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Has anyone tried using Apple Watch for Sleep paralysis? I read that it has a nightmare alarm and that it’s supposed to vibrate and make a sound when your heart rate goes up due to the condition. So I was wondering if the vibration and the sound alarm strong enough to wake you up when your heart rate goes up?
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lily65668 r71792
Posted
Hmm... well, I suppose it might be worth a try, as long as it's not too expensive, but I can't see it working.
I've had sleep paralysis with painful tactile hallucinations for 50 years. Normally these episodes occur either towards the end of the night or during daytime napping, when I'm immediately aware of what's going on so am not freaked out by the experience. However, on the rarer occasions when it happens early in the night, when I'm more deeply asleep and less able to understand what's going on, I'll attempt to scream. Sometimes I actually succeed in making a kind of muffled squawking noise, which I'm told can go on for up to five minutes. On the few occasions in my life when someone else has witnessed this and attempted to shake me awake, it hasn't worked.
Even if it does work for you, the difficulty is that we all go through periods of seriously raised heart rate during normal dreaming anyway. (We all dream, which can be proved in a sleep lab. It's just that most people don't remember their dreams.) This could result in the alarm going off several times every night.
It makes far more sense to learn to manage your SP, which will reduce the frequency of the attacks. You asked in an earlier post whether there was a cure for SP. The short answer is no. (I'm a former neuro nurse, btw, as well as having had SP all my adult life.)
The best way to manage it is to identify what triggers attacks. Triggers vary widely from one person to another, but some of the more common ones are getting too warm when you're sleeping (my own most common trigger); being overtired or, paradoxically, sleeping too much; alcohol or recreational drugs taken in the evening; certain foods; sleeping too close to electronic equipment or overhead power cables. The list is by no means exhaustive. You'll need to do your own homework to figure out what is triggering your attacks. Avoiding triggers will reduce the frequency of attacks, but won't stop them altogether.
The only way to stop attacks completely is to take antidepressants - preferably the older, tricyclic types like amitriptyline. However, these don't cure SP, they merely suppress REM sleep, from which SP arises. So as soon as you stop taking the tablets, the SP will return. Some people are so terrified by their hallucinations, they prefer to stay on antidepressants, with all their side-effects and health risks, for life.
I can't say I'd fancy that myself. I know too much about the long-term effects of these drugs. My own way of coping with SP, in addition to reducing attacks by avoiding triggers, is to address the hallucinations themselves. As mentioned above, I realise this can be difficult when you suddenly find yourself "under attack" very early in the night when you're confused and sleepy. However, SP attacks are far more likely to occur during periods of relatively shallow sleep, when we're more alert and can figure out what's going on.
As I'm sure you've realised, you're not being "attacked" by anything more scary than your own unconscious, probably the Freudian id - which is quite scary enough, I know! You can therefore learn to open up a dialogue with yourself during these episodes. Some people find it helps to get angry and mentally shout at "it". However, most of us find this is counter-productive, and likely to make things worse. It's usually better to remain as calm as possible. Another approach is to ask: "What do you want?" This worked for me when I was younger, but in recent years I've found reassurance is more effective, mentally saying: "It's OK, I like you". Sounds crazy, I know, talking to yourself - but when you consider that it's only a part of your own mind causing the problem anyway, it makes more sense.
Some people also find it helps to physically break out of the paralysed state by concentrating on trying to move their finger-tips or the tip of their tongue. This sometimes seems to work for me, but I suspect it's a bit of an illusion. The brain will always stop secreting the paralysing hormone in its own time anyway.
Please feel free to ask any more questions you might have, either by posting here or sending me a private message. (Click on the envelope icon next to my name.) PMs via this site don't expose the email address of either party or carry viruses.
r71792 lily65668
Posted
I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve been having SP for 50 years now. Believe me , I know how scary it can get with the hallucinations. I mean I can take it and remain relatively calm when it happens on its own because I’m kind of getting used to it by now, but it’s mainly the hallucinations that freak me out!
And thank you so much for all the helpful information and your support. I really appreciate it.
lily65668 r71792
Posted
Thank you for concern, but I'm really OK with the hallucinations for the most part. You can get used to anything if it goes on for long enough! The first 10 years are probably the worst. (Sorry!) The other thing I forget to mention is that in most people the frequency, and to some extent the severity, of attacks does decline slowly with age.
One of the triggers for most people is anxiety, and particularly anxiety about the hallucinations, so try and put them into perspective. However unpleasant they are, you can't be harmed by them, and they arise entirely from your own mind.
In some ways I feel quite privileged to have this condition. Lucid dreaming is also associated with it, and I was able to have some fantastic dreams, some of them transcendent, when I was young. You can do anything you like, go anywhere you want, in a lucid dream! Sadly, I've almost completely lost this ability with age.
As a result of my 50 years of "conversations" with my unconscious, I also feel I'm closer to it than most people are. Getting to know your own unconscious can be a bit unnerving. I've long since found out mine isn't entirely on my side, which I suspect is quite common! However, I've come to realise over the years that knowing this somehow makes me more complete. Some mystics spend years of spiritual practice to reach this point. People like you and me somehow sneak in via some kind of synaptic back door!
r71792 lily65668
Posted