I’m a sleep expert – your mind could be trying to tell you something if you wake up unable to move or speak for a minute

DREAM experts have revealed the reason you sometimes may not be able to move or sleep when you suddenly wake up – and why to monitor how often it happens.

Sometimes, there might actually be more to those recurring dreams and nightmares than we realize.

Your dreams might be trying to tell you something

For most people, dreams largely occur when you’re in your REM sleep cycle, the deepest phase of sleep.

Behavioral scientist Neubauer explains to the Washington Post that during the REM cycle our minds are “getting rid of some data files in your brain and reinforcing others to create better memories.”

Most people forget the majority of their nightly dreams, only remembering a few throughout a lifetime.

While having recurring dreams, or even sleep paralysis, are normal phenomenons, Harvard researcher Deidre Barrett notes that if dream hallucinations and sleep paralysis begin happening more than usual, it might be a sign to see your doctor.

“It can be a first sign before you ever have the sleep attacks,” Barrett said.

Sleep paralysis is a phenomenon that occurs when you wakeup from a dream, but still feel unable to move, talk, or scream.

IF YOU HAVE RECURRING NIGHTMARES

Psychologist Alan Eiser told the Washington Post that we should not ignore our dream’s contents, as they can be “highly meaningful.”

For most people, recurring dreams take the form of nightmares, and they often induce great anxiety.

Eiser believes that our recurring nightmares are due to personal stresses in life, or our brains making sense of and coping with traumas.

These recurring dreams can be caused by conditions like PTSD, or made worse by certain medications including anti-depressants.

IF YOU CAN’T MOVE IN YOUR DREAMS

Barrett explains that in REM sleep, our bodies are unable to move or vocalize.

This is because if we could move, our bodies would act out everything going on in our dreams.

So if you find you can’t move in the middle of a nightmare, that sensation is not too unusual.

And if you can’t move after waking up from a dream, that’s nothing to be worried about either.

Scientists say that right after exiting a REM cycle, sometimes your body still feels the “paralyzing” effects of sleep for seconds to minutes.

Things like sleep paralysis and hallucinations are more common in people who suffer from sleep disorders like narcolepsy.

IF YOU CAN’T REMEMBER YOUR DREAMS

If you wake up in the middle of a dream, you are more likely to remember what was happening in the dream.

While we have several dreams throughout the night, we don’t commit most of them to memory, and that’s OK.

Barrett also says that how long you sleep may impact how many dreams you remember.

People who sleep longer during the night, and have more REM cycles, are more likely to remember more of their dreams.

Those who get little sleep might not commit theirs to memory.