Sleep Paralysis

Sleep paralysis is a momentary alertness but loss of voluntary muscle that occurs when your just about to sleep or when your about to wake up.It can last anywhere from 20 seconds to a few minutes and it affects about 8% of the general population.There are two types of sleep paralysis: Hypnagogic and Hypnapompic. Some of the common sensations and emotions associated with sleep paralysis are:an awareness of the surroundings but inability to move,a sense of physical weight and pressure on chest,difficulty breathing or a choking feeling,hallucinations or a sensed presence,a sense of fear or dread.Some people even describe hearing footsteps getting closer,seeing intruders,demons and spirits and feeling as if they are about to die.

Although there is no physical danger to the person experiencing sleep paralysis.They cannot pull themselves out of it and must wait for it to pass.

Sleep paralysis is different from nightmares or night terrors and that the brain is awake but the body is in a sleep state and cannot move.The most interesting thing is that it dates back to the 10th century.In fact people from many cultures have used sleep paralysis as a way to explain supernatural events and beings such as witchcraft,ghosts and alien abduction.