What is the Difference Between Cataplexy and Sleep Paralysis

The key difference between cataplexy and sleep paralysis is that cataplexy is a sudden and brief episode of muscle weakness that occurs while a person is awake. In contrast, sleep paralysis is the inability to move or speak temporarily directly after falling asleep or waking up.

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that affects the brain’s ability to control sleep-wake cycles. Excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, hallucinations, and sleep paralysis characterize this disorder. Cataplexy and sleep paralysis are two main conditions in people who suffer from narcolepsy.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Cataplexy  
3. What is Sleep Paralysis
4. Similarities –  Cataplexy and Sleep Paralysis
5. Cataplexy vs. Sleep Paralysis in Tabular Form
6. Summary –  Cataplexy vs. Sleep Paralysis

What is Cataplexy?

Cataplexy is sudden, brief episodes of voluntary muscle tone loss triggered by strong emotions like laughter, excitement, anger, or fear. This condition occurs while people are awake. Generally, people who experience cataplexy also have narcolepsy. Moreover, narcolepsy is thought to affect 135,000 to 200,000 people in the United States. Cataplexy is caused by REM sleep intruding into waking hours by the loss of neurons that produce hypocretin (orexin). The typical symptoms of a cataplectic episode include twitching, flickering or grimacing in the face, unusually moving tongue, jaw tremors, dropping of the head or jaw, trembling or bucking knee, drooping eyelids, and speech difficulty.

Cataplexy can be diagnosed through medical history and a sleep study (a polysomnogram). Furthermore, treatment options for cataplexy may include good sleep hygiene practices, sodium oxybate at doses between 6 and 9 grams (g) nightly, and other medications such as antidepressants, including venlafaxine, serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) and tricyclic antidepressants like clomipramine, imipramine, and desipramine.

What is Sleep Paralysis?

Sleep paralysis occurs when people cannot move their muscles while waking up or falling asleep. People who experience sleep paralysis often experience narcolepsy as well. Sleep paralysis can be caused by insomnia, disrupted sleep patterns, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obstructive sleep apnoea, and a family history of sleep paralysis. The symptoms of sleep paralysis may include paralysis in the limbs, inability to speak, sense of suffocation, hallucination, fear, panic, helplessness, tightening around the throat, and daytime sleepiness.

Moreover, sleep paralysis can be diagnosed through overnight sleep study (polysomnogram) and multiple sleep latency tests (MSLT). Furthermore, sleep paralysis is treated by avoiding alcohol and recreational drugs, good sleep hygiene, managing underline conditions, medicine for depression (antidepressants), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

What are the Similarities Between Cataplexy and Sleep Paralysis?

• Cataplexy and sleep paralysis are two main conditions that can be seen in people who suffer from
• They are typical symptoms of cataplexy and sleep paralysis
• Both are characterized by muscle weakness or unable to move muscles.
• They can be diagnosed through a sleep study.
• They are mainly treated through good sleep hygiene and specific medications.

What is the Difference Between Cataplexy and Sleep Paralysis?

Cataplexy is a sudden and brief episode of muscle weakness that occurs during a person is awake. At the same time, sleep paralysis is the temporary inability to move or speak, which occurs directly after falling asleep or waking up. Thus, this is the key difference between cataplexy and sleep paralysis. Furthermore, cataplexy is caused by REM sleep intruding into waking hours by the loss of neurons that produce hypocretin (orexin). On the other hand, sleep paralysis can be caused by insomnia, disrupted sleep patterns, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obstructive sleep apnoea, and a family history of sleep paralysis.

The infographic below presents the differences between cataplexy and sleep paralysis in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Cataplexy vs. Sleep Paralysis

People experiencing cataplexy and sleep paralysis also experience narcolepsy. This is because cataplexy and sleep paralysis are two symptoms of narcolepsy. However, they are different medical conditions. Cataplexy is characterized by transient episodes of voluntary muscle weakness triggered by intense emotion. It occurs while people are awake. Sleep paralysis is a feeling or sensation of being conscious but unable to move muscles directly after falling asleep or waking up. So, this summarizes the difference between cataplexy and sleep paralysis.

Reference:

1. “Cataplexy: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment.” Medical News Today.
2. “Sleep Paralysis: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention.” WebMD.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Simplified brain motor circuit” By Kernsters – Scientific American article entitled “Narcolepsy” from January 2001 (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Woman Sleeping” (CC0) via Pexels