THE BARZAKH – THE AREA BETWEEN DREAMS AND REALITY

Imagine waking up through the night unable to move, unable to talk and unable to breathe properly… pretty scary, right? Imagine all that, whilst feeling a demonic presence in the room, or even seeing a black figure standing at the end of your bed – this is sleep paralysis…I had this experience my self back in 1966, 1973 1980, 1983, 1986, 1991, 1994,1999, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2011, 2014,2015 and 2016 . I dont smoke , don drink dont do drugs, dont take any pills.

I saw things , demons, ghosts and entities that you only see in movies .They were most terrorizing , ugly, mean dark ,old looking not human like.It is like you seen another world between reality and dreams , opening a window to the unknown spirit worlds, or taken f the curtain over your eyes we call it BARZAKH.

What is sleep paralysis?

Sleep paralysis occurs somewhere in the realm between being asleep and being awake. This realm is known as hypnagogic sleep, and is also where that strange jerk (a hypnagogic jerk) occurs when you’re just about to drift off. When the paralysis occurs, you’re physically aware of your surroundings, but you’re unable to move, unable to talk, and unable to react. These episodes are also often accompanied by horrifying visions and hallucinations, a feeling of impending doom, or the feeling that a menacing presence is in the room with you. Sufferers also often report a feeling of a heavy weight on their chest, or difficulty breathing. It is estimated that up to 40% of the population have experienced the phenomena, and it is most likely to occur during your teenage or early-adult years.

Causes

So what’s actually going on? Sleep paralysis occurs when sleep-inducing hormones don’t switch off upon awakening, so you’re conscious, but the brain is still releasing chemicals keeping you paralysed. These paralysing hormones are almost a defence mechanism during stage 5 REM sleep – during this stage of sleep, which is also our deepest, our brain is extremely active (more so than when we’re awake) and it is this stage where most of our dreaming occurs – the paralysing hormones prevent us from acting out our dreams, and therefore prevent potential injuries.

But what about the demonic visions? Well, experts can provide no definitive answer, but many believe that the process goes something like this:

1. You wake up during stage 5 of sleep, where brain activity is at its highest.
2. The body is still producing paralysing hormones because it thinks you’re still sleeping and dreaming.
3. You can’t move, and begin to panic.
4. The high brain activity (which would usually be creating a dream), coupled with your panic and disorientation is manifested in the form of hallucinations.

There are a number of factors that can increase your risk of experiencing sleep paralysis, for example:

• Poor sleep/ sleep deprivation
• Drug or alcohol abuse
• Sleeping on your back
• Stress
• Mental health conditions like bipolar
• An inconsistent sleep schedule

Dealing with sleep paralysis

For some, sleep paralysis is a regular occurrence and can create a great deal of stress in their lives. Fortunately, there are some steps to help prevent sleep paralysis, as well as relieving the feelings of panic during an actual episode:

1. During an episode, try wiggling your fingers or toes – This forceful movement can trigger the whole body to come out of sleep paralysis. Similarly, try blinking repeatedly – the paralysis doesn’t affect the eyes, and rapid eye blinking can make the body realise you’re awake.
2. Sleep on your side or front – Sleep paralysis usually occurs when lying on your back, so lying in a different position can significantly reduce the chances of an episode occurring.
3. Have a regular bedtime routine – Keeping your body clock consistent helps alleviate the risks of many sleep-related problems and parasomnias, including sleep paralysis.
4. See a doctor – Sleep disorders often go undiagnosed and there’s lots of help available to improve the quality of your night’s sleep.

Face your demons

Similar to lucid dreaming, sleep paralysis is a sleep phenomenon not experienced by everyone, leaving a lot of people intrigued to experience how it feels for themselves. Luckily, if you are one of those people, there are some techniques to induce sleep paralysis. One technique involves setting an alarm at an un-holy hour, say 3am, then lying completely still with your eyes open when the alarm rings. The urge to fall back to sleep is unbearable, but if you persist, you may enter a hypnagogic state (the aforementioned world between sleep and being awake) and encounter visions akin to a lucid dream or sleep paralysis. However, this technique would be advised against because scientists still don’t fully understand these phenomena, so it’s probably best to just leave them be.

Sleep paralysis really can be a harrowing experience, and most people will experience it once or twice in their lifetime. It’s important to remember that whilst sleep paralysis is scary, it isn’t physically harmful and the episode will soon pass. If you’ve ever heard someone swear that they saw a shadowy figure in their room through the night, then chances are it was merely a case of sleep paralysis.