Sleep Paralysis, (Parasomnia) A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Sleep Paralysis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

Ever woken up in the in the night or morning and felt that you are unable to move the body from the bed as though paralyzed: that is the case of a person experiencing sleep paralysis.

You feel as though that there is a weight pressing on your chest preventing you from sitting upright.

You cannot even move your lips to call for help.

There seems to be some one or some thing strange watching you, frightening you.

After a minute of fear, you suddenly rise from your bed and rush to switch on the lights.

Sleep paralysis happens when the patient temporarily cannot move or speak upon waking up or falling asleep.

Sleep paralysis is a temporary loss of muscle function while the patient is sleeping.

It normally happens:
1. When a person is falling asleep,
2. Shortly after the patient has fallen asleep, or
3. When he or she is waking up.

While sleep paralysis is fairly frequent and does not cause any physical harm, it can be frightening.

There are some things the patient can do to decrease the risk of having an episode.

During some stages of sleep, the body goes into a temporary paralysis, which may stop the patient from acting out any dreams.

Paralysis during sleep is normal, but the patient is normally not aware of it since the patient is asleep at the time.

If this ‘off switch’ persists for a few seconds to a few minutes after the patient wake up, the patient will be fully aware of being paralyzed.

The patient may find it distressing that he or she cannot move or talk, even though the patient can hear normally.

Sleep paralysis normally happens just as the patient is waking up, but can happen when the patient is falling asleep.

Episodes of sleep paralysis can occasionally involve hallucinations, which may be frightening.

The patient may sense that there is an intruder in the room.

Sleep paralysis is more frequent in adolescence and normally disappears as the patient get older.

It is not known to cause any medical risk.

Those with sleep paralysis normally have this disorder for the first time between 14 and 17 years old.

It is a fairly frequent sleep disorder.

Doctors estimate it happens in anywhere between 5 and 40 percent of people.

Episodes of sleep paralysis may happen along with another sleep disorder known as narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder that produces overwhelming drowsiness and sudden “sleep attacks” throughout the day.

Many people who do not have narcolepsy can still have sleep paralysis.

This disorder is not dangerous.

Though it can feel alarming to some, no medical intervention is normally required.

Sleep paralysis may happen on its own.

It is not necessarily a sign of any disorders.

Sleep paralysis may also be related to medical disorders, such as migraine, mental health (anxiety), obstructive sleep apnea, and a long-term brain disorder called narcolepsy.

People with narcolepsy have excessive daytime drowsiness and sudden episodes of sleep, regardless of the situations.

Sleep paralysis is also linked to:

1. Not getting enough sleep (sleep deprivation or insomnia) or having regular disturbances to sleep such as shift work

Inadequate sleep may also raise the danger of sleep paralysis.

2. Irregular sleeping patterns, such as those felt by shift workers or students, or due to jet lag

Having a disturbed sleep schedule has also been linked to sleep paralysis.

The sleep schedule can be disturbed during working night shifts or being jet lagged.

3. Family history of sleep paralysis

Sleep paralysis that happens alone does not normally necessitate treatment.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Sleep Paralysis
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagno

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Feb 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463932179

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Sleep Paralysis,

(Parasomnia)

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2020 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Sleep Paralysis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Sleep Paralysis)

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Sleep paralysis

Ever woken up in the in the night or morning and felt that you are unable to move the body from the bed as though paralyzed: that is the case of a person experiencing sleep paralysis.

You feel as though that there is a weight pressing on your chest preventing you from sitting upright.

You cannot even move your lips to call for help.

There seems to be some one or some thing strange watching you, frightening you.

After a minute of fear, you suddenly rise from your bed and rush to switch on the lights.

What is sleep paralysis?

Sleep paralysis happens when the patient temporarily cannot move or speak upon waking up or falling asleep.

Sleep paralysis is a temporary loss of muscle function while the patient is sleeping.

It normally happens:

1. When a person is falling asleep,

2. Shortly after the patient has fallen asleep, or

3. When he or she is waking up.

While sleep paralysis is fairly frequent and does not cause any physical harm, it can be frightening.

There are some things the patient can do to decrease the risk of having an episode.

During some stages of sleep, the body goes into a temporary paralysis, which may stop the patient from acting out any dreams.

Paralysis during sleep is normal, but the patient is normally not aware of it since the patient is asleep at the time.

If this ‘off switch’ persists for a few seconds to a few minutes after the patient wake up, the patient will be fully aware of being paralyzed.

The patient may find it distressing that he or she cannot move or talk, even though the patient can hear normally.

Sleep paralysis normally happens just as the patient is waking up, but can happen when the patient is falling asleep.

Episodes of sleep paralysis can occasionally involve hallucinations, which may be frightening.

The patient may sense that there is an intruder in the room.

Sleep paralysis is more frequent in adolescence and normally disappears as the patient get older.

It is not known to cause any medical risk.

Those with sleep paralysis normally have this disorder for the first time between 14 and 17 years old.

It is a fairly frequent sleep disorder.

Doctors estimate it happens in anywhere between 5 and 40 percent of people.

Episodes of sleep paralysis may happen along with another sleep disorder known as narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder that produces overwhelming drowsiness and sudden sleep attacks throughout the day.

Many people who do not have narcolepsy can still have sleep paralysis.

This disorder is not dangerous.

Though it can feel alarming to some, no medical intervention is normally required.

What are the causes of sleep paralysis?

Causes

Sleep paralysis may happen on its own.

It is not necessarily a sign of any disorders.

Sleep paralysis may also be related to medical disorders, such as migraine, mental health (anxiety disorders), obstructive sleep apnea, and a long-term brain disorder called narcolepsy.

People with narcolepsy have excessive daytime drowsiness and sudden episodes of sleep, regardless of the situations.

Sleep paralysis is also linked to:

1. Not getting enough sleep (sleep deprivation or insomnia) or having regular disturbances to sleep such as shift work

Inadequate sleep may also raise the danger of sleep paralysis.

2. Irregular sleeping patterns, such as those experienced by shift workers or students, or due to jet lag

Having a disturbed sleep schedule has also been linked to sleep paralysis.

The sleep schedule can be disturbed during working night shifts or being jet lagged.

3. Family history of sleep paralysis

In some cases, sleep paralysis appears to run in families.

However, this is infrequent.

There is no clear scientific evidence that the disorder is hereditary.

Children and adults of all ages can have sleep paralysis.

Some people are at a higher danger than others.

High-risk groups involve people with these disorders:

1. Insomnia

2. Narcolepsy

3. Anxiety disorders

4. Major depression

5. Bipolar disorder

6. Post-traumatic stress disorder