Many of us don’t think much about what happens when we go to sleep. Most people go to sleep, have a dream, and then wake up, but that is not the case for everyone. For some people, they are excited and eager to go to sleep, others, on the other hand, are terrified.

SLEEP PARALYSIS:

Imagine waking up and being completely unable to move. You try so desperately to move your hand, head, or legs, but you’re stuck like a mouse in a glue trap. Then, you sense something, someone in the room. Your heart starts to beat faster and faster. Then, you see a shadow creep into your room. You close your eyes terrified. Finally, you decide to open your eyes, thinking the mysterious monster has gone away, but when you open your eyes you see the shadow demon standing right over your face. You want to scream for help but nothing comes out. You close your eyes again hoping and praying that the demon is gone. You slowly open your eyes making sure the perimeter is safe. The demon is gone.  

This frightening experiment is called Sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is when you wake up unable to move for a short period of time. This usually happens when you are waking up or falling asleep. Sleep paralysis may happen because of irregular sleep patterns, narcolepsy, stress, and genetics. Teens are more likely to have sleep paralysis because many they experience a lot of stress and many of them don’t get enough sleep.

Kevy Huynh ‘23 has had many experiences with the terrifying virtual reality. “ It’s like a mom watching her baby sleep just to make sure that her baby is safe.”

 “I don’t know how to describe [The shadow demon], it’s [like] a shadow with a weird face…They either have a full human face, or they’re a scarier version of the classic ghost. The one with two circles for eyes and a big circle for a mouth. The eyes are almost like big hollow sockets, and the mouth is just a torn gaping hole that literally looks like it could swallow you whole. Those are the scariest ones.”

This experience only lasts for a few minutes but can be extremely terrifying for the person experiencing it. 

“ It always feels like forever…it feels like a very long time.”

WHY DOES IT HAPPEN?

You have probably heard of REM sleep at least once in your life, but do you know what happens in that cycle? 

REM is short for the rapid eye movement cycle. MedicalNewToday states that during REM sleep you go through a variety of changes in your body such as fast breathing, more oxygen to your brain, rapid eye movement, and more. 

But what does this have to do with sleep paralysis?

WebMD says that sleep paralysis happens because of a disturbance in REM sleep.  The body transitions from REM sleep and NREM sleep (Non-Rem Sleep). When you have sleep paralysis your body and mind are not in sync when you are switching from REM Sleep or NREM sleep. Resulting in you waking up while your body is still asleep.

” It’s kind of like one of those things that if you try to prepare for it comes out to be the worst it can be”

“There is no way to prepare for it,” Huynh says.

LUCID DREAMING:

Have you ever wanted to control your dreams?

Have you ever wanted to fly like an angel or make things appear out of nowhere?

Have you ever wanted to do the impossible? 

Well, this is could never happen in real life but in your dreams, that’s a totally different answer and it’s called Lucid dreaming.

Lucid dreaming is when you are aware that you are dreaming and are able to control your dream. Lucid dreams happen during REM sleep which is when most of your dreams happen. WebMD states that while you are having a lucid dream, parts of your brain that are usually suppressed are active. 

 What is this experience like? 

For Timothy Cui ’21, it is a crazy experience. “Most of the time it’s like a nightmare and I’m getting chased by monsters and then halfway through I’m like ‘wait this is a dream,’ so I give myself guns.”

“The first time I remember having a lucid dream… I jumped off a school building and myself fly….it’s really easy for me to control my [dreams]. For instance, I think I was like running through a mountain, getting chased by an ogre, I just gave myself like three machine guns, a jet pack, and then I gave [myself]  night vision.”

For other people, like Tiffany Davis ‘23, it was a mix of emotions. “ it can be both [fun and scary] I’ve had lucid dreams in nightmares…I was scared. I was wondering if I was going to be stuck [in the dream].” 

Davis says that she figures out she’s in a dream by the way people talk to her or because she can just hear herself think. She also explains how lucid dreaming has gotten less scary for her over time. “It was better after the second time [because] I understood [it] and [I] could control it better.”

For Huynh, it was a much better experience than sleep paralysis. She explains to me how she flys in her dreams, “It was kind of like when your running to do a long jump. But instead, you just lift up your feet, and then you start flying. It’s exactly like how they show it in Peter Pan. He can fly and do flips and turns. It’s exactly like that.” 

Lucid dreams aren’t just fun though. According to Healthline, lucid dreaming also has many benefits like less stress, fewer nightmares, less chance of getting sleep disorders, and getting more sleep. 

“I definitely would do it again,” Huynh exclaims to me.

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