Sleepless in Amherst: Sleep Paralysis And Other Stories of Parasomnia
by Justine O’Brien
Like many people, I often have trouble falling asleep at night. My mind wanders, my thoughts are still in tune with the activities of day, and for some reason, four in the morning just seems like the perfect time to have an anxiety attack about whether or not I left my straightner on. Eventually, and with some effort, I’ll fall asleep, but sometimes it feels like a battle getting there.
Not long ago I was having a particularly restless night. Maybe it was the stress of the semester catching up to me, or the large coffee with an expresso shot I had in the afternoon, or some hellish combination of the two, but that evening, I just could not seem to fall asleep. After what seemed like an eternity of tossing and turning, I lay flat on my back and braced myself for an uneasy night and a draining morning. I never sleep on my back as I find it very uncomfortable, but I figured that restlessness was better when you’re staring at the glow in the dark stars on your ceiling.
After a while, I drifted into a state where my body was asleep but my mind was very much awake. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before; my body was slack and numb as if I were in a deep sleep, but my mind was fully aware of what was going on. I knew that this was abnormal and in an attempt to fully wake myself up, I flung my eyes open. My blood ran cold. At the foot of my bed stood the outline of a man’s body. Orange lights, like disembodied Christmas lights, floated where the man’s face should be.
My body was rigid and even though my mind was screaming for me to run away or at the very least throw something at the thing, I was suddenly frozen, glued to the bed in a trance like state. With my heart beating in my throat, I stared at the “man” at the end of my bed for a full five seconds before he disappeared. The time was 2:25 am and I had just had my first experience with sleep paralysis.
Now, a random ghost-like man with floating orange lights for a face alone would usually be enough to throw anyone into a panic, but what was even more terrifying was the fact that I couldn’t move. My body was rigid and even though my mind was screaming for me to run away, or at the very least throw something at the thing, I was suddenly frozen, glued to the bed in a trance- like state. With my heart beating in my throat, I stared at the “man” at the end of my bed for a full five seconds before he disappeared. The time was 2:25 am and I had just had my first experience with sleep paralysis.
The phenomenon known as sleep paralysis is surprising affliction that effects more people than you may think. Your mind is awake, even coherent in some cases, but your body is in a state of frozen rigidity, tricked into thinking it’s asleep. Sleep paralysis often causes hallucinations, which is why I saw the figure of the man in my room. While I was thankful that a real man with orange lights for a face wasn’t standing at the end of my bed watching me sleep, I was curious to learn more about sleep paralysis and why it happens in the first place.
According to SleepEducation.org, sleep paralysis is a “parasomnia,” a sleep disorder that refers to the unusual things that happen when you are falling asleep. When you are asleep, your brain goes through “atonia,” where it naturally relaxes your muscles and keeps you still. Sleep paralysis occurs when atonia happens as you wake up. The hereditary condition is also sporadic, and having it only once ever is as common as having it several times a year. While sleep paralysis is relatively common and does not denote any larger health problems, it can be a sign of narcolepsy when mixed with other symptoms.
Sleep paralysis can temporarily leave you unable to speak when you’re waking up or falling asleep. Your body remains set and immobile but you can still breathe normally. The experience will usually end on its own and typically only lasts for short periods of time. The hallucinations that can come from sleep paralysis can include seeing, hearing and feeling things that aren’t there and often include a deep feeling of imminent danger. The affliction is most likely to occur in your 20s and 30s, but it is common and can stretch into later years as well.
After reading all of this I felt more comfortable with the episode that had happened to me, but I was still a little on edge. I had never experienced anything like sleep paralysis before and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous about why it occurred in the first place. I wondered if the anxiety of the day really affecting my ability to get a healthy night’s sleep. Feeling antsy, I decided to research ways to get more restful sleep.
Having a consistent schedule is the first step in a better night’s sleep; your mind adjusts to the routine and will begin to relax and fully prepare itself for sleep. Cutting out long naps is also something that can prevent sleepless nights. If you absolutely must nap, try to stick to no longer than 30 to 45 minutes.
The National Sleep Foundation refers to healthy sleeping patterns as good “sleep hygiene” and offers tips for better sleeping habits. Having a consistent schedule is the first step in a better night’s sleep; your mind adjusts to the routine and will begin to relax and fully prepare itself for sleep. Cutting out long naps is also something that can prevent sleepless nights. If you absolutely must nap, try to stick to no longer than 30 to 45 minutes.
Your bedroom environment is also something that can affect your sleeping habits; make sure the room is dark and noise free and sleep on mattresses and pillows that are comfortable. Remove all “working” materials from the room such as laptops and even televisions. Your bed is best used for sleep and sex, to “strengthen [your mind’s] association between bed and sleep.”
My episode with sleep paralysis was a wakeup call for me (pun intended). Although it’s difficult to maintain a regular sleeping pattern, a healthy sleep cycle is important to having better days when you are awake. Since my episode, I’ve made it a point to make sleep a priority. Now that I’m more aware of one of the risks of unhealthy sleeping patterns, I’m much more apt to enjoy the rewards of actually sleeping well. So night night, don’t let the hallucination of a man at the end of your bed bite.
Justine O’Brien is a senior at UMass Amherst studying journalism and media literacy. In her free time she loves photography, shoes and attempting to keep plants alive.
