sometimes called “Old Hag syndrome,” for an evil creature thought to suffocate people in their sleep by sitting on their chests. Cultures around the world have different words for these terrifying nocturnal experiences—the Japanese call it kanashibari, which means “bound up with metal.” 1 hallucination (huh loo suh NAY shuhn) n. something that seems to exist in reality, but only exists in the mind.
3 In a 2009 article for the Guardian, psychologist Chris French told the story of Lori Ball, a woman in her mid-50s from Ohio. She was aware of her condition, which made it all the more terrifying. Ball said, “I try to scream (though I have great difficulty making any sound), attempt to flail around, anything, to get the attention of my husband. It is a feeling of panic, entrapment,2 and desperation so horrifying that I have difficulty describing its magnitude. 2 entrapment n. state of being trapped.
4 “If my spouse notices my discomfort and responds, in my mind it’s never soon enough. One cannot simply tell me to ‘wake up’ and tap me on the arm. Often I need to be shaken somewhat to be fully present. At that point I wouldn’t care if he slapped me hard as the terror of being in that paralyzed state, totally helpless, is overwhelming. Knowing that it will end eventually is of no comfort. Every second is hell.”
5 Because sleep paralysis affects about 5 percent of the population, it could happen to you someday. If it does, it may be scary while it happens, but know that it’s not particularly uncommon—and the good news is, most people who suffer one episode of sleep paralysis do not have a chronic3 condition like Lori Ball. 3 chronicadj. continuous or repeated.