- [Narrator] Ever been in a state,

where you're coming in and out of sleep

and experienced the inability to move.

Even though you were conscious.

If so you may have just gotten a taste of sleep paralysis.

How is sleep paralysis

different from other types of paralysis?

It generally occurs, either during waking up

or falling asleep,

and it's temporary.

It's described as being aware or awake

while your brain is still somewhat in a sleep state,

but you're unable to move or speak.

This condition can be triggered by various factors,

such as abnormal sleeping patterns, insufficient sleep,

and psychological stress, among other things.

Sleep paralysis can be a scary and disturbing experience.

So to help you navigate these feelings,

here are seven actions not to do during sleep paralysis.

One, don't let your imagination run wild.

A good imagination can be useful and fun,

just not during sleep paralysis

because imagination also makes hallucinations more vivid.

You guessed it.

Sleep paralysis has often been associated with,

hallucinations.

And these hallucinations are usually unpleasant.

We're talking several reports of a sleep demon appearing,

and when you're unable to move or speak, you'll panic.

And when you're in panic mode,

it would be unfortunately easy

to conjure up the monsters in the closet

with your imaginations.

Two, don't believe what you see.

So we just finished talking about hallucinations, right?

Hallucinations aren't real.

And believing what you see

can cause some pretty chaotic situations.

Let's say you see something terrifying

and believe that it's real.

Trust me, you're not in for a good time.

It will only lead you to panic even more.

By understanding that these visions aren't real,

you'll have a better chance

of talking yourself out from panic and fear.

Three, don't focus on the visions.

Ever tried distracting yourself

during the scariest bits of a horror movie.

If so, you might wanna put that skill into practice

for the creepy hallucinations,

by trying your best to ignore these visions,

you may relieve yourself

and lessen the feeling that there's something to fear.

As I mentioned in point two,

by being aware that these visions are not real,

it will be easier for you to shift your focus away

from these visions during sleep paralysis.

Four, don't panic.

Panicking usually tends to make things worse,

unless you're at a disco.

Given this situation of sleep paralysis,

it's understandable, if you panic.

You're seeing frightening demons

and you can't move to fight back or run.

But the truth is, panic is just self-sabotage

and you'll unconsciously contract more demons

in your hallucination.

As hard as it is, by keeping calm during the process

and tapping into that rational part of your brain,

sleep paralysis will eventually pass.

Five, don't struggle strenuously.

What do you do, when you're trying to get a tight shirt off?

You struggle.

This is natural.

When you feel restricted, what do you do?

You try to escape and free yourself,

usually by struggling.

This applies to sleep paralysis as well.

Essentially, there's a good chance you'll fail to escape,

and this failure leads to more distress and panic.

Remember what we just talked about?

The more distressed and panicky you are,

the more terrifying the hallucinations become,

and vice versa.

It's a never ending cycle,

but here's what you can do instead.

It's possible and maybe even helpful

to create small movements in your body

to encourage a quicker release from sleep paralysis.

Here's a tip.

Focus on wiggling your toes or pinky.

Six, don't let your eyes wander.

Do you sleep in a large bedroom

or an area with lots of space.

If so, the roving eye may not be your friend.

Allowing your eyes to wander

may result in seeing or creating other things

that were not originally there.

As simplistic as this sounds,

the most helpful action may just to be, closing your eyes.

This will serve to shut out the frightening visions

and hopefully allow you to have an uninterrupted space

to talk yourself down and focus on something calm.

And seven, don't expect the worst.

Expecting the worst

when already in the unnerving state of sleep paralysis,

I think you can guess how that will turn out.

Thinking negatively,

can amplify your sleep paralysis experience for the worst.

Yes, this can be because of those hallucinations again.

Thinking about these worst case scenarios

can possibly encourage them to manifest

into a dreadful hallucination.

If we're able to channel positive thoughts

during these moments,

perhaps it may turn into something more pleasant,

like lucid dreaming.

sleep paralysis can definitely be scary

for a first time experiencers

or for those who don't yet have a good understanding

of the phenomenon.

Being robbed of everyday ability

is like movement or speech without warning

or obvious reason, is terrifying.

The good news is, exercising self-awareness

may help us also exercise better control.

Have you experienced sleep paralysis?

What was it like?

What did you see?

And how did you handle it?

Let us know in the comments below.

Thanks for watching.

If you relate to this video,

please like and share this video

with people who might benefit from it.

Subscribe to Psych2Go,

and we'll catch you in the next video.

(cool music)