How Common is Sleep Paralysis

 If I were to ask a soldier who has served in Iraq how common is sleep paralysis among the general population, they would probably say it is very rare and never happens to them. They have not experienced it so how can they be expected to know? In fact if you had asked them 'How Common?' before the war began, most of them would have said "Never heard of.

Sleep paralysis is a phenomenon in which people, either when falling asleep or wakening, temporarily experience an inability to move. It is often accompanied by terrifying hallucinations and the feeling of being crushed or suffocated. This state may last only a few moments up to minutes.

People who experience sleep paralysis are usually healthy, and there is no need for them to worry. It can occur after a rough night's sleep or on awakening from naps that last longer than about an hour.

Sleep paralysis is a temporary phenomenon. It may occur in healthy people, but it can also be a symptom of various sleep disorders.

Sleep paralysis is a symptom of narcolepsy or cataplexy. Sleep paralysis can also be associated with night terrors, restless legs syndrome and sleep apnea.

Sleep paralysis can also occur in narcolepsy, a sleep disorder that causes people to briefly lose muscle control while they are falling asleep or waking up. People with narcolepsy experience excessive daytime drowsiness and may fall asleep at inappropriate times.

The hallucinations that accompany sleep paralysis can be terrifying. It is thought that they are caused by an abnormal activation of the fear center in the brain, called the amygdala.

While sleep paralysis is an interesting phenomenon, its prevalence in the human population seems to be less than one might imagine. While there are no epidemiological data that I know of specifically linking it to the human population, some estimates suggest a worldwide prevalence rate of only about 4-6%.

That said, it's likely that sleep paralysis is just a symptom of some larger underlying phenomenon. While prevalence estimates vary widely, the incidence of hypnagogic hallucinations is estimated to be anywhere from 10-37% in a general population.

What's also interesting is that the prevalence of sleep paralysis seems to be higher in women than men, with a ratio ranging from 3:1 to 7:1 depending on the source.

The prevalence of sleep paralysis in human females is particularly interesting, given that they also seem to exhibit a lower incidence of primary insomnia (insomnia without other comorbid conditions) and higher levels of hypnagogic hallucinations.

Overall, my assessment is that sleep paralysis affects a significant minority of the human population, but it's not as common as one might expect.

Another interesting point is that the symptoms of sleep paralysis are often comorbid with other conditions in humans. The most common comorbid conditions include anxiety disorders such as panic disorder, social phobia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Sleep paralysis is a phenomenon where you feel like you are either partially or completely paralyzed while sleeping. It happens when the body awakes from short-wave sleep and before normal long-wave sleep begins. The most common experience associated with it is having a feeling of being unable to move, which can lead to terrifying hallucinations of shadowy figures in your room, such as demons sitting on your chest.

The cause of sleep paralysis is unknown; some argue it may be an evolutionary mechanism to prevent sleepers from acting out their dreams. It has also been linked with other symptoms such as hypnagogic hallucinations, which occur when people are caught between wakefulness and sleep.

Further reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

The frequency of sleep paralysis is probably higher than most people think. I would guess it occurs in about 50% of the population.

It is also more likely to occur in people who have been through stressful or traumatic events before. I would guess that the stress of these events causes a higher baseline frequency of sleep paralysis, and then any additional occurrences are due to random chance.

I suspect that in women who have been through stressful or traumatic events, the frequency is even higher. This would be because of some hormonal influence.

Sleep paralysis is a phenomenon where someone, most commonly when they're going to sleep or upon awakening, temporarily experience an inability to move. It's often accompanied by terrifying hallucinations and feelings of anxiety.

It's a natural phenomenon that happens to everyone and is therefore completely normal. Humans have evolved this way because, at one time, it was extremely useful.

Humans used to live in tight-knit groups. When someone was going to be killed or eaten, it is likely that the person being attacked could not move a muscle because of sleep paralysis.

The evolutionary reason behind this is that if you're going to be attacked, it's better for your body and mind to be in a state where they cannot react. This way, the predator has less chance of being injured or killed.

Having said that, these days it is extremely rare for anyone to actually be attacked while they sleep.

However, humans still have the same physiological reaction to being attacked. While it is not a common occurrence these days, it could theoretically happen if you're in an area far from civilization and there's no one around.