“What causes my daughter to have sleep paralysis?”
My 15 year old daughter says she wakes up and can't move or speak. What causes this terrifying condition?
2 Answers
Sleep paralysis is a symptom of narcolepsy; if she has daytime sleepiness, a sleep evaluation is warranted. This could also be a result of sleep deprivation, she needs 8-9 hours of sleep nightly.
Sleep paralysis is actually a mildly defective awakening from REM (dream) sleep. The body is normally paralyzed while dreaming so that you do not literally run when you dream that you run, or jump when you dream that you are doing that. Sometimes consciousness happens before motor tone is restored. The problem usually ages away as children get older.
