Hypnopompia is an experience a person can go through while waking from sleep. When in a hypnopompic state a person can have lifelike visions or even full body paralysis. The frightening part for the individual, in many cases, is the inability to react to their hallucinations, even being unable to make a sound.
It is not an uncommon occurrence with 30 to 40 percent of people experiencing it at least once in their lives. However, it can be a sign of other problems such as narcolepsy or temporal lobeepilepsy.
It is thought to happen when a person wakes from REM (rapid eye movement) sleep too quickly. During REM the brain blocks the signals that allow the limbs to move to ensure that we do not act out our dreams. However, when suffering from hypnopompia, the individual regains consciousness to their surroundings but the signal block has not been removed.
One method of getting out of this state is to stimulate a sensory nerve. Depending on the level of paralysis this can prove to be difficult. However, the eyes are still able to move and simply rolling them around can help.
A disrupted sleep pattern or sleep deprivation is thought to be a primary cause of hypnopompia.
A similar phenomenon that occurs when falling asleep is hypnogogia.
Hypnagogia (also spelled hypnogogia) are the experiences a person can go through in the hypnagogic (or hypnogogic) state, the period of falling asleep.
Hypnopompia are the experiences a person may go through in the hypnopompic state, the period of waking up.
Hypnagogic sensations collectively describe the vivid dream-like auditory, visual, or tactile sensations that can be experienced in a hypnagogic or hypnopompic state.
Hypnagogia (also spelled hypnogogia) and hypnopompia are experiences a person can go through when falling asleep in the case of hypnagogia, or waking up, in the case of hypnopompia.
However, when experiencing hypnagogia or hypnopompia, the individual is still conscious of their surroundings, effectively dreaming while still awake.
The cause of hypnagogia and hypnopompia is usually associated with the varied sleep disorders, primarily insomnia.
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