Sleep paralyses?

Question

I sometimes get sleep paralyses... where my mind is awake but my body is not. It's always terrifying and i struggle for what feels like forever until i finally wake up. I try to stay awake for a few seconds before falling back to sleep, I'm sort of afraid that if i don't wake myself up, i'll stay in that state of basically being a vegetable -which i know is impossible. But it always freaks me out.

This typically happens to me almost weekly, at least a couple times a month. Way too often for my taste. But is that normal? Nobody else i've spoken to has this happen to them that often.

Does anyone know what causes this? It has been happening for a few years now and remains persistant. Also, is there anything I can do to stop this from happening?

Answer 1

Sleep paralysis is not an entirely uncommon condition. It's sort of a malfunction in the brain. When you sleep, your body paralyzes itself to prevent you from acting out your dreams. For some people, however, this autonomic function doesn't "turn off" when it should, and what you are experiencing occurs.

I've suffered from some mild sleep paralysis. I know how scary it feels.

I'm not sure about treatments, but it's definitely worth talking to a doctor about since it seems ot bother you a lot.

Hope that's somewhat helpful.

Answer 2

I don't know much about it, but it sounds like you should go to the doctor and talk to him about it.

Answer 3

I get that every once in a while, i find that falling asleep on your stomach will reduce or even eliminate sleep paralysis.  Also, irregular sleep patterns (ie  sleeping in, naps, insomnia) and higher than normal stress levels can increase you susceptibility to sleep paralysis.