Contrary to popular belief, sleep paralysis is a common and harmless disorder. However, it is still a disconcerting experience when it occurs without warning. This particular situation most often occurs when falling asleep or waking up: you are conscious, your eyes may even be open, but your body no longer obeys. Immobile, unable to speak or react, you feel as if you are trapped inside your own body. This disconnect between an awake mind and a paralyzed body often causes intense anxiety.
To add to the strangeness of the moment, some people describe sensory hallucinations. Menacing shadows that seem to spy on you, incomprehensible whispers… So many details that give this episode the appearance of a nightmarish scene experienced with your eyes open.
Where does this curious phenomenon come from?
Rest assured: you are not losing your mind, and no supernatural presence is involved ( even if some urban legends still suggest this !). Sleep paralysis is explained by completely normal bodily mechanisms. During the REM sleep phase – the phase where we dream – our brain momentarily blocks our muscles to prevent us from miming our dreams. During paralysis, the mind wakes up while the body remains under the influence of this inhibition. The result: you are awake… in a sleeping body.
