Sleep Paralysis Can Terrorize Those Who Suffer From It

A new article by British researchers calls for more attention to be paid in the medical community to sleep paralysis, also known as "night terrors."

"Sleep paralysis is a period of transient, consciously experienced paralysis either when going to sleep or waking up," wrote the researchers from the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London. "During an episode the individual is fully conscious, able to open their eyes but aware that it is not possible to move limbs, head or trunk." The person might have trouble breathing and, "the individual might experience hallucinations."

Scientists are aware that the phenomenon is related to stress and involves a disconnect between the brain and the body during the dreaming, or REM, portion of sleep.

"Putting it simply, wakefulness has occurred, but the body and part of the brain is still in REM sleep," the researchers wrote in the journal The Psychologist.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,539325,00.html

HA, hallucinations are nothing more than one consciously "seeing" a part of their dreaming ......... but not realizing that is what they are seeing.

And "not exactly", that the body and part of the brain is still in REM sleep, ..... it is more like the subconscious mind permitted the conscious mind to "wake up" .... but is ignoring all "requests" for muscular movements except for eye movement.

One's "conscious mind" can't directly initiate any muscle movement, it can only make a request to the subconscious mind to initiate said movement. That is why people "jump" when startled, even before they consciously know what it was that startled them.

And if you read that other new post, titled "Getting by on six hours of sleep", ..... that explains the "circadian rhythm" and "homeostatic process", you should realize those are also controlled by one's subconscious mind (which never sleeps) and which you absolutely have no conscious control over.



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