Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!
Sleep Paralysis: Awake But Still Asleep
Biology 202
2000 First Web Report
On Serendip
Sleep Paralysis: Awake But Still Asleep
Hiro Takahashi
A person may wake up and find himself unable to move or speak as if he is frozen. He also may hear footsteps, see a ghost-like creature, or feel someone sitting on his chest. Throughout the history, people considered this phenomenon as work done by evil spirits. However, the modern science can explain the terrifying event as a Sleep Paralysis.
A Sleep Paralysis is possibly a hereditary disorder in which one experiences very frightening seconds or minutes of total body paralysis with little respiration and eye movements (1). A victim in this state feels awake, but he cannot move or speak (2). In addition to the immobility, the common symptoms include feeling choked or suffocated, hearing strange noises like footsteps and voices, seeing beings or dark shadows, and feeling an existance of someone in the room (1). Although these symptoms often direct the victims to believe in ghosts, mistransmission of neural signals in the brain causes Sleep Paralysis. When a person sleeps, his brain sends signals to inhibit any muscle contraction (3). If he comes into consciousness before the brain sends signals to activate muscle contraction, he cannot move his body, and consequently, become "paralyzed"(2).
In order to understand how a body becomes paralyzed while the person is awake, it is necessary to understand sleep cycles. In a mammalian sleep, the brain activity undergoes two different states called non-REM (NREM) sleep and REM sleep, which differ very much from wakefulness (3). NREM and REM sleep alternate cyclically through the night; in human, about 80 minutes of NREM sleep starts a night of sleep, about 10 minutes of REM sleep follows, and this 90 minute cycle is repeated about 3 to 6 times during the night (3). During NREM sleep, a body produces few movement, but the body has capability of tossing about in bed and producing some other motor events, such as sleepwalking and sleeptalking (3). The cardiac-muscle contraction and breathing occur at a uniform rate, and the eyes move slowly (2). During REM sleep, on the other hand, heart rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure vary (3). The eyes move rapidly because most dreaming takes place in this period, and the sleeper probably "look" at the moving objects in a dream (2).
The brain's control over muscles during REM sleep points out that in this period, a body is normally in the state of total paralysis, called a "nonreciprocal flaccid paralysis" (3). Probably to prevent a person from "acting out" a dream, the brain sends signals to inhibit any muscle contractions (2). Although some peripheral muscles, such as the muscles of the fingers and face, still twitch, the large skeletal muscles become relaxed, or "paralyzed" as a result (3). Some evidence supports that the motor paralysis of REM sleep protect against the acting out of one's dreams. A patient who suffers from rare syndrome called REM Sleep Behavior Disorder lacks the normal nonreciprocal flaccid paralysis, and he acts out violent dreams during REM sleep, often with injurious consequences (4). For example, a 60-year-old surgeon dreamt that he was attacked "by criminals, terrorists, and monsters who always tried to kill [him]" and fighting against them in the nightmare, he was actually punching and kicking his wife who slept in the same bed (4).
A nonreciprocal flaccid paralysis during REM sleep is accomplished actively by postsynaptic inhibition of motorneurons (3). Although the exact process of motor inhibition is not clear, some neurotransmitters and hormones are known to generate the many components of REM sleep. Aministering physostigmine, an inhibitor of the catabolic enzyme, increases the concentration of acetylcholine within the neurons in the pons, making it possible to artificially generate and start REM sleep in the middle of NREM sleep (3). Carbachol, the cholinergic agonist, produces a period of REM sleep in cat when directly injected into the pontine tegmentum (3). The hormone melatonin, a "master hormone" (5) that mainly controls circadian rhythms, also seems to play an important role in enhancing the REM state; the level of melatonin secretion by the pineal gland reaches its lowest during REM sleep (5). Such neurotransmitters and hormones probably activate or inhibit the activity of second messengers, which then activate or inhibit the third messengers, and so on till the last messenger inhibit the synaptic transmission or cause hyperpolarization of the motorneurons. And if, for some reason, the nervous or endocrine system continues to release the neural inhibitors, a person may experience Sleep Paralysis as he enters awakefully into or awakens directly from REM period (2).
While the modern neuroscience can describe the state of Sleep Paralysis as some errors of the neural transmission in the brain during REM sleep, a person who has seen or heard ghost-like figures/voices may easily believe that eveil spirits fully controlled his entire body. However, the images or noises, which the victim believes that he has seen or heard, are most likely hallucinations; and hallucinations, too, can result from the brain activity. In the 1960's, the Canadian neurologist W. Penfield introduced that electrical stimulation of the temporal lobe can cause the auditory hallucinations in the wake state (5). The buzzing or ringing sounds in the ears and other auditory hallucinations are closely associated with the activity of the auditory cortex and involves the temporal lobe (5). During the early period of sleep paralysis, the activity of the temporal lobe increases significantly, sometimes inducing hallucinatory sense (5). Similarly, the visual cortex generates internal visual stimuli, causing the victim to "see" terrifying figures during the paralysis (5).
How an episode of Sleep Paralysis induces visual or auditory hallucinations is still not clear, but it seems to have a significant relationship with anxiety (5). For anxiety is a neurocognitive event closely related to both psychological and physical processes, the extreme anxiety or panic may cause the release of several different signal molecules that trigger all kinds of physical events (5). A person experiencing Sleep Paralysis feels mortal fear or extreme panic, and hence, the brain generates and releases internal visual or auditory stimuli, producing hallucinations.
Also, hallucinations during Sleep Paralysis may happen, for one keeps dreaming even after some parts of his brain wakes up directly from REM sleep. Since the nervous and endocrine systems continue to release the neural inhibitors which sustain the paralysis, it may be possible that those systems keep releasing the neural activators that stimulate dreaming. Thus, a person continues to "see" the images and "hear" the noises produced in the dream that he has just had in REM sleep from which he has awaken.
Understanding more neural concepts of Sleep Paralysis, some researchers now hypothesize that a very rare condition called Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome (SUNDS) may closely relate to Sleep Paralysis (1). Upon the death, a SUNDS victim produces no body movement even though he experiences a myocardial infarction and strong breathing difficulties and should straggle in agony (5). The death may be caused by the extreme muscle atonia during Sleep Paralysis, which is so severe that even the cardiac muscles and the diaghragm paralyze (5).
Until I started researching on this subject, I have believed that the total paralysis of a body is due to an evil taking absolute control over the body. However, the interactions between neurons in the brain can explain this seemingly mysterious phenomenon in a scientific way. Although the explanation is not complete yet, for there are many unclear processes about Sleep Paralysis, the current hypothesis appears to reject the possibility of ghosts on this matter. Of course, it is impossible to completely disprove the existence of "spirits", "minds", or "God" affecting one's behavior. Nevertheless, like Sleep Paralysis and SUNDS, many or the mysterious conditions and behaviors which are only explained in supernatural terms probably result from brain.
WWW Sources
1)The Evil's of Sleep Paralysis
4)REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: A Neurologic Dissociative Sleep Disorder
5)Recurrent Isolated Sleep Paralysis
Comments made prior to 2007
I have been trying to figure out what was going on in my sleep untill i read this.Now i am happy to know what my body was expeiencing. It's quite scary your first couple experiences of sleep paralysis but now i'm gonna stay calm when it is happening to me and try to get my own understanding of the experience ... Jeremy, 21 March 2006
I have had sleep paralyisis at least once per month for the last 8 years. I am 29 as of this writing. I just had the experience about 1 hour ago and thus has caused me to do reasearch about it on the net. I noticed that many Dr.'s contribute this to anxiety, stress and other factors. My question is ... why is there always an evil presence in that concious yet body is still asleep phase? Today I heard a loud static sound, and opened my eyes to a spider crawling all over my arm. When I prayed to God, or said His name (Jehovah) the spider would start to disappear. I finally went thru my mental prayer when I awoke. This leads me to believe that it is more of a spiritual occurence, because I never have positive images while in this paralized state. I know there are many things in which our ancestors thought it was demonic rather than scientific, only to find there was a scientific explanation. However, I think this is different and cannot be simply written off as "scientific". There is not enough proof to show that it is scientific.
About a month ago I had another episode of sleep paralysis and I saw a small presence in the room with me. It was dark, and I could not see it's face (I am getting chills typing about it right now). My question is, why is there always an evil presence not only associated with my episodes, but so many others I have read about? ... Abel, 24 August 2006
i was thinking it is evil who do that during night but now i find out why. I am suffering from sleep paralyze possibly every nigh spicily when i have dinar ... Salah Nasser, 28 January 2007
I used to have this sleeping disorder when I was a child. It has come back once or twice with adulthood, but otherwise, it is in the past. I used to, with great effort, move my hand to my face and pull an eye open, which would wake me up, but sometimes the struggle was too much and I would go on into a deeper sleep.
Since the brain can do this to me, can it also cause me to get migraines just as I am about to wake up?
It seems, as I have discovered, if I get less than 4 hours sleep a night, I do not get migraines. If I get 6 hours or more, it's about a 90% chance I will wake with a migraine. Later in the day, I get an hour or two nap and that is the routine as it works. Doctors just sort of treat the migraine and don't get into the sleep thing I have. I take MaxAult for the migraines when they do get me.
I woke one time, and just as I woke, I felt this white-hot needle going into my head... bingo. A migraine in 5 seconds. That is how they can occur. I wake with them otherwise. I figure it my brain doing things it shouldn't. I have a clean bill of health otherwise.
Thanks for your time. Have a good day ... Jay, 11 February 2007
I have a question, and hope someone out there has an answer, it has been months and I have thus far failed to find one. Has there ever been a record of anyone receiving the effects of sleep paralysis without having been asleep? The reason I ask this, is a while ago, having not slept in a few hours, I was sitting at my computer, and it seemed to have happened to me. Within seconds I was too tired to hold up my own head, and my breathing got very difficult. Then I began to feel a sort of dizziness as my limbs lost feeling, and dropped to my side. after this, the dizziness turned to near blindness. I could see, but nothing would focus, and everything I tried to look at seemed to dart around like a mosquito. By this time I had no feeling in my entire body, could move nothing without quite a bit of concentration, and I could barely breath. My mother heard me try and make out some kind of cry for help, and found me there spilled into my computer chair. She rolled me to my bed, and poured me into it. Within about 10-15 minutes I had regained everything I once had, but my sea legs did not ware off for another ten or so minutes. I went to the emergency soon after. I had an E.K.G. and a C.A.T. scan, with no results, and I piss less in a week then the amount of blood they took that night. After basically telling me I was lying, the doctor told me that my symptoms did not fit anything at all. What I do know, is I have been researching the issue ever since, and can only base my problem on Sleep Paralysis. All the symptoms match. And again, my question....Has there ever been a record of someone under the effects of sleep paralysis without ever having gone to sleep? I hope you can shed some sort of light on this subject, as it,...well, it freaked me the hell out, and no one has been able to answer me! Thank you for your time ... Mitchel Henderson, 7 December 2007
I used get this "evil paralysed me" feeling when i was paralysed and usually saw a ghost. i tried to shout or move but no sound escaped my mouth and couldn't move at all. it happened again yesterday and was almost convinced that ghosts/evil spirits were getting the better of me. But, me being a practical and logical guy, erjected this theory and started researching on this phenomenon. I came across this research paper on Sleep Paralysis. This greatly helped me in alleviating my fears. And next time i "see" a ghost during sleep paralyses, ill just laugh at it ;-) Thanks for the research ... Siddarth, 10 December 2007
Remote Ready Biology Learning Activities
Remote Ready Biology Learning Activities has 50 remote-ready activities, which work for either your classroom or remote teaching.
About Student Papers
| This paper reflects the research and thoughts of a student at the time the paper was written for a course at Bryn Mawr College. Like other materials on Serendip, it is not intended to be "authoritative" but rather to help others further develop their own explorations. Web links were active as of the time the paper was posted but are not updated. |
What's New? Subscribe to Serendip Studio
A Random Walk
New Topics
-
3 weeks 6 days ago
-
4 weeks 2 days ago
-
4 weeks 2 days ago
-
4 weeks 3 days ago
-
4 weeks 3 days ago
Comments
and one more thing
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO EXPERIENCE SP WHEN YOU ARE JUST SAT THERE AWAKE, for example i've been sat there talking and all of a sudden had car doors slammed in my face and knocked me across the couch, this i believe is the excessive drinking part, it's your body saying WOW thanks you've seriously F***ED me over this time.
we can't have the best of both worlds unfortunately
seriously no
This is most certainly not god speaking to you... for one i believe strongly that god does not exist and it has been proven, how ever i believe that extra terrestrials were our so called "gods" ... SLEEP PARALYSIS IS CAUSED BECAUSE WE TREAT OUR BODIES WRECK LESS... we have poor sleep patterns or if we sleep at al and it seriously kicks off through excessive drinking... I have experimented with this as i have had it for many years now. in my findings i always get it without fail if i party too hard and/or work too much... however i also have found it is caused from stress and your mind going into over load... i understand why people think that people are talking to them because i have had that too but it is all part of your body being asleep and your mind is still half awake, the reason i believe that you see demons if the fact that you can't move or breathe very well because you are already breathing at the rate you are supposed to be because "you are asleep" but your consciousness freaks out and starts imagining al kinds of scary things. TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM and i cannot stress this any more, look after your bodies a little better and get a regular sleep pattern, i have been working nights for the past year and i have reduced it from happening 5-6 times a night for weeks to once maybe twice this year, unfortunately there probably isn't a cure but it can be battled, ALSO !!!!! when this does occur i have found that when you are going through a series of it in one night and it really won't go away, turning the lights on stops it. MAKE SURE IT's a big light not a side lamp as i believe it gives your mind a sense of security. hope this helps
Nice comment
Your comment is really reassuring Ben. I feel a little confident now. It's just that I'm a bit terrified about the thought of it. I really wish SP is completely scientific.
My story
Hey guys, I have been experiencing this for many years. I thought I would tell my story of sleeping paralysis. I have a very open mind and I am interested in every kind of theory. I respect science and everything it has accomplished but there is still so much that humans dont understand. It seems most of the human race is arrogant and thinks that we understand the universe...I think we have just scratched the surface folks.
I am 24 years old and SP has been happening to me for about 4 years. My experience seems to differ then many of the comments I have read on here. up until today, my experiences were all the same: I never would see evil things or feel an evil presence. All that would happen is that I could look around and was paralyzed, I would feel more vulnerable then anything else, and like everyone else it is a scary feeling to have. There is always a ringing sound in my ears. The ringing is very similar if you ever watch a war movie after a grenade goes off...very high pitched. I always resist and just focus on twisting my body and I snap out of it.
That was it, up until this morning....it was very different!
I woke up in the morning around 8:00, and thought "its the weekend i am going back to sleep". Then it happened again, i was frozen, and the ringing started again.This time, I decided that I was not going to fight it, and I would just relax and go along for the ride! After all, I am in a locked house with my girlfriend and tennant on a saterday morning. Nothing bad is happening. So as I am relaxing, the ringing is getting louder, and louder, and louder. It felt like I was front row at a rock concert. Even though it was a strange feeling, I was not in pain.
Then, I felt a sensation in my chest. It was a good sensation. It is hard to put into words. The only way I can think to describe it was just positive energy (i know it sounds very goofy). It made me feel warm and feel loved. It felt like a feeling of connection you get with people you love and care about...just on a bigger scale. Then, I heard a voice whispering into my ear. I could not make out what was being said. I could still not move but still was not resisting or trying to "wake up". Instead I tried to speak, but instead of words, I could just hear my thoughts. All I kept saying in my mind was "who is this? what are you? what are you saying to me? is this god? if this is god, tell me, show me! is this god?"....
Then i just had flashes of images of some things I had done recently. Things I should have handled differently, i had a feeling of reflection and regret, that I should try harder to be a better person and improve myself. I started to feel guilt and shame , but that positive feeling in my body became stronger and was there throughout this experience. Then I woke up and could move....or so i thought. I reached over to my nightstand, unplugged my cell phone and layed back down. I pressed the button to turn it on....then all of the sudden the vision of my hands in front me holding my cell phone just vanished, and I realized I was still paralyzed and my hands were at my sides and the ringing noise was still in my ear. I asked in my head again "who is this, show yourself to me!"
I then "woke up" for real this time. I then grabbed my cell phone again and started to search online for these symptoms (i dont know why I never looked before!)
I used to be a christian when I was a teenager. I went to church every sunday, bible study, got baptized....the whole 9 yards. As i grew older and saw the faults in christianity (and other religions as well), I backed away from church and religion as a whole. That is not to say I don't believe in a "god" or a "higher power" or whatever name that can be put on it, because I do. I just don't believe anything that is human made because everything in this world that is touched by human kind is corrupted in someway shape or form.
I don't know if this was "god" speaking to me or if this was just a matter of "neurons mis-firing in my brain". People with the scientific point of view are saying to the religious crowd that of course they were seeing scary images (spiders, demons, faces, evil laughter) because they feel vulnerable and are under stress so their brain produces images of these things...that does makes logical sense to me. However, in my experience I never saw any scary things, and felt a pure warming/loving presence.
I hope the people who are suffering by SP find relief. I am going to go for another ride next time I am SP!
I glad to see I'am not the
I glad to see I'am not the only one but I don't think we have the real cause to why it happen?
wb head rushes
All this stuff where you can't move happened to me it happened a couple weeks ago and then happened like 5 times last night so I was pretty freaked out...also one of those times last night it felt like I stood up and got a head rush but the head rush kept getting worse and worse where it was painful then I woke up..also praying kept calm and really helped.
It happens to me just 2 weeks ago (SP)
It happen about two weeks ago approximately when the lunar calender A.K.A chinese calender stroke on the date of the last day of the ghost festival ( the day that the most spirits are being released into the humanworld). It happen when I was sleeping on that day, I had realized i had woke up, but i keep struggling inorder to get my body back to its function, shockingly when i struggled my whole body starts shivering and i heard screeching tunes even louder the moment i struggle even harder, I knew it wasn't a dream so I decided to find a way and break the SP thing, it was then i discovered a way, a method of twisting my tongue, it was then i was released from the SP state, i was happy that I was being freed from this situation. The following days, about 6 days late i experienced the same situation but this time with a black shadow looking towards me, I did not felt afraid because it was very blur, same i used the method of twisting my tongue and i woke up from the situation. Until last night, something really horrifying happened, I went to sleep at 2 am that night, when i opened my eyes, I saw an ordinary image of my room, nothing had even changed abit, i thought i was awake and can move freely, eventually i was binded to my bed and i felt the presence of shivering, but this time i struggled and break the SP, i thought it was over but when i reach my hand to the doorknob inorder to take a facewash, my vision blacked out. At the moment i opened my eyes i was on my bed AGAIN! it had a cycle of 8 times until my dad had turned on the lights and wake me up, i was then conscious but i still did not know the solution of this problem....I am 14 years old and i dont want tot live a life full or tormenting for the rest of my life. I wish someone could give me a solution maybe a PRAYER, if u are willing to help me :)
I have just experienced my
I have just experienced my first sleep paralysis. Although I am under very little stress and anxiety at the moment it still happened. I'm guessing that my 14 year old hormons just went "Oopsies, I've got the dropsies." and caused that to happen. Could be wrong, though.
Same experience but different
I'm now not sure if I have SP because I experience waking up and my body is paralisyed however I have to try really hard to open my eyes but I don t see figures or hear things. I just wake up and can't move or speak I can only open my eyes and then I stay immobilized for a few seconds until I'm fully conscious and can move, can anyone tell me what this is?
To your question
Seems to me it is SP. Remember REM sleep causes relaxation of the larger muscles so you don't act out your dream... If your brain wakes up during this, then your brain is still telling your muscles to 'not move' and thus you're paralyzed...
Sleep
My 14 year old daughter got me to research this when she got up telling me what happened to her. She got up, went on the internet, and found that her symptoms were sleep paralysis. It was really strange to me because I first began having this at age 14. I was shocked to know that she started having symptoms close to it. I have researched and asked many questions for many years but no one seemed to know why or have the answer. The first time this happened to me i was babysitting at the age of 14 for my younger cousins. It was 1:00 pm and they were watching tv and making a lot of news while i slowly felt like i was going into a deep sleep while on the couch. Eventually i still saw them playing and watching tv but i couldn't hear any noises anymore. I felt the deep sleep take over me, my eyes couldn't stay awake even when i tried to fight it it couldn't. I found myself outside my body looking at me laying on the chair and seeing them watching the tv. I began to panic and started breathing hard. It felt like it was forever because it was so terrifying. But it probably was just a few seconds or minutes,. I tried fighting moving my arms and legs and screaming out calling their names but they didn't see me and didn't hear me. I could see everything in the room and the worst part was i could see my body laying there while all of this was happening. If you want to call it this i guess i experienced the first out of body. The next few years has passed and this has been happening to me 3-4 times a day. And i allow myself to learn the same way i got into it i had to keep calm and breathe and come out of it. I'm now 34 years old. and still experiencing it. It could happen to me at night but night wasn't the problem it could happen to me while talking to someone or through the day. This could only answer some of the puzzled questions i have because while experiencing this i always seem to see things while it happens so im not sure if it associates to the sleep part of it. I hope this can help someone going through the same thing or help me if they have more info about what it is. And now that my 14 year old daughter is going through similar experiences i would like to find out more.
first experience
Im just looking on web as earlu hours this morning i woke up but could not move or even talkwas petrified. I thought there was someone in room saw shadows but couldnt turn to look. Is kind of reassuring to know happens to others but think would be just as scary if there is a next time. Have been bit stressed so maybe thats why it happened ? Bizarre
Not so sure.
I am not sure if I was haing SP or if I was about to. It just happened an hour ago when I fell asleep. I was on my stomache laying on the bed trying to fall asleep and when I succeeded I woke up and I was in the same position. It was dark and my door was closed as usual and I could hear my mom laughing with her two brothers in the kitchen. I felt creeped out and called for my mom three times but my voice wasnt that loud, it was just minimum I felt like I was only speaking in my brain. And that's when I figured out I was dreaming. I stayed in the same position of lying on my bed and closed my eyes, trying to fall back asleep. I woke up again still in my dream at the same place. This continued for another three times until I was able to wake up for real. My dream really made me paranoid because I felt creeped out in my dream. I didn't bother looking around because I didn't want to because I was scared of what I would see. I am only 14 and I am scared to fall back asleep in case I go back into the same dream.
Same Thing
The same thing just happened to me an hour ago. I'm also 14. However in my dream I tried finding away to wake up because I knew it was a dream and I was terrified. There was something...or someone there. I just knew it. It would laugh at my struggle. This same thing happened two other times tonight. One time last month. And about 10 other times in the past 2 years. It frightens me every time. Each time its a little worse. The first time it happened I was in 7th grade asleep after I took my TASKS test. I was wearing the same clothes but I was at my house. I noticed the light was on on the bathroom so I went to turn it off. Then I see it. Green glowing eyes in the mirror. I try walking away but I'm suddenly paralysed and unable to scream no matter how hard I try. I hear water in my bathtub rushing and something dragging me to it. Screaming I jerk to a wake in class. I was terrified to sleep that night. Just like now. I decided to research it. My mom thinks I'm insane when I tell her about it. I just pray because it tends to take the edge off. When these dreams occurs, I try my best to stay calm and tell myself its a dream. Sometimes it doesn't work and I'm convinced there's an evil spirit in my room taunting me. It's scary. Sorry if I wasted your time. I just wanted to tell someone....daphne
Next time you see a bad thing
Next time you see a bad thing like you did that laughed at you, in your mind laugh back at it and think to yourself ''you're not real'', and then pray thanking God for the many blessing hes gives you, then ask him to make the experience go away. I suffer from sp and horrific nightmares which i basically pray myself out of (when i wake im already halfway through a prayer) i know that prayer can help you with sp you just have to believe with all you can that it will help and it will. Let me know how things go its always nice to help others who are in need.
Out of Body Experience during SP
I have had SP many time in the past. Each time I had my eyes open and could look around the room I was in. The last month I have had even weirder experiences than in the past...which would take a LOT! Here are the main bullet points of what happened.
1. Took a nap on my couch
2. Woke up and opened my eyes...I saw the room as it was with me laying down...I was mainly looking at the ottoman in my view.
3. Even though my vision was awake and seeing in real time, I was still experiencing my dream.
4. In my dream I was getting up and going upstairs to do something.
5. I felt my "spirit body" start lifting up off of the couch do do my task in the dream
6. But I felt my "physical body" was paralysed and not moving...also my view of the couch/ottoman never changed.
7. As soon as my brain acknowledged #6 I felt my "spirit body" being pulled or sucked back into my "physical body".
8. For 10 min or more my spirit kept trying to get up and act out my dream, all the while I kept looking in one spot knowing I could not move.
9. The first (of two in a week) time this happened I did have an ominous feeling of an evil presence behind the couch I was on, but it was not in my line of sight. The second time while everything else was the same the ominous feeling was not there.
Anyone else having anything like this happen to them??? Very strange.
I had the same problem it's
I had the same problem it's been happening to me for a few Weeks now to the point I feel like I'm going to die I need help I have a heart condition please help me!
SP.
I read some of the comments that you guys posted and I was experiencing the exact same thing. I'm glad that I came upon this article. It happened to me for about 2-3 years, I had never told anyone, except for my close friends. But they didn't seem to believe me and thy thought i was crazy or something. It seems like im the only person in the family that experiences this. I'm 14. This happened to me alot of times like 2 times a week. Sometimes it doesn't happen for a month and I was so happy cause I thought I would never experience it again. But still it happened. Usually I would wake up and realise that my body cant move. The first experience I had was when I was 12 if I'm not wrong. It was really freaky and I almost cried. I would scream but no voice came out, I tried to move my hands but couldn't, I could still twitch my fingers but not move it completely. When I woke up I was completely shocked, I got paranoid for awhile but still I went back to sleep. The next few experiences I started hearing laughter, voices and seeing dark figures and skull like figure right in front my face. There was one occasion when I was in an awkward Sleeping position and it happened again. This time I felt something tickling me. I am someone who can't stand ticklishness but I couldn't move so I had no choice. I always pray to God when I'm experiencing this. I called out to God's name a few times and the feeling slowly disappeared.... I have heard of people saying this happens because a evil spirit is trying to possess my body. Although I'm used to all these but I'm still scared. :-(
sleeping Paralysis.
Hi Vicki,
I know what you are talking about because i am experiencing this.Let me tell you, i am not afraid of anything, i am an atheist and i have a travelling job, so i have to go to different parts of world, stay there for different periods of time and back.I have never had any paranormal experience, but this time i felt what you've described here, for the first time in my life i was scared, i started shivering , i left that apartment and shifted to a new place but the same thing happened.so i started researching on this and came across a very nice article, which relieved me of all my tensions.Now i can sleep peacefully, here is an excerpt from that article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis
Many people that experience sleep paralysis are struck with a deep sense of terror because they sense a menacing presence in the room while they are paralyzed which will hereafter be referred to as the intruder. Sensing a malignant presence in the room during an episode of sleep paralysis is believed to be the result of a hyper vigilant state that is created in the midbrain.[7] More specifically it is believed that the emergency response is activated in the brain when individuals wake up paralyzed and feel extremely vulnerable to attack.[15] This feeling of helplessness can intensify the effects of the threat response well above the level typically found in normal dreams; this could explain why the hallucinations experienced during sleep paralysis are so vivid.[15] Normally the threat activated vigilance system is a protective mechanism used by the body to differentiate between dangerous situations and to determine whether the fear response is appropriate.[15] This threat vigilance system is evolutionarily biased to interpret ambiguous stimuli as dangerous because the survival of the organism is greatly increased if it is more likely to interpret situations as life-threatening.[15] This could serve as an explanation as to why the presence sensed by those experiencing sleep paralysis is generally believed to be evil.
Several circumstances have been identified that are associated with an increased risk of sleep paralysis. These include insomnia and sleep deprivation, an erratic sleep schedule, sleeping in the supine position, stress, overuse of stimulants, physical fatigue, as well as certain medications.
I am not against any religious beliefs, its always good to pray and be devoted to a faith,but its always good to know the other side too.
I suggest you talk to any doctor and check out, probably get a good sleep and in a few days you'll overcome this problem
Good luck to you, have a good one.
Thanks,
Nik
Prayer works
Hello, Vicki
My name is Veronica. I have been dealing with these type of dreams for years, I recently gave my life over to christ but I always new I was beening called because I have vision, some that have came to pass. I want to tell you that Drsar only gonna tell u their scientific side but there is a spiritual warfare that Christians go through, I believe non Christians that are being called are being attacked also because satan wants to blind everyone. The truth is the Holy Bible no matter what religion you is. Vicki, you did right by praying, when you talked with God whole heartily, he will hear you.
Thank you for publishing
Thank you for publishing this, it was the best article I ever read about this event.
I dont believe in paranormal activities and its hard to find a good source that approach SP without demonic explanations.
I think I had all kinds of SP, some really disturbing and others quite "simple", and what I learned is the best way to go though this is to relax.
question
Well there was a moment in my life that I frequently experienced SP.
I had all the symptoms and I never freaked out because of that, I always believed in a scientific explanation for this.
But theres just one thing that I would like to know: did someone got injured because of this?
Or felt pain, hurt?
This one day I had SP I felt a lot of pain, as somebody was holding me tight.
My eyes were open I could see the ceiling, the sofa I was laid on, the whole living room and nobody was there.
I didnt have hallucination that time but I couldnt move and scream. I was fighting really hard to get loose but something was pressing my arms really tight.
When I finally got loose I immediately checked my arms and they had this red marks. Right above my elbows.
I had this mark for one week and sore the whole time.
Have someone experienced this?
This happened few years ago, Im not scared about this but it was definitely weird and I wanted an explanation for this.
sleeping p..
I believe sp.. is cause by evil spiritual attack... we live in this world there is good an evil... negative energies are everywhere also evil spirits.... im from cambodia... are culture believes when a person sleeps.. and cant get up or move so on.. they are being attack by some sort of evil spirit influence... they must be cleanse of this bad negative energy that sorrounds your body... your home must be cleanse at least once a month.. to rid all negative energies in the home..
Don't go too far? Surely if
Don't go too far? Surely if you have no matter, no mass, all distances are the same. Distance is relative and down to perspective.
The difference between astral travel and dreaming is......
Sleep paralysis
Go where you want when you are astro traveling but do go to far, and always remember your way back and don't stay for to long, it becomes harder to wake up
In your case I'd advise
In your case I'd advise seeing a doctors asap and asking for sedatives etc. If you've not slept that long yout probably have serious mental and physical health issues. I'm also not surprised ypur have a tendency to fall asleep everywhere but fail to see how that's different to the range of other reports.
You've stated you haven't slept for weeks but appear to have asked people if they could see your eyes were open...while you were sleeping.
Is it possible you have more difficulty than most telling the difference between sleeping and waking even after the event?
Keeps happening
I'v been doing the sp ( sleep paralysis ) for many years now except mine are different than everybody else's because I can do them any where I am if it's standing or sleeping and even when I'm atthe table in my class room .many of my experiences occur when I think it's going to happen if I think they will happen they do they are very frightening and I've gone even almost a week without sleep and this isn't good because I'm only 13 . I geet scared and can't scream or move I can actuly even see the people I'm with in the same room but they can't see that my eyes are open when I finally can move I ask them if they saw my eyes open and they say no that I was just twitching and moving my eyes threw my eyelids .idk why this happens but it scares me really bad I can sleep any more :,(
reply to crystal: keeps happening
Hi Crystal. I am a 37 year old clinical social worker who has experienced SP on & off since my late teens/early 20's. Your description of SP--especially it occurring in the classroom, or during non-sleeping times when you are with other people--sounds like it may be a form of narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is a mainly treatable sleep disorder and has been linked to SP. Please understand that I am NOT diagnosing you, but I know how scary sp is for me, and
you are too young to live your life being scared about sleeping. And you are right, your
description of your sp is very different (like
having episodes in public) in some respects
then some of the more textbook descriptons
of SP. Maybe try looking up narcolepsy on the
web, see if anything sounds familiar to you. But most importantly, think about telling a
parent/guardian or any trusted adult in your
life about what is happening, whether it's SP, narcolepsy, or something else. Then hopefully
you can be taken to a doctor who can help
figure out what is going on, and you will be able to lead a happy, healthy, and RESTFUL life. Good luck Crystal, and please tell a parent or another adult who can get you to the doctor. I have a feeling that with the right treatment you will be fine.
Not sure
I have a question and maybe you're familiar with this, I'm not sure if I have SP because I do wake up and my body feels paralysed but think I can open my eyes and I can't speak but I try to and I don't see any figures or hear anything or feel anything strange before I am fully conscious, could you tell me what this is?
Maddy's question
Maddy..what you are describing sounds kind of like my sp. I have had it for years and although it is truly terrifying, I also do not see strange figures or have any feelings other than the fear of being "trapped " inside my own body. There are many explanations as to why sp occurs, and sometimes all the information on the web can be confusing and frustrating. Each person is different, and what helps one person with sp may not help another. If you are old enough, maybe try making an appointment with a doctor, psychologist, or social worker that can start helping you get to the bottom of what is happening to you. If you are not old enough, please tell a parent or an adult you trust what is going on so they can help you get some answers. Without help, it may not be likely that true sleep paralysis will just disappear on its own. But please try to get some help. Sometimes just having a professional get involved can at least make you feel validated that this is a real problem, and there may be a good answer how to deal with, and maybe even possibly cure sp! Best of luck to you Maddy. : )
Reply to "Crystal"
Hi Crystal. I have been having sp since I was your age, and I am 40 now. My advice to you is when this is happening to you keep telling yourself that it will end soon, it is only a dream and as hard and scary as it may be try to stay calm. It was terrifing to me when I was your age, I didn't understand what was happening. But what I do now when it happens, is try to stay calm and not fight by trying to open my eyes or move my body, I know now that I will be over soon. And if you are hearing or seeing things that scare you, try and see if you can change them into things you like that don't scare you. It took me alot of practice with that one, and even though it is still scary and an uncomfortable feeling, I can get through them alot easier. Hope some of this helps. :)
Thanks
I actuly tried emagining that it was something good and and it went away thank you soooooo much for your help
I have just woke up or should
I have just woke up or should I say managed to wake up after feeling my mouth was being forced open , I said 'help' but couldn't get the words out as the whole time I felt I was sinking and had an overwhelming feeling of panic like I would never wake up . I also felt there was a dark presence in the room and I could see in my mind a grinning face in the tall mirror in my bedroom which sends a shiver through my body , when I was a child I had many experiences like this but as an adult I haven't or at least don't think I have had as many that is until I experience one as I have just now . I am now sitting awake very scared to go back to sleep as the feeling I experienced is the most horrible scary feeling ever ,hence the reason I ended up reading most of the accounts on this page by everyone else ... All I can say is I am shocked and in a way relieved to find out all the other similar experiences people have had like mine but I'm still left baffled by this so-called sleep paralysis or whatever it may be ?
My experience on SP
I just had SP less an half an hour ago - which is why I am here. Well my SP is that I couldn't move and stuff but I don't recall seeing any evil spirits... Usually I would try to turn my head around until I succeed then I would snap out of SP. there are times when I would want to go back to sleep which will sometimes result in another SP, so I would get my iPod and do some web surfing until my whole body is awake. Then when I sleep I would not have SP :)
it used to happen a lot and the interesting thing is that I was more stressed at that period of time then. Now I didn't happen as often, for which I am grateful... I remember that one time when I was a child, I was 'awake' and I could see my brother and my mom talking (and when I wake up they are probably talking too but I am not sure as it happens a long time ago). My question is if I can see them, it means my eyes were open but then why wouldn't they see my opening my eyes when I am not moving? Then wouldnt I look freaky?
I just know more about other people's experiences on SP and I realize some have it worse than others. Well I guess you do whatever to comfort you, pray, laughing at the dark figures, close your eyes and go back to sleep. That's all we can do until we find a way to stop it from happening. It was still scary for me, but I guess I will try to think to happy things to take my mind of SP :) I personally don't believe that it is evil spirits and prayers only help because it 'destresses' you, making you feel more relaxed and you can snap out of your SP.SP happens because of stress, remember?
That's my little view point on SP and I hope it helps :)
Sleep paralysis
Just like many had a 5 min experience of sleep paralysis just now hence why I'm here. One thing I will say I omitted to pray my prayer before going to sleep tonight and it was no coincidence I know. I got out of my paralysis by visualising the beautiful name of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his beautiful family.
For me three ayatul Kursi works (chapter three in the holy Quran).
Not to sure on the science of it all but this is what works for me comprehensively.
May God guide us all to the divine truth.
I had SP before once in my
I had SP before once in my life when I was little also but i did not see any figures what so ever. It happened to me again around 4:30am today and it lead me to research about it and thank goodness im not the only one. Ive read numerous comments already and everyone has a different experience with SP but still very similar. As for my first experience with SP when i was a child it only lasted for about 5 seconds and it felt as though something was sitting on my chest and i couldnt move, Im getting chills just typing this right now. The 2nd time around which was earlier tonight my body couldnt move no matter how hard i try then I felt as if my neck was being choked from the inside so no air can go out then finally I was released. Its a very scary experience for me and I would like to know how to prevent it. I woke up several times too before it happened but i also force myself back to sleep and now i dont eant to sleep because of SP.
I just experienced this last
I just experienced this last night and it terrified me. I remember having this once when I was very young. I have started to have them
more often, but never as bad as last night. I took 3 tablets of melatonin so I believe that is what triggered it but all in all the dream was horrific. I couldn't move and once I saw the dark shadow and heard music I began to make a hissing noise which woke up my mother and she had to shake me.
Jay
Hello I was reading the comment from Jay from Feb 11 2007...I wonder if he still around here, If he find any explication to his problem about the migranes.
I am suffering the same problem.
Thank you
Giz
I wouldn't worry about dying.
I wouldn't worry about dying. Not likely to happen.
I've had the dark figures with glowing eyes, which were scary to start with but cute in a way. With very little effort you can transform them into angelic innocent children that radiate peace.
I've had the dream of falling. You can tell yourself you've stopped on the floors just below you as you hover above it. The floors not so bad.
I've had the dream of the fires and the blazing eye thing. You can reassure yourself that there are souls in there that need help. If you care it's easy. I felt the eye around me and inside me and flew through the fire. You can feel infinitely hotter than any fire but never burn.
I've had the dream of death approaching but saw it with peace as an old friend.
I've had the dream of the devil and met it with compassion and forgiveness.
There is no dream that can't be conquered with just a little care for all things. There should be no exceptions but yourself. When you die or imagine death you release your fears of death and harm. Imagine having no fear for yourself. Imagine your notions of what you are are all wrong.
For what it's worth with a little effort it's as easy in waking. I've been told on more than one occasion by doctors that I should be dead and certainly not walking around. The point? Just that you are all capable of profound change and strength if you only believe in yourself and the good in others.
Peace ;)
Night frights
Im not quite sure but in these half dreams I think I'm being warned when the man comes to say I'm gonna die hes all in black with a skythe and a hood then out of no where a bright light appear and pull the man by the window back into a dark circle he frowns and says that I'm his
Sleep paralysis
I also suffer from this but I'm 13 ANSI get very scared I feel very heavy and I see a man which I call the man by the window he tells me he's going to kill me, I will start crying and he will laugh at me and call me pathetic when I'm finally able to move I run I get to the hallway and then I'm back in my bed with him there, I lash out only to find myself trying to pull the pillow appart,
Ive had sleep paralyze
Ive been experiencing this since childhoodv all my symptoms are just as the rest but I would like to understand what triggers it!
So glad I found this
Like most of you it was scary when it first happened. Truth be told it still scares me. I often wonder if someone broke in on me how could I protect myself. If i am really tired or my sleep is interruptef its worse. Mine make me feel slummed/ drunk state. I tried.screaming, fighting, and yelling(no sucess). I noticed that i could make.a crying sound that my ex could hear. I told her that I could hear her but for her to shake me. Ultimately the best solution for me was to get up and walk. What I see varies from ghost,images, or simply hearing things. Nothing violent,though my body do feel like its vibrating sometimes. Finding this was a relief because trying to explain it to someone who hasnt experienced it is hard
Happy so many people shared!! Im not crazy after all..lol
Sp
No one here is crazy...lucky if anything I think. I am in the process of learning how to control it and have fun with it. Apparently the hardest part is getting past the fear, but once you do you can go to anyplace and do anything you can think of.maybe it is our soul leaving the body, which gives life a whole new meaning, or maybe it's just the mind playing tricks which is still cool, so either way it's something to harness and make the mist out of. There is plenty of information on astral projection on the net.. I have been reading about Edgar cayce.. He sounded like a nice guy.
Taught myself to wake up
Just like everyone else on this matter, I too experience SP, but don't see entities. It usually occurs when Someone or something interrupts my sleep. The littlest noise or discomfort can trigger it to happen. Majority of the time for me in my case it occurs when I "over sleep". I try everything from moving my toes to screaming, breathing hard like never before, and none ever works. You think your moving and yelling for help but in reality your not. I told my girlfriend if it ever occurs and she's sees or hears me struggling or breathing hard to wake me, but one night I told her to just watch me and record me if it happens, and for some odd reason it happened that night. I remember hearing the tv which my girlfriend was still up watching in our bedroom and notices her by my side. During that moment in my mind i was telling my girlfriend to wake me up, i can feel that shes there and notices what I was going through, and imagined i was poking her to wake me up. None of my tactics worked whatsoever. I find that if you can train and tell yourself that everytime when it occurs and you know for yourself what is happening, to take a deep breath if you can and try to relax and go back "sleep" (even though you are asleep) and dont fight it, as in trying to move and scream. In some cases that I found out is that it is your body that is asleep but your mind is awake and as this article explains, it takes a moment for the "wake up" part of your brain to tell your body to wake up. So as I was saying...take the moment to relax and in no time you should be awake. Once you're awake get up, stretch and let your mind recooperate then you may go back to sleep. I hope my experience and story can help, thanks for reading!
Sleep parylisis
I used to have sleep paralysis and I was only 11-13 and they were extremely scary, I used to get very hot and imagine things in the corner of my room, I could only wake up by quickly twitching my whole body
sleep paralysis
I too have had sleep paralysis... I guess!?
It defendantly got something to do with the BRAIN wave cuz I can actually feel my BRAIN moving/twitch whenever i try to wake up BUT Again what is with da "evil" present dat come with it. I hear people talking! Voices I NEVER HEARD, and footsteps and banging! Its feels like im finna get ATTACKED a t any second! Wtf is going on?!
mine is different
hi i usually have somekind of experiences completely diff from everything on this page...when i sleep i will wake up and not be able to move, i willl also feel some pricking pain on my palms and it gets stronger as i try to move my body which is very hard....i can move my body afta struggling but when i wake up i am still in the same positoin as when i slept ...could it be tht my spirit is moving and y do i feel d pain i my hand sometimes i feel like i float in a dark room but cannot move far and can hardly picture any thing or remember anything when i wake up...i am jst 16 right now ..anyone with help..cause its really freaking me out
Joe, If solving the problem
Joe,
If solving the problem is what youre after and you believe this is real, as below. (If you want to really understand it the answer is very different).
Think of what you're seeing as distressed spirits. People who have been or will be scared , frightened, lonely. Those fears are projected onto you. If you can feel that fear and distress you know how much they need support. They can't actually hurt you. You've woken up every time so far eh. Try to help them. Think of them as lost and scared children. The image of black figures isn't because they are evil. They just aren't entirely there. Think of them as you would a crying child lost on its own.
That's all you need. Try it and report back ;)
i was scared and not scared...
okay, so i just woke up like a little while ago, and i researched it..I still kind of don't get it, the fact that mine was a little bit different, ish.. But, I was sleeping in my mom's room, and the fact that i was only by myself..And suddenly, I tried waking myself up, and whenever i try to wake myself up, i can't seem to get my eyes open. And my body felt soo heavy, my arms, and it was hard for me to breath kind off...In my moms room, it was kind of dark, and the door was open, so the hallway was pretty bright, but in her room it was a little bit dark. I tried to wake myself up, and, it was soo hard for me to open my eyes. But when i did, i tried to move so that i could go downstairs, and it was soo hard, cuz my body and everything was soo heavy, but i managed anyways. So then, i kept pushing myself to move, and then i fell down my moms bed. It was wierd, because my moms closet was really dark, and i felt like someone was starring at me. I tried to ignore it, and started heading down the hallway..But then, i was back in bed again. In my mind, i was like wtf is this..i just woke up...(my cat was next to me by the way, while i was awake, or trying to be awake). So i tried to wake myself up again, and suddenly, next to my bed, the blanket, or the white thingy to cover up the bed suddenly just started growing..or something like that. My eyes were looking at it. And i felt like someone was under the blanket, was just sitting there, and was looking at me. Well i felt like it was looking at me..but i don't know if it was someone, or something..but it was there alright..I tried to get the pillow, so that i could throw it towards the blanket, but i couldnt move. And then i kept telling myself, come on wake up wake up..and finally i woke up!! i was soo happy!! haha