Have You Ever Suffered From A Sleep Stroke?

Before we start talking about sleep stroke, we have a question for you: if you were asked to tell me what a dream is, how would you define it? This question is not easy to answer, at least not from a non-scientific point of view. Yet we can say that  sleep is a thorough physiological function. 

We could define it as a “functional, restorative, cyclical state with certain characteristic manifestations, such as  relative immobility and / or increased response on the threshold of external stimulation. At the organic level, there are variations in the biological parameter associated with changes in mental activity that are characteristic of dream vision. ” (Buela-Casal, 1990a.)

During sleep, major changes take place in the body. This includes everything from blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate, body temperature, hormonal secretion, and more. In addition, it has  been found that there are many variables, both physical and behavioral, that are widely responsible for many sleep disorders. 

Sleep disorders

The international classification of sleep disorders includes four categories (Buela-Casal and Sierra, 1996a):

• Dyssomnia:  Onset and maintenance of sleep disorders, excessive fatigue, and sleep associated with circadian rhythms.
• Parasomnia:  Awakening disorders, sleep awakening period disorders and REM sleep disorders.
• Disorders associated with medical and psychiatric disorders.
• Other possible disorders for  which there is not enough information to be considered sleep-specific.

In this article, we talk about one type of parasomnia, sleep stroke.

What is a stroke?

The paranormal events (sensation of evil, visits of spirits, and abductions of space creatures, etc.) that some people claim to experience are possibly the result of a sleep paralysis.

Sleep paralysis could explain the stories of ghosts and space creatures. Victims of sleep paralysis usually perceive the strong presence of some damaging creature. They also remember unusual kinesthetic sensations: someone drags them out of bed, shakes, flies, or falls.

Such episodes can lead to extracorporeal experiences. Sleep paralysis can be scary, but it is never dangerous. Fortunately, these episodes also last only a few seconds.

However, they are not supernatural. Sleep paralysis is a transient inability to perform any voluntary movement,  and this occurs during the transition phase of sleep and waking.

Sleep paralysis may occur when falling asleep or waking up. This is usually accompanied by a feeling of shock. It usually takes 1 to 3 minutes, after which the sleep paralysis subsides spontaneously.

Sleep paralysis often disappears automatically if a person is touched or attempted to be awakened. Even if a person is unable to move, he or she will see and hear normally. In some cases, they even make sounds. As we can see, sleep stroke can be horrible and can cause scary memories.

Symptoms of sleep paralysis

There are several symptoms that manifest during these episodes, and most are frightening.

• Visual hallucinations. There are people who say they saw unknown people in their bedroom. This presence is often detected in peripheral vision or shadows.

• Auditory hallucinations. Often the victim notices rudimentary, mechanical, and loud noises. These may include a buzzing, hissing, humming, roaring, echoing, hitting, vibrating, whistling, screaming, or whining sound. In other cases, they are recognizable sounds such as the sound of a telephone, the sound of sirens, the sound of tools, electronic motors, the sound of knocking on a door, the sound of moving furniture, the sound of glass breaking or strange music.
• Breathing difficulties. People with sleep paralysis may feel pressure, shortness of breath, or suffocation in their chest. These feelings are shocking and can cause panic. However, death or suffocation is not possible.
• Feeling of presence. The person may feel that there is someone in the house with him. They feel like someone is moving there, someone is coming into the room and approaching the bed. Some people feel like they are being watched.

Why is this happening?

Sometimes sleep paralysis occurs in addition to other disorders, such as sleep apnea and, as a rule, narcolepsy. Often, however, it occurs in isolation when a person experiences a lot of stress.

During sleep, certain nerve circuits remain overstressed due to stress. This leads to nightmares and the person wakes up suddenly. However, the body does not react as fast as it is in REM mode, so the muscles are completely relaxed. Therefore, a person cannot move even if he is aware of what is happening around him.

If anything like this has ever happened to you, then no worries. It is not uncommon. It is important that you are not afraid, even if this is not easy. When you remember this episode, keep in mind  that it’s just a bad dream. Just like a nightmare, but your eyes are open.