Sleep paralysis is a usual experience where when either waking up or falling asleep the individual becomes immobile and encounters difficulty breathing. Sleep paralysis can also be an indication that someone could not be moving through the stages of sleep properly. Sleep paralysis can be found in tall tales that contain terrifying paranormal phenomena (webmd.com).
Sleep paralysis can be compared to an extended dream state. The state is when someone feels awake, but is actually asleep. Atonia plays a factor in the paralysis; atonia is when one’s muscles are so calm that the muscles are unable to move (VeryWellHealth.com). Sleep paralysis can be affiliated to narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is when whoever is diagnosed with the sleep disorder has the uncontrollable impulse to sleep. The sleep paralysis usually occurs in one-fourth of people with narcolepsy, and mainly happens in children than adults (MerckManuals.com).
Paranormal investigator Matthew Baxter explained his experience with sleep paralysis as unusual. He talks about how he “was held down by these living sort of ribbons [and how] aliens filed into [his] room and took [him] out of the room”. He at one point thought this was all real, but later he finds out sleep paralysis is the culprit (NAT GEO).
When sleep paralysis is being experienced, the body becomes frozen. The person can misinterpret the hallucinations(usually ghosts or aliens) for actual paranormal phenomena or extraterrestrials. Some can endure the feeling of flying, being dragged, or at times the struggle to breathe. (ScientificAmerican.com). While experiencing sleep paralysis, the brain stays in a sleep state of being to halt dreams from being acted out. Although the brain is shut off in a way, the dreams are projected into real life. These dreams are the hallucinations (LiveScience.com).
Sleep paralysis can be triggered by numerous things such as stress, caffeine, alcohol, or more frequently disrupted sleep patterns. Even when someone is sleeping on their back, sleep paralysis is at risk of occurring. REM (rapid eye movement) can contribute to sleep paralysis when someone moves into REM to quickly(ScientificAmerican.com).
At the University of Toronto, Patricia Brooks and John Peever(researchers at the University of Toronto) presented the idea that two chemicals named glycine and GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) collaborate together to cause the immobility people experience during REM and sleep paralysis. Before this, scientists thought the reason of the paralysis was just glycine; when the chemical requires GABA to do the job with glycine (LiveScience.com). Sleep deprivation could be another source of sleep paralysis. The way one may move into REM could be the problem too. Although sleep paralysis is a symptom of the common sleep disorder Narcolepsy(VeryWellHealth.com).
When trying to avert sleep paralysis a great start is to do the opposite of a poor sleep routine. First, stop over consuming alcohol and caffeine. Second, try alternative sleep positions other than sleeping on the back. Third, try to take off as much stress as possible. Sleep paralysis could be inherited through genetics in families. However, the best way to prevent sleep paralysis is to start a sleep schedule. If reorganizing a sleep schedule doesn’t work, try a healthier lifestyle.(VeryWellHealth.com). Sleep paralysis not truly a disorder or illness, and cannot be cured by a pill or a drug. People can treat sleep paralysis with better sleep habits. Getting sleep is a good start as contradictory that may sound.
Sleep paralysis is related to narcolepsy because sleep paralysis is one of the symptoms. Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder where someone has an impulse to fall asleep. The symptoms are cataplexy (muscle weakness) and by all means, sleep paralysis. The sleep paralysis generally happens in one-fourth of the people who have narcolepsy. This occurs in young adults other than adults. Additionally, the paralysis can happen when waking up or falling asleep from narcolepsy. Surprisingly both sleep paralysis and narcolepsy can be hereditary. Both can be caused by faulty management of sleep, and both have hallucinations as a symptom. Although not all people who experience sleep paralysis have narcolepsy (MerckManuals.com). Your rough draft is 56.6% similar to other sources. You need to write this in your own words otherwise this is plagiarism!
