The Demon On Your Chest And Other Terrifying Tales Of Sleep Paralysis

An unusual condition called sleep paralysis has been frightening people for centuries, and now a new review sums up the many creepy stories from different cultures that try to explain the episodes of waking up and being unable to move. Cultural explanations that try to account for the terrifying experience of waking up feeling paralyzed range from alien abductions to strange demons creeping into people’s bedrooms and sitting on their chests, according to the review, published in September in the journal Frontiers in Psychology. Together, the stories show how a single biological phenomenon can be interpreted differently by societies, the researchers, led by José F. R. de Sá of the Jungian Institute of Bahia in Brazil, wrote in their review. The biological explanation of sleep paralysis is that two aspects of REM sleep — dreaming and paralysis — are occuring while a person is awake, said Brian Sharpless, an associate professor of clinical psychology at Argosy University in Washington, D.C., who was not involved with the review. Sleep paralysis occurs more often than most people think, and it is more likely to occur when a person is waking up than during other parts of sleep, he said. [Top 10 Spooky Sleep Disorders] During REM, or rapid eye movement sleep, dreaming takes place and the brainstem paralyzes the body by inhibiting motor neurons, Sharpless told Live Science. But normally, dreaming and paralysis occur when people are unconscious, said S...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news