As a result, a person may remember a sleep paralysis and hallucination episode as a dream where they were frozen in place or unable to move.
In reality, it was these two conditions working together. In cases of severe hypnagogic hallucinations, people have been known to jump out of bed and accidentally injure themselves. People may also cause themselves harm if they have a hallucination that bugs are crawling on them. An older study among people ages 15 and older found that almost 25 percent experienced sleep-related hallucinations. These hallucinations are more common in teens and young adults, with the number of hallucinations decreasing with age.
Women appear more likely to experience these hallucinations than men. Some possible risk factors include:. Epileptic seizures may also cause hypnagogic hallucinations. When epilepsy is the cause, hallucinations may appear as short visual fragments.
Hypnagogic hallucinations are harmless in most cases. However, you should considering seeing a sleep specialist if these hallucinations cause you anxiety or disrupt you frequently during your sleep. If you seek help from a sleep specialist, they will begin your appointment by asking you questions such as:. Besides inquiring about your sleep, a sleep specialist will also ask you about your medical and psychiatric history. Remember to tell them about any past or present drug or medication use.
The sleep specialist may ask you to bring home a sleep diary for two weeks. This helps the specialist gain insight into your sleeping patterns. This insight may help them better diagnose your condition and figure out how to correct it.
The sleep specialist may also recommend a sleep study polysomnogram if your hallucinations are intensely disturbing to your sleep. A sleep study involves attaching wires and equipment to your head and body to chart your brain waves, heartbeat, and breathing as you sleep.
It also records how your arms and legs move. This kind of study can uncover whether your hypnagogic hallucinations are related to any other type of sleep disorder.
This test measures how quickly you fall asleep during the day and what kind of sleep you have when you nap. This test can reveal whether your hallucinations are related to narcolepsy. Treating hypnagogic hallucinations requires treating any underlying conditions that may be the cause. Often, hallucinations will decrease over time.
They may also decrease if you focus on getting enough sleep. The National Sleep Foundation recommends the following:. Sleep-related hallucinations seem to be very common. They have been reported by as many as one-third of all people.
They are more common in teens and young adults. In many people, the episodes tend to decrease with age. They also occur slightly more often in women than in men. They are very common in people who have narcolepsy.
Factors that can cause them include the following:. They can also be due to an epileptic seizure. In this case, they tend to be brief, visual fragments. You should see your medical provider if hallucinations cause you great anxiety or often disrupt your sleep. If you have them along with severe daytime sleepiness, then you may have narcolepsy.
Narcolepsy should be diagnosed and treated by a sleep doctor. The doctor will need to know when the hallucinations began. She will want to know how often they occur and how long they last. The doctor will need to know your complete medical, psychiatric, and sleep history. The doctor will want to know if you are unusually sleepy or have any other sleep problems. Be sure to inform her of any drug and medication use, both past or present. Tell your doctor if you have ever had any other sleep disorder.
Find out if you have any family members with sleep problems. It will also be helpful if you fill out a sleep diary for two weeks. The sleep diary will help the doctor see your sleeping patterns. This data gives the doctor clues about what is causing your problem and how to correct it. Your doctor may have you do a sleep study if your problem is severely disturbing your sleep. This study is called polysomnography.
It charts your brain waves, heartbeat, and breathing as you sleep. Children may be confused by their hallucinations, become too embarrassed to discuss them, or not be able to explain their feelings. Hypnagogic or hypnopompic hallucinations can be mistaken for, or misdiagnosed as, panic attacks, nightmares, or night terrors in children.
More severe events can even be confused with psychotic disorders. Do you or your child have symptoms of narcolepsy? Suspect narcolepsy symptoms?
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