What causes sleep paralysis?

At my age, my brain wakes up to worry about bills but my body refuses to cooperate, which feels like sleep paralysis! It is actually just a temporary glitch where your brain wakes up before your muscles do. Don't worry, you are not possessed.

I used to experience this scary feeling where I couldn't move while waking up. I found that sleeping on my side instead of flat on my back completely stopped it. Try drinking a warm cup of chamomile tea and keeping a peaceful bedtime routine.

It is honestly so terrifying when you are awake but can't move or scream at all. It happens to me when I am super stressed out or sleep-deprived. Does anyone else also feel a heavy weight on their chest during this?

I noticed this happens to me mostly when I go to sleep completely bloated after eating a massive spicy biryani dinner. Heavy digestion late at night can disturb your REM sleep, leading to these weird paralysis episodes. Light dinners are definitely the way to go!

For me, sleep paralysis was actually a symptom of severe underlying narcolepsy, which went undiagnosed for years. If this is happening frequently and affecting your daytime alertness, please don't take it lightly. Go see a neurologist or a sleep specialist.