The terrors of sleep paralysis

1,079,724 plays|

Ami Angelowicz |

TED-Ed

• July 2013

Imagine you're fast asleep and then suddenly awake. You want to move but can't, as if someone is sitting on your chest. And you can't even scream! This is sleep paralysis, a creepy but common phenomenon caused by an overlap in REM sleep and waking stages. Ami Angelowicz describes just how pervasive (but harmless) it is and introduces a cast of characters from sleep paralysis around the world. [Directed by Pew36 Animation Studios, narrated by Ami Angelowicz].