What is sleep paralysis? Sleep paralysis is "a condition where you feel paralyzed just before falling asleep or, more commonly, when you first wake up in the morning," says Kevin Walker, MD, the ...

What causes sleep paralysis? According to New York City-based neuropsychologist Dr. Sanam Hafeez M.D., sleep paralysis is caused by being in between a state of wakefulness and sleep at the same time.

Although sleep paralysis is terrifying and can happen at night, this condition is no relation to night terrors. The two are opposites, in a sense: in a night terror, you are asleep but moving around.

The sleep paralysis episodes involve not being able to speak or move while falling asleep or right upon waking up. This usually lasts for about one or two minutes and is often frightening.

In some cases, people experiencing sleep paralysis have frightening and even recurring visions. Known as sleep paralysis demons, these terrors don’t haunt nightmares, but reality.

The first time sleep paralysis struck me was in the winter of 2012. My grandfather had recently died, and I was spending time at my grandmother’s house. After 60 years of marriage, she wasn’t ...

During sleep paralysis, however, “we regain consciousness before the muscles regain their freedom from REM-induced paralysis,” said Walker, who is also a professor of neuroscience and ...

Sleep paralysis could also be a symptom of narcolepsy, a sleep disorder that causes people to fall asleep involuntarily. Other research suggests sleep paralysis could be caused by jet lag or other ...

Sleep paralysis is considered a symptom of narcolepsy. Researchers are hoping to one day locate the genetic markers for the disorder, which has been shown to run in families.