Sleeping is necessary for the body and mind to rest and relax from everyday stress and worries that happen while we are awake. Unfortunately a lot of people face problems during sleeping such as the phenomenon called sleep paralysis.
During sleep paralysis a person wakes up unable to move (paralyzed) for a few minutes. These few minutes might seem to last forever. During this time a person could be having trouble breathing or even see a shadow in the periphery of their vision, and some people feel like there is someone sitting on their chest.
The earliest recorded attack of this kind dates back to 2400 BC when it was said that Gilgamesh’s father has returned as a night demon in both art and sculpture. Women also claimed they were seduced by a sex demon who sat on their chest. People often thought that an exorcism is needed in order to get rid of these demons.
Overall, sleep paralysis is not dangerous. It is very closely associated with narcolepsy which is a disorder that leads to sleepiness during waking hours i.e. people suffering from it fall asleep suddenly, anytime and anywhere. Usually people who suffer from depression, anxiety or people who have had some sort of a traumatic experience are more likely to experience sleep paralysis.
Another contributing factor for the development of this condition is genetic predisposition. This means that if one of your parents suffers from it, your chances of experiencing sleep paralysis are much higher.
What causes sleep paralysis and how does it happen?
Even though there are some known factors that contribute to the development of this condition, there is not a definite reason why it happens. While you sleep, your mind and body go through cycles of sleeping, one of which is called REM phase. This phase is where active dreaming happens.
During REM phase the muscles in your body are paralyzed which is a natural mechanism that protects the body from injury. When sleep paralysis happens during this phase, your brain is much more aware of the surroundings and might experience usual sights and sounds as threats. Scientists who study this phenomenon believe the hallucinations are a consequence of the brains’ interpretation of the signals it receives. This means that every person has different hallucinations including devils, burglars or even aliens.