Josie Gibson opened up on a battle with a debilitating health problem that affects millions of people in Britain. While presenting ITV show This Morning alongside Craig Doyle, the conversation turned to an upcoming feature, prompting viewers to share their recent dreams.
Josie took the opportunity to speak up about her own struggles with sleep paralysis. She shared with the audience: “I do get really weird dreams. I get sleep paralysis which is even weirder. If anybody knows about sleep paralysis, you cannot move. You’re awake but you’re still asleep. You think you’re awake but you cannot move.”
This isn’t the first time Bristol-born Josie – who celebrates her 40th birthday today (Friday, January 24) – has spoken publicly about her condition. In a past discussion with Dr Sara Kayat, who was offering advice on sleep to viewers, Josie told her: “I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve literally not been sleeping a wink.
“The other day, I probably had about three hours sleep a night in a four days, and I was shaking. I was actually shaking by the fourth day, I felt like I wasn’t really here. So I need all the tips that I can get.”
Craig sympathised with her situation, saying: “I’d bite the hand off you for three hours sleep a night. Honestly, yeah! It’s bad at the moment, isn’t it, for a lot of people. Dr Sara emphasized the importance of addressing these issues, saying: “So it is so important we get on top of this, absolutely.”
The doctor explained: “I’m so sorry to hear both of you are struggling so much. Ideally, you want to be sleeping anywhere between seven or eight hours a night on average. People that get significantly less than that are at increased risk of health conditions, strokes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, depression, even early death. It is really important that we regularly get better sleep.”
She added: “Lack of sleep can have a number of different underlying issues. It could be something physical like sleep apnea where their tongue is going down the back of their throat and causing them to block up, it could be things like too much caffeine, lifestyle things, exercising too close to bedtime so endorphin levels are going up,” reports the Mirror.
“It could be depression, we know that’s a large cause for many people to suffer with poor sleep and early wakenings. For a lot of people it could just be that they’re having to get up frequently to go to pass urine.”
Craig also chimed in with his personal insights, saying: “I know this cloud! Is this just a man thing, when you get to a certain age? You need to go to the loo at 3am. I don’t know if you know this, but as you come out of the bathroom there’s little demons that hide behind the door. They jump in your brain as you walk back out, ‘Did you pay that bill? ‘ ‘Is the dog gonna wake up early and annoy you? ‘It doesn’t have to be a big panic. That’s really common, anecdotally from friends of mine.”
It’s believed that around 30% of the population have experience an episode of sleep paralysis at least once but there are ways to help the situation.
The NHS says the condition, which can be linked to disorders like insomnia and anxiety, may be prevented by changing your sleeping your habits. The NHS website suggests trying to get seven to nine hours of sleep a day, hitting the hay at a regular time and not exercising in the four hours before trying to nod off.
People suffering are also advised to avoid eating a big meal or consuming alcohol or caffeine before bed. Sleeping on your back can also make sleep paralysis more likely, according to NHS.