Does Kendall Jenner Have Sleep Paralysis? Here’s What You Need to Know

This has led many to speculate she could be suffering from something called sleep paralysis. In a Good Morning America segment this morning, Ginger Zee even said that she herself has the scary-sounding condition. (Heal your whole body with Rodale’s 12-day power plan for better health.)

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And it is possible that this is what Kendall has, says board-certified sleep medicine doctor and neurologist W. Christopher Winter, M.D., of Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine, and author of the upcoming book, The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep is Broken and How to Fix It.

Sleep paralysis is a temporary inability to move or speak when you’re waking up or falling asleep, and it’s actually pretty common. “Sleep paralysis is something that happens every night for most of us, we’re just unaware of it,” says Winter.

While you dream, your brain sends a signal down your spine that tells your body not to move, he explains. That’s why you can dream about thrashing around in water but wake up in bed with the sheets undisturbed. However, sometimes you regain consciousness while you’re still feeling the effects of that REM paralysis, making you feel pretty freaked out.

Winter says this is considered pretty normal sleep behavior, adding that “a lot of people will describe it at some point in their life.” Typically it happens when you’re under stress, traveling a lot, or have a sudden change in your schedule, he says.

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Jennifer Haythe, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, says that sleep paralysis can be “frightening,” noting that it’s often associated with a sensation that there is an intruder or supernatural force in the room holding the person down. “Sometimes people describe a sense of chest pressure, choking, and gasping for breath,” she says.

That happens because the muscles that expand your chest and keep your airway open get paralyzed, too, says Winter.

Luckily, there are things you can do to stop or prevent sleep paralysis. Winter recommends getting eight hours of sleep a night and trying to de-stress if you’ve been anxious. ADHD meds have also been associated with sleep paralysis, says Haythe, so talk to your doctor if you recently went on a new medication and started experiencing this condition.

Also, if you find that you’re having sleep paralysis a lot and you feel like you’re excessively sleepy during the day, it could be a sign of narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is characterized by feelings of strong daytime sleepiness, or sudden, irresistible bouts of sleep that can occur at any time, according to the National Institues of Health. (Ginger Zee said on GMA that she suffers from narcolepsy in addition to sleep paralysis.)

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“If you feel fine and have tons of energy, but this happened one time, that would be OK,” says Winter. But if it’s happening often, it’s time to talk to your doctor to figure out a solution.