Sleep Paralysis Essay
Sleep paralysis and nightmares are interrelated REM sleep parasomnias that are experienced more or less prevalently by certain populations or age groups. Sleep paralysis refers to the state in which an individual is unable to move one’s limbs and trunk while being conscious, and nightmares are the phenomena of experiencing horrific dreams. In this paper, I will be comparing two articles’ compositional style on the topic of sleep paralysis and nightmares. One popular press article, Sleep Paralysis and the Supernatural: Terror and apparitions in the night, by Michael Otto. Another is a peer-reviewed article, Nightmare and sleep paralysis among Japanese adolescents: A nationwide representative survey, by Takeshi Munezawa et al. An analysis on
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Does gender, lifestyle, sleep status, and mental health status have an impact on the magnitude of prevalence? They hypothesize that there is a prevalence of nightmares and sleep paralysis among Japanese adolescents, specifically junior and senior high school students across the country. Anonymous questionnaires were sent to schools, and all attending students filled out the survey. As a result, the overall response rate was 62.6% with the prevalence of nightmares as 35.2% and that of sleep paralysis as 8.3% (Munezawa et al., 2011). Females who consumed alcohol and reported poor sleep and mental health statuses had higher odds ratios of nightmares, and males with identical conditions had higher odds ratios of sleep paralysis. An important note is that nightmares and sleep paralysis were tied experiences for both females and males. For example, females who had higher odds of experiencing nightmares, reported the presence of sleep paralysis as an associated factor for experiencing nightmares. From these results, the research team (referred to as Munezawa now on) concluded that there was a 62.6% prevalence of nightmares and sleep paralysis among Japanese adolescents. Munezawa proposed maintaining a regular sleep habit in order to prevent experiencing these symptoms. In order to facilitate the maintenance, he suggested a promotion of health education on regular sleep habits for Japanese
Does gender, lifestyle, sleep status, and mental health status have an impact on the magnitude of prevalence? They hypothesize that there is a prevalence of nightmares and sleep paralysis among Japanese adolescents, specifically junior and senior high school students across the country. Anonymous questionnaires were sent to schools, and all attending students filled out the survey. As a result, the overall response rate was 62.6% with the prevalence of nightmares as 35.2% and that of sleep paralysis as 8.3% (Munezawa et al., 2011). Females who consumed alcohol and reported poor sleep and mental health statuses had higher odds ratios of nightmares, and males with identical conditions had higher odds ratios of sleep paralysis. An important note is that nightmares and sleep paralysis were tied experiences for both females and males. For example, females who had higher odds of experiencing nightmares, reported the presence of sleep paralysis as an associated factor for experiencing nightmares. From these results, the research team (referred to as Munezawa now on) concluded that there was a 62.6% prevalence of nightmares and sleep paralysis among Japanese adolescents. Munezawa proposed maintaining a regular sleep habit in order to prevent experiencing these symptoms. In order to facilitate the maintenance, he suggested a promotion of health education on regular sleep habits for Japanese