At the end of last week I began brainstorming new ideas for my passion blog so I could start 
planning them out. I believe it was Monday when I fell into the deep pit of Youtube and stumbled across thousands of videos surrounding lucid dreaming. Some focusing on the Do’s and Dont’s, while others focused on how to actually control yourself during these dreams. As a kid I used to experience this all the time but not so much now, maybe once every few months. Listening to experiences and hearing new theories had me sort of feigning to experience it now, especially for this week’s blog post. Now, I wasn’t going to purposefully induce sleep paralysis just to test out theories….. (I actually was until my best friend advised me not to). BUT maybe I was thinking about this so much that I did induce it. Anyways, not sure if I should consider it luck as luck being on my side or just some sick twisted fate but,I ended having a sleep paralysis Wednesday .
So What Really is Sleep Paralysis?
The name sleep paralysis derives from folklore stories that reference it being a terrifying experience where they were held down and choked. About 50% 
of the worlds population experience sleep paralysis but higher rates are reported among those who suffer from panic disorders and ptsd. As stated by the National Sleep Foundation, “sleep paralysis is also a common symptom of narcolepsy, a condition characterized by excessive sleepiness, sleep attacks and sudden loss of muscle control”. Now what exactly induces sleep paralysis you may ask? Well, it normally occurs during the disrupted REM stage in our sleep. Normally, we dream during this REM stage and when we are entering or exiting this stage our body paralyzes our muscles anyways so you don’t act out the dream. But what happens is the body is now half awake. Everyones experience differs though. Some report not being able to move or feeling a heavy presence on their chest while other report seeing figures and even interacting with them.
Wrap It Up Then.
This is a new section of my passion blog that is meant to provide readers with not only more sites on the weekly topic but anything relating to it whether its research, videos or even a song related to it. Heres some interesting videos I watched revolving sleep paralysis, & hopefully you don’t fall into the same dark abyss of the internet that I always do.
references: https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/sleep-paralysis-demon-in-the-bedroom#1
Sleep paralysis kind of made me scared when we talked about it in my psych class in high school, but I still found it interesting at the same time. Your explanation of it is very easy to understand. While I can’t relate to it, it was cool to think back to high school and remember what actually happens in your brain with the disorder. I really like how you included some cool videos to offer more information and perspective onto what it is!