Trouble while sleeping is certainly not a good sign and it can take a toll on a person’s overall well being. But such disorders can also be a sign of something much more damaging.

A new study has linked sleep paralysis and hallucinations before sleeping with depression. While these conditions are considered harmless and rare, people who have them experience a lot of distress.

Sleep paralysis is the inability to move or speak upon waking up and hallucinations occur a short while before a person nods off. The degree to which people report these issues can indicate how severe symptoms of depression are.