The Nightmare of Sleep Paralysis

It’s known as “Ghost Depression” in China, “Kanashibari” in Japan, meaning to be bound or fastened by metal strips, and “Karabasan” or ‘The Dark Presser’ in Turkey. The latter sounds oddly like a 1980s metal band, but these three terms all refer to the same thing – the often terrifying and little understood ordeal of sleep paralysis, which is believed to have left various imprints on our culture throughout the millennia, from tales of ghosts in the night to visits from aliens.

Studies suggest that around 8% of the general population, 28% of students and 32% of psychiatric patients have experienced sleep paralysis at least once.

But what exactly is sleep paralysis, and why does it occur?

REM is when we experience our most vivid dreams and during this spell, the brain sends your body into a state of complete paralysis. This is a perfectly normal event which occurs every night and we believe it’s a mechanism to prevent us from acting out our dreams which could be highly dangerous. But when sleep goes wrong, you can actually wake up during the REM period, while your body is still paralysed.

Many people who suffer from these abnormal occurrences only experience paralysis. But because they are both awake and still in the REM stage of sleep, some will begin hallucinating with their eyes open, projecting vivid and often threatening dreams into their bedroom surroundings.

Trapped in this semi-wakened state, with shadowy figures filling the room, anxiety levels understandably peak. “You have this vague sense that there’s something in the room with you. You feel a bit like a prey animal. And this is why people see ghosts, demons, aliens or even figments from their past appearing to attack them.”

In many cultures, humanity’s attempts over the centuries to seek explanations, have led to deep- held superstitions about witches and dark magic. Such fairytales act as a primer for the hallucinations.

Once movement returns to the body, the hallucinations disappear almost immediately. The length of the whole episode can last from a few seconds to 20 minutes. Scientists believe that sleep paralysis may be behind many of the medieval folklore narratives describing vampires and ghosts terrorizing villages at night, before suddenly vanishing into the ether.

“It seems to be a major part of culture going back through time. And that’s pretty understandable. I mean, how would you explain it in a pre-scientific world? You go to bed and you wake up and you see a shadowy figure hovering on top of you, doing things to you.”

For those who experience it as a recurring problem, psychologists have a few simple tips which can help. These include trying to establish a more regular sleep cycle and avoiding sleeping on your back or stomach. “People are statistically less likely to have it, if they sleep on their side. We think there’s something about the extra weight when we’re in a supine position that makes it more likely.”

“People don’t tend to make the supernatural attributions anymore but their experiences have such a vivid quality, they tend to think there’s something deeply wrong with them. And these days it seems to be more palatable to put it down to extra-terrestrials.”

A 2012 National Geographic survey found that up to 77% of Americans believe there are signs that aliens have visited the Earth and a 2008 poll suggested that 55% are convinced they have had an alien abduction experience.

Perhaps sleep paralysis could be at the root of these findings? “It may well be”. “It’s these cultural explanations which embed themselves into the whole experience. And because it seems so real, it encourages these pockets of beliefs to spread.”

Abridged from article at:



Have you ever had such an experience?

What was it like?

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