Is “ghost press bed” real?

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Many people experience “ghost press bed” during sleeping. People who do not have the experience do not believe the fact. However, is “ghost press bed” really happen? This question is confusing the community. Therefore, we will reveal and discuss the fact in the following section.

Sleep Paralysis

So-called “ghost press bed” is actually sleep paralysis which is a sleep disorder disease. This phenomenon is nothing related to the ghost. Sleep paralysis is a normal physiological phenomenon in which people, either when falling asleep or wakening, temporarily experience an inability to move. It can occur at sleep onset or upon awakening, and it is often accompanying with terrifying visions (e.g. an intruder in the room), to which one is unable to react due to paralysis. As we discussed before, paralysis is caused by the releasing of glycine from the brain stem onto the motor neurons during the REM sleep. With the presence of glycine in the motor neurons, when there is disruption during REM sleep, which is normally characterized by complete muscle weakness, individuals are preventing from acting out their dreams.

During the sleep paralysis condition, the person is switching on and off around the sleep-wake border, brain wave amplitude is clear, some people still and the image will have illusion, but to minimize the muscle tension, the body could not move, as if cast a protective shield-like, which is generally known as “ghost pressure body” phenomenon. Sleep paralysis is usually relatively related to large pressure, excessive fatigue, lack of rest, insomnia, anxiety, more likely to occur under the circumstances.

Sleep paralysis occurs mainly at the early relationship between REM, resulting in the REM stage of coordination inconsistent. The basic cause of the sleep paralysis is REM atonia, a natural process which happens to everyone, every night. “Atonia” means lack of muscle tension. REM atonia is an essential sleep mechanism. As we asleep, it cuts off the electrical signals between the muscles and the brain so that we can sleep peacefully each night. In short, REM stops us from acting out our dreams. The experience of sleep paralysis occurs when our mind (in part) wakes up, but our body remains asleep. Physically asleep, we remain paralyzed, but mentally conscious, we may start to panic and the half-dreaming mind conjures up nightmarish images to “explain” what is happening.

Why the effects are so real? This state is a very clever merge of walking consciousness with the dream world. It is a bizarre mind trick. For instance, footsteps thumping towards the bed are often a distortion of the sound of your heartbeat, pounding in your chest due to all the adrenaline. Hearing your assailant breathing unnaturally is common too- thought to be the sound of your own gasps for breath in this panicked state. The perceived difficulty to breathe properly is what causes many people to imagine an entity to harm them (by stopping them breathing or crushing their chest). It is important to remember that the effect is psychosomatic.

Sleep Paralysis

How to Stop Sleep Paralysis

·         Relax your body into the paralysis. Do not try to fight it forcefully as this will create panic and increase the chance of negative hallucinations.

·         Try to gently wiggle your fingers and toes. These tiny movements will eventually tell your brain that your body is awake and it will stop the atonia.

·         Try to move your eyes by blinking and looking around the room.

·         Try to move your lips and facial muscles.

·         Breath as deeply as you can and not letting panic overtaken your thoughts.

·         Keep your mental state positive and calm.

Maintain these goals for the duration of the sleep paralysis. As soon as your brain receives adequate signals that you are awake, it will shut down the REM atonia, and you will be able to move your whole body again, and the hallucination will disappear.

References

Rebecca, T. (2009). How to Stop Sleep Paralysis and Turn It Into Lucid Dream. Retrieved from http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/sleep-paralysis.html