5 Disturbing Facts About Sleep That Will Freak You Out

3. Muscles Temporarily Say, "Ah, Screw It!"

Well, here you are again, having another one of those "Held At Gunpoint, Forced to Eat Pine-cone Dreams". Happens to me almost every weekend after my iCarly marathon. I try to twerk myself out of the dream (It's the best way to end any nightmare. Miley Cyrus is actually an incredibly respectable lady she is just living in a hellish dream state struggling to regain consciousness) but my body refuses what my mind urges. Turns out there is a scientific explanation for this frightening phenomenon. The usual suspect? Neurotransmitters Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) and his old pal Glycine. Sorry I'm sure you already knew that. As a writer, I struggle with resisting the urge to state the obvious. For those of us simpletons unfamiliar with all the fun types of Neurotransmitters I will explain. These two dudes "switch off" the specialized cells in our brain that allow muscles to be active. Fortunately, this paralysis is actually helpful. It occurs during a specific time of REM sleep and prevents us from acting out our dreams. So next time you're dreaming about kissing your hot neighbor, remember it's a fundamental mechanization of your brain preventing that from actually happening. See? Much easier to overcome than your crippling case of social anxiety and near obsessive desire to compete in young-adult pinewood derby races.