[Prevalence and phenomenology of sleep paralysis in medical students].
Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova January 1, 2026 F V Orlov, E F Orlova, A V Golenkov
Sleep paralysis is common among medical students, with 33.9% of 499 senior students reporting at least one episode. Most first experienced it before age 18, and 27.2% had a family history. Episodes often included chest pressure, suffocation, visual hallucinations of figures or shadows, auditory hallucinations, and occasionally olfactory sensations. Most students had sporadic isolated episodes, while 6.2% met criteria for recurrent isolated sleep paralysis, more common in females. The authors recommend that clinicians recognize the disorder and avoid misdiagnosing it as a mental disorder.