Hypnic Jerks and Sleep Paralysis
Armed with an iced Americano (soy milk and 3 packets of Sugar in the Raw), I stare out into a sea of bloggers arranged handsomely in front of their sleek MacBook Pros and think, “Life is good.” Just kidding. I would never say anything like that, let alone write it (not in jest) on my blog. Gross. I almost want to take it down. Seriously, though. I am sitting with an iced Americano and I am blogging. I am looking at other people who have the same exact computer as me, and I’m embarrassed to have given into this world of technology and coffee-shop blogging that I would more than gladly do without. The fact of the matter is, I love my blog. I love writing it, I love researching it and I love checking google analytics every night at midnight to see how many people share my love. Shut up! What am I talking about? Get me out of here. I have a headache.
- “Hypnic jerks” aka “hypnogogic jerks” aka “hypnagogic myoclonic twitches” are that falling sensation/ jerking awake thing that happens.
- About 70% of people experience this just after dozing. (Have you seen that “DOZER” tag all over LA? How about “FUMAS”?)
- Cause? From wikipedia: “The brain misinterprets relaxation as the sleeping primate falling out of a tree.”
- Let’s clarify: Muscles slacken, the body enters a state of total relaxation, which happens more quickly than anticipated, throwing the brain off guard and causing it to misinterpret and send signals to the arms and legs, causing them to attempt to jerk you upright.
- This misinterpretation usually coincides with one being extremely exhausted, fighting the urge to sleep or lying uncomfortably.
- I’m going to end this section with an awful quote that ends an article on the subject: “It doesn’t appear to cause damage to body and poses no danger to our physical wellbeing. That may be true, but it could pose a significant danger to my bed when I mess my pants next time I wake up thinking I just fell off of a building.”
Right.
On to sleep paralysis, something that has happened more than once to me, and what terrible hallucinations I’ve had during such instances!
- Brain awakens from REM state but thinks it’s still dreaming, so the body remains paralyzed.
- The brain paralyzes the body during REM to prevent the person from acting out bodily motions called for in the dream, possibly resulting in real bodily injury.
- Thus, the person is conscious but unable to move.
- Add onto this the fact that hallucinations may come into play, and you’re in for a terrifying episode of How I Met Your Mother.
- Does this make sense? Let me break it down a little further: You think you wake up, and you see your immediate, actual surroundings. However, things are happening in that real space (sounds, abnormal visions, sensations, etc.) that the brain interprets as being real but are, in actuality, hallucinations. You cannot move, speak or blink, yet are fully aware of these things “happening.” You’re completely helpless!
- A common sensation is a feeling of weight on one’s chest.
- Common among African Americans (and me) and referred to in those communities as “the devil riding your back.”
- What causes such terrors? Lying supine, stress, irregular sleep schedules, etc.
I used the same image as wikipedia. Sue me. Hear that, wikipedia? Sue me!! I bite your s**t all the time.