Sleep Paralysis and the Monsters Inside Your Mind

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July 15, 2020

Dear Reader, New findings raise the possibility that sleep paralysis, if accompanied by certain beliefs, is not just frightening but may also be potentially traumatizing. And the more people fear sleep paralysis, the more they experience it, and the stronger its effects are. Read our lead story to learn about these terrifying hallucinations. In climate news, American coastal communities will experience high-tide flooding as many as 270 days a year by 2050, according to NOAA projections that show sea-level rise causing the dramatic increases. Also in today's roundup is a story about how China is quietly making final preparations for its first independent trip to Mars.

Behavior & Society Sleep Paralysis and the Monsters Inside Your Mind Research suggests that cultural beliefs about the phenomenon may make it more terrifying to experience By Baland Jalal

Space Chinese Spacecraft Poised for First Mars Mission Tianwen-1 will attempt to send an orbiter, lander and rover to the Red Planet, a historically difficult destination By Ling Xin

Policy & Ethics How Galileo Battled the Science Deniers of His Time The man who discovered Jupiter's satellites and the mountains of the moon had no patience for idiots By Steve Mirsky

Climate Methane Is on an Alarming Upward Trend Atmospheric concentrations of the second most important greenhouse gas are hitting record levels By Rob Jackson,Marielle Saunois,Philippe Bousquet,Pep Canadell,Ben Poulter

Natural Disasters With Sea Level Rise, High-tide Flooding Spikes Along U.S. Coasts Fifteen communities set records for the number of days with such floods last year By Thomas Frank,E&E News

Physics Living with Scientific Uncertainty We're inevitably forced to make decisions without knowing all of the facts By Avi Loeb

Conservation Clearing Opium Fields Hurts Honeybees Originally published in August 1911

FROM THE STORE Mind Over Mood: Understanding Anxiety and Depression Anxiety and depression are two of the most common conditions affecting mental health and overall quality of life, but there are tools for managing them. In this eBook, we'll explore how depression shows up in the brain, different manifestations of depression and anxiety, various talk therapies, technological innovations, lifestyle interventions and more.

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FROM THE ARCHIVE Why Sleep Disorders May Precede Parkinson's and Alzheimer's When the body's biological clock goes awry, insomnia and related disruptions may be an early sign of pending cognitive decline  By Simon Makin | December 2016

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