Types of Sleep Disorders: Sleep Paralysis

Many people are aware that suffering for a sleep disorder can be very troubling, reducing or eliminating the amount of rest one receives each night. But imagine that you are in the middle of a peaceful sleep only to wake up and realize that you cannot move; you are completely aware but cannot get out of the bed. Experts describe this sensation as sleep paralysis, a common but frightening one of the many sleep disorders people are afflicted with. In this article, we will explore what happens in paralysis and some ways to avoid it altogether.

Types are Sleep Disorders

There are many disorders that people suffer from including insomnia (trouble falling or staying asleep), sleep apnea (difficulty breathing during sleep), narcolepsy (uncontrolled sleepiness), restless leg syndrome (the need to move your legs at night keeping you awake), night terrors, sleepwalking and paralysis - the latter of which we will be focusing on in this article.

What is Sleep Paralysis?

Paralysis is one of the many sleep disorders that affect people every night. It is described as the feeling of waking up unable to move, blink, or sometimes even breathe. You may just be waking up from a dream and open your eyes only to realize you can't move a muscle, no matter how hard you try. And in addition to not being able to move, you may sense a variety of feelings, including:

Being Watched - It is not uncommon for people in this paralyzed state to either see with their own eyes or feel a figure or silhouette floating overhead or sitting near the bed.

Floating or Gliding - Many people who suffer from this affliction have the feeling that they are floating above their body or even traveling within the house, or in another location.

Feeling a Heavy Weight - Some people feel that something or someone is pressing down on their chest leaving them unable to breathe until the paralysis has ended.

Why Does it Happen?

No one has been able to decipher a cause for this disorder, however it has been determined that it happens more often to people who are lying on their backs. Some have a spiritual theory that this disorder is not really a problem and is instead simply the result of the soul leaving the body for a nightly excursion only to return after we have already awakened, which explains why we see a dark figure and feel the heavy weight pressing on us (as the soul tries to reenter the body). Of course, this explanation is by no means widely accepted and is only one of several theories available.

Sleep disorders, and particularly paralysis, can cause a great deal of grief and stress in the person suffering from them because they occur during a period of time when there is little to no control over behaviors. So if you think that you may be suffering from one or more sleep disorders, seek the help of a professional to determine which one you have and how you can aid the condition to resume your healthy and peaceful sleeping patterns.