I watch UFO specials. I have always have had an attraction to the paranormal. Fine, I am weird or stupid. Call me what you will...
HOWEVER...
I was watching such a special on alien abduction, and I learned something new dealing with nightmares. I have had specific nightmares in which I am laying in bed and can't move, and then crazy things happen. In one particular dream, one of the shadows in my room bent down, picked me up and carried me around the room. Here, it turns out, I was having a common sleep disorder:
Sleep Paralysis - Quoting WikiPedia: Physiologically, it is closely related to the paralysis that occurs as a natural part of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is known as REM atonia. Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain awakes from a REM state, but the body paralysis persists. This leaves the person fully conscious, but unable to move. In addition, the state may be accompanied by terrifying hallucinations (hypnopompic or hypnagogic) and an acute sense of danger.[3] Sleep paralysis is particularly frightening to the individual due to the vividness of such hallucinations.[4] The hallucinatory element to sleep paralysis makes it even more likely that someone will interpret the experience as a dream, since completely fanciful, or dream-like, objects may appear in the room alongside one's normal vision. Some scientists have proposed this condition as an explanation for alien abductions and ghostly encounters.[5] A study by Susan Blackmore and Marcus Cox of the University of the West of England supports the suggestion that alien abductions are related to sleep paralysis rather than to temporal lobe lability.[6]
While it does not make the dreams any less scary, it does make me feel a little better knowing that there is science behind it! PS- The last time I had one of those dreams was around a year ago. Don't worry.
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