h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Sleep Paralysis - A5652155
Author: Farlander - Aiming for an IgNobel - U206300

I was explaining sleep paralysis to some friends when it occurred to me that there was no article about this condition in the guide, so yeah, I decided to write this. (Given that I myself have experienced the condition before). I've tried to keep it short and to the point; would have put the 'Sleep paralysis & myth' in a different article, only it didn't make sense to because the first and second parts were too closely linked to one another.

Just one little thing though: when writing words in a foreign language, would it be more appropriate to put them in inverted commas or italics?

I haven't read this yet as it's a bit lengthy. My first impression is that it needs to be broken up with a few more Headers.

Ref your question: I think it's usual to write foreign words and phrases in italics; that's certainly how Latin words and phrases are treated.

I suffered from SP many years ago before I was married, but didn't know what it was. It was extremely frightening. I woke in the night with the sensation of somebody sitting on the bed - there was the feeling of pressure and heat. I was so convinced that s'one was sat on the bed that I daren't move, for what may have been an hour orr more. In the end I told myself to be rational; if there was s'onee there I would have felt him/her move by now, even just the rise and fall of their breathing. So I peaked outr from the bedclothes at the wall opposite the window (Had there been anybody there I would have seen a shadow, illuminated by the street light outside. Of course, there was no one there so I plucked up the courage to get out of bed and go downstairs to the loo. I then had a glass of water and then sat down in the front room waiting for the waves of heat/pressure (which I still felt) to go away. After another hour I felt so went back to bed. Immediately, the sensations returned.

At the time I wished I'd informed a doctor, but never did. Years later, I experienced this again and, on this occasion, rang the 'quack' at about 2 in the morning. He told me not to worry and to to go back to sleep. (Some months after thius, during a normal consultation) I took the opportunity to apologise to him, and he said 'don't worry')

Some years asfter this topic came up in convo. with my father. To my surprise, he showed deep interest and questioned me very closely about it. He then explained that when he was in the RAF during WWII he awoke in the night with some invisible force pinning his arms to his sides. He was extremely frightened by this.

Some time after all this, I read an article in New Scientist about SP, and thus realised what it was.

Interesting Topic for an Entry, FL . I will get around to reading it, and perhaps make some comments

Hey BigAl, thanks for dropping in. Headers... righty ho. Will see what I can do about breaking up the big chunks.

I suffer from this as well.

Sleeping tablets work, but then you get addicted to them.

Another excellent entry, Farlander. Fascinating to read the link with the superstitions and alien abductions.



sprout

I used to get this, I think the last time it happened was about three years ago. For some reason it always coincided with me needing the toilet, which was most annoying because apart from the hallucinations (which one time involve a rain of fish) and the being unable to move I also had to put up with the fact that if I didn't get my arse into gear pretty sharpish or I'd wet the bed. Luckily it never came to that because eventually some icy cold rational core of thought would (mentally speaking) tap me on the shoulder and say "stop being so bloody stupid and go to the loo!"

I have this from time to time, and it's not much fun. It's reassuring to know that it happens to other people too.

I have nothing to add to the entry, and nothing to criticise. Well done.

An utterly wonderful bit of writing here - I too thought perhaps it might be better to separate the article into the 'fact' and 'mythological' elements of sleep paralysis, but I agree with you Farlander that it just complicates matters. In this instance, an extremely well-written long article is entirely justified!

Very well done indeed - can't wait to see this on the Front Page of the EG in the near future!

Paully

Thanks to all you guys for going through the article. Since you've all shared your experience, I might as well get mine out into the open too.

I've had two experiences of it, one good and one bad. The first time was awful. I was having this series of utterly bizarre dreams when all of a sudden the dreams ran *backwards*, as if it were on a reel and someone were rewinding it at top speed. Right after this blur of images, I woke up with my heart pounding, looked at the clock in the room - and realised I couldn't move a muscle. That bit in the article about thinking the person somehow damaged the CNS while sleeping... well, that was me. Darn near freaked me out.

The second time round, I was more annoyed than scared... and then I slipped into this weird dream/hallucination where I heard a *complete* orchestral work being performed, only I was convinced I'd never heard the piece before.

I always wish someone would invent some equipment to record dreams . Wonder if this would ever be possible?

Astoundingly good work, as usual, Farlander!

As generalizations are dangerous when not qualified, let me suggest a place for a possible change.

[Mammalian sleep consists of two states of brain activity, ...]

Perhaps:
Normal mammalian sleep patterns consist of two states of brain activity, ...

As I related in my entry on Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, sleep disorders can drastically affect normal patterns. Until I began treatment for OSA, my first cycle was less than 60 minutes, 30 of which was REM.

The patterns you suggest, while generally accepted, are merely the statistical norm, not universal.

No other suggestions pop to mind.

I once had an occurrence of this dilemma. I merely woke up, flat on my back. When I realized that I had absolutely no motor control over my body (about 20 seconds of trying and failing to rise), I figured that it was one of three things:
I died, and this is what death is like.
I'm still asleep, dreaming I'm paralyzed.
It's temporary, and I should just go back to sleep and wake normally.

For some reason, the thought that it might be permanent or dangerous never occurred to me. I went back to sleep and woke up fine in about an hour.

Sometimes I'm accused of being too logical, but it does limit my likelihood of suffering a panic attack.

Almost forgot to mention, about the unusual body effects portion.

I have long been a practitioner of self-hypnosis. Used to help in no end of situations.

I got to the point where I could, with careful arrangement, put myself into a 'twilight state' between sleep and wakefulness. The first time, merely an attempt to get to sleep under excitement and stress, I felt myself float upward slightly.

Amused by the pleasant sensation, I attempted to move my 'body' and found myself slipping off the top of the bunkbed on which I slept. The 'fall' startled me into full wakefulness, and I realized that my physical body had never moved.

Later, I got so that I could (on precious few occasions) float out of my room, the building, and go 'exploring'. Of course I have no way to know if it 'really' happened and I was having Out of Body experiences, or just subject to a vividly real, self-induced, dream-state.

There were occasional bits of corroborating evidence, but nothing conclusive. When talking about it I feel like Spock in Star Trek IV. I cannot describe what it is like to 'transfer through' concrete, steel beams, plaster and wood, without a common frame of reference.

Strange that I could sometimes 'see' the internal structure of the walls, ceilings and floors as I passed through them; but, if they were to thick, everything got momentarily dark as if light were still a necessity.

Ah, well. Don't think I've mentioned this to anyone in years. Not much point, really.

Great luck on this great piece!

Eargh! Thanks, Fords - I couldn't quite figure out what was so weird about that sentence.

This probably has nothing to do with the article but since you mentioned the OBEs... last night I woke up smelling ... well, I could *swear* that I smelt thick, acrid smoke in my room. My first thought was that something was frying in the room, but after checking and sniffing the power points (all off), I concluded it wasn't coming off anything. And then of course I couldn't sleep because I kept on experiencing the 'trips/falls' you mentioned (no fewer than five times in half an hour). In the morning the smell was gone, and my roommate (who got up for a bit after I went back to bed) reported failure to detect the said smell. Given that I was exhausted when I turned in, I wonder if I might have been experiencing olfactory hallucination... and if I really did get up.

Weird, wild, stuff, the human brain, eh?

There are yet other explanations, equally weird. Perhaps you were experiencing someone elses senses, as in a strange form of extra-olfactory-perception(?)! Or, channeling the memories of someone who had experienced a fire in the building some time past.

The sense of smell is one of the more complex senses. Hearing merely interprets vibrations, touch is limited by the sensitivity of the area of skin affected, taste is different on different areas of the tongue.

The olfactory organ is the most closely connected to the brain, and extraordinarily sensitive (more so in some animals, of course). It breaks down complex molecular structures and aromatics.

My brother once thought that he smelled pancakes, and we turned the corner to find ouselves facing a tire factory!

The only comment I'd make about this entry is that the phenomenon has often been described as 'the Night Hag' in folklore. In fact, someone even painted it: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/09/euwc/ho_1980.411.htm.
I know you make reference to 'being ridden by a hag', but this term is so entrenched I feel it deserves a mention . Especially as this very phenomenon used to afflict me as well (and scared the hell out of me).

Love the Night Hag angle, though I'll leave it up to FL wether it belongs here. Similarly, I originally thought that, if he planned to bring up REM v non-REM sleep, he should mention that there are 5 distinct states. Sleep levels 1-4 and REM.

Levels 1 and 2 don't seem to do much for us except to get us to 3 & 4, and 4 is much more 'restful' and deep than 3.

My old sleep pattern consisted of an initial 2 minutes of stage 1, skipping stage 2, 5 minutes of stage 3, 15 minutes of stage 4, and 30 minutes of REM. The rest of the night was largely spent in breathing stress that kept me popping up and down through the stages erratically.

Things are much better now. I even remember having dreams now and then, something I hadn't known in years.

Um, Fords, didn't I mention the four stages of non-REM sleep in one of the footnotes? I coulda sworn I did.

And thanks for the lead, Bob. I've been trying to dig up stuff on the night hag but I haven't really gotten enough to bung in at this point. Still searching.

Ooops! See, that's why I didn't mention it. I knew you must have it covered somewhere, but I never made it throught the footnotes; I got paralysed!

for the useless interruption!

The night hag got to ya, huh?