According to an in-depth study performed in 1999, there are three types of hallucinations that can occur during sleep paralysis: “incubus”, “intruder”, and “unusual bodily experiences”.
Incubus
People feel intense pressure on their chests and they feel they cannot breath. However, this is only a mental game. It feels like they can’t breath because they are afraid. Also, the body is still in REM breathing mode which is very shallow. It would seem strange to anyone.
Intruder
People who experience the intruder experience the feeling of a presence, fear, and visual and auditory hallucinations. The authors describe it as a “hypervigilant state of the midbrain,” which can make people highly aware of even the smallest stimuli and “biased toward cues for threat or danger.” That’s why a small sound can seem horrifying to someone experiencing sleep paralysis.
Unusual Bodily Experiences
These people feel they are having an out-of-body experience. They feel like they are levitating or flying around the room. This type of sleep paralysis is so different because different areas of the brain are active at the time the person awoke.
Prevention
Prevention is difficult with sleep paralysis. That is because it can be hereditary and because it is linked to the whole bunch of other sleeping and health issues. However, there are some things a person can do to help with the problem.
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