As cases of omicron continue to soar across Scotland, many have been reporting a new symptom of the highly transmissible coronavirus strain that can disrupt your sleep.
Night sweats have already been listed as a common symptom of the variant, but now reports of those experiencing sleep paralysis while suffering from coronavirus are increasing.
The NHS website describes sleep paralysis as "when you cannot move or speak as you are waking up or falling asleep".
The sensation can be 'terrifying' for anyone who experiences it, however the NHS adds that it is harmless and that most people will only get it once or twice in their life.
The feeling feel that someone is in your room or as if something is pushing you down can last up to several minutes.
One study has, however, identified a marked rise in sleep disturbances among patients in quarantine.
It suggests that sleep paralysis could be a side-effect of the pandemic and the societal changes it has caused, rather than being caused by Covid itself.
Sleep therapy expert doctor Kat Lederly told MailOnline: “It could be the virus infection itself impacts on the sleep regulation in the brain (neurological effects of Covid have been reported).
“I think it is more likely that should there be an increase in sleep paralysis, that this is due to the stress resulting from the big changes to how we go and live our lives at the moment, the uncertainty and anxiety that we are facing which are impacting on our sleep system."
