may the force . . .

It was almost midnight when I got ready to sleep. I had a report to finish but my head was already throbbing and I was too sleepy to care. I decided to have a few hours of sleep before continuing with work on my report. I was having difficulty in falling asleep at a relatively early hour and I found myself tossing and turning. It was while I was trying to still my thoughts when the scary “incident” happened.

There I was in bed, with all the lights switched off. My back was towards the wall next to my bed. I was looking at the wall on the far side trying to focus images without eyeglasses. It was when I thought I was seeing some strange shadows in one corner when I felt movement behind my back not too different from someone stepping on the mattress. I turned a little to see what was causing the mattress to move only to be met with an image of old “thing” looking over my shoulder. It was like I was looking Yoda in the face with its almost bald head and pointy ears. As with these kinds of occurrences I was paralyzed with fear and was unable to do anything but stare ahead. One, two, three seconds passed. I still couldn’t move. Eventually, I gathered enough strength to roll over in bed and see what was going on behind my back. Nothing.

If this occurred earlier in my life I would have attributed it to supernatural forces and other superstition. However, at this point I am hard-pressed to find a perfectly logical and scientific explanation. Right now the only thing I can think of are hypnagogic hallucinations.

There is a phenomenon in which a person may have visual or auditory hallucinations when going to sleep or upon waking up. A person may perceive someone speaking in a distance or have a perception of seeing objects that are not present. When these occur while a person is falling asleep the term used is hypnagogic hallucinations. If the same occurs upon waking it is called a hypnopompic hallucination.

These false visual or auditory perceptions are often associated with narcolepsy reflecting a disorder of REM sleep. However, many people without any disorders also experience these phenomena. Although often frightening, these may not be harmful at all.

Yes, at this point hypnagogic hallucinations is my best explanation. Although I wouldn’t mind thinking that it was actually Yoda come to dispense his words of wisdom, very much needed for a case discussion in Internal Medicine plus a report on dietary management of cardiovascular diseases.

May the force be with you.