Sleep Paralysis is Real; How It Happens & Feels Like

Sleep paralysis is defined by WebMD as "a feeling of being conscious but unable to move", an occurrence that happens when a person passes between the two stages of wakefulness and sleep. Furthermore, sleep paralysis occurs either while a person is falling asleep, which is medically termed as hypnagogic or predormital sleep paralysis, or as a person wakes up, or hypnopompic or postdormital sleep paralysis. As much as four out of 10 people may have sleep paralysis, beginning in their teen years. Factors that affect sleep paralysis include lack of sleep, a changing sleep schedule, mental conditions like stress or bipolar disorder, sleeping on the back, narcolepsy or nighttime leg cramps, the use of certain medications such as thsoe for ADHD, and substance abuse.

According to Science Alert, about 7.6% of the world's population has had at least one experience of sleep paralysis, and among students, 28.3% have experienced it. 31.9% of psychiatric patients were also reported to have experienced it at least once in their lives.

A study conducted in 2012 by researchsers from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Philadelphia revealed that sleep paralysis may be caused by several factors, including environmental and genetic background. The researchers wrote, "Features of dissociated REM sleep, such as sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations are highly heritable and frequent in the general population, particularly with insufficient sleep."

Buzzfeed Life reports that according to Michael Breus, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, research has shown that the less sleep a person gets and the more exhausted he or she is, the more likely he or she is to experience sleep paralysis.

"Sleep deprivation can either be measured in quantity or quality," Dr. Breus explained. "For example, if you have sleep apnea and you wake yourself up because you stop breathing throughout the night, the quantity of your sleep is bad. If you consume large amounts of alcohol, it prevents you from entering deeper stages of sleep which decreases the quality."

Dr. Breus also explains that although sleep paralysis brings terrifying emotions, "Research has shown that sleep paralysis is not dangerous. It does not cause physical harm to the body and there are no clinical deaths known to date."

"The biggest thing is to educate people to not be afraid," he recommends. "In all likelihood, they just need more rest. If they get enough sleep and the episodes continue with any regularity, then they should go to a sleep disorder specialist."

Research has also consistently shown how quality sleep can positively affect health, so if sleep problems are consistently being experienced, it is best to consult a doctor to address these issues.