Sleep paralysis and certain foods

I've only experienced that twice, and both occurences were within three months of eachother. I wish I remembered anything out of the ordinary that I was doing or eating so I'd be helpful. It was very scary the first time that it happened because I had never heard of such a thing before. Best of luck.

My fiancé uffers from that...I think. Scares him half to death some nights, other nights I hear him whimpering and wake him up. I don't think it's triggered to certain foods because he doesn't get it in association with any...that we've noticed anyway.

I have it and it scared the crap outta me, but I just start freaking out and wake up seconds later. I dont think it has anything to do with foods, but a tip is to sleep on your side because it often occurs while sleeping on the back.

Hi, this happens to me most nights and Is very very distressing. My doctor says its because of my medication. I take zopiclone which is a sleeping tablet and mirtazipine an antidepressant. I also see and hear things that are not there when this happens. I've been on the zopiclone a long time and trying to cut it out, but its so very hard. I'd recommend looking at your medication idf you have any and talking to your doctor. I've never noticed a link with what I eat. Hope this helps. Zara x

See an Ear Nose and Throat specialist and ask him about a sleep study.

I have never heard of this before but I used to have these episodes when I was in my early 20's. I never knew what it was! I don't know about foods triggering it or not but I do know when this was happening to me I was under alot of stress.

Hugs to all that are dealing with this. I know how scary it can be!

Hi, this happens to me most nights and Is very very distressing. My doctor says its because of my medication. I take zopiclone which is a sleeping tablet and mirtazipine an antidepressant. I also see and hear things that are not there when this happens. I've been on the zopiclone a long time and trying to cut it out, but its so very hard. I'd recommend looking at your medication idf you have any and talking to your doctor. I've never noticed a link with what I eat. Hope this helps. Zara x

I take both these meds and also have episodes of sleep paralysis. It's terrifying.

I have noticed it's been less often recently though and wondered whether it was because I have been eating more healthily.

I've noticed a big increase if I drink alcohol so I don't anymore. I also find if I'm stressed they increase too. Ive been less stressed whilst exercising more, and think its lead to a decrease in episodes. Still pretty frequent though. Stress is definately a trigger for me, its like your brain won't turn off. I'm having cbt therapy to see if it helps... Just started so ill let you know if it helps. Don't know how its suppose to but ill try anything. Know of 2 other people on Mirtazipine and Zopiclone with the same problems, my mum and best friend. I'm cutting down on them both, with the aim of coming off them. Coming of Zopiclone is terrible though I've got to admit and lve been getting a whole array of strange things happening at night. I think the answer is defo to come off them, struggling to sleep though now at all and I've only cut a quarter off. Think its going to be a long hard slog x

Hi, this happens to me most nights and Is very very distressing. My doctor says its because of my medication. I take zopiclone which is a sleeping tablet and mirtazipine an antidepressant. I also see and hear things that are not there when this happens. I've been on the zopiclone a long time and trying to cut it out, but its so very hard. I'd recommend looking at your medication idf you have any and talking to your doctor. I've never noticed a link with what I eat. Hope this helps. Zara x

I take both these meds and also have episodes of sleep paralysis. It's terrifying.

I have noticed it's been less often recently though and wondered whether it was because I have been eating more healthily.

I've noticed a big increase if I drink alcohol so I don't anymore. I also find if I'm stressed they increase too. Ive been less stressed whilst exercising more, and think its lead to a decrease in episodes. Still pretty frequent though. Stress is definately a trigger for me, its like your brain won't turn off. I'm having cbt therapy to see if it helps... Just started so ill let you know if it helps. Don't know how its suppose to but ill try anything. Know of 2 other people on Mirtazipine and Zopiclone with the same problems, my mum and best friend. I'm cutting down on them both, with the aim of coming off them. Coming of Zopiclone is terrible though I've got to admit and lve been getting a whole array of strange things happening at night. I think the answer is defo to come off them, struggling to sleep though now at all and I've only cut a quarter off. Think its going to be a long hard slog x

Hmm... that's interesting. I gave up alcohol a couple of months ago (although I only drank infrequently) and my stress/ anxiety levels have been lower since I have been exercising and eating better. I hadn't really tied it all up together but perhaps it's all related. My night terrors have reduced as well.
I'm not at a point where I feel safe to reduce my tablets but hope to be ready to consider doing so in the near future. Best wishes for the changes you are making with yours. x

Hi, this happens to me most nights and Is very very distressing. My doctor says its because of my medication. I take zopiclone which is a sleeping tablet and mirtazipine an antidepressant. I also see and hear things that are not there when this happens. I've been on the zopiclone a long time and trying to cut it out, but its so very hard. I'd recommend looking at your medication idf you have any and talking to your doctor. I've never noticed a link with what I eat. Hope this helps. Zara x

I take both these meds and also have episodes of sleep paralysis. It's terrifying.

I have noticed it's been less often recently though and wondered whether it was because I have been eating more healthily.

I've noticed a big increase if I drink alcohol so I don't anymore. I also find if I'm stressed they increase too. Ive been less stressed whilst exercising more, and think its lead to a decrease in episodes. Still pretty frequent though. Stress is definately a trigger for me, its like your brain won't turn off. I'm having cbt therapy to see if it helps... Just started so ill let you know if it helps. Don't know how its suppose to but ill try anything. Know of 2 other people on Mirtazipine and Zopiclone with the same problems, my mum and best friend. I'm cutting down on them both, with the aim of coming off them. Coming of Zopiclone is terrible though I've got to admit and lve been getting a whole array of strange things happening at night. I think the answer is defo to come off them, struggling to sleep though now at all and I've only cut a quarter off. Think its going to be a long hard slog x

Hmm... that's interesting. I gave up alcohol a couple of months ago (although I only drank infrequently) and my stress/ anxiety levels have been lower since I have been exercising and eating better. I hadn't really tied it all up together but perhaps it's all related. My night terrors have reduced as well.
I'm not at a point where I feel safe to reduce my tablets but hope to be ready to consider doing so in the near future. Best wishes for the changes you are making with yours. x

I get night terrors too. Really feel for you and understand how you feel. It leaves you feeling exhausted and emotionally and psychologically drained, which leads to anxiety and so there's a vicious circle. Been to cbt today, they are trying to deal with my anxiety during the day, so hopefully ill be more relaxed at bed time and they will reduce. I really hope so. They said there is a good chance the medication is equally as big of a problem. I did drop my Mirtazipine from 45 to 30, felt fine so I decreased to 15, but it wasn't working for me so I've spoken to the doctor today and gone back to 30. Don't want my mood affecting my diet because I'm doing well, one thing at a time I think. Think I was getting carried away trying to do it all at once. Just hard because at the same time they cause other problems such as the night problems and increased appetite. Some days I could go crazy, because I crave sugar so badly. I didn't eat anything sweet and dislike chocolate before mirtazipine. Those were the days. Lol. At the same time though they were like a miracle drug for me at a time when I really really needed one. Swings and roundabouts. Lol x

Best wishes for the CBT. Mirtazipine makes me ravenously hungry for about an hour or two after I've taken it. This is manageable until the zopiclone hits in as I don't really know what I'm doing and tend to get up and eat whatever is to hand. I tried not having any snack food in the flat but then I started cooking things! I'm lucky I didn't set fire to the building. I can't remember what I've eaten in the morning but there is usually evidence on the floor or bed. :ohwell: I think I'm getting it more under control now by adjusting the time I take the meds but also now leave out healthy snacks in the hope that's what I'll pick up (seems to be working).
Hope your anxiety and night terrors ease with all the work you're putting in. x

I've found that it is most likely to happen to me if I have woken up and gotten out of bed to putz around a bit, before getting back in bed to go to sleep again. I feel like your body/mind can't figure out if you are starting your morning routine or sleeping and you end up stuck kinda halfway. I think if you have some caffeine before bed, especially if you usually don't have it late in the day, it might put you in a similar state. I have no medical evidence for any of that.

Web MD has a good overview of the medial point of view on it here, it doesn't mention food.

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/sleep-paralysis

"Up to as many as four out of every 10 people may have sleep paralysis. This common condition is often first noticed in the teen years. But men and women of any age can have it. Sleep paralysis may run in families. Other factors that may be linked to sleep paralysis include:

Lack of sleep
Sleep schedule that changes
Mental conditions such as stress or bipolar disorder
Sleeping on the back
Other sleep problems such as narcolepsy or nighttime leg cramps
Use of certain medications
Substance abuse"

Personally it's happened to me so often it doesn't bother me anymore. I recognize it, don't panic, and embrace the weirdness. I have done a certain amount of hallucinogenic drugs in the past though so I have practice in not letting weird mental experiences get to me.