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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2011 4:18:20 GMT -6
This is an article I found on wikipedia about Sleep paralysis: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysisSleep paralysis is paralysis associated with sleep that may occur in healthy persons or may be associated with narcolepsy, cataplexy, and hypnagogic hallucinations. The pathophysiology of this condition is closely related to the normal hypotonia that occurs during REM sleep.[1] When considered to be a disease, isolated sleep paralysis is classified as MeSH D020188.[2] Some evidence suggests that it can also, in some cases, be a symptom of migraine. Possible causesIn surveys from Canada, China, England, Japan and Nigeria, 20% to 60% of individuals reported having experienced sleep paralysis at least once in their lifetime.[13][14] A study conducted by Sedaghat-Hamedani F. et al. has investigated the prevalence of sleep paralysis among Iranian medical students. 24.1% of students reported experiencing sleep paralysis at least once in their lifetime. The same result was reported among Japanese, Nigerian, Kuwaiti, Sudanese and American students.[15] Many people who commonly enter sleep paralysis also suffer from narcolepsy.[16] Some reports read that various factors increase the likelihood of both paralysis and hallucinations. These include: * Sleeping in a face upwards or supine position * Increased stress * Sudden environmental/lifestyle changes * A lucid dream that immediately precedes the episode. * Excessive consumption of alcohol coupled with lack of adequate sleep.[17] In The Terror That Comes in the Night, folklorist and behavioral scientist David J. Hufford argues that sleep paralysis is related to an anomalous experience known in Newfoundland as "the Old Hag." According to Hufford, the Old Hag is "an experience with stable contents which is widespread, dramatic, realistic, and bizarre," and elements of the phenomenon cannot be fully explained either by psychology or culture. His works have explored the connection between the Old Hag and parapsychology in what he labels the "experience-centered approach" to hauntings.[18][19] TreatmentTreatment starts with patient education about sleep stages and about the muscle atonia that is typically associated with REM sleep. It is recommended that patients be evaluated for narcolepsy if symptoms persist.[20] Related phenomenaMany perceptions associated with sleep paralysis (visceral buzzing, loud sounds, excited mental state,[21] presences, and the paralysis itself) also constitute a common phase in the early progression of episodes referred to as out of body experiences.[22] Mental focus varies between the two conditions; paralysis sufferers tend to fixate on reestablishing operation of the body, whereas subjects of out-of-body episodes are more occupied by perceived non-equivalence with the body.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2011 4:42:05 GMT -6
I've done a lot of research on the internet about sleep paralysis. It says people who have it often are usually sufferers of narcolepsy.
Narcolepsy, sleep paralysis, and lucid dreaming are all related.
I have sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming.
I don't have narcolepsy...
I also looked up some articles on sleep walking. Sleep walking has absolutely nothing to do with other sleep disorders. It is not related to narcolepsy or sleep paralysis. It affects children more often than adults.
All the articles I found on these sleep disorders say basically to reduce stress in your life and they will go away. Stress causes both problems evidently... but sleep walking is believed to be hereditary as well.
~sigh~
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2011 13:19:45 GMT -6
Wired Science News for Your Neurons Freaky Sleep Paralysis: Being Awake in Your Nightmares * By Alexis Madrigal Email Author * August 7, 2009 | * 4:10 pm | * Categories: Brains and Behavior www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/sleep_paralysis/Having an element of REM sleep mix with your consciousness is scarier than it sounds. I experienced sleep paralysis on several occasions when I was in college. I can testify: It’s run-to-your-mama scary. In my case, it would happen right as I was falling asleep on the two twin beds that I had taped together. The most vivid time, I “woke up” with the uneasy feeling that something awful was to my left, on the border of my peripheral vision. I couldn’t really see it, but I knew that it was evil and coming closer to me. I felt true terror, like you experience when you are about to get in a car crash. I was sure it was going to hurt me. After a few minutes, I could finally move and took the opportunity to run across campus to a friend’s house and asked to sleep on the couch. With the lights on. It happened a few more times. Then, it just stopped. It hasn’t ever happened again. The good news, McCarty said, is that my experience is actually pretty standard. Sleep paralysis rarely persists or causes serious life damage. “It’s very common, way more common than people realize, but usually it doesn’t recur,” he said. “It’s not frequent enough to make people come in and ask the doctor for help.”
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2011 13:21:35 GMT -6
"It usually doesn't recur".
Really?
~rolls eyes~
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2011 13:25:42 GMT -6
From About.com: (I like this one because it's written in English without a lot of doctor terms). sleepdisorders.about.com/od/commonsleepdisorders/a/Sleep_Paralysis.htmWhat Exactly Is Sleep Paralysis? If you have experienced something similar while awakening, you are familiar with the unforgettable horrors of sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is a transient inability to move or speak as one goes from sleep to wakefulness, without other findings characteristic of narcolepsy. In sleep paralysis, this often occurs while awakening (hynopompic) as opposed to falling asleep (hypnagogic), which is more common in narcolepsy. Features of Sleep Paralysis There are some common features of sleep paralysis, including: * Eye movements are typically preserved. * It more often occurs while sleeping on one’s back. * Visual and auditory hallucinations often occur and may include a sense of an evil presence, of being touched, or hearing voices or noises in the room. * Occasionally faces or people may be seen at the bedside. * A sense of breathlessness (or chest pressure, even someone standing on one’s chest) may exist. How Often Does Sleep Paralysis Occur? It is common and may be experienced by 20% to 60% of people, depending on the population examined. In a study of college students, 21% were found to have had at least one episode of sleep paralysis, but only 4% had 5 or more episodes. It is believed to be precipitated by sleep deprivation, stress, and sleep schedule disruption. In experiments, it has been shown to occur with disruption of rapid eye movement (REM), or dream sleep. It also is associated with anxiety disorders.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2011 13:29:11 GMT -6
OK... that latest one makes more sense. Narcoleptics have it as they are falling asleep.
I have it as I am waking up apparently...
Very interesting...
Maybe I have an anxiety disorder. When I was a child I used to have "fits" of hyperventilating (which would be gasping for breath and unable to slow my breathing down... basically... gasping for air for several minutes and unable to make it slow... light-headed, seeing spots in front of my eyes...). I guess that could be described as a "panic attack". The only way to restore normal breathing was for my mother to retrieve the infamous "Paper lunch bag" and have me breathe into it. It happened many many many times during my childhood... usually at night.
I haven't had this problem since middle school though...
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Post by skywalker on May 25, 2011 20:30:23 GMT -6
These are also commonly reported symptoms of an alien abduction. I wonder if people might be experiencing abductions and mistaking them for sleep paralysis? Or maybe if the aliens are using sleep paralysis as a way of controlling the people they are abducting. I experienced those symptoms during my abduction experiences but my best friend had the exact same experience that I had so that would rule out sleep paralysis.
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2011 1:37:21 GMT -6
These are also commonly reported symptoms of an alien abduction. I wonder if people might be experiencing abductions and mistaking them for sleep paralysis? Or maybe if the aliens are using sleep paralysis as a way of controlling the people they are abducting. I experienced those symptoms during my abduction experiences but my best friend had the exact same experience that I had so that would rule out sleep paralysis. Yes skywalker. Precisely. That's why your story fascinates me so much. You had another person who had the same "dream" as you at the same time... I on the other hand experience sleep paralysis frequently... or at least I have experienced it a lot... not so much lately... But for you it was a one time deal...
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2011 10:25:09 GMT -6
I've never had anything similar to sleep paralysis and I'd just as soon keep it that way. I'm afraid lately I have done a bit of 'lucid' dreaming. Before I go to sleep at night I use that time by bending the ears of the 'other side' ...God..angels..whoever is hanging around at the time..just discussing things..thanking the Creator for the good in my life..that sort of thing. Lately tho..I find myself 'drifting' ..in the middle of these discussions, my brain will go off on some unrelated strange journey of only a few seconds, that makes absolutely no sense. One part of me thinks that these things make sense..the other 'lucid' side of me knows darn well it doesn't. It's never anything productive and the minute my aware self catches it..it shuts it down but for me it's a strange thing that's happening more often lately. For someone that rarely remembers a dream it's trippy to be awake and dreaming..I don't like it. Ever since the 'incident' I guess my brain has been working over time to control it's downtime output. This 'slippage' may not be a good thing LOL Ah the loss of a good mind..is a sad thing
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2011 10:44:14 GMT -6
Ah the loss of a good mind..is a sad thing Welcome to my world... I think about this very statement every day of my life. Thanks for sharing with us though Jo. The mind is capable of some interesting, intriguing, and appalling things... especially when it is entering or emerging from sleep it seems... or at least we notice it more during these times... It's probably nothing to worry about. Perhaps these night-time experiences you have been having lately mean that you are "growing" both spiritually and cognitively... ~shrug~ Lucid dreams are different from what you are describing though Jo... at least from my experience with lucid dreaming. In what you are describing, you are able to recognize that what you are experiencing is a "dream" and is not "real". A lucid dream is real... or at least it seems very real. I'm going to write an example of a lucid dream I had while I was in college. I woke up in my bed in my apartment on campus (this is how my lucid dreams always begin... waking up in bed). As far as I knew, I was awake. I could feel my body. I could hear noises. I could sense the air current from my fan, I could see everything in the room clearly. The room looked exactly like my apartment... exactly... except for one minor detail... My Rammstein poster up on the wall beside my extra-long twin sized college style bed. I had a newer Rammstein poster up on that wall, but I was looking up at it and realized that it was the wrong poster!! It was an older one I had not had up on my wall in a year. It was the exact same poster as the one I remembered, but the background was blood-red instead of white like it was supposed to be. I was laying there in bed looking at it and thinking, "Now... I know I left that poster at my parents' house..." Although I realized the poster was not supposed to be there and the background was the wrong color, the thought that I was dreaming did not really occur to me. I looked over at the other side of my room. My roommate was snoring, sound asleep. I pondered whether or not I should get up out of bed. I decided I should get up and make a pot of coffee in the kitchen, so I did. I stumbled up out of bed and walked towards the door to the hallway. I touched the door handle, feeling it as though it were really there, feeling the carpet under my bare feet, and pushed the handle down. As soon as I did this, the door was pushed open from the other side and a figure came running through at me, grabbed my arms and pushed me down on my bed!! AAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!!! I woke up sweating.
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2011 16:09:49 GMT -6
Sleep Paralysis and Lucid dreams feel essentially the same except for one difference. In sleep paralysis, you can't move. In lucid dreams, you can.
Both are extremely realistic... It's like being awake in a nightmare. That's exactly what it feels like. And sometimes you can't wake up from it... after you realize you're having a lucid nightmare while the bear is eating you alive... but you can't wake up... no matter how hard you try...
I remember one episode when I was being eaten by the bear... I've had this one a couple of times... I was gradually becoming aware of my physical body laying in bed... but I was still in the dream at the same time. It was a very odd feeling. First, I tried to pry my eyes open with my hands. It didn't work... so I started to bang my right arm against the wall to try to wake myself up.
I woke up with bruises around my eyes and all over my arm...
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Post by casper on May 26, 2011 18:41:27 GMT -6
At least you didn't wake up with the bear still eating you. I have dreams about bears sometimes. And dogs too. Last time I dreamed of a dog as big as a house that was standin g over me and slobbering all over me. Yechh! I think he thought I was a chew toy.
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2011 14:01:50 GMT -6
At least you didn't wake up with the bear still eating you. I have dreams about bears sometimes. And dogs too. Last time I dreamed of a dog as big as a house that was standin g over me and slobbering all over me. Yechh! I think he thought I was a chew toy. Was it Clifford the big red dog? I had a four year old educate me about him at work the other day because she dropped her toy on the ground and I picked it up and said, "Who's that?" ;D
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Post by lois on May 27, 2011 15:55:20 GMT -6
Lorelei.. I have never had sleep paralysis. Not that I can remember. I had experiences in my teens where my mind woke up and something or someone was holding my hand, but I could not open my eyes or move. I went back to sleep soon as I realized it. It was always for just a couple of seconds and I was out again. It was not dreaming, I'm sure of that.
casper. I always dreamed of animals biting me or chasing me also. Lions.. Bears .. Dogs. seem to be the main ones.. Once a large bull dog . Oh I called them boxers as a child. Our neighbor owned one. Once I dreamed he tore my arm off and it did not hurt, I keep running till I woke up. These were childhood dreams.
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Post by Steve on May 27, 2011 18:45:55 GMT -6
Sleep paralysis is a transient inability to move or speak as one goes from sleep to wakefulness, without other findings characteristic of narcolepsy. In sleep paralysis, this often occurs while awakening (hynopompic) as opposed to falling asleep (hypnagogic), which is more common in narcolepsy.
Basically it is the safety mechanism the mind uses during this transition state, and during REM dream states so the mind will often not act out physically what the mind is dreaming about.
Depending on how the mind comes out of it's hynopompic state, sometimes the mind may briefly become aware of itself in that sleep paralysis state. The mind also perhaps instinctively is in a heightened state of alert (survival instincts), so it is not surprising during this state - the mind might think it is perceiving something or someone else nearby.
Though I have worked with a number of experiencers thus far, and admit I may have not worked with enough to gage this more accurately - so far our investigations group has not worked with anyone thinking they have ever had a sleep paralysis episode anytime in their lives, nor during one of their reported experiances. All the 'experiencers' worked with either were mentally wide awake, or were entering a state of falling asleep (hypnagogic). Never while waking up interestingly.
Sleep paralysis is a real and interesting condition, and may explain some alien encounters, but to brand most alleged alien encounters to sleep paralysis is quite silly & perhaps a gross miss-interpretation if all the facts surrounding such an experience were ever dared to be fully considered.
It might also be possible 'the phenomenon' quite routinely during an alien contact/abduction stimulates those specific parts of the human brain it already uses on itself during sleep paralysis. But at those other times for purposes to control or paralyze. And since western science can only 'disprove', never 'prove'...... Distressing to think, borrowing a Star Trek notion - like Mr. Data - would you ever wish for others to know you have an 'off switch'?
As Dr. John Mack once said about the possibility of alien abductions; "I came very reluctantly to the conclusion that this was a true mystery".
It seems the mystery continues.
Steve
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2011 3:12:18 GMT -6
Well Steve, I am apparently weird then... lol... all the articles I found on sleep paralysis say it normally doesn't recur... and yet I have been suffering from it since I was about 17...
I'm 26 now so...
Nine years...
Unless you want to count the incident when I was on the sofa in the living room when I was eight as sleep paralysis...
The pattern seems to be about once a month... maybe once every two months lately for me. For awhile there I was having it like 3 times a month...
My brain sleep cycle is all screwed up. I think I'm the only sleep-walker who also has sleep paralysis in the entire world... even the hypnotherapist thinks there's something weird going on with me.. to have both problems is... very strange evidently...
~sigh~
Nobody in my family has sleep paralysis, but my father used to be a sleepwalker and his mother was too...
When I asked my parents if they've ever had sleep paralysis they looked at me funny and didn't understand even after I explained it to them... my sister has never had it either...
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Post by Steve on May 28, 2011 10:32:43 GMT -6
Well Lorelei, I have always thought your experiences are unique, unusual, but never weird! Hope that is encouraging. The hypnotheripist and I seem to both think (arrived independently) something unusual maybe happening with you. Unusual sleep patterns, occasional images remembered while falling asleep / waking, lights outside your home, your off the scale intelligence quotient, your encounter with beings in your living room at various times. Your sense of heightened awareness, or some kind of extra sensory perceptions. I think something unusual is happening with you, but we have only barely scratched the surface. I wish this hypnotheripist would attack directly exploring those events in which you have these clear impressions involving encounters with these beings. You, the hypnotherist, or both might be skirting around the periphery of the matter. You are already in the long term dealing with many questions, perhaps it is time to explore these questions gently and restore within you some peace of mind you wish to have. I know it is not easy, but what ever you think may have happened or not happened, you are well, and whole today, and what ever memories locked in your subconscious cannot hurt you now or in the future, unless you wish it to persist. It is not about knowing whether beings from another place have contacted you as much as finding peace for yourself. Perhaps relieving anxieties. Your a very strong person, more than you perhaps realize. I know I could not live with such questions as long as you have. This is a personal decision. Encouraging hugs, Steve
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Post by casper on May 28, 2011 11:07:56 GMT -6
At least you didn't wake up with the bear still eating you. I have dreams about bears sometimes. And dogs too. Last time I dreamed of a dog as big as a house that was standin g over me and slobbering all over me. Yechh! I think he thought I was a chew toy. Was it Clifford the big red dog? I had a four year old educate me about him at work the other day because she dropped her toy on the ground and I picked it up and said, "Who's that?" ;D Hi, Lorelei. No, it wasn't Clifford the red dog. I never even heard of clifford the big red dog. The one in my dream was like a big huge St Bernard dog. It wasn't really mean or anything just really really really BIG!!
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Post by casper on May 28, 2011 11:09:31 GMT -6
I never had an sleep paralysis either but I was paralyzed in my dream with the big dog. I think I was too scared to move. Does that count? ;D
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2011 13:22:09 GMT -6
Hi, Lorelei. No, it wasn't Clifford the red dog. I never even heard of clifford the big red dog. The one in my dream was like a big huge St Bernard dog. It wasn't really mean or anything just really really really BIG!! LOL Casper. Clifford The Big Red Dog has been around since I was a kid. I think it used to be on PBS. It's a children's cartoon, and Clifford also had a series of picture books... I forget the little girl's name now...
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2011 13:29:48 GMT -6
~hugs to Steve~ My IQ is 138. Not quite genius... that would be 140 or higher... but I like to say I am a genius... especially when I write a new song which I like... I'm just... well... above average. Eccentric too obviously. I'll walk around saying, "I am a genius!!" and my parents will roll their eyes, then I'll call my girlfriends and say it to them too. ;D Thanks for reassuring me. ~hugs~ You're an awesome guy Steve.
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Post by louise on May 28, 2011 15:24:30 GMT -6
I have all the Clifford The Big Red Dog books from when my grand daughter was little. She loved them and so did i. I'm saving them for her children.
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Post by skywalker on May 28, 2011 17:34:52 GMT -6
That's cool, Louise. Do you know what the name of the little girl is since our resident "not quite a genius" has forgotten? I had never heard of Clifford the Big Red Dog either. Casper and I must have both had deprived childhoods...we both missed out on Clifford.
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Post by lois on May 29, 2011 22:28:14 GMT -6
Thanks for reassuring me. ~hugs~ You're an awesome guy Steve
I agree!
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Post by lois on May 29, 2011 22:31:25 GMT -6
Oh now come on everyone knows Clifford. Even this old lady. lol.. but I have always had grandkids never lost sight of children's characters in my life.
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Post by lois on May 29, 2011 22:39:05 GMT -6
My grand daughter Shamira was born in 86 he was her favorite. Lets see my son was 16, I guess sky was iin high school looking at the girls, no time for Clifford. I know how old you are .. your times our my sons times age compared to event, I keep it straight that way. He is my baby..of four Lois
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2011 2:06:11 GMT -6
My grand daughter Shamira was born in 86 he was her favorite. Lets see my son was 16, I guess sky was iin high school looking at the girls, no time for Clifford. I know how old you are .. your times our my sons times age compared to event, I keep it straight that way. He is my baby..of four Lois Lois, I'm a year older than your granddaughter.
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Post by lois on May 30, 2011 15:47:50 GMT -6
She is getting married to a man she went to college with next spring. He works for Accu weather. You can see them on my wall on facebook. We are happy about this union.. We were always hoping this would happen. I have always used her name on all the ufo forums . They always had a Lois already. But most old members know me as Lois, so I told sky make me lois on this new forum of yours. He will always be sky no matter what other names he uses.. I can even remember my first reply I made to him.. we both joined mufon at the same time.
lois
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Post by lois on May 30, 2011 15:53:21 GMT -6
Someone at mufon had made a thread titled.. Where did you get your username.
I told Sky, will this is not hard to figure out. Yours came from Star wars. Wonder if he remembers.. lol
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Post by skywalker on Jun 1, 2011 22:19:42 GMT -6
You have an amazing memory, Shami. I can barely remember what I had for breakfast this morning. I do remember you making that post about my name but I didn't know that was the first one. Did we really join the forum at the same time? Jokelly did too. She and I joined only 3 days apart. That's kind of cool. Maybe we got a message from somebody telling us all to join the forum at the same time.
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