Experiencing Sleep paralysis multiple times a night, what should i do?

Hi, This article is on the web site.

https://patient.info/health/insomnia-poor-sleep/sleep-paralysis

Yes Sam, I've experienced exactly the same problem - along with an estimated 2-5% of the general population.

It sounds to me as if you've thoroughly researched the mechanism of sleep paralysis so I won't go into that here - though you can post again to ask me about it if you need to.

As I'm sure you know, everyone gets the occasional episode of sleep paralysis, but in those of us who are susceptible to regular attacks, the most common age of onset is between 15 and 25. It's strongly hereditary, though like all genetic glitches, it has to start somewhere. In my case, my father, a couple of his siblings and my grandmother all had it. It might be worth asking around in your family, though some people (like my family) don't like to talk about it. It's completely harmless, of course, but can be very annoying if you're trying to get a good night's sleep.

It's almost certainly the stress of uni that's triggered the onset of sleep paralysis in your case. Mine started more than 50 years ago in the run-up to my nursing finals, and it's been with me ever since.

Once you start getting sleep paralysis on a regular basis, it does tend to be for life. However, there's plenty you can do to reduce the number of attacks. The main thing is to identify your triggers. I agree, there's not much you can do about things like exam stress, but there will almost certainly be other triggers that are making things worse. There are almost as many triggers for sleep paralysis as there are people who have it, but you should be able to identify some of your own if you take a careful look at your lifestyle. I can suggest a few, just to get you thinking, but my list is by no means exhaustive.

I discovered early on that getting too warm in bed would guarantee back-to-back sleep paralysis episodes all night, and I've heard of other people who have the same problem. I always keep my bedroom as cool as possible, and never sleep under a duvet if I can help it.

Sleeping when you're not very tired will make you spend more time in REM sleep, which is the phase in which sleep paralysis arises. I suffered for my "sins" only this morning, when I allowed myself to have a bit of a lie-in and had two episodes in less than half-an-hour. Needless to say, I made myself get up after that! Paradoxically, getting over-tired can be another trigger.

I know this sounds boring, but too much screen use in the last hour before bed is another common trigger, as are recreational drugs. Interestingly, cannabis - even the milder strains - is the drug most commonly mentioned in this context. Drinking too much alcohol too late in the evening can be another one, and some people find that eating certain foods in the evening can trigger attacks. It's really a question of looking at what's been happening in your life on the days preceding multiple attacks, then trying to make adjustments.

The good news is that once you start to learn how to manage the condition, it gradually improves. This is because the feeling that you have some kind of control over it reduces your anxiety. It also declines slowly with age, though many women report a small spike around the menopause. Nowadays, at age 74, I only average two or three episodes per month, most of them short-lived, and almost always my own fault - for having a lie-in, drinking that extra glass of wine in the evening or whatever.

I hope this helps. Please don't hesitate to contact me again if you have any more questions.