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Cannot wake up

If you can’t wake up in a dream, it may not be a dream at all, but a sleep disorder known as sleep paralysis.  During REM, our bodies are paralyzed. Paralysis during REM functions as a safety feature—so that we each don’t go wandering around in the middle of the night during our REM sleep periods. It also functions to ensure that REM is accomplished efficiently—without a lot of arousals that would interfere with the accomplishment of REM itself. Sleep or REM paralysis usually occurs when we are especially tired. If we are low on sleep, our bodies will try to “keep us” in REM, as it were, until the needed amount is achieved. The solution for this problem is simple. Take the paralysis as a sign that you are low on sleep and make some extra time in your schedule to catch up. For more about sleep paralysis, click here.