What Causes Sleep Paralysis?

Many individuals have trouble sleeping at night, but this could simply be due to eating too much, being stressed about something going on in their life, or another simple reason. But some individuals have trouble turning off their mind because they suffer from a disorder called sleep paralysis, which is the feeling of being conscious but being unable able to move the body in any way. Sleep paralysis can occur when the patient is trying to pass through the stages of being awake to deep sleep. While it is common for individuals struggling with sleep paralysis to find it difficult to move for a few seconds at a time, some patients actually find themselves choking or feeling intense pressure throughout their neck.

Let's take a look at the following causes of sleep paralysis to better understand the condition now.

Lack Of Sleep

Sleep deprivation can have many dangerous effects on someone's body, including causing fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness, and a fluctuation in weight in either direction. Not getting the proper amount of sleep can also have a dangerous outcome on the brain and cognitive function. A lack of sleep could also have lasting repercussions on the body, including an increased level of anxiety and stress. A prolonged lack of sleep also greatly increases an individual's risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

Unfortunately, breaking a cycle of prolonged lack of sleep is quite difficult, and is a major contributing factor to the development of sleep disorders, including sleep paralysis.

Learn more about the various causes of sleep paralysis now.

Narcolepsy

One sleep disorder can eventually lead to the development of another, which means narcolepsy, a sleep condition that makes a person fall asleep whenever they find themselves in a relaxing environment, could eventually lead to sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is one side effect of this disorder, along with an extremely high level of daytime sleepiness, cataplexy (strong levels of emotion results in a patient suffering from a physical collapse while remaining in a conscious state of mind), and hallucinations. The main cause of an individual developing narcolepsy centers around the brain not producing enough of the chemical hypocretin. Hypocretin is used to regulate the amount of sleep we get versus what we need. This deficiency in the production of hypocretin is a confused reaction of the immune system attacking a part of the brain it is not supposed to.

Continue reading to reveal more causes of sleep paralysis now.