The pattern of isolated sleep paralysis among Nigerian medical students.

In a cross-sectional study of the patterns of isolated sleep paralysis among 164 Nigerian medical students, 26.1% admitted having experienced this phenomenon. About 31% of the females and 20% of the males had had this experience. Of those with sleep paralysis, 32.6% had hypnogenic hallucinations during the episode, mainly visual. Sleep paralysis was not significantly associated with psychosocial distress or differences in personality profile. Although the rate differs across cultures, the myths associated with sleep paralysis are similar.