Is everyone lying about having sleep paralysis? - Because I think they are

[Akashic Retard]

See title

 

[anionfarflung]

This is, by far, my favorite scientific hypothesis (it will take work to become a theory) of what is going on, especially when it comes to the fear and sense-of-another-presence aspects:

So, what’s happening? Essentially, the ghost is really the sleeper. Well, it’s a shadow cast by the mind as a result of a functional disturbance in a particular region of the brain.

But, let’s get back to that.

First, let's talk about Vilayanur Ramachandran. Dr. Ramachandran, or Rama, is a mentor, friend and self-described second father to Jalal. In the neuroscience world, he’s also a living legend, dubbed the “Marco Polo of Neuroscience” by Richard Dawkins. Among other achievements, Ramachandran broke ground in phantom limb pain research.

“I would often raise the topic of sleep paralysis to him during private occasions, say when dining together,” said Jalal of Ramachandran, “or when he invited me to lecture to his students at UCSD.”

Eventually, Rama wanted to help Jalal find an explanation for the ghosts. In fact, he already had. Ramachandran’s work on phantom limb pain became the linchpin in the neurological origin story of the shadowy intruder.

Somewhere between 60 percent and 80 percent of amputees feel the presence of missing body parts — phantom limbs — and that feeling tends to be pain, which can be explained by the brain’s body map. Humans have a hardwired, unchanging template of their physical bodies (called the homunculus) constructed in the right superior parietal lobule, the region nestled just behind the crest of the head that’s responsible for spatial and body awareness. When people feel phantom limb pain, they’re really feeling the presence of the “arm” in their body map.

Taking this a step further, Jalal believes that this hardwired map also gives rise to the shadowy intruder.

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Edit (I wasn't even looking for this supporting reference):

Experts on glitchy brains and strange sleep know that sleep paralysis affects at least 20 percent of the population, including most narcoleptics. The attacks are marked by a loss of muscle control (called atonia) and encounters with violent, shadowy apparitions.

These estimates, however, have only surfaced in the past 15 years. Before then, neurologists thought the condition was rare. But knowledge is often a function of interest, and western doctors and researchers just weren’t interested enough in sleep paralysis to figure out how common it was.

 

[Gravityqueen4life]

I get the hypnagogic sleep paralysis hallucination phenomenon occasionally but, for me, it's never been anything interesting in terms of mythical or supernatural creatures, it's just been moving patterns that last maybe a minute at most, which is about as bland as it gets.

When I was a kid, I used to sometimes see flowers and plants on the ceiling or, on one occasion, the colourful rectangle pattern on the inside of the comforter which impossibly started scrolling like movie credits, but, as an adult, it's taken the form of plain text files that I almost feel like I could read but it's just barely out of focus. I think that's just my half-asleep brain interpreting the popcorn texture ceiling as computer text.

there is a name for that shit!? used to be able to see a lot of cool things by just closing my eyes and imagine. lost it as i got older but it sort of came back when i did ecstasy awhile back.

 

[moseph.jartelli]

I experienced it exactly once in my life when I was a teenager. Hope it never happens again. It was frightening.

 

[Dan Abrams]

I have it about once a month. Nowadays it’s mostly just annoying for a few seconds before I wake up.

 

[zero-who]

I've had it three times in the last month because my sleep schedule is shit.
If my sleep schedule wasn't shit, I wouldn't have it.

 

[Jimjamflimflam]

there is a name for that shit!? used to be able to see a lot of cool things by just closing my eyes and imagine. lost it as i got older but it sort of came back when i did ecstasy awhile back.

You can self induce if you. I wad trying some out of body techniques when I made this happen

How to cause trippy sights while in a half asleep state.

1) goto bed for 4 hours
2) wake up
3) just chill for an hour. Read a book or something. No electronic screens
4) lie on your back in bed
5) imagine a rope above and feel yourself reaching up for it and pulling your body up

When I did this i got a super intense vibraration running through my body. A high pitch "eeeeeeeeeee" noise in my ear and a trippy tunnel of lights feel. If you ever did DMT, very similar as the "launching phase".

In the excitement of "holy shit, its working!" I snapped out of the state. Haven't had a chance to try again due to being busy in life. But at the time, 100% sober.

 

[Jimmy Olsen]

I used to get it a bit as a kid alongside lucid nightmares. Stopped when I was around ten or eleven, and it's only happened a few times since.

Typically, I didn't get any hallucinations, and my eyelids were paralyzed shut also. I remember being annoyed because five year old me wanted to get up and eat pancakes but my body wouldn't move.

 

[NOT Sword Fighter Super]

Sleep paralysis is real but some people do ham it up for sure

I thought sleep paralysis is what normally keeps you from sleep walking.

 

[SandyCat]

I thought sleep paralysis is what normally keeps you from sleep walking.

You're not wrong but when people refer to sleep paralysis they're usually talking about when they wake up but remain paralyzed because their brain still thinks they're asleep

This limbo state leads to some scary hallucinations and feelings of fear and all that fun stuff

 

[Akashic Retard]

Damn this thread really brought the liars out

 

[anionfarflung]

I have a problem where I take trolls at face value.

 

[Akashic Retard]

I have a problem where I take trolls at face value.

This is autistic.

 

[The Mass Shooter Ron Soye]

TFW noone to sleep paralysis with me

Excuse me, I would like to know how to summon a succubus. Thanks.

 

[NOT Sword Fighter Super]

You're not wrong but when people refer to sleep paralysis they're usually talking about when they wake up but remain paralyzed because their brain still thinks they're asleep

This limbo state leads to some scary hallucinations and feelings of fear and all that fun stuff

Now that you’ve explained it this happened to me literally one time, but it just as easily could have been a dream.

 

[sasazuka]

there is a name for that shit!? used to be able to see a lot of cool things by just closing my eyes and imagine. lost it as i got older but it sort of came back when i did ecstasy awhile back.

Apparently, I was slightly off. I thought "hypnagogic" referred to all hallucinations on the fringes of sleep but it's specifically hallucinations immediately *before* falling asleep. The patterns I occasionally see while waking up (specifically the blurry "text" on the ceiling I described) are "hypnopompic".

 

[RussianParasite]

I use to get it sometimes when I was younger/young adult and don’t know why people find it interesting. Yes, it’s not fun, but it’s not like some kind of weird phenomenon. I think they are trying to morph it into some kind of “dark” personality

Same. I occasionally get it if I am extremely tired or have overworked my body, but mine essentially went away in my late 20s. It was terrifying the first time it happened, but it was just annoying after that. What a stupid thing to fake having.

 

[Toolbox]

You're more likely to experience sleep paralysis if you sleep on your back. If you want to try to induce it to see what it feels like for some crazy reason, I've found that I experience sleep paralysis the most when I lie on my back and resist the urge to move. You know those little jolts when you're just seconds away from falling asleep, sometimes you get the urge to move? Don't. Stay completely still and if you're "lucky" you'll experience sleep paralysis.

I always attempt to sleep on my back, but the bizarre thing is the only time I get any form of sleep paralysis is when I roll over in my sleep and end up face down on my pillow. I never hallucinate, but my arms and general body autonomy is locked and I get some sort of automatic faux lack of oxygen sensation even though it shouldn't be possible to be suffocated through a pillow. Either I fall asleep or do end up getting my arms to respond, and then just have to wake up at that point. Never seen any demons.

 

[∀ϵ > 0 |my pp|< ϵ Q.E.D.]

Agreed. It absolutely is real, but it’s incredibly rare. I’ve talked to more people than I can remember count of who claim to have it and they all have that “leik I totes see demons and ghosts every night I’m so tortured yo!” mentality

Shut the fuck up. You don’t have sleep paralysis, you’re just another millennial/zoomer faggot with no personality of your own aping what you see online because you want to be the specialist snowflake of all

I've experienced it a few times in my life, but I've never seen a 'demon' or anything really... it mostly feels like the pins and needles feeling combined with immense paranoia and auditory hallucinations for me. Like hearing random noises and feeling like something is coming for me through my doorway... or once in my Grandmother's house, I thought I heard rats scurrying in the walls.

After I wake up fully and move around the feeling immediately dissipates and I stop hearing things. A very real phenomenon, but the fact I only ever had them while accidentally falling asleep on my back and only maybe 4 or 5 experiences... I don't think it's very wide-spread.

 

[Manul Otocolobus]

Many people say they have sleep paralysis, without every being diagnosed, or even knowing the criteria.

For anyone that thinks they have it they should, at a minimum, read the international reference for sleep disorders entry regarding sleep paralysis in "International Classification of Sleep Disorders - Third Edition" to see if they even meet the criteria.

 

[anionfarflung]

Many people say they have sleep paralysis, without every being diagnosed, or even knowing the criteria.

For anyone that thinks they have it they should, at a minimum, read the international reference for sleep disorders entry regarding sleep paralysis in "International Classification of Sleep Disorders - Third Edition" to see if they even meet the criteria.

Recurrent Isolated Sleep Paralysis ICD-9-CM code: 327.43 ICD-10-CM code: G47.53 Alternate Names Hypnagogic and hypnopompic paralysis, predormital and postdormital paralysis, kanashibari (Japan).
Diagnostic Criteria Criteria A-D must be met
A. A recurrent inability to move the trunk and all of the limbs at sleep onset or upon awakening from sleep.
B. Each episode lasts seconds to a few minutes.
C. The episodes cause clinically significant distress including bedtime anxiety or fear of sleep.
D. The disturbance is not better explained by another sleep disorder (especially narcolepsy), mental disorder, medical condition, medication, or substance use.


Essential Features Recurrent isolated sleep paralysis is characterized by an inability to perform voluntary movements at sleep onset (hypnagogic or predormital form) or on waking from sleep (hypnopompic or postdormital form) in the absence of a diagnosis of narcolepsy. The event consists of an inability to speak or to move the limbs, trunk, and head. Respiration is usually unaffected. Consciousness is preserved, and full recall is present. An episode of sleep paralysis lasts seconds to minutes. It usually resolves spontaneously but can be aborted by sensory stimulation, such as being touched or spoken to, or by the patient making intense efforts to move. Associated Features At least during the initial episodes, intense anxiety is usually present. Hallucinatory experiences accompany the paralysis in about 25% to 75% of patients. These may include auditory, visual, or tactile hallucinations, or the sense of a presence in the room. Some patients experience predormital or postdormital hallucinations at separate times from episodes of sleep paralysis. Clinical or Pathophysiological Subtypes A familial form of sleep paralysis has been described (see below). 255 Parasomnias Demographics Estimates of the prevalence of sleep paralysis vary widely due to differences in the definition used, the age of the population sampled, and possibly cultural and ethnic factors. Most prevalence studies of sleep paralysis (usually of students younger than 30 years) have investigated the occurrence of one or more episodes without requirement of recurrence or distress. These suggest a 15% to 40% prevalence of at least one episode of sleep paralysis. Two notable exceptions are a 1962 study of mostly college students that reported a prevalence of 5%, and a 1999 study of all adult ages that found a prevalence of 6%. No consistent sex differences have emerged from multiple studies. The mean age of onset is 14 to 17 years, although onset earlier and later in life has been reported. Predisposing and Precipitating Factors Sleep deprivation and irregular sleep-wake schedules have been identified as predisposing factors to episodes of sleep paralysis. Mental stress has been reported as a precipitating factor in some but not other studies. Sleep paralysis appears to be more common with sleep in the supine position. Personality factors have not been shown to play a major role, although one study found a higher score on the paranoia scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory in patients with sleep paralysis compared to controls. Other factors that have been noted on regression analysis include an association with bipolar disorder, the use of anxiolytic medication, and sleep related leg cramps. Familial Pattern Two families with apparent familial sleep paralysis occurring over three and four generations have been reported. A maternal form of transmission has been postulated. Onset, Course, and Complications Onset is usually in adolescence. Most events appear to occur in the second and third decades, but may continue later in life. There are no known complications, apart from anxiety over the episodes. Developmental Issues Though sleep paralysis may be present as part of the narcolepsy tetrad in children, there is no information currently available about childhood presentation of recurrent isolated sleep paralysis. 256 Parasomnias Pathology and Pathophysiology Episodes of sleep paralysis elicited by awakening patients from nocturnal sleep appear to arise from REM sleep. Sleep paralysis is an example of state dissociation with elements of REM sleep persisting into wakefulness. Early-onset REM sleep after forced awakenings has been shown to predispose an individual to having sleep paralysis. It may be that subjects with less tolerance to sleep disruption are more likely to experience the phenomenon. Objective Findings Analysis of sleep paralysis after forced awakenings during PSG studies reveals the event to be a dissociated state with the persistence of REM-related electromyographic atonia into conscious wakefulness. Hallucinatory experiences may be present but are not essential for the diagnosis. Differential Diagnosis Cataplexy produces similar generalized paralysis of skeletal muscles but occurs during wakefulness and is precipitated by emotion. Atonic seizures occur during wakefulness. Nocturnal panic attacks are not usually associated with paralysis. Familial periodic paralysis syndromes, especially hypokalemic periodic paralysis, may occur at rest and on awakening. However, the episodes usually last hours, may be associated with carbohydrate intake, and are usually accompanied by hypokalemia. There are also hyperkalemic and normokalemic periodic paralysis syndromes. Unresolved Issues and Further Directions Not applicable or known.