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Is sleep paralysis haunting you?

Ever experienced sleep paralyses? The condition where you may find yourself unable to move or speak either right before falling asleep or immediately upon waking up?

In some cases the ‘paralysis’ is accompanied with the certainty that someone or something is in the room with you.

According to a 2011 review of studies in the journal Sleep Medicine Reviews you are not alone.

The review of over 35 studies found that about 7.6 percent of the general population will experience sleep paralyses at least once in their lifetime.

The percentage is even higher for students and people with psychiatric disorders: 28.3 percent and 31.9 percent, respectively.

While most people need no treatment for sleep paralysis, getting treatment for any underlying conditions may help if you are anxious or unable to sleep well.

Here are some tips on dealing with sleep paralysis

1. Never fight back - If you feel like you are being held down and you can’t move any part of your body, do not fight back.  This actually will intensify the experience. Not only is fighting back likely to increase the feelings of being held down, but fighting back will also increase the fear, hence triggering the emotional centers of the brain and strengthening this nightmare.

2. Wiggle your Toe - Most of the feelings of paralysis are in the belly, chest, and throat.  So focus all you attention on the toe and try to move it back and forth.  In many cases, this will break the paralysis.

3. Cough for Help - Like breathing, coughing can be autonomic or consciously regulated.  By coughing on purpose, you can jar yourself awake.

4. Control your breathing - Controlled breathing does several things at once, just breath in at a normal rate, and exhale fully, using all of your lung capacity. This technique will keep you calm as the Sleep Paralysis runs its course and then you will wake up without any trouble.

5. Avoiding sleeping on your back -  Research has shown that people that experience sleep paralysis are three to four times more likely to occur if they sleeping positioned on their back looking up.

Check with your doctor if you have any of these concerns:

You feel anxious about your symptoms

Your symptoms leave you very tired during the day

Your symptoms keep you up during the night

SOURCES : Dreamstudies.org / Businessinsider.com and http://www.webmd.com

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