Sleep paralysis is a state, occurring while falling asleep or waking up, in which a person is conscious but completely unable to move, an episode that often includes hallucinations and a resulting sense of fear, and that generally lasts no more than a few minutes. It can happen to an otherwise healthy person, can occur alongside narcolepsy, or can run in families through specific genetic changes, and episodes can be triggered by sleep deprivation, psychological stress or an irregular sleep schedule; the underlying mechanism is thought to involve a dysfunction of REM sleep. Between about 8 and 50 percent of people experience sleep paralysis at some point in their life and about 5 percent have it regularly, affecting men and women equally, and the experience has been described throughout history and is believed to have contributed to folklore and reports of alien abduction and other paranormal encounters.
Facts
Core ClaimSleep paralysis is a state, during waking up or falling asleep, in which a person is conscious but in a complete state of paralysis. 1 First Described Year Classification
Type of Phenomenon Diagnostic Chapter FAQs
Is sleep paralysis dangerous, and can anything prevent it?
It is frightening but harmless, and steadier sleeping habits may help prevent it.
Sleep paralysis is when you cannot move or speak as you are waking up or falling asleep. It can be scary, but the NHS describes it as harmless. It has been linked with insomnia, disrupted sleeping patterns such as shift work or jet lag, narcolepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder and a family history of sleep paralysis. The NHS suggests that changing sleeping habits may help prevent it, for example regularly getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep a day and going to bed and getting up at roughly the same times.
Connections
In Branch
Source Wikipedia: Sleep paralysis
Source Wikipedia: Sleep paralysis
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Sleep paralysis
Lead paragraph
Sleep paralysis is a state, during waking up or falling asleep, in which a person is conscious but in a complete state of paralysis.
Section on mechanisms
sleep paralysis is a parasomnia resulting from dysfunctional overlap of the REM and waking stages of sleep.
In Branch: Neuropsychology, Lead section
Sleep paralysis is a state, during waking up or falling asleep, in which a person is conscious but in a complete state of paralysis.
In Branch: Abnormal Psychology, Lead section
Sleep paralysis is a state, during waking up or falling asleep, in which a person is conscious but in a complete state of paralysis.
In Group: Sleep-Wake Transition States, Lead
Sleep paralysis is a state, during waking up or falling asleep, in which a person is conscious but in a complete state of paralysis.
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