StemCell Therapy

Sleep paralysis is the feeling of being unable to move when you're falling asleep or waking up. That's because people experiencing sleep paralysis are awake and alert, but unable to move their muscles.

The condition is relatively common, says Gonzalo Laje, MD, director of Washington Behavioral Medicine Associates in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Roughly 8% of people in the U.S. will experience sleep paralysis at least once in their lives.

"The body paralyzes itself during REM sleep, so we don't act out our dreams and hurt ourselves or our bedpartners," says Nate Watson, MD, co-director of the University of Washington Medicine Sleep Center.

Advertisement

Sleep paralysis can occur at two points, says Patricia Celan, MD, a psychiatry resident at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada.

However, many people with sleep paralysis develop anxiety because the episodes can be frightening. In some cases, this can even cause insomnia if people feel afraid to sleep, Laje says. If that happens or if episodes become more frequent, it's time to seek professional help.

"There is no definitive cure for sleep paralysis, but if someone is bothered by it, there are actions that can be taken to reduce its risk of occurring," Celen says.

In fact, people who say they have good sleep quality are less likely than those who have bad sleep quality to experience sleep paralysis.

"Treating sleep paralysis involves optimizing sleep habits," Celen says. "That means improving sleep hygiene so you can fall asleep more easily and get a full night's rest."

If that's the case, it's most important to treat those conditions, like sleep apnea or depression, as it can help prevent sleep paralysis and improve your overall health.

Knowing more about sleep paralysis like the fact that it's common and not actually harmful can make occurrences easier to deal with and help reduce anxiety about the condition.

Some types of CBT like CBT-I, which is used to treat insomnia also teach relaxation techniques that are useful for improving your sleep hygiene and getting better sleep.

There is some early research that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), commonly used to treat depression, can help treat sleep paralysis.

If you experience sleep paralysis once, it's not an immediate cause for concern, but you should focus on improving your quality of sleep.

"Although scary when it occurs, sleep paralysis is generally brief, self-limited, and does not indicate the presence of narcolepsy," Watson says. "When it occurs, it is a sign that your sleep may not be healthy."

Read the rest here:
What causes sleep paralysis and how to reduce your risk - Business Insider India

This entry was posted on June 30, 2020 at 5:50 am and is filed under Preventative Medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |