SleepSleepWell

A good friend of mine, Sean Clarke, shares with me his experience of sleep paralysis:

“Sleep paralysis has happened to me only once in my life about 10 years ago. I still remember it very clearly because it was one of the creepiest experiences I have ever had in my life. I was 25 at the time. I remember waking up at night and finding I could not move. At first, I thought it was a bad dream, however I then realised it was not as my eyes were open but I just could not move my body however hard I struggled. I was fearful because I did not realise what was happening. I stared at the ceiling and around the room for what must have been at least 30 minutes. I could not call out for help. Finally I decided I should just try and go back to sleep again.

When I got up in the morning my first thought was whether I could move my body. Fortunately I could move my body. The whole experience is vivid in my mind even till today. After my association with Spiritual Science Research Foundation, I began to get a better understanding of the causes of these phenomena and the spiritual remedies that I can apply to overcome them if it ever happens again.”

Apparently, research on sleep paralysis by J. Allan Cheyne (Cheyne, 2001) shows the following:

• It occurs frequently among 3-6% of the world population.
• About 30% of young adults experience Sleep paralysis at least once in their lives.
• It is more likely to happen to young adults.
• Sleep paralysis can last from a few minutes to a few hours at a time.
• People also experience, sense or see a presence around them during their paralysed state. Fear grips them and some of them have said that a demonic force was out to possess their soul or was trying to crush or smother them.
• In some cases, people feel pressure or a choking sensation. This is accompanied by breathing difficulties. In few instances, this escalates into sexual molestation or assault.
• A foul smell has been perceived at times during the paralytic attack.
• It is more likely to happen when sleeping on one’s back (supine position).
• People who go through it are embarrassed by the event thinking that something must be wrong with them mentally.

I will be writing more on the causes and remedies of sleep paralysis Sean mentions, in an upcoming post.

Until then, sleep well!

Yours,

GoodSleeper