Under the patronage of the President of the Northern Technical University, Professor Dr. Alia Abbas Ali Al-Attar
Under the supervision of Assistant Professor Dr. Ashti Mahdi Arif, Dean of the Kirkuk Technical Institute, Nazm
Department of Community Health Technologies, a course entitled (Sleep paralysis, its causes, and symptoms)
Present in the course:
Assistant teacher Dammat Fikret Saber (course director)
Assistant teacher Hussein Saber Qader
Assistant teacher Jalnik Hamid Mahmoud
The course dealt with:
Sleep paralysis is a condition in which a person becomes temporarily unable to move, which occurs immediately after falling asleep or waking up. A person remains conscious during a seizure, which often involves disturbing hallucinations and a sensation of suffocation.
The course indicated:
For centuries, people believed that the fathom was a demonic possession or a jinn possessing a person, a belief that appeared in many civilizations. Al-Jathoom was the subject of a painting drawn by the artist Henry Fuseli, and it gained international fame that lasted for centuries. Which is known in popular myths as the cause of nightmares and paralyzes the movement of sleepers, unable to move. However; All of these beliefs are wrong, as Jathum is a physiological condition that has a scientific explanation, as Jathum sleep is a disorder closely related to paralysis that occurs as a normal part of the sleep phase called rapid eye movement (REM), and sleep paralysis occurs when the brain wakes up from REM sleep, but Physical paralysis is still present due to the state of muscle relaxation (Atonia), meaning that all the muscles of the body are paralyzed except for the diaphragm muscle and the muscles of the eyes, and this makes the person fully conscious, and no matter how many times he tries to move, it is in vain, and he is unable to move. The person with the fathom is dreaming; Because the feeling is similar to what happens in a dream, as it is unable to move and is frozen in place, and this feeling is increased by the hallucination element where the person sees imaginary elements in the room, which are similar to dreams.
The course aims:
1) Stay away from electronic devices before bed.
2) Abstain from caffeine at least 6 hours before bed.
3) Avoid using sedatives and hypnotics unless prescribed by your doctor.
4) Avoid smoking.
5) Get a good night’s sleep.
6) Create a healthy, quiet, and comfortable environment for a peaceful sleep.
7) Exercise regularly and follow a healthy diet.
Avoid heavy meals shortly before bed.
The course concluded:
Sleep paralysis is harmless and temporary, and does not pose a threat to public health, because the diaphragm is not affected, and breathing remains normal, as well as the level of oxygen in the blood, and no death has been proven during sleep paralysis.
And that there is no need to feel anxious, which can make the seizure last longer, in addition to ignoring the hallucinations, trying to relax the muscles, and moving the muscles of the face and eyes from one side to the other during the seizure; To speed up its termination, and in cases of recurrence, such as more than once a week, for example, the specialist may prescribe medications such as antidepressants to help regulate sleep.