If you want to know about do’s and don’ts while having sleep paralysis, you are in the right place. A lot of you may have come across this term and are curious to know about what exactly happens in sleep paralysis. Or, you may not have come across this term but if you are interested then please do read this article. And if you are one who has actually faced this situation of sleep paralysis then you should know what to and what not to do during this time.
So as usual, before starting I would like to share some basics about sleep paralysis.
What exactly is sleep paralysis?
It is a temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or just during waking up, which is often followed by horror hallucinations.
What causes sleep paralysis?
Well, sleep paralysis occurs when we are conscious but our body is paralysed. This happens in order to prevent us from executing the actions that we see in our dreams, but instead, the brain gets awakened before the muscles do.
How does a person feel when having sleep paralysis?
When someone is having sleep paralysis, it means they are awake and cannot move their body or open their eyes (or maybe can open their eyes only). Sometimes we often feel that someone is pushing us down or we are falling off from heights, that’s also because of sleep paralysis and is more likely to happen to people who are stressed, excessive tiredness or are not getting much sleep as required for the body. Sometimes it may even occur that a person is awakened but cannot move their body, not only that, they see demons inside their bedrooms. Let me tell you, the last one is the most dreadful experience and that feels helpless.
What should we not do if we experience sleep paralysis?
1. One thing we need to do is that we should not open our eyes unless we are able to move in order to prevent those horror hallucinations.
2. To add some more to it, we shouldn’t panic while having paralysis and instead try to relax and move our fingers of hands and toes slowly in order to awaken the body.
3. We should not have heavy meals before going to bed. Not only that, please try to bunk having coffee before going to bed if you have a habit of staying awake at night with coffee being your survivor. This may trigger paralysis.
4. Try not to sleep on your back because this is another way that sleep paralysis may be triggered. Now you must be thinking that I’m talking rubbish but it’s true. Sleeping at your back may wake you up in a fresh mood. But, if you are prone to have paralysis then you should definitely avoid this idea.
What are we supposed to do when we have sleep paralysis?
1. We should try to get at least 6 hours of sleep. As I’ve already told in my other articles that our brain needs a rest of at least 6 to 8 hours at night. But, it’s also an important step to prevent ourselves from having sleep paralysis.
2. Proper schedule of sleep must be maintained. You see, I’ve also shared this point in my other articles in order to live a healthy lifestyle. So you see, an unhealthy lifestyle and an improper sleep schedule may lead you to suffer from some dreadful sleep paralysis.
3. Exercise – Now you realise the benefits of exercise in all aspects of life? Doing proper exercise may prevent you from getting sleep paralysis. But one thing that you must keep in mind is that you should not perform any kind of exercise in between 4 hours of going to bed, that may instead trigger sleep paralysis.
What may trigger sleep paralysis to some more extent?
1. People having bipolar disorder are more likely to suffer from this situation.
2. If someone suffers from narcolepsy that is, a chronic sleep disorder that produces tiredness all day. This association of narcolepsy and sleep paralysis may affect your health severely.
3. Even if you have leg cramps specifically at night time then that may trigger the paralysis too.
Treatment of sleep paralysis
Well, the best treatment as I already said is getting yourself proper sleep and maintaining a proper sleep schedule. Not only that, try to intake healthy food and do exercise. Adding more to it, try to treat any associated mental health issue that may trigger paralysis. And you can also use antidepressant medications as prescribed by the doctor.
So I hope now you know how to cope up with a situation where you find yourself experiencing and dealing with paralysis. But you see, there’s always a way to reduce or prevent unwanted situations when we start living a healthy lifestyle. I pray for anyone suffering from paralysis to heal soon.
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