Paranormal or Perfectly Normal? // #1: Sleep Paralysis
For Mind Sage’s first post, it seemed fitting to discuss something that four out of every ten people will experience at least once in their lifetime – sleep paralysis. If you don’t know what sleep paralysis is, consider yourself very lucky. Paralysis in itself is a terrifying thing to experience, but some people have also reported experiencing something more sinister during the phenomena.
When we sleep, various neurotransmitters in the brain work together to paralyse the body so we don’t act out on our dreams during the REM cycle. We are unable to move or speak during this time. Unfortunately, sometimes our brains essentially awaken before our body does in the sense that we are able to perceive things that are happening around us, but we aren’t able to move or call out. This can occur either as we’re falling asleep (known as hypnagogic) or when we’re waking up (hypnopompic). What makes this experience appear straight out of a nightmare is that people often experience a feeling of choking or floating, pressure on their chest, sensing a presence in the room or hearing noises.
Stories of sleep paralysis have been circulating through cultures for centuries and has actually inspired many stories that are still told today. These stories stem from what people report seeing during this period of sleep paralysis – shadows, demons, ghosts, animals, witches or aliens. For many centuries, many people have reported seeing a certain type of presence during a bout of sleep paralysis. This has been labelled “old hag syndrome”.
Old hag syndrome is a folklore myth that is centred around the idea that the sleeper awakens and sees an old hag sitting on their chest, causing breathing difficulty and ridding them immobile. The premise behind this seems to be a common factor in most cultures, the only difference being the appearance of the “old hag”. For example, many Europeans have reported seeing a female horse and feeling her riding upon their chest (fun fact, “night mare” actually originates from this). In St. Lucia, people experience an “attack of kokma”, which is when the souls of dead children crawl across the sleeper’s chest and attempt to choke them. A disembodied witch has been spotted by populations in the US, a vengeful ghost in Fiji, a Jinn in Turkey, a silent shadow in Vietnam, and a mouse that steals your breath in China.
In medieval times, people reported being sexually assaulted by a succubus or an incubus while being unable to move. Myths circulated that females would be impregnated with something sinister during this act and would die as a result, and the males would just die after the act. Interestingly, these myths can actually be closely compared to stories shared in modern day society of alien abduction.
All over the world, particularly in the US, people have reported seeing bright lights in the sky, being abducted into a foreign object, and being poked, probed and in some cases sexually assaulted by grey-ish looking creatures. A psychologist named Christopher French has taken an interest in this subject and has studied the connection between reported alien abductions and sleep paralysis. He believes that all alien abductions can actually be explained by simply experiencing sleep paralysis.
It appears that there is a correlation between what people report experiencing during sleep paralysis and what their culture considers important or scary. For example, the reason stories of alien abduction are so popular in the US is because of the abundance of movies or TV shows featuring science fiction topics. This is supported by the relation between what people report seeing and the common cinematic portrayal of aliens. In cultures where family ties are important, people often see the vengeful spirit of a deceased relative. In centuries past where witches were a fear of most of the population, people would see a laughing witch or hag sitting upon their chest. This could explain why some people see or experience similar things during sleep paralysis despite having no direct contact with each other.
The psychologist mentioned before, French, also studied the link between a person’s interpretation of sleep paralysis and their level of belief in the supernatural. Obviously in cultures where myths and folklore are common, someone is going to report seeing a manifestation of the creature in those stories. This may explain why some people don’t see anything at all during sleep paralysis. The experience of waking up and being unable to move or speak is horrifying in itself and your anxiety levels are going to be naturally raised. Combine that with being stuck between awake and asleep, and hallucinations are bound to occur.
If these explanations still haven’t eased your mind, Jorge Conesa Sevilla published a book titled “Wrestling with Ghosts: A Personal and Scientific Account of Sleep Paralysis”, which discusses stories told throughout generations of sleep paralysis. It also discusses techniques that one can use to diffuse tension and anxiety when experiencing sleep paralysis to help reduce the chances of hallucination.
I personally have experienced sleep paralysis a couple of times, but I haven’t actually seen anything. It may be because being paralysed is one of my biggest fears, so all of my anxiety is directed towards that and I wouldn’t actually be paying attention to anything else happening around me. I enjoy hearing other people’s stories though so if you have any I’d love to read them. Also let me know what you think of my first post and if you’d like to read about anything in particular please message me suggestions!
References:
https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/sleep-paralysis#1
https://sleepjunkies.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-paralysis-demons-nightmares/
http://www.the13thfloor.tv/tag/sleep-paralysis/
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/05/sleep-paralysis/484490/
http://scienceoholic.com/sleep-paralysis/ (photo)