5. Paralysis

Do not panic if you dream of being stuck or find yourself unable to move when you are vaguely roused.

Again, the explanation may be physiological, said Dr Yeo. When a person is awake and moving around, his brain receives a lot of information from his muscles and this constant back-and-forth flow of information enables him to locate his muscles and use them.

When a person sleeps, he loses muscle tone as the receptors feeding information which helps in the control of movement and posture to the brain become less sensitive.

This article was first published in Mind Your Body, The Straits Times.