It’s been a long day.  You have finally finished the three hours worth of homework you had and are ready to pass out.  As soon as you hit the bed at 11:30pm, you fall into a deep sleep.

But that deep sleep is soon interrupted by the feeling of a heavy pressure on your entire body.  You try to move when you realize that your entire body is paralyzed and incapable of moving. You start to grow scared and try with all your power to move from underneath this heavy pressure, but it is almost impossible.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity, you awaken with a sudden quick motion and a sigh of relief.  You check the clock, expecting it to be at least now 2 a.m., when you see that it is only 11:45 p.m.  You have just experienced sleep paralysis.

Sleep paralysis is defined as a temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or upon waking.  It is a type of sleeping disorder that can affect anyone.  It affects more than three million people in the Unites States each year. It is self-diagnosable and an episode lasts usually for one or two minutes.  According to WebMD, sleep paralysis usually occurs at one of two times. If it occurs while one is falling asleep, it’s called hypnagogic or predormital sleep paralysis. If it happens as one is waking up, it’s called hypnopompic or postdormital sleep paralysis.

Sleep paralysis occurs when a person passes between stages of wakefulness and sleep. When we sleep, our bodies alternate between two stages of sleep cycles, REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-rapid eye movement).  NREM sleep occurs first, which is just when our body restores itself.  Then, REM sleep occurs, which is when we have our dreams.  Our eyes move rapidly but the rest of our body’s muscles are “turned off”.  If you become mentally aware before your REM sleep is finished, this is when sleep paralysis can occur.

Sleep paralysis can occur for many reasons.  It could be caused due to an irregular sleeping schedule, stress, or lack of sleep.

This sleeping disorder usually becomes noticeable during the teenage years.  Although many say they have never experienced it, sleep paralysis is very common, affecting about forty percent of all people. Senior Sean Sims has said that he too has experienced sleep paralysis.

“It’s the scariest thing ever.  You see everything and you’re awake, but you cannot move at all,” says Sean.  He says he has experienced sleep paralysis about four-five times.

There are some unorthodox theories of why sleep paralysis exists.  Some people say it is a demon trying to drag one out of bed.  This is said because some episodes of sleep paralysis consist of sensations of being dragged out of bed or flying and difficulty breathing.  Some find these theories to be ridiculous, while others truly believe in them.

Although there is no cure for sleep paralysis, sleep researchers have suggested ways to prevent it from happening. Some of these ways are to skip napping, since nappers are more prone to sleep paralysis than non-nappers, to not to sleep on your back, because there is thought to be a correlation between sleeping on your spine and being vulnerable to sleep paralysis, and lastly to get as much sleep as possible.

Sleep paralysis is frightening situation that cannot truly be understood until it happens to you.