‘DUPPY hold me down in my sleep’

SLEEP for most of us is usually that restful, refreshing part of the day when we enter a state of “altered” consciousness with transient loss of responsiveness to external stimuli. It is a moment when the eyes are closed and there is a decrease in body movements. Yet, many individuals for various reasons never attain this fully restful state and develop disorders of sleep that can vary from one extreme to the next.

One such disorder is sleep paralysis, a condition that affects many Jamaicans, and which some have linked to the spiritual and the occult when they experience it.

Described as a feeling of being held down, unable to move, while experiencing visions of being attacked by often “demonic forces”, internist Dr Jomo James said that “this can markedly affect a person’s quality of life”.

“The first time I experienced it was as a young girl. I couldn’t move from the bed; something was holding me down,” 44-year-old banker Verona Brown told All Woman.

“I experienced it many times after that, and my family was convinced that someone jealous of my success in school had obeahed me, so they took me to pastor for prayer.”

She said that the pastor and church members were equally convinced, and after seven days on intercessory prayers to banish the demons, the experiences stopped for a few years.

“When they returned after I got married, by that time I had sense enough to research it, and realised that it was just a sleep disorder,” she laughed.

Dr James said sleep is divided into two stages — non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) and rapid eye movement sleep (REM), and some sleep disorders are unique to specific stages of the sleep cycle.

“Primary sleep disorders can be of two types — those that involve unusual behaviours or experiences that occur during sleep — termed the parasomnias, examples of which are sleepwalking, nightmares and sleep paralysis, and those that affect the amount, quality, duration and timing of sleep, termed the dyssmonias. Examples are insomnia and narcolepsy.”

Sleep paralysis is the sensation of being awake but unable to move, speak or react during falling asleep or awakening. Dr James said it is usually accompanied by hallucinations to which one is unable to react due to the transient paralysis as well as abnormal sensations through the body.

“Sleep paralysis has cultural connotations. It is often depicted or perceived in folklore and throughout history as demonic visitation akin in Jamaica to the term “duppy hold me down in my sleep”,” he explained.

In fact, according to the internist, many people who experience sleep paralysis with hallucinations have a sense of terror, particularly when they sense a menacing presence in the room while paralysed.

“Another common theme is the sensation of the body floating in the room with alien visitation and near death. The paralysis lasts from several seconds to a few minutes.”

Dr James further explained that sleep paralysis is closely associated with the REM stage of sleep, the stage where vivid dreams occur. However, he said not much is known about the exact cause or mechanism behind it, and it may occur as one sentinel event or be recurrent.

Below, he lists factors that may be linked to sleep paralysis.

1. A lack of sleep

2. Changes in sleep schedule

3. Narcolepsy

4. Substance abuse

5. Sleep position usually on the back.

He said sleep paralysis is diagnosed from the history or the symptoms alone and should be differentiated from narcolepsy which is genetic based.

Dr James pointed out that there are no known complications from sleep paralysis and it poses no immediate risk to those experiencing it, other than being a terrifying event.

Regarding treatment, he said prevention by maintaining a regular sleep schedule, not depriving oneself of sleep, and generally adapting healthier sleeping habits usually works.

“If that fails or symptoms are more severe, then medication usually in the form of antidepressants may be indicated. However, no drug has been found to relieve symptoms totally. Thankfully, most people do not need treatment,” he said.