Talk:Sleep paralysis: Difference between revisions

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Night Terror in See Also?

I originally put a link to night terror in the See Also, but then I felt I wasn't sure if it fit, so I removed it. But...I'm getting feelings of regret again and kind of feel like putting it back. I don't think there's a real strong "scientific" link between sleep paralysis and night terror, but they are kind of "contrasting" yet similar in some ways, I feel (in that sleep paralysis can induce a fearful hallucination while somewhat conscious, while night terror just puts the person in a more unconscious panic or so, though they occur at different sleep stages, from what I understand of 'em). Anyway, I just wanted to get some "approval" of knowing if it was appropriate to stick in or not, since it's not as strongly as related as the other three "See Also's" listed. Shadowolf 09:27, 13 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Removal of astral projection paragraph

"Depending upon one's spiritual beliefs, some believe that sleep paralysis is simply your body being accidentally woken up while your soul is coming back into it. (under a theory that you leave your body, on occasion, while asleep). Your body reacts, as it only associates this event with the time that you are 'dying', so it panics and imagines generally nightmarish things."

this content did not fit in with the section it was placed, nor with the article in general. Since we are talking about a "neurological disorder" and not a "spiritual disorder". If it is worth mentioning though it should be placed under a new "religous" section with tie-ins to whatever specific "religous" belief system it belongs to.

Agreed. I thought the paragraph was a bit odd when I first saw it. — Frecklefoot | Talk 19:22, Jul 8, 2004 (UTC)

Rework of Opening Paragraph

I contest the latest changes by Vaughan. Though I am not a sleep disorder expert, every reference I can find refers to the disorder as sleep paralysis, not the more cumbersome awareness during sleep paralysis. I suggest we change the paragraph to state that sleep paralysis is a sleep disorder. Do a google search: almost every reference for "sleep paralysis" will turn up information on a disorder. We can mention that paralysis during sleep is normal, but the term "sleep paralysis" is used to refer to a disorder. Then we should revert all the additons of "awareness during sleep paralysis" back to simply "sleep paralysis." I just think in the earnestness of being "absolutely correct," Vaughan has sacrificed clarity. We can also keep his valuable additions of the more clinical and specific terms, but it shouldn't be implied that "sleep paralysis," when used in common contexts, refers to a normal condition. —Frecklefoot 15:54, 17 Feb 2004 (UTC)

I would agree with Frecklefoot. I have never seen the term "sleep paralysis" used in any way other than in reference to the sleep disorder. Joyous 21:05, Jun 8, 2004 (UTC)

Since no one has contested my change, I'm going to change it back. The current opening paragraph is too clumsy. — Frecklefoot | Talk 19:22, Jul 8, 2004 (UTC)

Ack, sorry I made the revert before reading the above. However, Google is not the font of all knowledge! Describing sleep paralysis only as a disorder does not fully capture the way it is used. The rewritten intro paragraph describes and explains both usages of this term. Why stick to one when it will obstruct people who want to conduct further investigation in the scientific literature ? Also, describing it solely as a disorder leaves no room to discuss normal sleep paralysis and even clinical problems where people do not have normal sleep paralsysis i.e. parasomnia - Vaughan 12:06, 7 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Okay. I have no beef with the article in its current state per the comments above. It clearly states where Sleep Paralysis can be a disorder. — Frecklefoot | Talk 15:16, Aug 9, 2004 (UTC)

Link kill

Why was this link removed? I thought it had some good information. — Frecklefoot | Talk 18:27, Sep 8, 2004 (UTC)

I agree that the link should be put back in....

also, I have sleep paralysis on a fairly regular basis.. I saw that it usually only lasts 2 minutes... but has anyone else had it, and if so, doesn't it seem like an eternity? Sometimes when I have it my body is faced so that I can see the clock, and I'll look at it and see what time it is and then look away, and it'll seem like hours, and I'll snap out of the paralysis and sit up if I have the energy, and it will be the same time.... or I'll have it, fall asleep, have it again, and the time won't have changed at all. I wouldn't know how to word it though, and I don't want to put it under something that's common if it's just me that has it. --Filladdar

I have it and so does my daughter. It does seem like a long time, but I've never been able to time it since I can't even open my eyes while experiencing it. — Frecklefoot | Talk 15:06, Dec 6, 2004 (UTC)

I use to have something very similar that I've wondered about for a while. If anyone knows could they identify it? When I was like six years old or so, I would often wake up in the middle of the night. I would have full control over my body, so it probably isn't sleep paralysis, but I would mumble and ramble like I was crazy or something, and sounds would be distorted. I would hear a constant, annoying sound. Often, pacing back and forth and rambling would be the only thing that would help and it would seem like I'm up for a long time. This only happened a few times but I am completely serious about it and I have no idea what it is. bob rulz 23:08, Jan 2, 2005 (UTC)

I think I know what you went through as a child: You were violently awakened by someone doing something near your bedroom that created a horriffic noise which was loud enough to shake you up from your sleep. Being a child, in an extremely sleepy state, you heard this noise as unintelligible, annoying noises. The rambling was due to the violent way that your sleep was disturbed and the pacing helped you go back to sleep because it had a rhythm - and that had a calming effect on your heart and brought your blood pressure down to normal. You could therefore, relax again, and go back to sleep. Hope this helps. Purple Dog 00:36, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have no idea, but I am not a sleep disorder expert of phychiatrist. You may want to try Wikipedia:Reference desk. HTH — Frecklefoot | Talk 16:51, Jan 3, 2005 (UTC)

Literal Japanese translation

Minor change: Added literal Japanese translation for kanashibari - firstfox 15:12, 28 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Sleep paralysis and the brain?

Normal sleep paralysis is thought to be due to mechanisms in the brain stem, particularly the reticular, vestibular, and oculomotor neurons, which prevent bodily movements, block sensory input and provide the forebrain with the internally generated activity that characterises brain activity during REM sleep. This is thought to be necessary to prevent the body from movements caused by dreams. Eyes however are not paralyzed by this system, and this exception was used to prove that lucid dreaming was an objectively verifiable phenomenon.

I thought that the onset of sleep included the release of a hormone specialized to paralyize muscle and that sleep paralysis is when a person becomes conscious when their body is so-paralyzed. "mechanisms in the brain stem...which prevent bodily movements" isn't very descriptive. Which mechanisms? Neurotransmitters? (which?)

I went looking for the name of the hormone(s) involved with the onset of sleep, and I wasn't able to find anything concrete. There are too many references to narcolepsy.

Some interesting reading:

Resources

http://sleepdisorders.about.com/od/sleepparalysis/

Notes:

Hypnagogic sleep paralysis - brief episodes of paralysis that occur when falling asleep.
Hypnopompic sleep paralysis - brief episodes of paralysis that occur when waking up

-- Sy / ^(talk) 19:40, 26 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Sleep paralysis and alien abductions

Did anyone catch that Peter Jennings special last night (2/24) on UFOs? They mentioned sleep paralysis as a possible explanation for people thinking they were abducted from their beds. That might be worthwhile to mention in this article.

I think that topic is discussed in Carl Sagan's book "The Demon-Haunted World." I don't know where my copy is, though, so I can't immediately reference it. Joyous 22:26, Feb 25, 2005 (UTC)

It is mentioned in the article. :-) — Frecklefoot | Talk 22:27, Feb 25, 2005 (UTC)

I agree with this statement. I once experienced sleep paralysis. I scared my out of my wits and it felt as though I was being binded by chains and could not move or even open my eyes. My dream continued on though and I became lucid, screaming and dropping to the floor in it. If you become lucid and you are dreaming about some creepy alien sci-fi spaceship situation, it is easy to see how you could be freaked out and imagine it really happened. --CherryT 01:35, 30 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

On a personal note: i just saw the alien abduction documentary. i remember having experienced sleep paralysis once in my life so far. i'm european, but from a culture that doesn't specificaly explain sleep paralysis. at the time, however, i had been two years into my studies as japanese major, and had heard about kanashibari and how it relates to ghosts in the japanese mindframe. i swear, the moment i experienced it, i "knew" i was seeing a ghost. a japanese style ghost, nonetheless. had i been american, perhaps i'd be seeing little grey men, or maybe lady death, if i was mexican. i don't think you even need to dream about these things, it's just the straw that the mind grasps for when trying hard to process what it's experiencing, and it's culturally defined. 213.172.254.98 01:20, 6 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sleep paralysis shows separate states?

Where did this section come from? It says "From the personal experience of M. van Veen, during which the writer wondered how it was possible to be on two tracks at the same time." Not only do I not understand the "the writer wondered how it was possible to be on two tracks at the same time" comment, but it sounds like it's the personal experience of a Wikipedia user. If this is so, it MUST be removed--Wikipedia DOES NOT do original research. If not, cite it. As it is, its unclear where it comes from. If not done in the next few days, I'm going to remove the whole section. — Frecklefoot | Talk 20:13, August 8, 2005 (UTC)

Sleep Paralysis and Dredg's album El Cielo

I added the bit about Dredg's album El Cielo. It's a really great, interesting album. I recommend it.

Please don't recommend music in articles that aren't about music. — Frecklefoot | Talk 14:08, August 15, 2005 (UTC)

Incubus

Is it truly necessary to have such a lengthy portion about incubi? They are associated with Sleep Paralysis, yet I hardly think it's appropriate to include such a long and tedious history. I personally can't decide how to edit it, but if someone could trim it down a bit I would appreciate it.

I reverted it. Originally it had a "Cultural references" section with discussion on how many cultures interpreted sleep paralysis. Some anon user removed all that info and just changed it into an incubus section, which, as you note, is inappropriate. That information can easily go in the incubus article. — Frecklefoot | Talk 14:08, August 15, 2005 (UTC)

M. van Veen & Sleep paralysis shows separate states

Some anon user added this section back in. I reverted it. Read why before re-adding it.

Wikipedia is not a place for original research. This includes adding one's own personal experiences. If one can find a reference in a book or a website that states some experiences, it's fine to add. But adding one's personal experiences to an article is inappropriate. That is exactly what that whole section was—someone's personal experience with sleep paralysis.

M. van Veen, the user who added it (non-member, that is his real name), contacted me on my talk page and explained why he added it and how other users altered it. Be that as it may, it was a personal experience or original research, neither of which is allowed on Wikipedia.

I stand by my revert. If you want to add it back in please discuss it here first, not on my Talk page. It is best to get more editors opinions on it than just mine. Wikipedia is a community effort. Thank you. — Frecklefoot | Talk 14:08, August 15, 2005 (UTC)

Not only is it original research, but it seems to deviate significantly from other descriptions of sleep paralysis. I'm going to delete it all together.--The Grza 20:57, 16 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Lucid dreaming section?

Why does there have to be an exact and non-formatted copy of the lengthy lucid dreaming article here? Couldn't you just link there instead, or write it in a few short paragraphs and explain why it's an important section here? It would make more sense as edits on LD wouldn't have to be made in two places. And that's why we have a separate article on lucid dreaming afterall. I removed it and added a See also section. User:Frecklefoot reverted and told me to see the talk page – but there's nothing relevant here. –Mysid (talk) 05:35, August 16, 2005 (UTC)

Heh, sorry, this is BS. I didn't even look what sections you reverted and what you didn't. My bad! –Mysid (talk) 05:40, August 16, 2005 (UTC)

J.-C. Lerman, Ph.D., NIH Senior Fellow changes

Let's discuss your changes to the article here. What are the problems you have with the article in its current state? What do you want to change and why? — Frecklefoot | Talk 15:06, September 1, 2005 (UTC)

Unfortunately, Jord jumped in and reverted my revert and then wikified "Lerman"'s edit. In doing so, he uncommented a lot of text that was removed from the article long ago. Let's discuss this, guys, before we get into a full-fledged edit war. — Frecklefoot | Talk 15:39, September 1, 2005 (UTC)

Frecklefoot, as I explained over at AMA Requests for Assistance, I was responding to Lerman's request for help. The problem did not seem apparent to me at the time of my edit, so I was bold in making changes which I thought would rectify the problem but, if not, could easily be resolved by a quick revert. I have emailed Lerman and encouraged him to bring his problems and concerns to the talk page and I do not believe that there is any risk of an edit war. - Jord 17:13, 1 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I understand what you did and why. My comment was not meant as an attack on you. I hope an edit war does break out. — Frecklefoot | Talk 15:18, September 2, 2005 (UTC)

Is that a typo or did you intend to say "I hope an edit war does breakout"? - Jord 15:24, 2 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, typo. Does NOT was my intent. <nowiki></nowiki>— [[User:Frecklefoot|Frecklefoot]] | [[User talk:Frecklefoot|Talk]] 02:29, 30 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Sleep paralysis and REM atonia

The intro says that the term "sleep paralysis" is used for both the normal paralaysis during REM sleep, and the pathological paralysis after waking up or before falling asleep. It then goes on to mention the term "awareness during sleep paralysis".

I didn't know the terminology in the field, so I believed our article. Recently someone alerted me to the fact that our terminology is non-standard. I investigated: MeSH defines "sleep paralysis" as "A common condition characterized by transient partial or total paralysis of skeletal muscles and areflexia that occurs upon awakening from sleep or less often while falling asleep. [...] The pathophysiology of this condition is closely related to the normal hypotonia that occur during REM sleep." [1] A search in PubMed reveals that the term "sleep paralysis" is used in the medical literature excusively in this sense. Furthermore, a google search shows that the phrase "awareness during sleep paralysis" is not used on .edu sites, and appears to be promoted solely by the web site trionica.com. I don't know what their agenda is, but we should not adopt their neologisms.

So I edited accordingly and directed the reader to our article on REM sleep for the explanation of REM atonia. AxelBoldt 17:26, 23 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 :I use to have something very similar that I've wondered about for a while. If anyone knows could they identify it? When I was like six years old or so, I would often wake up in the middle of the night. I would have full control over my body, so it probably isn't sleep paralysis, but I would mumble and ramble like I was crazy or something, and sounds would be distorted. I would hear a constant, annoying sound. Often, pacing back and forth and rambling would be the only thing that would help and it would seem like I'm up for a long time. This only happened a few times but I am completely serious about it and I have no idea what it is. [[User:Bob rulz|bob rulz]] 23:08, Jan 2, 2005 (UTC)
+:: I think I know what you went through as a child: You were violently awakened by someone doing something near your bedroom that created a horriffic noise which was loud enough to shake you up from your sleep. Being a child, in an extremely sleepy state, you heard this noise as unintelligible, annoying noises. The rambling was due to the violent way that your sleep was disturbed and the pacing helped you go back to sleep  because it had a [[rhythm]] - and that had a calming effect on your heart and brought your blood pressure down to normal. You could therefore, relax again, and go back to sleep. Hope this helps. [[User:Purple Dog|Purple Dog]] 00:36, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
 I have no idea, but I am not a [[sleep disorder]] expert of [[phychiatrist]].  You may want to try [[Wikipedia:Reference desk]]. HTH [[User:Frecklefoot|<nowiki></nowiki>]]&mdash; [[User:Frecklefoot|Frecklefoot]] | [[User talk:Frecklefoot|Talk]] 16:51, Jan 3, 2005 (UTC)