What Causes Sleep Paralysis?

By james

Reviewed: Dr. Gromatzky

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It is common for us to dream and, for many people, dreams can be very enjoyable. This is not always the case, however, and some people can have nightmares that can be very disturbing for them. Some people can experience something even worse – a phenomenon known as sleep paralysis.

Sleep paralysis is a condition where the patient is conscious but is unable to move. Our brains close down our muscles as we sleep to prevent us from acting out our dreams. In sleep paralysis, the patient is half awake and half asleep. They are conscious, but they have no control over their muscles. It is harmless physically, but it can be extremely distressing.

1. Disrupted Sleeping Patterns

Most of the time, we will have a pretty standard sleeping pattern. We tend to have to be at work the same time every day and our sleeping patterns tend to revolve around that. Many of us will take the opportunity to sleep in longer during the weekends, but still, there is a fairly regular pattern.

Some people might have a sleep pattern that is somewhat disrupted, however. This can mean people that are experiencing jet lag, or maybe people that are working on alternating shifts. The disruption can be difficult for some people to adjust to, and such disruptions are thought the be the cause of some cases of sleep paralyses.