What is Sleep Paralysis and How To Address It?

Countless sit-coms and other network television shows have had episodes in which one character experiences sleepwalking. That phenomenon is often laughed off as nothing serious and quite funny. However, sleepwalking and its opposite sleep paralysis can be quite disturbing and even potentially harmful for those who suffer from these sleep ailments. While most people have at least a general idea of what sleepwalking is, few understand sleep paralysis. So, what is sleep paralysis and what can be done to treat it?

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What Is Sleep Paralysis?

Sufferers of sleep paralysis experience slightly different symptoms depending upon their particular ordeal with it, but there are some symptoms that are held in common. It is essentially the feeling of being awake and conscious or semiconscious in the middle of the night but not having the ability to move your body. As you can imagine, many sufferers express terror when going through these symptoms.

The symptoms tend to last only about one to two minutes, but it is an experience you don’t want to have.

What Is The Experience Like?

There are enough people who experience sleep paralysis that we have a pretty good idea about what the experience is like for a lot of people. It essentially boils down to the inability to move one’s body while being conscious. Some people also report experiencing hallucinations that may include sights or sounds that are not really there. This is likely due to the individual still being in a dream state as they are experiencing the paralysis.

Some people report frightening images with their hallucinations and even the feeling of something being on their chest and an inability to breathe (even though they are actually still breathing).