What is the Cause of Sleep Paralysis?

What Causes Sleep Paralysis?

Sleep paralysis can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'troubling' to 'very serious'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

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Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose sleep paralysis, we could:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "sleep paralysis" as a symptom. Here are five possibilities:

Depression
Lack Of Sleep
Narcolepsy
Stress
Anxiety

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

occasional racing thoughts

recently going through divorce

being indecisive

breast soreness during cycle

having trouble concentrating

dark areas under eyes

angry/hostile disposition

occasional nightmares

having a CFS diagnosis

being very easily irritated

regular nightmares

afternoon coffee/sugar craving

... and more than 80 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of sleep paralysis:

Cause	Probability	Status
Stress	97%	Confirm
Lack Of Sleep	28%	Unlikely
Anxiety	1%	Ruled out
Depression	1%	Ruled out
Narcolepsy	0%	Ruled out

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

If you indicate sleeping-related problems, The Analyst™ will ask further questions including this one:

Have you experienced Sleep Paralysis? When this happens, you are awake and aware but temporarily unable to move or talk.

Possible responses:

→ Don't know
→ No, never
→ Yes, episode(s) in the past but not currently
→ Occasionally / a few episodes per year on average
→ Frequently / several episodes per month on average

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate no history of sleep paralysis, past sleep paralysis, regular sleep paralysis or frequent sleep paralysis, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Anxiety

Depression

Lack of Sleep

Narcolepsy

Stress

Concerned or curious about your health? Try The Analyst™