Sleep Paralysis in Adolescents
Arcega,Cate A. Asst. Prof. Carinez P. dela Cruz
PS1A- Psychology Psych 101- General Psychology
Reflection Paper on the Sleep paralysis in adolescents: The ‘a dead body climbed on top of me’ phenomenon in Mexico The authors for this scholarly article, “Sleep paralysis in adolescents: The ‘a dead body climbed on top of me’ phenomenon in Mexico.” are Alejandro Jimenez-Genchi, Victor M. Avila-Rodriguez, Frida Sanchez, Blanca E. Vargas Terrez, and Alejandro Nenclares-Portocarrero. The article is from the Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, volume 63, pages 546-549 and was available online last 2009. Sleep paralysis (SP) is characterized by the incapability to move for a short period of time at the early stages of sleep. Some cultures use colloquial expressions to describe the SP experience. In Mexico, Mexicans uses the expression ‘a dead body climbed on top of me’ to depict a phenomenon that seems to be equivalent to SP. The aim of this study is to identify the rate and characteristics of SP in adolescents using a folk expression. Since the phenomenon is most often seen in adolescence, the researchers invited 322 adolescents from different high schools in Mexico City to participate. They completed an Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and an SP questionnaire which asks if they already heard about the phenomenon and have experienced it. With all the gathered data, the researchers were shocked to find out that 92.5% of the participants heard about the phenomenon while 27.6% of them had experienced it. 61% had experienced 2 or more episodes during their lifetime. The difference and similarities of this colloquial expression and sleep paralysis is emphasized in the discussion part. Folk descriptions are said to capture motor and hallucinatory nature of SP while clinical descriptions capture only the motor features. If only
PS1A- Psychology Psych 101- General Psychology
Reflection Paper on the Sleep paralysis in adolescents: The ‘a dead body climbed on top of me’ phenomenon in Mexico The authors for this scholarly article, “Sleep paralysis in adolescents: The ‘a dead body climbed on top of me’ phenomenon in Mexico.” are Alejandro Jimenez-Genchi, Victor M. Avila-Rodriguez, Frida Sanchez, Blanca E. Vargas Terrez, and Alejandro Nenclares-Portocarrero. The article is from the Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, volume 63, pages 546-549 and was available online last 2009. Sleep paralysis (SP) is characterized by the incapability to move for a short period of time at the early stages of sleep. Some cultures use colloquial expressions to describe the SP experience. In Mexico, Mexicans uses the expression ‘a dead body climbed on top of me’ to depict a phenomenon that seems to be equivalent to SP. The aim of this study is to identify the rate and characteristics of SP in adolescents using a folk expression. Since the phenomenon is most often seen in adolescence, the researchers invited 322 adolescents from different high schools in Mexico City to participate. They completed an Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and an SP questionnaire which asks if they already heard about the phenomenon and have experienced it. With all the gathered data, the researchers were shocked to find out that 92.5% of the participants heard about the phenomenon while 27.6% of them had experienced it. 61% had experienced 2 or more episodes during their lifetime. The difference and similarities of this colloquial expression and sleep paralysis is emphasized in the discussion part. Folk descriptions are said to capture motor and hallucinatory nature of SP while clinical descriptions capture only the motor features. If only
References: Bob Peterson (2005, August). What Everyone Should Know About Sleep Paralysis, AS and OBEs. From the World Wide Web: http://www.robertpeterson.org/asp.htm Gillian Murphy & Jonathan Egan (2010, March). Sleep Paralysis and Hallucinations: What Clinicans Need to Know. From the World Wide Web: http://www.lenus.ie/hse/bitstream/10147/111896/1/IPMarch2010.pdf Medical Terms (2009) Definition of Sleep Paralysis. From the World Wide Web: http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=9806 Ryan Hurd (2010). The Sleep Paralysis Report. Retrieved 2010 from the World Wide Web:http://dreamstudies.org/wpcontent/uploads/2010/11/Sleep-Paralysis-Report-2010.pdf Scientific American. Randolph W. Evans & Christopher French (2009, January). Ask the Brains: What Is Sleep Paralysis? From the World Wide Web: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=ask-the-brains-sleep-paralysis 5