Sleep Apnea Causes

In the book and movie "Fight Club", the main character develops a split personality seemingly because of his insomnia. Is this a realistic effect of insomnia? Have there been any documented cases? Please supply documentation, if possible.

Insomnia does not cause split personality disorder, but can be a symptom of the disease, it may also be a symptom of bipolar disorder. but these disorders are not caused by insomnia, insomnia can be caused by them. Insomnia though in long term cases can cause personality changes due to lack of REM sleep which is needed for the brain to get rid of excess energy, when it has no release it starts to deteriorate fast.

Damien is a 21 year old narcoleptic who lives in York with his parents, who run an old fashioned guest house. His unusual condition has had a devastating impact on all of their lives. He often finds many of the things that we take for granted a real struggle: paying attention, learning, getting and keeping a job, communicating, sleeping (ironically).

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This is a short i made after i found out about the condition sleep paralysis, as i was learning about it i thought it would make a great idea for a short film. This is the first film i have ‘completed’ using my complete hv30 rig. It was entirley shot on a canon HV30 w/ a letus flip 35mm adaptor in 24p with +6 db of gain, edited in premier pro CS3, colour corrected using magic bullet. I am open to all opinions and critisisms on the short (although some of you i’m sure will state that the picture is too dark as i have heard that from some, well this was the look i was going for and i’m very happy with it – infact i made it darker in post). Audio was recorded using Rode video mic on boom. I’m not sure what else i can say but if you have any questions please ask and i will be happy to anser. The footage has been scaled down to 720p to meet this sites 1280x720p max resolution from its original 1440×1080 24p but still looks quite good ( for internet standards ). Hope to hear some feedback regards Marty.

Heres the info on sleep paralysis :

Sleep paralysis is a condition defined by paralysis of skeletal muscles and or absence of reflexes that occurs upon awakening from sleep or during falling asleep. Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain awakes from a sleeping state, but the body paralysis persists. This leaves the person fully conscious, but unable to move. In addition, the state may be accompanied by terrifying hallucinations and an acute sense of danger .Sleep paralysis is particularly frightening to the individual due to the vividness of such hallucinations. The paralysis can last from several seconds to several minutes after which the individual may experience panic symptoms and the realization that the distorted perceptions were false.

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I am doing an assignment on Narcolepsy and i need to know how the nervous sytem of a Narcoleptic differs from a healthy nervous system. Please help, very urgent ! !

Here:

http://sulcus.berkeley.edu/mcb/165_001/papers/manuscripts/_267.html

There is a profound explanation for narcoleptic disorder. Under normal conditions, brain wave shows a regular rhythm when an individual is awake. When the person falls asleep, the brain waves become slower and less regular. This sleep state is called non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. When the person enters in deep sleep, the brain waves begin to show active pattern again. This sleep state is called rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep. Dreaming usually occurs at this state.

In narcolepsy, the order and length of NREM and REM sleep periods are disturbed, with REM sleep occurring at the onset, instead of after, of NREM sleep. Thus, narcolepsy is a disorder with REM occurring at abnormal time.

Neurological Aspects of Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a central nervous system disorder with characteristic symptoms of cataplexy and abnormal REM latency. Neurochemical and electrophysiological studies have shown that narcolepsy is associated with an abnormal cholinergic supersensitivity and a monoaminergic (dopamine and norepinephrine) hypoactivity. (Nishino S et al. 1995)

This is a news segment CNN did a few years ago about Narcolepsy.

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Sleep paralysis is a common condition that may occur in normal subjects or be ociated with narcolepsy, cataplexy, and hypnagogic hallucinations. The pathophysiology of this condition is closely related to the normal hypotonia that occur during REM sleep.

Physiologically, it is closely related to the paralysis that occurs as a natural part of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is known as REM atonia. Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain awakes from a REM state, but the body paralysis persists. This leaves the person fully conscious, but unable to move. In addition, the state may be accompanied by terrifying hallucinations (hypnopompic or hypnagogic) and an acute sense of danger. Sleep paralysis is particularly frightening to the individual due to the vividness of such hallucinations. The hallucinatory element to sleep paralysis makes it even more likely that someone will interpret the experience as a dream, since completely fanciful, or dream-like, objects may appear in the room alongside one’s normal vision.

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I’m 16, and completely healthy and normal in all other regards, but for the last several years (since I was about 8 or 9) I’ve experienced sleep paralysis and night terrors, at the rate of about 1 or 2 times a month for the paralysis and more often for night terrors. Does anyone know what causes this?

Sleep paralysis is closely related to the paralysis that occurs as a natural part of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is known as REM atonia. Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain awakes from a REM state, but the bodily paralysis persists. This leaves the person fully aware, but unable to move. In addition, the state may be accompanied by hypnagogic hallucinations. (strange shapes, faces, ect.)
some causes are:Sleeping in an upwards supine position
Irregular sleeping schedules; naps, sleeping in, sleep deprivation
Increased stress
Sudden environmental/lifestyle changes
A lucid dream that immediately precedes the episode. Also conscious induction of sleep paralysis is a common technique to enter a state of lucid dreams, also known as WILD .
Artificial sleeping aides, antihistamines
Recent use of hallucinogenic drugs
low levels of melatonin, a hormone. Usually, melatonin peaks at its highest levels in the middle of the night, but low levels, especially at night, preventing the stimulation of muscles, causing the body to not have the ability to move during dreams, and even when they wake up.

night terrors also have to do with REM sleep. In adults and children over the age of ten, they usually occure because of some sort of trauma the person has experienced.

I understand what sleep paralysis is. I just want to know if there are any other beliefs out there.

I have no answers for the "Science" part of it.

Depends on what dreams, nightmares may accompany your sleep paralysis.

Been there, made it through, with my faith because I know the truth.