Incubus..?

Have you ever heard on Incubus? Nah, not the music band with the infamous 'Love Hurts' song. The real incubus. The real phenomenon of incubus state.

To some, incubus may scare the bones out of you, thinking that something evil is lying on top of you while you were sleeping. Yes, this is the myth of it all. The centuries old, horrifying and scary myth. Demons have been thought to lie on the sleeper, especially women, and proceed sexual act. The sign; motionless limbs, heavy breathing and trauma (at that particular moment).

Well, thank God, now there were studies to prove this folk story to dissolve.

What is incubus?

This awkward yet weird state is called the sleep paralysis, by experts. Psychologists define this bizzare phenomenon as the "sleep paralysis with hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations" (no bloody idea what is that, so moving on.). Do read the following simptoms.

"Sleep paralysis is which someone, most often lying in a supine position, about to drop of to sleep, or just upon waking from sleep realizes that s/he is unable to move, or speak, or cry out. This may last a few seconds or several moments, occasionally longer. People frequently report feeling a ‘presence’ that is often described as malevolent, threatening, or evil. An intense sense of dread and terror is very common"

So basically, this paralysis happens due to the hormones released during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) state. Another source also states that during this period, the brain is confused of the awakeness state, yet the body is actually sleeping to be aware of the awakeness.

There you go, sound simple, yet it is downright complicated for us to understand. Nonetheless, we shouldn't go biserk after this if this incubus thingie happen to us. Just remember to stay calm, until your body is fully awake and you may continue the sleeping process again.

Sweet Dreams! :-)

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