Science News has a major article discussing sleep paralysis, the state in which a person can wake, but remains in the paralysed state used to stop movements during dreaming.
Sleep paralysis, sometimes called ‘awareness during sleep paralysis’, to distinguish it from the normal muscle inhibiting function of REM sleep, is now attracting a substantial amount of research.
One paper by researchers Katharine Holden and Chris French (PDF) even suggested that some ‘alien abduction’ experiences may be due, in part, to terrifying sleep paralysis episodes.
Little is known, however, about the exact brain mechanisms which control sleep paralysis (although parts of the brain stem are known to be important) meaning it is has traditionally been difficult to make educated guesses about why paralysis sometimes remains after waking.
Link to Science News article ‘Night of the Crusher’
8 Comments
I’m curious as to whether it is common for people to experience a phenomenon similar to sleep paralysis without the paralysis aspect of the experience. Though sleep paralysis minus the paralysis may seem an entirely different experience, judging by experience I can attest that I’ve witnessed all the same phenomena but have been able to move and, if I so desired, put an end to this state of consciousness. I’ve also noticed that whenever I expereince this phenomenon, my jaw clenches in such a way that an immense pressure and sound builds up in my head and is rather painful.;
I wonder about what these experiences tell us; chalking them up to mere hallucinations gets us nowhere.
The first thing that came to my mind when I read this article was “It’s DMT!”. I believe it is fairly common knowledge by those involved in this type of research that the pineal gland releases a certain neurotransmitter, nn-DMT, during REM sleep. This substance is possibly one of the most hallucinogenic substances known to man. I know this first-hand, having ingested it during years ago in a psychedelic experiment of my own. The results of inhaling nn-DMT vapor are beyond fantastic, it is an experience that is truely out of this world and defies explanation.
I’ve long known about the REM-sleep connection with DMT, but until recently it was only something that I’ve read about. Recently, I was lucky enough to experience this first-hand and I can confirm definately that DMT is endogenously produced and released during REM sleep.
I was woken up quite suddenly during a very intense dream a few months ago, and it was completely apparent to me that in my state of sudden forced conciousness that I was hallucinating and the experience was very very close to what I experienced in my psychedelic experiments years earlier. During this waking REM episode, I experienced visual distortions in the form of moving spirals and a feeling of euphoria. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the experience immensely. The effect dissipated within about 30 seconds. Without my earlier psychedelic experiences I would have totally missed the point of this waking REM episode. This waking REM has happened to me once after this, and I will welcome it if it ever should happen again.
I can see how someone unexperienced with psychedelics could interpret this type of experience as horrific or paralysing, though from the article it sounds like some do feel it as euphoric. I can only think that what they are experiencing is a waking REM/DMT experience.
Incidentally, nn-DMT is said to be released during the experience of death and seems likely as the cause of the ‘tunnel of light’ that people describe after near-death experiences. From my own experience, nn-DMT definately produces a tunnel of light, and an overwhelming feeling of the presence of god. It’s an awesome thing and I feel so lucky to have been able to let myself experience this in a controlled and comfortable setting many years ago during my experimentation with psychedelics.
See http://www.lycaeum.org or http://www.erowid.com for more information on nn-DMT.
On Sleep Paralysis
I’ve had sleep paralysis for nearly 11 years now, off and on. I certainly don’t remember having it very frequently in the last year. But it’s nice to see that it’s garnering interest in the scientific eye. I can tell…
A sufferer for 20 yrs it is only the last few months that i have had sp with sounds and feelings. My sp happens regularly, about five times a week, ten times a night. I don’t see anything but i hear muffled voices, fluttering sounds, and a child running round my bed and blowing cold air on my face while not being able to move. Over the years i have tried to come out of my sp by moving my fingers or toes but that is almost impossible now, and the only way to get out is to put all my efforts in to trying to shout out to my children (only a tiny sound comes out and my lips don’t even move), my son now knows how to ‘shake me free’. All of this can happen without the sp or with it, or the sp can happen alone – there is no rule.
Im 17 years old and sleep paralysis seems to run in my family. I dont know if it is a hereditary thing or not but I would like to know what causes It. It happeneds to me probably two or three times a month randomly. In most my episodes of sleep paralysis it starts off with me being completey freaked out like something terrible is going on… such feelings you would experience in a night terror, I am also in a half awake state but yet i try everything in my power to wake up but i cant. The only thing i can do when undergoing sp is call for someone to wake me up in a very pathetic almost effortless scream.. I have done some research on the drug DMt and there has got to be some connection between the two. If anyone knows any details about this please let met know. SP can be extremely stressfull at times and i would like to know a way to either control it or cope with it.
I am 29 years old and in the last 2 years or so i have experienced sp several times only in the last month have i heard a name for it and every experience was horrible. i always feel as though something is horribly wrong i frantically looked around the room to try and understand what is happening i always feel this pressure or weight holding me down to the bed(now i know that would be the paralysis)my mind starts racing trying to figure out what is happening and what van only be 2 minutes at the most seems like 10. and no matter how hard i try i can not free myself from this state.when i finally come out it it takes awhile for me to calm back down and regain myself. for those of u who have similar experiences you have my sympathy..
i get sleep paralysis once in a while, and when i do im aware as i’ve experienced it quite a few times. I think u stay ‘paralysed’ because ur still in REM sleep state.. but you’re part consciously awake so you can still be awoken if you’re alerted. To get rid of mine i usually tell myself to breath in and out, and sometimes i struggle to get out of the heavy sleep state. In my dreams i feel like im picked up over my body, i cant move much, its just our paranoia like i feel as if someones watching or someone is there and i see people too. I manage to make it to my parents room then i wake up in the state that i slept in.
oh btw im 20 and my dad told me this can happen when ur asleep and u dont get enough oxygen, .. like in my uni dorm or room i sleep in at home is closed n windows closedi can probably experience it then and usually when i do wake up from sleep paralysis my face is stuffed in a pillow or under the duvet close to the wall away from the rest of the room and likely not good enough oxygen supply