Sleep Paralysis is a temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or upon waking. It most often occurs in people who have narcolepsy or sleep apnea, but it can affect anyone. It is often first noticed during adolescence. Episodes involve not being able to speak or move while falling asleep or upon waking, and usually lasts one or two minutes. The experience can be quite frightening.

It is estimated that sleep paralysis occurs at some point in the lives of up to 40% of the human population. Interestingly, that is about the same number of people who believe in ghosts. Coincidence? I think so. Narcolepsy affects only 1 in 2,000 people. Sleep apnea happens to 25% of men and nearly 10% of women. But about 800 out of every 2,000 people believe they have had a paranormal experience. In my experience, most people report encountering ghosts during the course of the day.

One of the major causes of sleep paralysis is sleep deprivation, or a lack of sleep. A changing sleep schedule, sleeping on your back, the use of certain medications, stress, and other sleep-related problems, such as narcolepsy, may also play a role.

When I was about 6 years old. I dreamed that I had woken up, but I could not open my eyes. I thought I was blind, and I started screaming. I was certain I had woken up. But after I started to scream, I actually did wake up, and I could not open my eyes because they were sealed with Rheum (a thin mucus naturally discharged from the eyes, nose, or mouth, often during sleep.) I had been to the beach the day before, and apparently my eyes were irritated by the sand.

Onepoll conducted a survey of 2,000 Americans for Groupon in 2018, and found that three in five people have said they have seen a ghost in their lifetime, according to a new poll.

Most believed they had had a supernatural experience, with 40 per cent saying they thought their pet had had one too. One in three had either lived or stayed in a house they felt was haunted.

Interestingly, when confronted with a ghost, men were twice as likely as women to scream and run away, while other initial responses included crying, hiding and fainting.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8718-sleep-apnea#:~:text=Sleep%20apnea%20occurs%20in%20about,and%20those%20who%20are%20overweight.