Sleep Paralysis Research Paper

Sleep paralysis is a completely natural and healthy state. There's nothing wrong with your body, and nothing bad will come of it. The only possible concern is the person panicking and freaking out, which when combined with the pre-existing dreamlike state, can manifest in horrific hallucinations.

Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder caused by the brain's inability to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally. At various times throughout the day, people with narcolepsy experience fleeting urges to sleep. If the urge becomes overwhelming, individuals will fall asleep for periods lasting from a few seconds to several minutes. In rare cases, some people may remain asleep for an hour or longer. In addition to excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), three other major symptoms frequently characterize narcolepsy: cataplexy, or the sudden loss of voluntary muscle tone; vivid hallucinations during sleep onset or upon awakening; and brief episodes of total paralysis at the beginning or end of sleep. Narcolepsy is not

Sleeping disorder is a medical disorder of the sleep models of a human being or an animal. The sleeping disorders interfere with the normal mental, physical, social, and emotional functioning of the body. The commonly ordered sleeping disorders are polysomnography and actigraphy. This paper provides a critical analysis of a 2010 article written by Jane F. Gaultney called The prevalence of sleep disorders in college students: impact on academic performance.

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).

Some signs of cataplexy are slurred speech, weakness of muscles, and intense emotions. Cataplexy effects muscle tone while awake, effects part or all of your body, may make your head nod, ,may be hard to speak, falling (weakening at the knees), and strong emotions. During this time, you're usually awake. In addition, hallucinations are another symptom pointing towards the condition narcolepsy. These hallucinations are called hypnologic hallucinations. Due to the fact that you may be awake when you're dreaming, these dreams may seem like reality or may be nightmares. Some signs of having a hallucination are vivid dreams when falling asleep, waking up, dozing, and life-like dreams. Finally, sleep paralysis is a symptom of narcolepsy. Sleep paralysis prevents you from moving or speaking while falling asleep and waking up. During this period you are fully conscious. Some signs you have sleep paralysis is you don't sleep well at night, you have trouble falling and staying asleep, nightmares interrupt sleep, having difficulty finishing daily tasks, and being hyperactive.

Narcolepsy is a neurological, sleep disorder that affects 1 in 2000 Americans. It is not selective against race, nor gender, and does not have a link among family members. Therefore anyone, and everyone is susceptible to having narcolepsy. In addition narcolepsy is often misunderstood, underdiagnosed and/or misdiagnosed. Currently there is no cure for this chronic and sometimes debilitating condition. The focus of this paper is to re-examine current knowledge of narcolepsy, through significant scientific research, in order to generate a desire to continue to search for a cure that will lead to the improvement of the quality of life for

Narcolepsy is a chronic, neurological brain disorder that is characterized by poor control of sleep-wake cycles, cataplexy, and abnormal rapid eye movement sleep (REM). People with narcolepsy experience periods of extreme daytime sleepiness and irresistible, sudden sleep that can strike at any time. According to National Institute Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS, 2010), “These “sleep attacks” usually last a few seconds to several minutes.” Narcolepsy can greatly affect daily activities because people may unwillingly fall asleep while at work or at school, while having a conversation, eating, or operating various types of machinery.

Narcolepsy is defined as a lifelong neurological disorder of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep in which the affected individual has attacks of irresistible daytime sleepiness, cataplexy (sudden muscle weakness in response to emotional triggers like surprise, laughter, fright, or anger), hypnagogic hallucinations and sleep paralysis (Wiley). Cataplexy is one of the most common signs of narcolepsy and many investigators argue the presence of cataplexy is required to confirm a diagnosis of narcolepsy. Cataplectic attacks can be elicited easily with canines by emotional stimuli, like food or play. When a cataplectic attack happens the muscles weaken and often the dog collapses. These attacks most often affect the neck, front legs, hind legs, or all

Studies have shown that sleep disturbances are extremely common in individuals that suffer from PTSD as well as those that suffer from primary insomnia. Although a few studies have been done separately that show the consequences of sleep disturbance in PTSD patients and Insomnia patients, there is little known about how they differ. Some sleep problems reported in PTSD are very similar to those of primary insomnia, but issues that are unique to PTSD suggest that conditions may be worse or different than they are for insomniacs. These additional factors may contribute to sleep variability more heavily due to the fact that it could cause sleep patterns to be unpredictable and different from patient to patient

Sleep paralysis is most common in those who have narcolepsy. Some have sleep tests done, in order to find possible sleep disorders one may have, like sleep

Most parasomnias are genetic and can affect people of all ages, though children are more prone to it. For infants to children up to the age of twelve causes could be anything from sleep loss, fever, or anxiety. Some adults who develop somnambulism later on in life credit their sleepwalking to a mental disorder, drugs, alcohol, and even prescription medication. It is important to know there things because many Americans may be at risk and most of the causes are things we engage in ourselves. We all take some sort of medication and we all know at least one child who would much rather stay up then go to sleep at a reasonable

What is sleep paralysis? Well, sleep paralysis is the horrifying circumstance when your body is essentially disconnected from your brain. During this time period, you are unable to move any of your body parts, yet, you are conscious and able to understand

Narcolepsy is a chronic brain disorder that involves poor control of sleep-wake cycles. Narcolepsy typically affects patients in their teenage years or in their 20’s. Sometimes patients are diagnosed in their 40’s or 50’s. In severe cases patients are prone to falling asleep with little or no warning. These are known as sleep attacks.

Sleep Paralysis is said to be caused by demons, evil spirits, and space aliens (Ness.) A. 4 The Old Hag is the most popular phenomenon of sleep paralysis (Ness). 1. The Old Hag is said to be the cause of sleep paralysis in many cultures (Hinton et al.).