Dissolving Sleep Paralysis

When You Can’t Move After Waking Up

Sleep paralysis is a temporary condition that might occur when waking up or falling asleep, while the person is fully conscious but otherwise unable to move.

Those affected usually report a feeling of pressure on the chest, as if someone or something is sitting on you or holding you down. This state is time and again accompanied by visual, auditory and/or tactile hallucinations, often leading to feelings of fear and/or terror.

Sleep paralysis is not harmful although usually an intense, frightening experience. In many cases sleep paralysis has been associated with possession by devils, demons or alien abductions.

Demons, Shame & Trauma

People who suffer from sleep paralysis often have the feeling that something is wrong with them. They are ashamed to talk about their terrifying, seemingly supernatural experiences and suffer in silence to avoid being declared insane by friends, family or society.

However, sleep paralysis is a natural phenomenon. The causes can be many, such as a disrupted sleep rhythm or sleep apnoea (short-term cessation of breathing during sleep), but also stress, drug use or major life changes. Fortunately there are ways to manage or resolve it.

Especially people who have to cope with panic disorder, trauma or PTSD and already suffer from poor sleep, the frequency of sleep paralysis skyrockets (an imbalance in the autonomic nervous system appears to be one of the main attributing factors).

Sleep paralysis most commonly occurs when waking up during the hypnopompic state (the twilight state between sleep and waking consciousness), but sometimes when falling asleep during the hypnagogic state (the twilight state between wakefulness and sleep).

The Nightmare by Swiss artist Henry Fuseli (1781) is thought to be a depiction of sleep paralysis experienced as a demonic visitation

Possessed, or Not?

Sleep paralysis is a completely natural protective mechanism of your body. It prevents you from acting out your dreams with your physical body in the outside world while you are dreaming, so as not to seriously or fatally injure yourself – unquestionably a good thing, then.

When you wake up, the paralysis of the skeletal muscles disappears immediately and is usually not noticed. However, if the paralysis is still consciously experienced, it’s referred to as sleep paralysis*. You have one foot in the waking world and the other in the realm of dreams, as it were. For the moment both worlds are intertwined and hallucinatory images, strong feelings and intense noises from the dream world can now overlay your external sensory impressions. Still, your physical body cannot move because of sleep paralysis, thus preventing you from reacting to the sensory impressions, which in turn can lead to fear and terror.

Some affected react to the intense anxiety that the altered state of sleep paralysis can trigger by hyperventilating, causing a feeling of tightness in the chest. Now, imagine this situation experienced together with the visual hallucinations mentioned above and the loud noises that often occur at the same time, it’s easy to see why people in the past, as well as today, are often convinced that this state can only be caused by possession by demons, dark forces, extraterrestrials or the like.

(*Please note that some languages know different terms for the natural state of sleep paralysis and sleep paralysis as a sleep disorder, for example: in German the terms Schlafstarre and Schlafparalyse are known to differentiate the two.)

Old Hag and the Like

Whether it’s the Old Hag in English or the Nachtalb in the German-speaking world, who are sitting on the chest of their suffocating victims spreading fear, like Bakhtak in Persian culture or Mokthi, the devil on the back in Albanian folklore, who are forcing their victims to remain paralysed.

Then, there are the evil spirits Karakura or Kamos from the Turkish world, who chain people in their sleep so that they can’t move anymore and have to gasp for help. There is Kaboos كابوس in Egypt, Ammuttadori in Sardinia, Bangungot in the Philippines – the list of demons that steal air and paralyse goes on and on. But they all point to the condition of sleep paralysis, a very human phenomenon, known by many names in numerous cultures around the world.

Fortunately, we now know that sleep paralysis is a neurologically explainable phenomenon and that we need not fear it, for there are ways to dissolve or transform it. The demons of the past can therefore rest easy. 😴

How to Dissolve or Transform Sleep Paralysis

To release sleep paralysis, exhale long and slow while hissing a vocalised “Sssss” sound (remember, your respiratory system is free from sleep paralysis!). The vibrations and the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system caused by the long and slow exhalation will free your body from its immobility and calm your mind.

Another possibility is to stay with the experience of sleep paralysis, but to consciously change its content. How might this be possible? The hallucinations arise from our mind and reflect the inner environment of our psyche at this current moment, which is typically characterised by fear and terror during sleep paralysis. Some people experience visions of demons or aliens, while others suffering from trauma may relive visions of the traumatic experience.

However, if we can shift the focus of our inner world from fear to love, we can experience first-hand how the hallucinations of demons and evil spirits that play out before our eyes are transformed into positive, light-filled apparitions or vanish into thin air.

As simple and implausible as it may sound, focusing on a positive feeling will have a direct impact on the experience of sleep paralysis. Of course, this is easier said than done and takes some courage and practise. But it also explains why in many cultures prayer is recommended as a highly effective remedy for sleep paralysis. The power of prayer should not be underestimated in that regard.

Springboard for Lucid Dreamers

One more note for dream yoga practitioners: sleep paralysis can be an excellent springboard for lucid dreaming: Stay calm and relax your mind. Know that you are about to enter a dream with full awareness (Drop-In technique).

Bye Bye Sleep Paralysis

In the long term, the best way to prevent sleep paralysis is to reduce your own stress and anxiety levels during the day through relaxation exercises, while improving the poor sleep patterns that are most likely to trigger it. Calming breathing techniques and relaxation methods are recommended.

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