Dr Steve
10-16-2008, 05:26 AM
Hello Dr Steve, Im having some sleep problems. Its seem that i am having Sleep paralysis. Some mornings i wake up and i am paralyzed except for my big toe. It feels as if death has me in his grasps and is trying to take me under. I freak out and try as hard as posible to move. I wiggle my big toe as much as i can then after what seems to be hours i can finally move. Some times it it seems as if i can move my arm very slowly and i try pushing myself out of my bed onto the floor. Trying as hard as i can it feels like i am on the edge and will fall down, at this time i regain movment and i discover that i have only moved about an inch.
This has been happening for about 3 years now. Recently it is getting more intense, also now when i do lose the battle to wake up i am having very lucid dreams/ Hallucinations.
What is the cause for this? Is there any treament for Sleep paralysis?
Thank you for taking time on my question.
What you are experiencing are "hypnopompic episodes", or sleep paralysis episodes. Basically the theory goes like this: when you sleep and dream, the motor part of your brain shuts down. This keeps you from jumping around, acting out your dreams all night. If this system breaks down, two things can happen:
1) you can continue to sleep, but the motor part of the brain switches back on. This is called somnambulism or sleep walking.
2) you can wake up, but the motor part of the brain stays switched off. This is called sleep paralysis.
Now, you'll note...sleepwalkers aren't really totally asleep (if you've ever encountered one, you know what I mean), and likewise sleep paralyzed people aren't really totally awake. The dream center is still functioning, so these people will hear things, see things, and feel things in a "waking dream" state.
There are people out there who have read books and done tons of exercizes just to experience once what you are experiencing all the time. Most of them don't understand how annoying (or even terrifying) it can be.
I believe that the vast majority (if not all) of people who experience "alien abduction" are suffering from hypnopompic episodes. People who have never experienced this cannot fathom how real the hallucinations are. Reading the accounts of alien abductions, very many of them start with "I woke up in my bed, and I couldn't move...", classic for sleep paralysis.
Sleep paralysis tends to occur in younger years, tapering off as you get older. However, when someone actually complains about sleep paralysis because it's happening more and more often, it may be a sign of a deeper sleep disorder.
I would recommend that you see your regular health care provider and have him/her send you to a sleep expert. The most common treatments for recurrent sleep paralysis episodes are some of the newer antidepressants, but I'd want to rule out some other malady by at least doing a sleep study first.
Most doctors have no training in this kind of thing...ask your doctor if he/she is comfortable treating this and if not, refer you to a sleep center.
Hope this helps!
your pal,
Steve
PS: we talked about this at length during the second "Weird Medicine" live show which can be heard at http://www.atomsmotion.com/weirdmedicine.htm . It's about half-way through, during the Earl Douglas segment.
This has been happening for about 3 years now. Recently it is getting more intense, also now when i do lose the battle to wake up i am having very lucid dreams/ Hallucinations.
What is the cause for this? Is there any treament for Sleep paralysis?
Thank you for taking time on my question.
What you are experiencing are "hypnopompic episodes", or sleep paralysis episodes. Basically the theory goes like this: when you sleep and dream, the motor part of your brain shuts down. This keeps you from jumping around, acting out your dreams all night. If this system breaks down, two things can happen:
1) you can continue to sleep, but the motor part of the brain switches back on. This is called somnambulism or sleep walking.
2) you can wake up, but the motor part of the brain stays switched off. This is called sleep paralysis.
Now, you'll note...sleepwalkers aren't really totally asleep (if you've ever encountered one, you know what I mean), and likewise sleep paralyzed people aren't really totally awake. The dream center is still functioning, so these people will hear things, see things, and feel things in a "waking dream" state.
There are people out there who have read books and done tons of exercizes just to experience once what you are experiencing all the time. Most of them don't understand how annoying (or even terrifying) it can be.
I believe that the vast majority (if not all) of people who experience "alien abduction" are suffering from hypnopompic episodes. People who have never experienced this cannot fathom how real the hallucinations are. Reading the accounts of alien abductions, very many of them start with "I woke up in my bed, and I couldn't move...", classic for sleep paralysis.
Sleep paralysis tends to occur in younger years, tapering off as you get older. However, when someone actually complains about sleep paralysis because it's happening more and more often, it may be a sign of a deeper sleep disorder.
I would recommend that you see your regular health care provider and have him/her send you to a sleep expert. The most common treatments for recurrent sleep paralysis episodes are some of the newer antidepressants, but I'd want to rule out some other malady by at least doing a sleep study first.
Most doctors have no training in this kind of thing...ask your doctor if he/she is comfortable treating this and if not, refer you to a sleep center.
Hope this helps!
your pal,
Steve
PS: we talked about this at length during the second "Weird Medicine" live show which can be heard at http://www.atomsmotion.com/weirdmedicine.htm . It's about half-way through, during the Earl Douglas segment.