Topic: "Old Hag" or Sleep Paralysis Syndrome

[Dianna]

I am wondering how many of us have experienced a visit from the "Old Hag", aka as sleep paralysis?

Can't say that I have or would like to after what I have been reading about it. Here is some information on this syndrome...

What are your opinions on this? Is it a paranormal hag, or is the scientific explanation of sleep paralysis the culprit?

[Tonya]

I had this happen when I was a kid a couple times after REALLY bad dreams. Nothing since I've grown up, but I definitely remember how scared I was! Never heard it called anything like this....interesting theory! I know I was VERY scared, but the dream(from when I was a kid) was about a witches coven and them coming for me, so who knows.....

[christy]

k i have a proublem with the science explation, cause i had this alot as a teen going through nightmears n represed memeries, n had it a few times as a adult ,i hated going to sleep, would fight it all the time,  i went so many years of not sleeping at night im just use to it, i still have a hard time sleeping,
if its from lack of sleep like the science say hows come i dont have it happen now? [knock on wood!]
n there is a sence of evil, but then i had that all through growing up,so i could just relate the two on my own,
 and i dont think its a witch sitting on anyones chest either.
both sides the old hag n the science have good points n bad points to there theorys,

[biita]

I have never heard this referred to as the old hag syndrome but i know what the topic is about.  I've had this happen to me once in my life when i was young.  I read the article ( i love that site, go there all the time btw) and according to the scientific part of it, its supposed to be from stress,, well in my case that wouldn't apply, since i was young, no responsiablity, carefree, had my own money and work, not a care in the world except what i was going to do for the weekend.  so that kind of rules out the stress part for me.  honestly i have no idea, but i do know that the one an only time it happened i hated it. freaked me out.  i do remember calling to a higher power in my head, after i got my head together enough to calm down, an it vanished,, was gone an i was back to normal.  terriable experience.

[Bonnie]

I have had this happen, not recently thankfully. I have heard of the Old Hag riding your back.

[patches]

I read the article ( i love that site, go there all the time btw) and according to the scientific part of it, its supposed to be from stress,, well in my case that wouldn't apply, since i was young, no responsiablity, carefree, had my own money and work, not a care in the world except what i was going to do for the weekend.  so that kind of rules out the stress part for me.

Well, I didn’t read the article, however, I know there several different theories about sleep paralysis, but the one I’m most familiar with is the one I teach in my classes.  This theory claims that sleep paralysis is caused by some mechanisms in the brain stem that block sensory input and prevent bodily movements.  Sleep paralysis for most people will occur during REM sleep, when the body releases hormones that paralyze the body to keep a person from acting out their dreams and harming themselves.   Normally, these hormones will wear off before the dream ends and the person will wake up with all their body functions working.  However, for a person who suffers from sleep paralysis the body’s hormones are still restricting the motor functions and muscle groups, so the person wakes up temporarily paralyzed, but they don’t know why and this causes many of them will think they are having a stroke.   

Sleep paralysis usually seems to begin at a young age and it is more common during adolescence, but it can occur at any age.  It’s just tends to be less common as you get older.   

Although stress is sometimes listed as one of the causes there are many other theories, such as heredity; narcolepsy; sleep deprivation (or being overtired); caffeine intake before bedtime and anti-anxiety medications (Xanax, Valium, etc.).  It’s estimated that perhaps as many 50% of all people will experience sleep paralysis sometime in their life, but sometimes it may be so brief that it isn’t even noticed.       

Actually, the “Old Hag”/Hallucinatory Sleep Paralysis occurs when hypnagogic hallucinations are present.  Whenever this happens a person may feel as if someone is in the room with them and it is usually has the feel of an evil or fearful presence.  They may feel as if someone is sitting on top of them or they feel like they are going to suffocate or die.  Hallucinatory Sleep Paralysis can last up to 8 minutes, whereas the Common Sleep Paralysis can be as brief as 30 seconds or up to 3 minutes in length.  Sleep paralysis usually occurs when a person is waking up or it can sometimes happen when they falling asleep, but that's less common. 

Geesh, I don't know if I explained this well enough, but it's really kinda hard to condense a 15 minute lecture into a post.    The students are usually asking questions and that seems to make it easier to explain. 

[christy]

heredity= the genetic transmission of characteristics from parent to offspring
narcolepsy=often associated with cataplexy ,a sudden loss of muscle tone, with a strong emotion to sleep
 had to look those words up.   

Sleep paralysis for most people will occur during REM sleep, when the body releases hormones that paralyze the body to keep a person from acting out their dreams and harming themselves.   

do you mean people that are suicidal?

  i think you explained it good patti

[biita]

I think you explained it very well Patti, clears that up for me.  I just feel sorry for the people who go thru this repeatedly,, that one an only time i experienced it was enough for me for a lifetime!!

[patches]

do you mean people that are suicidal? 

No, Christy, I wasn't talking about people being suicidal.    I meant injuring themselves by acting out some activity in their dream (e.g. jumping up and running because they are being chased, flailing about because someone is holding them, etc.). 

[biita]

Patti would that be like sleep walkers,, the jumping up an running, or acting out something while a person is still asleep as some sleep walkers do.   If so, i was told, i don't remember, but as a child i slept walked all over the place, at least 3-4 times a week... according to stories that my mom told me.

[patches]

Patti would that be like sleep walkers

No, Biita, during each sleep cycle a person goes through the four stages of NREM sleep with each stage becoming progressively deeper.  When you first drift off to sleep you are entering Stage 1 and your brain emits bursts of "alpha waves" (slow and irregular), at Stage 2 your brain emits occasional short bursts of rapid high-peaking waves that are called "sleep spindels".  By Stage 3, in addition to the waves in Stage 2, your brain will occasionally emit "delta waves" (very slow waves with high peaks), then by the time you reach Stage 4 the delta waves have pretty much taken over and you are in a deep sleep.  Oddly enough, if you are a sleepwalker, this is when you are most likely to do it.    Sleepwalking occurs more often in children than adults. 

This sequence of stages takes about 30 to 45 minutes, and then you move back up the ladder from Stage 4 to 3 to 2 to 1, which is about 70-90 minutes since you first drifted off to sleep.  Then something stange happens, because Stage 1 does not produce the drowsy, wakefulness you would expect.  Instead, your brain begins to emit long bursts of very rapid, kinda irregular waves.  Your heart rate increases, blood pressure rises and your breathing becomes faster and more irregular.  There may be small twiches in your face and fingers.  Although it is normal for the body to show arousal of the sex organs,  most of your skeletal muscles go limp, and at this point you have entered the realm of REM sleep.  Actually, this is when your most vivid and colorful dreams occur because your brain is extremely active, while the body is inactive.  So, you cannot sleepwalk when you're in REM sleep since your large skeletal muscles are paralyzed which prevent physical body movement.   

Geesh, it sure is a lot easier lecturing about this stuff than it is writing it. Well, a least, now I know how my students feel when they're taking notes.   

[christy]

ok  ive had lots of dreams were i was falling n woke up with the same feeling, scared the crud outta me      i was grippin on to the bed for life

my son sleep eats    he gets up n gose for the frig wile still sleeping, i sat there one night n watched him eat chips n cottage cheese wile sleeping, his eyes stayed closed the hole time     he never noticed it was cottagecheese insted of the dip!   

[patches]

Hey, Christy, how old is your son!    I'm wondering if he had any recollection of doing this when he woke up the next morning.   

[christy]

hes 14 now,  the chips n cottage cheese was a couple years ago, but he still sleep eats, n he dont remember doing it,
sometimes he'll have a samwige or somthing in the frig n the next day he will go to get it n be like were did my samwige go?  n i tell him you ate it in your sleep last night!
i herd your not supost to wake people up when sleepwalking so i never wake him up,  i just have a habbit of making sure theres no nonedibal stuff in there like baking soda boxes, seeds that need chilled, things like that,

[christy]

oops sometimes he gets the feeling he did cause hell ask if he did. but he dont realy remember, just a feeling

[biita]

okay i think i got.  so the old hag comes around when we are paralized from hormones, during the deepest part of our sleep.  I guess a person is lucky then if they are light sleepers.. or do they go thru this also and just think they are light in their sleep.  I find this very intresting, sorry for asking so many questions. 

As far as sleep walking goes, as a child, i went skiing, took baths, watched tv, went bike riding..... My husband sleep eats also,, caught him just about 3 months ago, sitting at the computer eating some chocolate, i went over to see what he was doing, an the screen was black, an he was just typing up a storm, an eating,,lol.  i let him go, then guided him back to bed, where he just layed down an started to snore like he never was up. 

[patches]

Christy, if he's 14 now there's still a chance that he may grow out of it.    It seems that for many children who sleepwalk the episodes get fewer and farther between, until they finally disappear when they get older.    Of course, there are some who will still sleepwalk as adults. 

he still sleep eats, n he dont remember doing it, sometimes he'll have a samwige or somthing in the frig n the next day he will go to get it n be like were did my samwige go? 

Well, that's not surprising at all,    since most sleepwalkers don't seem to have any memory of doing it when they wake up in the morning.   

i herd your not supost to wake people up when sleepwalking so i never wake him up,  i just have a habbit of making sure theres no nonedibal stuff in there like baking soda boxes, seeds that need chilled, things like that, 

Actually, Christy, since sleepwalking occurs during Stage 4 NREM sleep, it can be really difficult to wake a sleepwalker because this is the stage when a person is experiencing their the deepest sleep.    Some experts suggest gently guiding the person back to their bed without waking them.  This would prevent them from engaging in any type of dangerous behavior (e.g. cooking, driving a car, etc.).    

[patches]

okay i think i got. so the old hag comes around when we are paralized from hormones, during the deepest part of our sleep

Sorry, Biita, close, but no cigar!    Geesh, maybe I wasn't very clear in the way I explained it, but I was trying to condense what I teach to the students so it wouldn't be so long.   Actually, the deepest sleep occurs during Stage 4 of NREM sleep, but the skeletal muscles become paralyzed when the body releases hormones during REM sleep, and it's believed this happens in order to keep people from harming themselves by acting out their dreams.    REM sleep is when the brain is extremely active and when we are experiencing our most vivid dreams.  Usually, the hormones will wear off before the dream is over, so most people will not experience any problems when they wake up.    They believe that sleep paralysis occurs when the body's hormones haven't completely worn off before the person wakes up; so, consequently, they may not be able to move for a few minutes.   Actually, not everyone who suffers from Sleep Paralysis will experience the "old hag" syndrome, but it does occur during REM sleep.  Of course, this only happens when there are hypnagogic hallucinations present, and it seems to be a lot more common in people who suffer from narcolepsy, and, in some cases, insomnia or the use of certain psychoactive substances.   

[Shaman]

I had a lot of experiences with the old hag troubling me when I was trying to sleep.  After a while, I just got tired of it, so I decided to  divorce her and am planning to replace her with a woman half her age!!

On a more serious note, I did read everyone's post, and think I understand the scientific explanation of it.  I want to add a few thoughts on the subject.

Just because something occurs when we are perceived to be "asleep" does not mean that there isn't an evil presence there.  I think we can raise and lower the vibration or our energy, and by doing so, can see or feel different beings, whether by meditation, sleep, or drugs of sorts.  Additionally, I believe that when we are in the sleep state,  we can be open to spiritual attack.  I also suspect that certain kinds of medication or drugs allow us to see some of the darker beings that exist around us.  I'm sure you have heard stories of drug addicted people claiming that they are being haunted or tormented, and such.  Many say that they are just hallucinating because of the drugs.  I am not sure that I believe that 100%.  Who can say for certain that they are not being haunted or tormented by dark things?  Science may understand that physical state of the body when people experience many of these kinds of occurrences, but I don't think they know enough of the spirit world yet to say that people are not really being held down and chocked by an old hag.

I have read descriptions of demons who hold people down while they sleep, drinking their life force, and leaving them exhausted when they awake.  Certainly, these experiences could be related or similar.  I will try to post  a link if I am able to find that information again. 

[Dianna]

I had a lot of experiences with the old hag troubling me when I was trying to sleep.  After a while, I just got tired of it, so I decided to  divorce her and am planning to replace her with a woman half her age!!

 

I am another adult sleepwalker/talker. The last time I did was in 1999, that I know about. My son woke me up. He was afraid I was trying to crawl out of the bedroom window. I haven't had sleep paralysis, that I know of, but it might would be a good thing for me...

As for the Old Hag, I would be terrified if I couldn't move when my eyes opened and my brain engaged...

Shaman, did you find that link? I would be interested in reading it...

[Shaman]

Didn't find the link I was looking for, but I found another one that presents both points of views. 

http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/spiritualresearch/spiritualityandhealth/sleepparalysis/

I read so much, it is hard to remember where I read that article.  I will keep looking and post it if/when I find it.

[Jayrod1972]

One night I woke up to what felt like something or someone choking me while sitting on my chest but, I was able to stagger to my feet but, still choking. This felt like it went on for ever, I was able to do emergency hand signal to my ex-wife while choking, I was signaling 911 but, she just looked at me.  after about 30 seconds to a minutes of this happening, I fell to my knees about to pass out, as fell forward and hit the ground I was able to breathe again, still with the ex-wife looking at me like how dare I disturbe her sleep. Dont know if this falls into what everyone is talking about, but sure did scare the heck out of me.

But I was just thinking as I was typing this, I really wanted to call her a Old Hag, maybe thats why they call it that.