Abstract

Sleep paralysis, described as Kabus in Persian medicine (PM), is a state during sleep in which a person senses heaviness on the chest without the ability to speak or move. This study aims to review sleep paralysis from the viewpoint of Persian medicine. Five original reference books on PM were reviewed and data about the definition, etiology, and clinical features of sleep paralysis were extracted. Two main etiologies have been mentioned: evaporation of vapor to the brain and brain dystemperament due to cold reaching the brain; both of which cause weakness and dysfunction of the brain. PM recommends low-cost and available remedies for sleep paralysis such as dietary modification, oral and topical herbal medications, and manual interventions like “Fasd”(phlebotomy). Recent studies have shown the neuroprotective effect of these herbal drugs which can improve cognition and memory. Further studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of the recommended remedies for sleep paralysis.

Keywords: Persian medicine; Phlebotomy; Rapid eye movements; Sleep disorders; Sleep paralysis