The following has happened to all of us: you wake up in the middle of the night, but you can not move. Your arms and legs look like stone and no matter how hard you try, you can not even move the fingers of your hands. Sometimes, even, it's hard for us to breathe a bit, right?
It may seem like a scene from a scary movie, but the truth is that it happens more than we think and is called sleep paralysis.
What is sleep paralysis❔😴
When you wake up suddenly you do not usually have trouble moving around, however, there are certain people who have a little more trouble. This is known as sleep paralysis and is related to the different REM sleep phases.
While we sleep, we can go through three or four stages of dreams. It is possible to dream in all of them, but the dreams that take place during the REM phase are the most realistic and vivid.
During this phase, the brain is very active and therefore, the body can be paralyzed, a condition that can be prolonged after waking up. This uncomfortable moment usually lasts from a few seconds to a minute, although cases of people who have needed up to 10 minutes have been documented.
Types of sleep paralysis
1. External entity
Some people feel that they have someone on their chest and, therefore, have difficulty breathing when they wake up. This is a mental game, in addition, the fact of still being in the REM phase makes your body breathe slower than usual.
2. Intruder
There is no one in your room when this happens to you, it is the product of your mind. The brain panics about what is happening and causes a hallucination.
3- Extra corporeal experiences
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There are different parts of the brain active during this type, which causes the subject to think that he is having an extra corporeal experience.
Preventing this sleep paralysis is complicated because, in part, it is hereditary. Some studies suggest that a trick to reduce it is to sleep on its side, rather than on its back.