What is paralysis and why paralysis or paralysis occurs in sleep? What is sleep paralysis? Bakhtak is actually a temporary paralysis of the body. When you wake up or when you want to sleep, although you are awake, your body parts are not moving. Maybe you also have this experience that you feel like a very heavy being has fallen on you and hugged you tightly. Your chest becomes heavy and you are unable to move your body parts. In this situation, many feel fear. The older people attributed it to evil spirits and in fact caused more fear, but what is Bakhtak really? Why does luck happen in a dream? But what is Bakhtak really? When you are falling asleep or waking up, your brain is awake and can dream, for example you may be running or jumping in your dream or movements like this. So your body's nervous system helps you not to get hurt. It paralyzes your body's nervous system so that you can't move, run or jump in your sleep and hurt yourself. Therefore, in fact, it can be said that Bakhtak is a state where the body is defending itself. But if you suffer from constipation a lot, this is not a normal condition and may be caused by a series of other problems in your body. For example, heart problems, asthma or bronchitis, panic anxiety or sleep apnea. Therefore, if the number of times you experience paralysis in your sleep is high, and especially if this problem is accompanied by symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, movement problems, snoring and severe anxiety or stopping your breathing during sleep, you should definitely see a doctor. When does sleep paralysis usually occur? A person suffering from sleep paralysis is fully aware of his surroundings, but feels that something is pressing on him or even something is suffocating him. In many cases, sleep paralysis is associated with hallucinations and a sense of fear. This paralysis is not a dangerous complication, but it can cause anxiety or narcolepsy (a patient with a nervous disorder falls asleep many times a day). ### by age Usually, this condition starts during puberty and often increases between the ages of 20 and 30. Bakhtak state occurs during the transition between sleep and wakefulness, that is, when a person is falling asleep or waking up. ### gendered Sleep paralysis occurs in both men and women and at any age, but it is more likely in adolescence and early adulthood. Sleep paralysis lasts from a few seconds to a few minutes, after which the person returns to a normal state. #### in terms of time of occurrence Bakhtak in a dream may occur at two times, which is known by two different names according to the time of its occurrence: - - - **Hypnagogic sleep paralysis:** Occurs when falling asleep. During sleep, your body gradually relaxes and you feel that you have lost the ability to speak and move. - **Hypnopompic sleep paralysis:** Occurs when waking up. During sleep, your body is constantly alternating between deep sleep (REM) and non-deep sleep (NREM). When this sleep cycle loses its connection with the brain, sleep paralysis occurs. **Bakhtak in general in a dream:** - - It usually happens during puberty. - Each attack usually lasts between a few seconds and a few minutes. - Stress and changing sleep hours, after traveling to countries with different day and night hours, may be its irritants. - One of its most important features is the inability to move the body, which can be accompanied by hallucinations. - It is usually not dangerous and can be prevented. What is the feeling of a person in sleep paralysis? When you have a nightmare in your sleep, you are alert and aware of your surroundings. But he is unable to move his muscles or speak. However, you can still move your eyes. Some people dream or see things that are not real and are actually illusions. Your real experiences are at the bottom of this page, read them. Other feelings of Bakhtak in sleep include difficulty breathing, pressure on the chest, fear, panic and helplessness. The day you had sleep paralysis the night before, you will feel very sleepy and tired. In about 75% of cases, nightmares are associated with hallucinations, which will be different from normal dreams. ##### All the hallucinations that you experience in your sleep after being lucky are divided into three main categories that you may experience any of them: These attacks are accompanied by visual, auditory and sensory hallucinations. Sleep paralysis occurs during the transition between sleep and wakefulness and includes one of the following states: ### Disturbing hallucinations: A state where you feel the presence of a dangerous person in the room and near you. Hearing doors opening and closing and going up and down stairs or feeling that someone else is in the room like a wandering ghost ### A series of hallucinations of pressure in the chest (incubus hallucinations) and nightmares: You are irritated by the feeling of suffocation or someone sitting on your chest. Feeling pressure on the chest, suffocation and difficulty breathing, or the feeling of sexual harassment from a mysterious person. These people think they are dying ### Vestibular motion (V-M) hallucinations Vestibular sense : You feel like flying or leaving your body. Dizziness, falling, being suspended, flying, feeling out of body and... these are all conditions that a person may experience. This experience of sleep paralysis has been reported by many people for centuries, even involving people of different cultures. Bakhtak signs in sleep When you suddenly wake up from REM sleep, your brain is active, but your body is still in REM, resulting in sleep paralysis. As we said, sleep paralysis lasts from a few seconds to a few minutes and is accompanied by the following symptoms: - Paralysis of limbs - Inability to speak - Feeling of suffocation - Illusion - fear - Panic - helplessness - Stiffness around the throat - Drowsiness during the day - Being awake in sleep - Feeling of pressure on the ribcage - to sweat - Headache including morning headache, muscle pain and paranoia What is the cause of sleep paralysis? During sleep, the voluntary muscles of the body do not move and the body experiences a kind of relative relaxation, thus the body prevents harm to the person in sleep. Sleep paralysis causes disruption and disruption in brain messages during deep sleep (REM). Usually, during the night, the body goes back and forth between non-REM and REM sleep. The REM-NREM cycle lasts about 90 minutes and usually consists of NREM type. During NREM the body relaxes. But in REM sleep, the eyes move quickly and sleep happens in this stage. During sleep paralysis, this sleep cycle loses its connection with the brain and causes a state between consciousness and sleep. Factors associated with sleep paralysis are: Sleep paralysis can indicate the presence of a disease in a person, which include: - Depression - Migraine - obstruction of breathing during sleep - high blood pressure - respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchitis - Heart problems - Panic anxiety - Sleep apnea ### Easier reasons for babbling in a dream are: - Not getting enough sleep - Having an irregular sleep schedule, such as shift work - Mental stress - Sleeping on the back - Family history In addition to these reasons, which are related to irregular sleep patterns or incorrect sleeping methods, some medical problems can also be the cause of insomnia, which are as follows: - Sleep disorders, such as narcolepsy (sudden and irresistible urge to sleep) or leg cramps at night - Certain mental conditions, such as bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and panic disorder - Use of certain medications, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - Obstructive sleep apnea - Drug use What are the ways to diagnose sleep paralysis? If you have persistent sleep apnea or feel anxious and uncomfortable afterwards, you should see a doctor. Also, people whose insomnia causes them to stay awake for long hours or feel very tired during the day should see a doctor. The doctor will first ask you questions to get information about your sleep status and lifestyle: - How many times have you experienced sleep paralysis, how long does it last and how do you feel about it? - How many hours do you sleep during the night and is your sleep schedule regular or not? - Are you using cigarettes, alcohol or drugs? - What is your medical history and what medicines do you take? - Have you suffered from mental health disorders such as anxiety, stress or depression? Do your family members have a history of sleep paralysis or sleep disorders? Usually, sleep paralysis is not considered as a disease, but its alarming symptoms must be diagnosed and treated, these symptoms include: - This attack occurs regularly. - worry about sleeping - Feeling sleepy during the day that cannot be resolved with enough sleep. Suddenly falling asleep during the day can be one of the symptoms of narcolepsy, which is a very rare disease in the brain, which causes a person to fall asleep suddenly at inappropriate times, such as walking in the store, and lose control of all their voluntary muscles. Diagnostic tests for sleep paralysis If a sleep disorder is suspected, the doctor may prescribe the following tests: - **Nocturnal sleep study (polysomnogram):** This test examines breathing, heart rate and brain activity during sleep. This test is effective in diagnosing problems such as sleep apnea. - **Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT):** This test examines how quickly you fall asleep and the type of sleep you experience. With this test, problems such as narcolepsy are determined. What is Bakhtak treatment? If you sometimes experience sleep paralysis and have limited sleep disturbances, you can fix this disorder by modifying your lifestyle: Get enough sleep at night. - Adjust your sleeping hours and implement a regular sleep schedule. - Avoid situations and situations that cause stress and anxiety. - If you are used to sleeping on your back, do other positions such as sleeping on your side. If you still suffer from sleep disturbances after observing all the conditions and this problem has deprived you of good sleep, be sure to see a doctor. First of all, you should know that there is no proven treatment to solve the problem of sleep apnea, but doctors try to determine the cause of sleep apnea by examining the patient's records and tests. Treatment methods for sleep paralysis include the following, which are performed only with a doctor's prescription: - Using antidepressants to help regulate the sleep cycle - Treatment of mental health problems that are the cause of sleep paralysis. - Treatment of sleep disorders, such as narcolepsy or leg cramps How not to be unlucky One of the questions that people often ask is, how to prevent bakhtak in sleep and not suffer from this condition? First of all, you should know to do these things in order to prevent bed bugs in your sleep ### **1. Improve your sleep quality** Have a specific time for your sleep, sleep at a specific time and wake up at a specific time. - Have useful and quality sleep between 7 and 9 hours. Of course, I know that many of you cannot sleep late because you have many responsibilities in your life that drag on until late. But you can provide a better environment, plan, go to bed earlier at night instead of sleeping in the morning and move your work to early morning. - Have a cool, dark and quiet bedroom. ### **2. Anxiety and stress are the most important factor in fortune-telling** Meditation, yoga or deep breathing exercises will help you become. To take a deep breath, you should do the following steps. - - - #### **Find a quiet place.** - Sit or lie down. - If you like, close your eyes. - #### **Relax your body.** - Lower your shoulders. - Relax your jaw and facial muscles. - #### **breathe through the nose (tail)** - **Fill your belly with air, not just your chest! Look, this part is very important. Your breath should be transferred to your stomach.** - Give 4 seconds and slowly inhale the air. - #### **hold your breath for a few seconds** - Holding the air for 2 to 4 seconds helps absorb oxygen better - #### **Exhale slowly from the mouth (exhale)** - **Assume that you are dying in a straw.** - Take 6 to 8 seconds to exhale. This part is also very important so that you can exhale slowly - #### **Repeat this cycle several times** - Do this at least **5 to 10 times**. - You can focus on counting inhales and exhales to calm your mind. - I know that we all have many problems, but if you don't want luck to come to you, don't think too much before going to sleep. These are the solutions that you keep asking yourself after Bakhtak, what is the solution to Bakhtak. Simple, doable and inexpensive. - Relaxation techniques are effective for Bakhtak. **I wrote a relaxation technique for you here** ### **Steps of doing body relaxation:** 🧘‍♀️ **Time: 5 to 15 minutes** 1️⃣ **Find a quiet place and if you have a relaxing or motivating music, play it for yourself.** - - - - - Lie down or sit comfortably. - Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. 2️⃣ **pay attention to your body** - - - - - Focus on different parts of the body from **head to toe**. - Feel every part of your body. Is there tension or cramping? 3️⃣ **start over** - - - - - Feel the forehead, if you feel pressure, feel it release. - Relax the eyelids and jaw. 4️⃣ **go to the neck and shoulders** - - - - - A lot of stress accumulates in these areas. - Imagine that every exhalation breath releases tension. 5️⃣ **move down** - - - - - Focus on the chest, abdomen, hands, fingers, back, legs and toes. - In any part, if you feel tension, take a deep breath and when you exhale, relax that part. 6️⃣ **Feel the whole body at once** - - - - - Imagine that your whole body is light and peace flows through it. 7️⃣ **Stay in this position for a few moments and then slowly open your eyes** **3. Do not use these drinks and foods before going to bed** Tea, coffee, energy drinks have caffeine. Do not use them 4 to 6 hours before sleep - Limit alcohol and smoking. Alcohol and smoking are important factors for the effect of diseases. Try to leave them - Do not eat heavy and fatty food before going to bed ### **4. sleep properly** - - **When you sleep on your back, the chance of bad luck increases.** - Try to sleep on your side, especially on the right side - The wrong pillow is a major cause of bad sleep. So you don't have to worry about what is the treatment for bakhtak. A suitable pillow will be a good solution for you. ### **5. Don't lack sleep** - - If you want to know what is one of the main factors of Bakhtak, I will tell you here. Lack of sleep is an important factor. During the day, if you can, take a proper and short break ### **6. Take sleep and mental health problems seriously** - - If you suffer from **stress, anxiety, depression or sleep disorders (such as sleep apnea)**, seek treatment. Read the article why I can't sleep even though I'm tired. - If it happens to you a lot, be sure to see a doctor, you may have heart, respiratory or other physical problems. ### **7. Create a sense of mental security for yourself before bed** Pray, repeat positive sentences. If you believe in something like the energy of stones, try it and keep it aside. - Remove negative energies from your sleeping environment (for example, use relaxing scents like lavender). - If the horoscope has a spiritual meaning for you, you can put a protective stone such as agate or amethyst by the bed. Stay calm, try to wiggle your toes or hands to get rid of sleep paralysis sooner. I recommend reading: Is Bell's palsy temporary? What is a seizure in sleep? The most important causes of cerebral palsy make your bed Real experiences from Bakhtak ### **1. Sleep paralysis with visual hallucination** **Ali, 32 years old:** *"One night I felt awake but my body was completely paralyzed. I tried to move my hand but it was as if I was really stuck to the bed. Once I saw a black shadow next to my bed looking at me. It was hard for me to breathe and I felt like someone was sitting on my chest. I tried my best to move but there was nothing I could do until a few minutes later everything was back to normal. From that night on, I am always afraid that it will happen again. fall."* ### **2. Sleep paralysis with the feeling of the presence of an unknown entity** **Zahra, 26 years old:** *"The first time I experienced sleep paralysis, I thought someone entered my room. While my eyes were open, I couldn't move. It was as if someone was standing behind me and watching me. I could even feel his breathing. I tried to scream, but no sound came out of my throat. This horrible feeling lasted for a few seconds, but it was like a nightmare for several hours!"* ### **3. Sleep paralysis without hallucinations, but with a feeling of suffocation** **Maryam, 29 years old:** *"I didn't hallucinate, but every time sleep paralysis happens I feel like I can't breathe. It's like something is pressing on my chest. My heart is racing and I feel like I might die if it continues. It usually happens on my back when I fall. The only way I've learned is to wiggle my finger to get out of it."* ### **4. The experience of sleep paralysis and leaving the body!** Mohsen, 38 years old: *"One night, I felt that my body was lying on the bed, but I was looking at it from above. It was as if my soul was separated from my body. I could not move, but I could see that I was in my room. I felt light, but at the same time it was very scary. A few moments later, a shock entered my body and I returned to normal. After this, I researched a lot about the out-of-body experience, but I still don't know what it was."* ### **5. The first experience of sleep paralysis, the most terrible night of my life!** **Reza, 19 years old:** *"I always thought sleep paralysis was a normal thing, until I experienced it myself! One night, I woke up in the middle of my sleep, but my body was not working. Suddenly, I heard a strange chatter, as if several people were talking in my room, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. When I turned my eyes, I saw a dark shadow coming towards me and then I fell asleep. I couldn't sleep until morning!"* ### **6. The way I found to control sleep paralysis** **Samira, 30 years old:** *"I experienced sleep paralysis several times and it was always very scary. But later I learned how to control it. When I feel like I'm going into sleep paralysis, I try to stay calm and focus on my breathing. Sometimes I shake my finger to get out of that state. These methods have helped me a lot to panic less."* ### **7. In the middle of my sleep, I heard screaming** Parsa, 17 years old: *"Hello, how are you? I am 17 years old and it was around 12:30 in the afternoon. I was about to go to sleep. In the middle of it I woke up from my mother and father's loud voice, and I immediately fell asleep again. In my dream, I see all the repeated events of the day, including studying and reading, and the things I had done... In the middle of my sleep, I heard a loud scream. You could see the profile of my nose, no matter what I did, I couldn't move, just maybe moving my arms and legs a few centimeters, but it was as if I was completely locked, then they dream again that I got up and I'm walking, but it's like my brain is reminded that I'm asleep and I'm still in the same state of confusion, until my phone rings and I hear a voice, I say, oh God, get up. I actually felt like I was dying in that state, I said, "I'm dying, I'm going into a coma, but I was asking for help from everyone and I was struggling, but no one could hear me"* ### 8. I could hear the train horn *Mohammed Mehdi, 26 years old:* *I am 26 years old* *"Since the age of 23, due to lack of sleep, I had this sleep paralysis, which happened either when I was going to sleep, or after an hour or two when I was asleep. At that time, I thought that my eyes were open, but it was not, it was almost like a nightmare. *I used to be like this maybe twice a month* *Until last year, I was like this every night for a few months, this time my eyes were open, but I had no movement at all. Some nights when I was like this, I could wake up the rest of the family members to wake me up, to wake me up from this state of dumbness, and once when I was in that state of sleep paralysis, I heard the sound of the train horn, the volume was so loud that it hurt my ears. After a few months, this nightmare ended.* *Until a month ago, I was in a very terrible state, so that no matter what I tried, I couldn't get into that state. During the time I was stuck in this state, my neck and my eyes were pulled up unintentionally. This is very scary for me. I experienced all kinds of sleep paralysis and I was used to it, but this is very terrible... I am commenting now. I was like this exactly a few minutes ago. I was like this a month ago, the time was short, tonight the time was too much. I was freed for a few seconds until I got up, my body was locked again, a minute passed and I was completely freed. And I got up and saw a vein twitching on the side of my temple. After a few veins from my forehead, it started twitching. Friends, does anyone know the reason?"* ### Send us your experiences from Bakhtak Many experiences of Bakhtak have been sent to us, have you ever experienced sleep paralysis? what did you feel Write your experience in the comments so that others know that they are not alone. In this article, you found out what Bakhtak is and how you can control it. Bakhtak is controllable and if you don't want to have such an experience again, you should seek help from a doctor to treat it and ask him what is the treatment for bakhtak. refer to a neurologist about sleep paralysis problem In this article from the website of Dr. Kihani Fard, we have introduced Bakhtak disorder in sleep and provided complete information. For most people, sleep paralysis is a common problem that rarely occurs and does not require treatment. However, in some people, Bakhtak occurs in sleep as a result of neurological and mental diseases, which usually disrupts a person's peace of mind and is accompanied by annoying symptoms such as insomnia and constant fatigue. In this situation, you must consult a specialist doctor to check the cause of sleep paralysis and the possibility of contracting other brain and nervous diseases. **Dr. Majid Kihani Fard neurologist in Tehran**