Sleep paralysis is a disorder that occurs right after waking up or when you try to fall asleep and prevents the body from moving, even when the mind is awake. Thus, the person wakes up but cannot move, causing anxiety, fear and terror.
During sleep, the brain relaxes all the muscles in the body and keeps them still so that energy can be conserved and avoid sudden movements during dreams. However, when a communication problem occurs between the brain and the body during sleep, the brain can take a while to return to the body, causing an episode of sleep paralysis.
- During each episode.
- Hallucinations may occur.
- Such as seeing or smelling someone near the bed or hearing strange noises.
- But this is only due to excessive anxiety and fear caused by the lack of control of the body itself.
- In addition.
- The sounds heard may also be justified by the movement of the ear muscles.
- Which continues to occur even when all other muscles in the body are paralyzed during sleep.
While sleep paralysis can occur at any age, it is most common in adolescents and young adults ages 20 to 30, due to less consistent sleep patterns and excessive stress.
Sleep paralysis is a little-known problem that goes away on its own after a few seconds or minutes. However, it is possible to get out of this state of paralysis more quickly when someone touches the person who is experiencing the episode or when the person can think logically at the moment and concentrate all their energy to try to move their muscles.
Sleep paralysis has been more common in people with bad sleep habits and, therefore, to avoid episodes, it is recommended to improve sleep quality, through strategies such as:
In most cases, sleep paralysis occurs only once or twice in life. But, when this happens more than once a month, for example, it is advisable to consult a neurologist or doctor who specializes in sleep disorders, which may include the use of antidepressant medications, such as clomipramine.
See also other tips that help improve sleep and can reduce the risk of sleep paralysis: Ten tips for getting a good night’s sleep.
Symptoms of sleep paralysis, which can help identify this problem include:
Although worrying symptoms, such as shortness of breath or flutter, sleep paralysis is not dangerous or life-threatening. During episodes, the respiratory muscles and all vital organs continue to function normally.