Characteristics of Sleep Paralysis and Its Association With PTSD, Stress, and Other Lifestyle Variables Among the Population of Pakistan, a Cross-Sectional Study.

Sleep paralysis—a temporary inability to move while remaining conscious—is linked to stress, PTSD, lifestyle factors, caffeine intake, and smoking. In a cross-sectional study of 412 participants, 48.1% reported experiencing sleep paralysis. The most common symptom was inability to move the body (44.7%). Episodes most often lasted a few seconds (20.9%), occurred upon falling asleep (23.8%), and happened while lying on the back (26.5%). Significant associations were found between frequency of episodes and both PTSD and stress, as well as with caffeine intake (38.1%) and smoking (2.9%). The findings suggest that psychological and lifestyle factors relate to sleep paralysis.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Sleep paralysis (SP) is a parasomnia disorder connected to being unable to move your body though the experiencing person remains conscious. Factors involving this disorder are stress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), lifestyle factors including the amount of sleep, and the amount of caffeine consumed. Our study aim is to assess the symptoms, duration, time of occurrence, and body position during SP episodes and frequency of SP episodes with these variables. A total of 412 participants took part in this quantitative cross-sectional study. Data were collected through online questionnaire. Ethical consideration was taken into account. A significant correlation with a p value of less than 0.001 was discovered between the quantity of SP episodes and SP symptoms with inability to move the body has the highest frequency (44.7%) among people who experience SP (48.1%). Significant association was found between frequency of SP episodes with duration, that is, fewer seconds (20.9%), occurrence of SP upon falling asleep (23.8%), and body position during SP, that is, on back (26.5%) having p value of less than 0.001, respectively. A noteworthy correlation was discovered between the frequency of SP episodes, PTSD, and stress having a p value of 0.009. Significant association was also found between frequency of SP episodes with caffeine intake (38.1%) and smoking (2.9%) having a p value of <0.001. This study suggests a relationship between SP and lifestyle and psychological factors.