Recent Insights Into Sleep Paralysis: Mechanisms and Management
Sharma S
Published in Cureus
Methodology
Narrative review of existing literature on the clinical characteristics, epidemiology, risk factors and management of sleep paralysis, including pharmacological and cognitive-behavioural approaches.
Key Findings
This narrative review describes sleep paralysis as the persistence of REM-sleep muscle atonia into wakefulness, leaving people awake but unable to move or speak, often with vivid hallucinations. Sleep deprivation and irregular sleep schedules are identified as key risk factors, and isolated episodes are characterised as benign, with recurrent distressing episodes warranting clinical attention. The review discusses drug treatment and cognitive behavioural therapy as management options but reports no comparative efficacy data. The authors emphasise that further research is needed.
Conclusions
This condition, attributed to the persistence of muscle atonia from rapid eye movement (REM) sleep into wakefulness, is associated with factors like sleep deprivation and irregular sleep patterns.
Limitations
A narrative review with no systematic search strategy, no pooled data and no risk-of-bias assessment; no treatment is supported by quantified evidence and no supplement intervention is evaluated.
Related Health Concerns
Study Details
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