hallucinations

[tapneasy]

I have the sleep paralysis and I've seen spiders or probes hanging over my bed.  I don't believe it is a sleep disorder.  This is something that also happened to me.  While laying in my bed paralyzed one morning, I looked at the tv and the tv and wall were gone.  In it's place I was looking at the back of a man in a white hospital coat who was sitting at a table or desk writing something.  I was not in my bed but instead I was in a white gown laying on a hospital bed.  I was screaming as loud as I could but no one in my house heard me but the guy did because he turned around and looked at me very annoyed.  I felt like he wanted to tell me to just shut up.  I blinked and he was gone and I saw nothingness and then my bedroom began to appear.  It wasn't like it instantly appeared.  It was like in a dream montage in a movie.  It started from the top and began filling in the "image" of my bedroom. I felt like any image could have been placed in front of me.  It has me thinking if anything is real.  Are we really here or is everything just a hologram or something.  I wasn't sleep because I know what was on tv and after this incident it was still on.

[caregiver222]

It's not a "hypothesis". It's a fact. They most certainly are produced by low and high glucose levels. These hallucinations are produced by fasting, which produce low glucose levels, and are a part of mystical practices in many societies going back 3,000 years.

[Heiferly]

I had never heard that sleep paralysis or hypnagogic hallucinations could be related to glucose levels, so I spent a few minutes scouring databases of medical journal articles to see if there were any peer reviewed studies on this topic. I didn't find a single article which reflected your assertion. Do you have a reputable source that you could point to that backs up your hypothesis?

[Heiferly]

I hope that you will find the information I share with you of comfort!

The experiences you are having can be fully explained by natural, medical phenomenon. Many, many, many healthy people across different time periods, different countries, different cultures, etc. have had these same types of experiences and have wondered if something supernatural was occuring such as aliens, demons, devils, witches, ghosts, goblins, astral creatures, parallel universes, etc. etc. etc. However, doctors and scientists have documented thoroughly what occurs on the polysomnogram (sleep study with brain waves, aka EEG, recorded) when people experience these things. We now know that these experiences are related to two sleep disorders: sleep paralysis and hypnagogic (and less frequently, hypnopompic) hallucinations.

Sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations are most likely to occur when you have a sleep deficit (have been getting less sleep than you need multiple days in a row, causing a "build-up" of missed sleep) or are sleep-deprived (such as "pulling an all-nighter"). They are also most likely to occur when you are sleeping on your back, so you may find it helpful to sleep on your side or stomach. The other thing you can do to decrease the frequency of these symptoms is to improve your sleep hygiene. This MedHelp physician article summarizes the important aspects of sleep hygiene which may be of help to you:  

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/47782/10-tips-to-better-sleep

Finally, if you try all the tips here and still find that these episodes are frequent, troublesome, or are affecting your ability to work/go to school/socialize/take care of yourself, then it's time to talk to your doctor. Sometimes people are concerned that their doctor will not believe them or will think they are "crazy" because these symptoms sound so weird. Rest assured that these episodes really do affect most humans at least once in their lifetime, and remind yourself that if your doctor doesn't take your concerns seriously or doesn't seem to have expertise about hypnagogic hallucinations and sleep paralysis that you may need to get a second opinion from a doctor who is well-versed in sleep medicine. Sleep specialists generally are either pulmonologists (lung and breathing doctors) or neurologists (brain, spinal cord, and nerve doctors) who have chosen to sub-specialize in sleep medicine. You should look for a specialist who is "board certified" in sleep medicine, ideally.

I hope this information is helpful to you.
Best wishes, H.

[caregiver222]

Get yourself a blood glucose meter and when you wake up with one of these nightmares take a blood stick. They are associated with very elevated and very low glucose levels.