• Question: what causes sleep paralysis ??? and why does it occur

    Asked by to Ben, Dave, Ditte, Heather, Rebecca on 20 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Ditte Hedegaard

      Ditte Hedegaard answered on 20 Jun 2014:

      Sleep paralysis is when you all the sudden can’t move as you are falling asleep. For some people this can also happen during weakening. I have never tried it, but it does not sound like something I want to experience. I love a good night sleep to much!

      Scientists are still not sure what is causing sleep paralysis. Some thinks it might be in the genes since studies on identical twins, who shares the same genes, have shown that if one twin have sleep paralysis the other is very likely to get it as well.

      Others think it might have something to do with the type of sleep you are in. There is two different types of sleeps; the Rapid Eye Movement sleep, also called REM sleep, and the non-REM sleep. We experience both while sleeping. During REM sleep the brain activity is very similar to when we are awake and usually we dream during the REM sleep. Scientists thinks that an overlap between the REM and non-REM sleep will cause an chemical imbalance in the nerves so that they will tell the muscles to cramp up and we will feel paralysed. Once the imbalance has been cleared the muscles will start to relax again.

      It is not really considered a disease and there is no cures against it, but regular sleeping habit and making sure that you get enough sleep can prevent sleep paralysis.

    • Photo: Ben White

      Ben White answered on 22 Jun 2014:

      Here’s a video that talks about what sleep paralysis is, and a load of other sleeping disorders.

    • Photo: Dave Baker

      Dave Baker answered on 24 Jun 2014:

      Basically it’s the body’s way of preventing someone moving during dream state.

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