Sleep Paralysis

Sleep paralysis is something we all wouldn't want to experience, but I think some of us may have. A more local and familiar term for this would probably be "getting pressed by a ghost" or Bei Gui Ya, in pingying (btw can somebody tell me how to put Chinese characters in here??). Well, other than the supernatural explanation for this, there is a scientific one, which would definitely make the experience much less frightful than it is.

Sleep paralysis, as it turns out, is a natural state of the body. When we are in our REM sleep cycle, we dream, and to prevent us from acting out our dreams, our brain naturally shuts down certain neurons in the spinal cord. What this results in is a semi-paralysis, where we have absolutely no control over our bodies other than our those parts that are directly connected to our brains (ie. the eyes, mouth, etc).

So, if we are abruptly wakened during our REM sleep, whether due to external or some internal stimilus, our brains are sometimes unable to de-activate the induced paralysis in time, resulting in the sensation of sleep paralysis, where we are unable to move our bodies, even though we are "awake". And because we were dreaming during the REM cycle, sometimes these dreams "continue" into our semi-awake brains, resulting in possible hallucinations or sensations.

How to avoid such experiences? Well, for starters we can avoid the possibility of external stimuli being the cause by trying to keep our rooms as quiet as possible and as tidy as possible (we all know how loud something sounds when it falls and hits the floor). Also, try to avoid internal stimuli, which may be caused by fear (eg. after seeing a very scary movie) or stress or grief or other strong emotions that may carry into your dreaming state. So try to avoid getting yourself into situations where you'll experience such emotions (like watching a very scary movie in the first place), especially near bed time.

You forget how powerful words can be until you wake up one night completely paralysed, unable to control your lungs, and overwhelmingly incapable of calling for help. When I was 16 years old and only mildly under the romantic influence of science fiction shows like The X-Files, and alien abduction movies like Fire In the Sky, I woke up in the middle of the night convinced that I was under the influence of some alien force.

In my bedroom, on my back and under my covers, completely unable to twitch a single muscle, I awoke convinced that I was somehow suffering from a serious illness. But when I tried calling out to my mother, who slept light and would hear my practiced call, I wasn’t able to take the prescribed deep pre-yelling breath. I wasn’t able to even vocalise the tiniest peep.

I knew I wasn’t asleep, and I became vaguely aware that something didn’t ‘feel right’ about my room. That’s when I saw the shapes: At both corners of the far end of my bed, against a blank white wall, there were two fuzzy dark shadows where I was sure there shouldn’t have been any. Maybe one was a sweater, hanging on top of my desk chair, I thought. But no, I could see my desk chair in the corner. I tried yelling for my mom again, and failed.

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