Did you ever wake up suffocated, in the middle of the night, under a weighted chest while rigorously trying to move and scream? If so, chances are that you have encountered sleep paralysis. But you are not alone. It is a very common condition. 7.6% of the general population suffers from sleep paralysis. Well, that's a huge number of people. In this post, you will come to know all about what sleep paralysis is, its symptoms, types, causes, risk factors, and how you can cope with it. So wasting no time, let’s dig in. What is sleep paralysis? Sleep paralysis is the state in which your body cannot move while you are awake. It occurs while waking up (hypnopompic or post dormital) or falling asleep (hypnagogic or predormital). But why can't your body move? That’s because of atonia. Sleep paralysis occurs during the REM phase of the sleep cycle. And atonia also occurs during this phase. Because of atonia, there is a loss in your muscle strength. That’s why your body is unable to move. So what can you do to break the paralysis? Sleep paralysis is temporary and usually lasts from 1 to 6 minutes. But it may end suddenly because of your intense effort to break the paralysis, or by someone else's touch or voice. It has always revolved around paranormal stories of demons, or evil shadow intruders, or alien abductors. Even the old hag in William Shakespeare's ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was a portrayal of this condition. Since it falls under the category of parasomnias and occurs during the REM phase, we often term it as sleep parasomnia or REM parasomnia. Types of sleep paralysis · Hypnopompic: It occurs when the person is waking up from sleep. In this state, the person wakes up before the end of the REM stage of the sleep cycle. Thus, the body remains paralyzed because of atonia. · Hypnagogic: It occurs when the person is falling asleep. During this stage, the mind and body relax. The body tends to enter the NREM( non- rapid eye movement) stage of the sleep cycle. If the body wakes up during this phase it won’t be able to move. · Isolated sleep paralysis (ISP): It occurs in patients who don’t have narcolepsy or narcoleptic syndrome. Narcolepsy is a chronic disorder where a person sleeps excessively during the daytime. · Recurrent isolated sleep paralysis (RISP): In this case, the person encounters multiple episodes of sleep paralysis a day. It is less common compared to the ISP. What are the symptoms of sleep paralysis? The inability to move when you are awake is one of the major symptoms of the disorder. Other symptoms, in general, are divided into three categories: Intruder: It includes hallucinations accompanied by hearing sounds (humming, hissing, etc.), seeing certain figures often referred to as evil shadows, demons, or threatening intruders. Incubus: This includes symptoms of intense fear, sweating, pain, and suffocation. Many people even experience feelings of physical and sexual assault. The victim feels like he is about to die. Vestibular motor: In this case, some people experience impossible experiences of floating/ flying in the air, spinning, feelings of bliss, or out of body experiences. Who can develop sleep paralysis? It can develop in both teens and adults. 23.8% of students have been through at least one episode of sleep paralysis. A completely healthy person can also become a victim of this phenomenon. So, what triggers sleep paralysis? Here are some risk factors that would help you diagnose this condition better: · It is genetic. In a recent study, out of 862 people aged 22-33 yrs., 53% showed genetic inheritance of sleep paralysis. This means if someone in your family tree has the disorder chances are that you may also develop it. · It is a symptom observed in people with narcolepsy or narcoleptic syndrome. But people with sleep paralysis might not necessarily have narcolepsy. Other factors that may trigger sleep paralysis include- · Sleep deprivation · Sleeping on your back · Abnormal sleep cycles · Mental stress · Insomnia, Sleep apnea, and other sleep disorders. · Anxiety and panic attacks · Depression and psychological stress · Usage of drugs and alcohol · Mental disorders such as bipolar disorder Furthermore, people having trauma (arising from physical or sexual assaults), PTSD, are likely to have more episodes of this condition. 34.6% of patients with panic disorder are reported to have lifetime sleep paralysis. What causes sleep paralysis? Sleep paralysis tends to be linked with narcolepsy, sleep deprivation, and other such sleep disorders. But the exact cause for its occurrence is still unknown. Some scientists believe that the disruption of the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of the sleep cycle can be a reason. REM is the phase that comes right after the NREM stage of the sleep cycle. What are REM and NREM? NREM is the first stage of the sleep cycle. It covers about 75% of the sleep cycle and lasts for about 90 minutes. It is divided into four stages. In the first stage, your body starts to slowly fall asleep. After passing through all the four stages, the body shifts to the REM stage. REM is the deepest part of sleep where most of the active dreaming occurs. During REM your body enters into a state of paralysis known as REM atonia. REM atonia causes a loss in muscle strength due to which the body gets paralyzed. The purpose behind this is to prevent your body to act out physically while dreaming. Otherwise, it may face injuries. When you are awake before the REM phase ends, the body can’t move. That’s because even though the mind is conscious, the body is still paralyzed due to REM atonia. Dr. Baland Jalal, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, and a former fellow at Harvard University says, “Sleep paralysis can unlock secrets about sleep and particularly how the transitioning of REM sleep and non-REM sleep occurs.” Is sleep paralysis harmful? Although sleep paralysis is associated with feelings of extreme fear and death, it isn’t harmful and can be prevented. There aren’t any such sleep demons or shadows or ghosts in real. For instance, Dr. Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., a Clinical Psychologist and both a Diplomat of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and a Fellow of The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says, “Research has shown that sleep paralysis is not dangerous. It does not cause physical harm to the body and there are no clinical deaths known to date.” So, you need not worry. By taking the necessary steps, you can successfully prevent this condition. How to prevent sleep paralysis? There are no specific reasons for its occurrence. It is only linked with improper sleep hygiene, sleep disorders, and mental health. In most cases, by making small lifestyle changes and improving sleep hygiene, you can successfully prevent this condition. Get treatment for sleep disorders that are linked to sleep paralysis like narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and insomnia, if you have any. Take medications for mental health problems like depression, PTSD, anxiety, stress, and panic attacks. In extreme cases, you may be advised to consult a doctor who specializes in sleep disorders. What else? Well, the best and the safest you can do is to get proper sleep, such as sleeping for 6-8 hours a day. Avoid sleeping on your back, exercise regularly, eat well, don’t eat late-night meals, and avoid alcohol and drugs. What are some treatments for sleep paralysis? In most cases, when you go for a doctor, it's better to take a sleep diary. You may make it one to two weeks before you meet the doctor. This will help the doctor to know your sleeping patterns, and detect sleep disorders, or other mental health problems, if you have any, and provide effective solutions. There is no such drug that could completely cure the episodes of the paralysis. In most cases, the medicines prescribed are used to treat other conditions related to sleep paralysis. No trials have yet been made solely focussing on the treatment. In extreme cases, tricyclic antidepressants or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are prescribed. These are anti-depressants used for major depressive disorders. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is also one of the ways adopted for the treatment of this paralysis. Trials for GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) have been conducted to treat patients of narcolepsy which is an underlying condition for sleep paralysis. GHB is an anti-sleep medication. Besides, Dr. Baland Jalal has developed one of the first-ever systemic therapies called Meditation-Relaxation Therapy, or MR, to help treat the parasomnia. Its purpose is to reduce anxiety caused as a result of sleep paralysis. He believes that it can also cure other sleep disorders like insomnia and nightmares. Sleep paralysis is one of the most unpleasant things that can happen to anyone. And it can be scary as hell. If you are suffering from it, then begin by making small lifestyle changes, such as maintaining a good sleep schedule, regular exercise, etc. Otherwise, take help from a doctor. Although in some cases, episodes of sleep paralysis can't be completely cured, in most cases, it does get better.

Human evolution, the process that led us to what we are today from what we were 15,000,000 years ago. Though we seem to have reached the maximum possible state of evolution, for the last 30,000 years, human beings are continuously evolving as a result of natural selection, the phenomenon in which individuals within a population that have traits better suited to their immediate environment survives. Now, taking into account the continuous changes in our environment, we can clearly say that we are not going to stop evolving. It is just going to take place in a different manner with time and surrounding demands. For example, as the environment is changing and we are exploring much more in this universe, we may evolve to live in space or may even under water like thousand other species. For a fact, you and I know that Human beings have the ability to hold their breath underwater longer than any other land animal (though it varies upon practice) and compared to our closest relatives, the apes, we have a much more flexible spine, partial webbing between our fingers (which holds the potential to increase) and toes which are the features of an aquatic environment. However that doesn’t qualify humans to live underwater at least as of now. Because if we move to the deep ocean, we would suffer from hypothermia, i.e. the body temperature will fall below 35 degree Celsius and heart and the nervous system will malfunction and the organs will undergo complete failure. One potential solution to that can be not moving to deep and settling on the surface of water. Well, we do have enough body hair and fat that could prevent us from hypothermia. But our eyes are not that adapted to see underwater as of 2019. But interestingly, a new study shows that genetic changes have taken place in some population of the Southeast Asia to grow plus size spleens that may enhance their breathe holding capacities. One of such groups is the Bajau who live in houseboats in the waterways around and between the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. They have been recorded of holding their breath underwater for as long as 13 minutes. They generally hunt underwater for food and as such they have developed the ability to see underwater as well. DNA analysis revealed that there are certain genes in the Bajau people that varies from general people like you & me. One such gene caused the blood to be squeezed out of the limbs and non-essential areas of the body so that brain, heart and lungs could continue to receive oxygen while another prevented high levels of carbon dioxide from building up in the blood. This simply indicates the evolution of the Bajau to dive deeper and longer in the water. So, what about you and I who do not live near water areas? Why do we need to think of evolving to live underwater? Or how can we do that? To discuss this need we simply address the greatest problem of present time, ‘Global Warming’ or ‘Global Climate Change’. You, I and we all are aware of the problems caused by this phenomena. The average temperature of the Earth is increasing every year and this increase in temperature seems to be causing many potential environmental issues including melting of the polar ice caps, hurricanes, tornadoes and larger areas are becoming affected by drought. One of the problems that we are facing is the continuous rise in the sea level which may take over the entire land area of the planet in near future. And these are the reasons we that we human beings living on land for centuries are likely to undergo desired changes just like the Bajau people, in a greater scenario that would make us suitable to live underwater as per the principle of natural selection. Living underwater means less exposure to sun. And it is possible that underwater dwelling humans would be paler and may grow bigger eyes to adapt to low light environment. Our feet length may even increase beyond normal size to help us dive under water. This kind of evolution normally would take millions of years. But, we humans in this 21st century is technologically very much advanced and genetic engineering is the hottest topic of research in the Current period of time. Therefore, most likely, future human evolution will not be fueled by just random mutations but through genetic engineering. For example developing artificial gills, fastening a few of genetic changes like increasing the partial webbing between our fingers and much more. All these factors have the potential to lead us to emergence of a new human civilization underwater. As humans struggle to address issues like global warming; hacking our genes using latest technology to fasten evolution would give us the ability to deal with these issues in ways you & I couldn’t imagine.