nightmares

sherrinaz fouad
what phase of sleep are nightmares linked to ??
REM ...and when is sleep paralysis felt ?

Hi moonlight7, I'm not sure of the answer to your question but maybe someone will come along who does

During sleep, the body cycles between non-REM and REM sleep. Typically, we begin with a period of non-REM of which there are 4 stages, each progressing into a deeper sleep. This is followed by a very short period of REM. Dreams generally occur in the REM stage of sleep, but can occur in any stage because our brains never stop.

When we sleep our body automatically goes into a paralysis as a way to protect ourselves from physical harm. But sleep paralysis where we feel we are unable to move or speak, while sometimes terrifying, is simply a sign that your body is not moving smoothly through the stages of sleep. Rarely is sleep paralysis linked to deep underlying psychiatric problems.

I hope this helps.

You can also, in some cases, have nightmares outside of REM, particularly if you have PTSD (according to the sleep disorders specialist I saw). I have a rare sleep disorder that causes lack of REM and delta sleep when I'm not medicated. For years I never had normal dreams, but I had PTSD nightmares.