Nocturnal Visits From Menacing And Evil Creatures

"Every night around 10:30 Billy Bolts out of bed and starts screaming uncontrollably. I often find him running around his room looking frantic. I try to hold him, but he just pushes me away. I don't understand what is happening. He looks terrified, and it frightens me" (Mindell 257).

Narcolepsy is a permanent sleep disorder that gets worse with age. It is estimated that about 40,000 to 135,000 people in the United States have narcolepsy. (Narcolepsy, 2002). Most people who have narcolepsy are often times misdiagnosed because the symptoms, especially if noticed at the beginning stages, are very similar to other sleep disorders. Some of the symptoms that go along with narcolepsy are excessive sleepiness, especially during the daytime or when sleep is inappropriate, cataplexy which is when a person suddenly looses control of their muscles, sleep paralysis which is when the person is unable to move for a short period of time after they wake up from sleep, and hypnagogic hallucinations which is very

Sleep paralysis is a common condition with a prevalence of 5-62%, although most affected people have single or infrequent episodes (Dahlitz). Occasionally sleep paralysis is found to run in a family, and it can be associated with other disorders of hypersomnia, such as sleep apnea (Becker 81). Narcolepsy has also been linked with sleep paralysis; both are thought to be REM sleep disorders (Siegel). Gender and race do not seem to be a factor of risk for this disorder. The episodes of sleep paralysis seem to range from ages 5-35 (Dahlitz). The use of anxiolytic medicines, psychiatric disorders and high anxiety can also contribute to sleep paralysis (Larkin).

Narcolepsy is defined as a condition characterized by an extreme tendency to fall asleep whenever in relaxing surroundings. It is a brain disorder that causes poor control of sleep and wake cycles. People that have narcolepsy usually experience sudden sleep attacks. These sleep attacks can last from a few seconds to minutes. Narcolepsy is classified by extreme daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, hypnologic hallucinations, and sleep paralysis. In this paper the focus is on the physiological effects of Narcolepsy on an individual, as well as explains treatments and recent research studies being made today and in the future.

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness caused by a disturbance in sleep/wake cycles. It affects men and women equally, and it typically takes up to ten years after onset to get diagnosed. Onset usually occurs in the teen years, however it can also develop in children or adults. There is typically a peak incidence at age 15, and a smaller peak at age 36. Globally, narcolepsy affects approximately 1 in 2000 people, however for unknown reasons, the rate in Japan is nearly twice as high.

A typical night terror begins about ninety minutes after falling asleep, during stage four of sleep (Web MD, 2017). It begins with a piercing scream. The child will sit up in bed in a state of panic – eyes open, heart pounding, perspiring, and breathing rapidly (Sharma, 2006). They could get out of bed and walk or run around, and some adults are at risk of preforming violent acts during this time. The subject is still in a sleep like state during night terrors outbursts and can be awoken with some difficulty (Sleep Association, 2016).

Narcolepsy (narco meaning “numbness” and lepsy meaning “seizure”) consists primarily of attacks of irresistible sleepiness in the daytime. The patients day is broken up by a series of brief and repetitive sleep attacks, perhaps even two hundred attacks in a single day. These transient, strong attacks may last from a few seconds to as much as thirty minutes, with an average spell lasting two minutes. When a patient suddenly gets the urge to sleep, it is practically impossible for them to ignore that they are suffering an attack, in any situation. These sleep attacks happen uncontrollably, and in any situation or place. People with narcolepsy typically fall asleep suddenly, on the job, in conversation, standing up, and even while eating, driving, or making love. (Matzen 2016, p.1) Many individuals with Narcolepsy are extremely sleepy all day, regardless of how much sleep they got the night before. One of the more prominent and troubling features of Narcolepsy is Cataplexy. Cataplexy is a sudden loss of muscle tone that causes the person to quickly collapse. More than seventy percent of people with Narcolepsy suffer from Cataplexy. Cataplexy may consist of all the muscles or only a select few, so the severity may range from total collapse to the ground to partial collapse of a limb or the jaw. The Cataplectic (patient) sometimes remains

Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism, is a phenomenon in which the body is awake and active but the mind remains asleep. The eyes are open and postural muscles are aroused, but conscious awareness is still suspended. It occurs during a portion of sleep called non-REM sleep, in which the muscles are not in the same near-paralysis state as seen during REM sleep. The dissociation between "body sleep" and "mind sleep" that occurs during sleepwalking results from the relative activation and deactivation or particular brain regions, research

The authors provide a detailed definition of what night terrors are, when they occur, and their prevalence among society. This source is also deemed reliable due to it being a scholarly journal that was found through Keystone College’s online library. The only weakness of this source is that it does not focus mainly on night terrors. Altogether, the journal focuses on sleep terrors, nightmares, and rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder. Since there are many sleep disorders mentioned in this journal, it is difficult to find the exact sleep disorder that was needed. Even though the journal had a weakness, I was still able to use most of the information found in the journal for my project because it presented finely detailed information that was

In ancient times, science was not as developed nor was there technology like we have today. Science has evolved over the years and has helped manifest explanations for everyday occurrences. However, a lack of these justifications leads people into creating these extraordinary tails and myths to help provide explanations for what they did not comprehend. Sleep paralysis is an exemplary event that caused an uproar and a pinnacle moment in the culture of myths. It is an occurrence that had no proper scientific explanation which lead to the conception of grotesque tails that haunted people for centuries and still do today.

The probable diagnosis for this man’s condition is narcolepsy, a neurological brain disorder that causes malfunctioning in the brain’s ability to regulate the sleep/wake cycle. Cataplexy, an abrupt loss of the voluntary muscle tone; vivid sleep or wake hallucination and episodes of paralysis while asleep are symptoms that characterized narcolepsy (Brandt, Frey & Laberge, 2012).

While researching the topic of sleep paralysis I learned that it is not a new kind of disorder, brought on by cell phones, smog, or global warming- it has been around for centuries. Sleep paralysis was once attributed to “evil” presences, and it was even referred to as “old hag” in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. I learned that, in most cases, it is simply a sign that a person's body is not moving smoothly through sleep (http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-paralysis). Most cases refers to hypnogogic sleep, whereas it happens to me when I am coming out of REM sleep.

Many individuals try their hardest not to sleep at night just so they wouldn’t experience this issue. It is very unhealthy but the paralysis is so frightening, they would rather not sleep.

Imagine waking up in the middle of the night unable to move or speak, to make it worse, imagine being visited by a witch,alien,or demon while that happens. This frightening phenomenon is called sleep paralysis which can last from one minute to an hour. Although it’s not common to experience sleep paralysis, it’s certainly not rare. In other words, it could happen only once, or a numerous amount of times throughout your life. After having a first-hand experience of this, I’ve researched the signs and symptoms, what it is and how it happens, and most importantly, how to prevent

Sleep disorders have always surrounded me through family and friends. though I never suffered with any sort of sleeping disorder, I was well aware of how unnerving it can be toothless who suffer from it. I did not know all of the different types there were, and was intrigued when reading chapter three of my psychology book. I had assumed that nigh terrors, which I used to think were the same as nightmares, were over exaggerations of a person’s scary dream. Sleepwalking also held interesting facts that I didn’t know prior. Having a best friend who occasionally sleepwalks, I was always interested in why she would seldom remember both walking and talking. I also appreciated learning about sleep apnea because my father used to struggle with it and would worry my mom about his breathing when he was asleep.