Researchers from the Japan Fukushima University monitored an investigation at their sleep laboratory, in which they roused their volunteers several times during the night to trigger the phenomenon. The researchers concluded that electrical responses of the suddenly awakened brain, characterized by rapid eye movement (REM), along with two brain systems significantly contributed to the effects of sleep paralysis. They also noted that several inner-brain structures were the most prominent cause as they launched responses to the perceived dangers of the surrounding areas. Even in the absence of any real threat, the REM-based activation of this system would trigger a sense of an ominous entity lurking nearby. REM sleep also caused the body to be largely disconnected from the brain, resulting in a failure to re-activate the muscles immediately after waking up, leaving the body in a paralytic state. This lead to the conscious mind drifting into sleep but at the same time, retaining a small amount of the waking conscious which leads to the opening of experiences she would not otherwise have been receptive to when fully conscious or fully asleep. The second brain system, which controls the body’s sensory and motor skills, is able to differentiate one’s own body from others’. When REM activity stimulates this system, floating, flying, and falling sensations, outer-body experiences, and many other types of movement are experienced. In fact, other neural areas contribute to REM-dream imagery and also enhance the feeling of an evil presence by the extraction of personal and cultural knowledge. The condition’s primary emotion, terror, sometimes yields to feelings of excitement, exhilaration, rapture, all of which are to some degree, stimulated by the convincing atmosphere.
The compelling reality of the experience leads sleep paralysis to be singled out as an extremely plausible source to the claims and beliefs revolving around alien abductions, alternative realities, and otherworldly creatures. Accounts of space-alien encounters are extremely common during sleep paralysis and typically begin with the individual waking in the night while lying face up (a typical position in which sleep paralysis occurs.) The description many alien abductees use to describe their abduction experiences usually corresponds to the symptoms of sleep paralysis. In many accounts of alien abductions, the person cannot move but senses electric vibrations, and feelings of terror prevent them from breathing. Alien beings advance to the foot of the bed or climb on top of the person, who then experiences a sense of floating or envisions herself being transported to an alien craft. Aside from alien abductions, sleep paralysis has been recognized in a number of cultures with different creatures being the cause of the paralysis. In Newfoundland, the condition goes by the name, “The Old Hag Syndrome,” originating from the superstitious belief that an old hag sits on the chest of the victims, rendering them immobile. Surprisingly, there are many similarities in the lore of societies and cultures that have had no previous knowledge of each other, such as Grece’s Ephialtes (one who leaps upon), Germany’s Alpdruck (elf pressure), Japan’s Kanashibara (iron rope,) Rome’s Incubus (one who crushes), and France’s Cauchmar (trampling ogre). In some cultures, sleep paralysis is also thought of to permit the ghosts who have suffered unjust deaths a time to haunt the living and create "bad luck."
With such transfixed feelings of fear, and the risk of dying from breathlessness, there is still no cure for sleep paralysis. However, there are several suggestions sufferers of this condition have recommended to help prevent or decrease the number of paralysis episodes. Researchers have found that the most common precursors of this condition are stress and sleep irregularity, which often occur together. Since sleep paralysis is thought to be an REM-related problem, not being able to remain asleep for sufficient periods to accumulate normal REM may predispose one to enter REM prematurely, causing the person to experience sleep paralysis. If the condition is not brought on by stress-related issues, medication such as Clonazepam has been recommended as it is found to affect the neurotransmitters, resulting in a decrease in the number of episodes. Many sleep sufferers also suggest that recognizing the symptoms make it easier to cope with the overwhelming feelings. By understanding the background, the individual will acknowledge the validity of what she is experiencing and relax, making it faster for her to regain consciousness. It has also been frequently reported that lying in the supine position (face up) correspond to sleep paralysis. During the paralysis, although the major muscles are completely paralyzed, smaller muscles are less so. Therefore, by moving one’s toes, fingers, or rapidly moving one’s eyes back and forth, there is a greater chance of muscle-use being acquired more efficiently. From these observations, the most commonly used methods for preventing or decreasing the number of sleep paralysis episodes is to keep a regular sleep pattern, familiarize yourself with the background of the condition, avoid sleeping in the supine position, attempt to move small muscles during the paralysis, and consider medication which affect the neurotransmitters. But could the cures for this torturous condition possibly venture near exorcisms?
Although widely acknowledged among traditional cultures, sleep paralysis is one of the most prevalent yet least recognized mental phenomena for people in industrialized societies. In many accounts, people who have experienced sleep paralysis have been deemed, “mentally imbalanced” by scientists and physicians, as their accounts of the condition usually involves encounters with supernatural creatures and spirits, which are instinctively rejected concepts. Mainstream religions even condemn connections with ghosts, demons, and evil presences, leading to the suppressed number of reports on the experiences and the increasing acceptance of the scientific theories. However, the presence of a scientific explanation for these frightening episodes does not establish the reliability with absolute certainty. Although the researchers from the Japan University found a direct correlation with REM and sleep paralysis, this only goes so far as to confirm their hypothesis, providing a provisional truth, but not necessarily one that is absolute. Perhaps sleep paralysis truly leads certain individuals into something so innately evil, that even if they desired to adventure onwards, their minds would not let them as a result of unconsciously being conscious of this nemesis. With sensible scientific theories, along with the compelling consistency of experiences across cultures, one is left to decide whether these menacing episodes of sleep paralysis are nothing more than a disconnection with the brain, or whether these sleep sufferers are truly victims under the attack of otherworldly creatures.
