Cope with Sleep Paralysis

Sleep paralysis is when you are physically paralyzed while falling asleep or waking up but you are mentally awake. Sleep paralysis is often associated with other symptoms, such as a sense of suffocation, decreased heart rate, hallucinations, feeling an evil presence in the room, or feeling afraid, and it may be the result of other conditions. Fortunately, though it can be scary, sleep paralysis is not dangerous. To cope with sleep paralysis, start by working on sleeping better, which can help reduce the occurrences. You can also work on what to do when it happens, as well as talk to your doctor about any underlying conditions.

Steps

Sleeping Better

1. Sleep enough. A simple way to help cope with sleep paralysis is to ensure you are sleeping enough. Generally, that means you need to get at least six hours of sleep a night, but eight hours is usually better. That means you need to make sleep a priority, and pay attention to when you need to go to bed.
2. Ready your room for sleep. To sleep your best, you need to sleep in a environment focused on sleep. For instance, a cool room is usually best, along with layers to keep you warm as needed. You can also wear earplugs if your area is noisy.
   • Block out as much light as possible. Light, even ambient light like a bright street light, can affect your sleep.
   • If you're tossing and turning, consider your bed. Maybe it's time to update it to something more comfortable.
3. Get on a sleep schedule. Going to bed at the same time every night and getting up at the same time every day tells your body what to expect. You'll start getting sleepy when it's bedtime, and you'll be more likely to fall asleep more easily and sleep better. Sleeping better can sometimes improve sleep paralysis.
   • It can also help to have a sleeping "cue." Pick something that relaxes you, such as drinking a cup of (caffeine-free) tea or meditating, and do that every night before bed.
4. Cut bad habits out of your bed routine. While it's important to do certain things before bed to help you sleep, it's also important that you don't do other things. For instance, skip the caffeine and alcohol, as they can both affect your sleep negatively. Also, don't eat a huge amount or smoke right before trying to sleep.
   • An hour before bed time, start turning off all your screens (such as the television and smartphone), which can affect your sleep. Start winding down and moving towards bed.
5. Sleep on your side. Sleep paralysis occurs more often when you sleep on your back. Try sleeping on your side instead to lower the probability that you will have an episode. If you often end up on your back, sew a pocket or pin a sock to the back of your nightshirt and insert a tennis ball or two to break the habit.
6. Exercise regularly. You don't have to go to the gym. Simply introduce a low-impact exercise regimen to your day. Taking a walk in the morning, for example, is a good idea. Exercising can help you sleep better, but it's important to not exercise too close to bedtime, as it is initially energizing. Get your exercising in at least four hours before bedtime.
7. Don't worry yourself into not sleeping. If you can't sleep, don't just lay there getting upset about it, which will just keep you up longer. Try getting up and doing something you find boring for 20 minutes or so before attempting sleep again.
   • If you're laying there stressing about something on your mind, try spending some time writing your worries down in a journal to get them off your mind.
8. Relax. Stress interrupts normal sleep cycles, which can greatly contribute to the likelihood of sleep paralysis. Take time each day to reduce your stress by doing activities you find relaxing, such as meditating, listening to music, doing something creative, or playing with a pet.
   • Also, try to cut stress out of your life where possible. For instance, if you notice feeling anxious or stressed every time you watch the news, try cutting back.

Handling Sleep Paralysis

1. Focus on body movement. You may find that you are able to move smaller areas of your body, such as your toes, fingers, or your tongue. Once you are able to make a small initial movement, you may find that the spell of the paralysis is broken, and you're able to move the rest of your body.
2. Imagine yourself moving. Some people intentionally induce a sleep-paralysis state to encourage what they believe to be out-of-body experiences. In turn, imagining yourself moving or projecting movement may be enough to push you out of paralysis.
3. Focus on your breathing to stay calm. Sleep paralysis can be accompanied by fear or even terror. Other people feel like someone or something menacing is in the room. As you experience these emotions, try to remind yourself that everything is okay. Focus on trying to deepen your breathing, especially if your chest feels weighted or heavy.
4. Discuss it with your partner or family members. Often, an episode of sleep paralysis can be broken when you hear a sound or feel someone touch you. Therefore, having a close family member understand that can help if they happen to see you having an episode, which will only work if you are able to open your eyes during paralysis. They can tap you or speak to you to try to arouse you out of the paralysis.
   • If you can, open your eyes so that another person nearby can notice. However, not everyone is able to do it.
5. Focus on eye movement. Some people are able to open their eyes and look around. If you can, try to do so. Look back and forth quickly. This small movement helps some people come out of the paralyzed state.

Talking to Your Doctor

1. Keep a log. Write down as many details of the experience as possible. Include the time, your sleep pattern, sleeping position, your mental/emotional state before and after you were paralyzed, and if you were paralyzed while falling asleep or upon waking up. This information can all be useful, especially if you decide to a see a doctor about the condition.
   • Also track any other sleep problems you notice, such as insomnia, the number of times you wake up in the night, hallucinations upon waking, and/or falling asleep frequently during the day.
   • Try to notice if anything in particular triggers the paralysis. For instance, you may notice it happens more often when you drank alcohol the night before.
2. Discuss narcolepsy. Narcolepsy can be an underlying cause of sleep paralysis. If you've noticed extreme tiredness during the day, coupled with an inability to stay awake, narcolepsy may be an underlying cause of your disease. Ask your doctor if this could be a possibility.
   • Other symptoms of narcolepsy can include hallucinations when you're falling asleep or waking up and cataplexy, which is sudden muscle weakness often brought on by strong emotions. For example, a large burst of laughter may cause parts of your body to go weak temporarily.
3. Have a sleep study done. A sleep study is done in a hospital or other medical facility. Basically, you stay overnight, and you're hooked up to machines to help determine any problems you may be having with sleep. It's one of the tests used to diagnose narcolepsy, for instance.
4. Talk about other possible triggers. Other diseases can cause sleep paralysis, too. Particularly, anxiety, depression, and PTSD can all cause sleep paralysis to occur. Sometimes, treating these conditions can help with the sleep paralysis, so discuss the possibility with your doctor.
5. Ask your doctor about an antidepressant. Sometimes, your doctor may prescribe an antidepressant to help you regulate your sleep cycle. In turn, that may decrease your instances of sleep paralysis. Many people who have instances of sleep paralysis find they have fewer instances when on an antidepressant.

Tips

• Sleep paralysis can be terrifying, but it isn't really dangerous or harmful.

Sources and Citations

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