A few months ago, in the middle of the night, I was lying in bed--in some foggy place between sleep and wake--when an intruder walked into my bedroom. And there I lay, unable to move. OK, so the intruder turned out to be my golden retriever, but I was sure a rapist had broken into the home. And yet, for what felt like an eternity, I just lay there--completely frozen, unable to scream or move a muscle. I was paralyzed. What was it?
Experts call it sleep paralysis, and it's a real sleep phenomenon that (phew) isn't a serious health condition, but it's bound to scare the life out of you.
Here's why it happens say the folks at WebMD: