Sleep Paralysis
August 15, 2012
Two brain chemicals keep us from acting our our dreams.
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Transcript
JOHN PEEVER (University of Toronto):
Dream enactment leads to unwanted side effects such as punching a bed partner, throwing yourself out of bed, even broken bones.
HIRSHON:
Peever and his colleagues have discovered that two brain chemicals, GABA and glycine, tell our brains to freeze our muscles while we dream.
PEEVER:
And what we found was that GABA and glycine act to shut off motor neurons, and this is what triggers REM sleep paralysis.
HIRSHON:
He says the disorder can be a risk factor for Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. But he adds that a little bit of movement during sleep is normal. I’m Bob Hirshon, for AAAS, the science society.