Sleep Paralysis Informative Speech

Also known as night terrors, these episodes are often paired with other prarsomnias, such as sleepwalking. A Parasomnia is an undesired occurrence during sleep, such as sleep talking, sleep walking, and night terrors. During these sleep terror episodes, an individual might kick and thrash around while still unconscious, stare wide eyed, scream or shout, and so on. Night terrors are said to be able to occur for a period of up to 30 minutes, once about that much time has passed, the person will once again lye down and go to sleep. Once the next day comes around the corner, usually the child or adult will not have any recollection of the event, but they at times remember small fragments of the

Clinically sleep paralysis "consists of a period of inability to perform voluntary movements either at sleep onset (hypnagogic or predormital form) or upon awakening either during the night or in the morning (hypnopompic or postdormital form)." (American Sleep Disorders Association, 1990, p.162).

I know that personally, I take sleep for granted. Having the ability to lie down after a long day and close my eyes, knowing that in the morning I will wake feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, is something that I haven’t really thought twice about. From reading this chapter, I have learned that many individuals are not so lucky. Sleep-wake disorders can affect a person’s life in tremendous ways. This broad category is broken down into two more specific categories – Dyssomnias and Parasomnias.

I have lived with sleep paralysis my whole life. Reading about something so horrifying and strange does not do it justice. I can tell you that a paralysis is so much more than not being able to move. There is something far more sinister about it. The paralysis literally lets your imagination run wild and that is dangerous. The role transformation plays in a scary story is practically the thing that tells it. Like in all nightmares, things can shift from being harmless to harmful. Transformation plays a key role in stories that are meant to scare us. Objects, settings, and humans all have the ability to transform in a story. Of course multiple things transform, but the main thing to be focused on is the transformation that even transforms the story.

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

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

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

paralysis. During an event of sleep paralysis the person is unable to speak, move their arms and

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

Somnambulism or sleepwalking is a major reason many people wake up with unexplainable bruises or are wearing an outfit they don’t remember putting on. Sleepwalking falls under the wide umbrella of sleep disorders called parasomnias, or anything that can go amiss during sleep. Although the category is similar, somnambulism differs from night terrors. Sufferers are not in fact acting out their dreams but simply moving due to confusion in the central nervous system (Guilleminault, 2006). Many facets go into explaining what sleepwalking actually is and what is transpiring in the brain. General knowledge about somnambulism is important due to the reality that so many Americans are affected. Knowledge of this topic should begin with the causes of this sleep disorder, where and when it occurs, what happens during an episode, the many things that can go wrong, and what to look for to see if you or someone you know could suffer from sleepwalking.

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

Credibility Statement: Having a sleep disorder, myself, I know how important it is to get the recommended sleep each night. According to Alina Bradford in the article "Sleep Paralysis: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment"(2017), Sleep Paralysis is described as the inability to move or speak immediately after waking up.

Why do we have sleep paralysis? Almost everyone has at least one episode in their lifetime. Sleep paralysis is one of the scariest, mysterious, things anyone can experience. It has you up the rest of the time wondering why it happened, or why you couldn’t do a thing at the moment you were having it. It is also known as rapid eye movement (REM). It is where you’re awake but your body is not. 5-60% of people have sleep paralysis.

As with sleepwalking, it can be hereditary. But thankfully our bodies change as we age, which is why we see children who no longer sleep talk or have night terrors. There are still some teenagers and adults who suffer from sleeping disorders, and in certain cases (such as narcolepsy, a brain disease where you have uncontrollable sleep attacks) some may never grow out of their illness. Either way, I am very fascinated by sleeping disorders and will educate others who suffer the new information that I

Night terrors, nightmares, and sleepwalking are all cases that fall into sleep disorders called parasomnias. Parasomnias are disruptive sleep disorders that can occur during arousal from either rapid eye movement or even non-rapid eye movement. Children from the age’s four to twelve of ages experience night terrors.