Scientists have repeatedly collected statistics about sleep paralysis (SP), trying to understand how many people on average are affected by this phenomenon and what influences its occurrence. Researchers from the USA (Ohayon) and Sweden (Pakpour) recently conducted a large scale study on the subject that surveyed over ten thousand people from eight American states.
According to the authors, the annual incidence of sleep paralysis in the population is 2.7%. They identified the following risk factors:
– Young age (half of the respondents noted that episodes of SP began in adolescence)
– Identification as African-American (possibly as a consequence of cultural or spiritual beliefs, as well as low socio-economic status, which leads to increased stress)
– Chronic pain
– Deep depression
– Low body mass index
In terms of gender, no differences were found: men and women showed almost the same incidence of sleep paralysis. The researchers also provided a biological explanation for the low prevalence of SP among older people: as we get older, our central nervous system matures, and various sleep disorders (sleep paralysis, sleepwalking, etc.) become increasingly rare and eventually cease.
One of the interesting results of the study is the connection found between chronic pain and SP. The correlation seems to stem from the use of antipyretic and analgesic drugs: their use negatively affects the overall sleep regime and, as a result, the frequency of SP may increase.
Based on this, what are your chances of experiencing sleep paralysis?
The article was published in June 2022 in the journal Sleep Medicine.
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