MR Therapy For Sleep Paralysis

MR therapy is an intervention designed for sleep paralysis (SP). This disorder is characterized by an involuntary state of muscle paralysis. It can occur at onset of sleep or upon awakening. It is caused by a mismatch in the mechanisms that regulate the REM-wake sleep cycle.

Those who experience it regain awareness and sensory awareness, but not the ability to control the muscles. This situation causes anxiety, fear, and is accompanied by hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations.

It is a primary sleep disorder and is not caused by another psychiatric, medical, or substance abuse disorder. The Manual for the Diagnosis of Mental Disorders (DSM IV, 1994) classifies it as a parasomnia, as it is a disorder that affects the quality and quantity of sleep.

This phenomenon occurs between the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) phase of sleep and wakefulness. According to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, it can appear either in an isolated or chronic way. That’s why its development can be linked to totally circumstantial factors.

Main features of sleep paralysis

During REM sleep, the electrical activity of the brain is similar to that of wakefulness. At this stage, the most complex and emotional dreams occur. As a conservation principle, non-autonomous muscles are paralyzed. Changes in your sleep routine can alter the process of blocking and unblocking your muscles.

What physiological mechanisms are involved?

Through the neurotransmitters GABA and glycine, skeletal muscle tone is suppressed. This is how the spinal cord motor neurons are inhibited.

A misfit in the wake-up sequence causes the person to regain consciousness before the ability to move and react. The limbic (emotional) system processes and interprets the situation as a whole.

the feeling of escape

From the amygdala, an emotion-based response principle is worked out. The most common circumstances, such as being in the dark and not being able to react, cause a quick negative assessment.

That’s why the most frequent feelings are fear and terror. This emotional processing causes perceptual changes, interpreted as visual, tactile and auditory hallucinations.

The sense of presence

One of the most common sensations in sleep paralysis is being watched. The inability to move along with the anxiety and imagination of sleep raises expectations of a visual manifestation. Attention is biased towards detecting possible threats. Thus, the feeling that something or someone is close to us, without having real evidence of that presence, is very common.

MR therapy for sleep paralysis: unmasking the ghost

Few authors dare to formulate a specific psychological treatment for this issue. Baland Jalal, from the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge (UK), proposed MR (meditation and relaxation) therapy in 2016.

The author argues that the reciprocal increase in fear, anxiety and anguish generates a feedback loop that aggravates the attack and the content of the hallucinations. Based on this, it elaborates its intervention model according to the following pillars:

• Reassessing the meaning of the attack: becoming aware of the benign and temporary nature of the attack (no death or permanent paralysis). Also the meaning of hallucinations, closely related to dreams during the REM phase. This serves to give new meaning to the episodes and is a crucial step in achieving relaxation and staying calm.

• Psychological and emotional detachment: the person must understand that worry and fear only worsen and prolong episodes. It is not a paranormal event, but a response from your body.
• Meditation, Inner Fixed Attention: Meditation is the crucial discipline to develop in order to get a good result. The mechanism that sets meditation in motion seeks to gain control of attention so that the person has a valuable resource for ignoring hallucinations.
• Muscle relaxation: Physical symptoms, such as motor paralysis or the inability to manage breathing voluntarily, take their course when ignored. Otherwise, they can destabilize the internal focus process. It is necessary to stay calm and relax.

The Importance of Practice for MR Therapy

MR therapy for sleep paralysis requires training. The affected person can replicate the paralysis position (usually facing up) to practice the steps.

Given the overwhelming nature of the event, the practice prepares the person without the stress that a real situation can generate.

the relaxation

According to specialists such as Dr. Ramachandran, the lack or lack of synchrony between the extremities and the motor system alters multisensory processing. So, if when trying to run away and mentally perform this action there is no response from the body, self-awareness is altered.

Thus, the sensation of floating, extracorporeal experiences and dark images appear. Through relaxation as a first response, the escape drive and perceptual change are modified.

Intervention characteristics

We can classify it as a cognitive-behavioral treatment. It focuses on modifying behavior and avoiding negative feedback. On the other hand, the success of the intervention is sensitive to the person’s attitude.

Second, their success is also conditioned, as noted earlier, by the person’s degree of control over their attention. The ability to concentrate, together with the interpretation of sensations, goes in this direction. The model proposes a direct shift in attention. Thanks to relaxation, the situation would change from potentially unpleasant external stimuli to neutral or positive internal stimuli.

To conclude, as curious as the experience may be, we are not talking about a strange phenomenon. In fact, it is not usually worrying in itself, what worries are its consequences, taking into account the degree of anxiety it can cause. In any case, it is advisable to consult an expert.