Association of Sleep Paralysis with PTSD Symptoms, Pathological Worry and Perceived Stress

Abstract

In the current study, we inspected the correlation between Sleep Paralysis and anxiety symptoms among undergraduate medical students of Pakistan. It was a questionnaire based cross-sectional study. Pre-tested, pre-designed questionnaires were administered to 100 participants and any association between sleep paralysis and PTSD symptoms, Perceived Stress, or Pathological worry was found. There was a positive correlation between Experience of Sleep Paralysis and PTSD Symptoms (d=0.319 and p=0.001), Pathological Worry and Sleep Paralysis (p=0.005 and d=0.270), and Perceived Stress and Sleep Paralysis (p<0.001 and r=-0.394). Pakistani population particularly medical undergraduates have a high prevalence (52.8%) of frequent experiences of sleep paralysis. Also, the high rate of occurrence among the females than males and higher rates in adolescents are particularly of concern. Statistically significant correlation between sleep paralysis and PTSD symptoms, PSS value, and PSWQ score is found. Efforts should be made to remove the factors responsible for anxiety and distress among masses.

Characteristics of Sleep Paralysis and Its Association with Anxiety Symptoms, Perceived Stress, PTSD, and Other Variables Related to Lifestyle in Selected High Stress Exposed Professions

“…Bell et al also noted a positive correlation between the severity of stress and the number of episodes of SP [62]. The same relationship was observed in a group of Pakistani medical students [63]. Denis et al pointed to stress as a significant predictor of SP in the multivariate model [64].…”

“…On the other hand, in a study conducted among Pakistani medical students, a positive correlation was found between the severity of PTSD symptoms and the frequency of SP episodes [63]. Another study conducted on a group of Polish students indicated a positive correlation between the number of PTSD symptoms and the severity of psychosomatic symptoms of SP [5].…”