Question
yes i have a question i have no problem going to sleep but once im asleep my body goes through like stages and its scaring me first my head gets like extremelly heaving and its hard for me to move in my sleep i almost feel paralyled its like i have to put all my strengh together just to move and its painful and feels almost like im not gonna be able to move or wake up
Answer
What you are experiencing is normal natural phenomenon called sleep paralysis and hypnangogic hallucinations. Normally the brain and body have to awaken together and go to sleep together, however once in awhile there is a lag of a nano second making you unable to move sometimes your eyes may be open and you are paralyzed, its because your body is still asleep but you are awake, this can be very frightening. If it happens all the time and it affects your alertness in the day it also could be a symptom of narcolepsy. If you go to sleepnet.com click on narcolepsy you can read about these symptoms, but you dont have narcolepsy its just because they describe it well. 3 hours before sleep stay away from tea, coffee, caffeine, chocolate, caramel colored soda like coke, pepsi, ginger ale, exercise, alcohol, all this make for restless sleep 30 min before bed take a hot bath to relax and l5 min before bedtime drink a glass of plain warm milk.Milk when heated contains tryptophan a natural amino acid sleep inducer so it may put you in a deeper sleep. Also just knowing its normal may make it less stressful for you. If when you get it, simply move your eyeballs from right to left it will break it, but when it happens its so frightening its hard to remember anything. feel free to email again. karel
