Eli5: When someone has sleep paralysis, why can they still move their eyes?
In: Biology
So if you’ve ever heard the term “REM Sleep” that stands for Rapid Eye Movement Sleep. It’s when dreams happen, and when sleep paralysis occurs.
Your muscles, all but your eyes and vital organs, are immobilized during REM sleep so you don’t act out your dreams.
When you enter sleep paralysis, you basically exit REM sleep without your body following suit so your muscles are still immoble and your eyes are still functional.
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