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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
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| 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. |
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Comments
Heyyy
I get the same exact thing, except it just started. I'm 15, and it is the weirdest thing ever. I'm also pretty freaked out about it. I'm gonna call my doctor. I also think I have some respiratory infection and if this keeps happening I'm afraid I wont be able to breath and maybe not wake up. Will you let me know how it's progressed and how t
I experience sleep paralysis
I experience sleep paralysis mostly when I go back to sleep after the early morning prayers which is usually about an hour before sunrise. It starts with a very disturbing dream of being trapped somewhere with someone who's trying to kill me. In my dreams, I've been choked, beaten, and threatened on the phone and so many other horrible things. Waking up from these nightmares and not being able to move or speak is even more terrifying. Though I don't hear any sounds or see anything out of the ordinary I still am scared to death, thinking an evil spirit has taken over me. This first happened when I was 20 and I'm 24 now. It still happens every two months or so. I tried so hard to break out from the paralysis phase once by trying with all the power I have to move but instread of my arms and hands beiing pushed outside there was some kind of a resistance and they were pulled inwards which I couldn't understand, so I figured the only way is to lie there and wait until it goes away. And because it is deeply disturbing when this happens I wish I could survive with out sleeping at all. I stopped sleeping after the early morning prayers so it happens much less frequently than before.
It only happens to me in the
It only happens to me in the early morning after I go back to sleep too. My doubt to this theory are the "hallucinations". Two years ago, I heard children. They were not torturous children, but not being able to move and hearing children speak about me in third person was terrifying. Well, I heard them running up and down my steps. Then one yelled "the front door is open". When I "awoke" and was able to move I went upstairs and, sure enough, my front door was WIDE OPEN. The glass door was closed, but the wooden door was open. I have only had a handful of episodes since then. Now, instead of being afraid, I try to stay as calm and focused as I can so I can remember what is being said around me in my "hallucination". I honestly think we are privvy to the spiritual world around us. Call on God when afraid. He is your protector and His veil will cover you.
In Reply
That is so weird it comes after you pray because thats when it would happen to me. However i still have these dreams once a month or so but a lot less after i stopped going to sleep after praying. I just had one last night, it was very evil and i finally decided to research. I'd tell my family and friends about these because they are so weird and i believe they have some relation to the supernatural. they always wake me up breathing heavy like ugh not again. They are the worst but i dont think theres anything we can do to make them go away :(
So scary
This is so scary. This started when I was 20 I used to take extecy. Don't judge me it was a phase. Anyway the 1st time it happened I was so scared!!my father said it happened to him too.it's like you know your asleep but awake at the same time. I feel like I can't breathe it feels like someone is suffocating me!!Sometimes I finally wake up out of it & I fall right back into it!!I have no control over it. I hate it!!tonight I had some wine before I went to bed. Sometimes I think maybe it's the drug or alcohol wearing off ?? I dunno. It's so scary!! I hate explaining it to people who don't have it happen to them. They just don't get it right??I'm so happy you guys get it!I wish we could all meet and talk. :). Do any of you take pills or drink?I feel this has a lot to do with the sleep paralysis as well. I don't think any demons are present but it's strange how a lot of you see a large black figure near your bed??hum??I don't know if this will ever be explained. I'll tell you when it's happening it's the scariest thing. I feel my heart beating so fast & I try so hard to wake myself out of it. And like I said sometimes I just fall right back into the sleep. Grrrr i hate this so much!If hasn't happened in a while. It's happened when I lived w/ my parents too. Tonight it happened & I made myself get up & I made so e warm milk. I really wish you guys luck with this!!Feel free to e~mail me . Iwill also be checking back on this site! Good night beautiful people!! :)
Sleep paralysis
I have had this to me many times since I was about 12 years old. I have done my fair share of drinking and pills, but this started happening to me long before I started any of that. It is a very scary feeling, and I too often finally get myself woke up just to fall right back into it. It's like when you wake up from it you are so tired you fall right back to sleep. If I don't force myself to get up I can't stop it from happening. I find this often happens to me when I am very stressed out or worried about something.
its an every now and then thing
It only seems to happen to me every three months or so. But every time it does it seems to last a little longer, no matter what though when it happens to get myself out of it j just have to almost put my body in a state of panic and I will jerk around and it goes away. But if I try to go right back asleep it will keep happening. So I end up staying awake for the next half hour or so then I'm fine. But is there any known reason as to why if I try and fall right back asleep that it will keep happening, Ty for your time and if you have a answer or a guess please let me know.
Pray the rosary & Sleep with
Pray the rosary & Sleep with it on
Reason
Ive only experienced this a few times but it seems that it has only happened to me when i think about terrifying thing, or if i think about ghosts, i can only remember the past two experinces in detail as the first one was when i was a little kid, the second was after watching paranormal activity 3, as i was going to sleep i was thinking about the film and thinking how scared i would be if i was to open my eyes to a figure at then end of my bed, this got me really scared and as i opened my eyes the room went dark andit felt as if i was being overcome as if i could feel the fear coursing through me, as my eyes opened i could not move my legs would not move and i tried to speak but i couldnt, it must of gone on for about 30 seconds then my leg moved on its own as if it was a delayed reaction from when i tried to move it in the first place. The third time which happened two nights ago, happened the exact same way i hadnt watched a scary film but i was thinking about it as i lay in bed and sure enough it happened in the same way, i was fully aware of my surroundings but everything i saw i thought it was evil i.e a van drove past my window and the headlight must have shone in and across my mirror but at the time i thought it was someone running past my mirror, i tried shouting my fiance who was asleep next to me i tried biting down but i thought if i regain control i will end up biting my tongue, all i did was close my eyes and think of my fiance and i was able to move, so this tells me that to overcome the fear you need to think of someone or something you love. Hope my experiences have been of help :) thanks for reading
I just want to know if
I just want to know if hallucinations are always part of this or if what I experience is a completely different sleep disorder.
OMG
I am 16& since I can remember I've always woken up but couldbt move or speak. ! I've never seen anythinh but to me it hapns all the times I take even in daylight! its very scary and I want it to stop. only one time I was sleeping and woke up and saw a dark shadow of a man.!
Hi, (: I hope this helps try
Hi, (:
I hope this helps
try this, When it happens to you again,
-Close your eyes
-Think of something nice or don't think at all and try to calm down. It helps you be less scared.
-If you believe in God. Say the Lords name. I'm not very religious myself, but it helps me stay calm.
-Also try to get enough rest at night, (If usually happens to me when I sleep late or I'm stress out)
It really, really helps if you close your eyes and try to stay calm, because when you are scared the more likely ur going to see and hear things.
Also I know ur 16 and all , but at night sleep with the light on. Also if you have a goodnight sleep and ur well rested, it wouldn't be necessary to take naps in the day.
By the way You mean you were completely Awake and saw the shadow?
It's Been a While
I am very facinated with the "Supernatural".
I've experienced all kind of thing's that I cant explain with words only.
I've read most of the people's comments here, and I have to say that I dont believe most of it. But there were some so similar with what I've experienced. Someone mentioned that there are two kinds of experiences "the good and the bad ones" I have to say it was as if they were reading my mind, because they wrote everything that I think of.
I think that these occurrences do have meaning and reason behind them.
And I also believe that this was normal xxxx years ago.
I am going on a trip to specific places around the world to find more about this with my brother.
Right now these are the destinations we have in mind: india, marocco and brazil. I will make a blog and keep it up to date.
it;s's
i thought it was a dream with in a dream... i woke up in a dream (i knew it) i am in my room lying down but then again i can't move even speak then i saw this freaky creature trying to hold my feet. i am scared. i want to shout, i want to call out my father in the next room but i can't..... seconds or minutes ago i found my self trying to escape to my room....
Help if anyone can
Hi my name is abraham i am 17 years old and i have experienced this for the third time after tonight i have had this twice before this year but tonight was different before i hada feeling as if i was sleeping then opend my eyes to a paralized feeling that would last about 10 to 20 seconds then it stoped and i fell back to sleep this time it was starting off as the same but i started hearing a thump noise on the top of my head then i started hearing zing noises and started seing flashes i woke up scared and a feeling of being lost then after that i started having an anxiety attack and dizzyness and stange feelings in my head i have not told anyone but my girlfriend is this something serious should i tell more people about my feeling and if it happens agaIn should i go to the hospital if i start to feel really wierd after and is there any symtoms for this im sorry to ask so many quistions its just hard to deal with something like this pleas help i just wana know if its going to get worse
Hi, Well one of the things
Hi,
Well one of the things you can do is get plenty of sleep , don't sleep late. I say this because it only happens to me when I sleep late either because I'm doing homework like at 2am, its when I go to sleep tired and late . If it happens to you again, try to stay calm and trying to slow your heart rate, because I believe the more scared you are the more likely you are able to hear and see things.Its like waking up inside a dream. Your able to feel and hear because your mind is "awake". Some people say ur able to control ur dream, so thats why when people wake up and are unable to move, they get scared and when someone is scared the tend to see and hear "scary things"
If you're a religious person, people tend to think is a demonic presence, because of the things that happen. If you believe going to the doctor well make you feel more comfortable then I advice you to go.
If it helps, this is what I do, I try to stay calm by repeating to myself repeatedly "calm down" and trying not to think.
This Is Interesting...
My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor detest His correction; For whom the Lord loves He
corrects,
Just as a father the son in whom he delights.
Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains
understanding;
For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver.
And her gain than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies,
And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.
Length of days is in her right hand,
In her left hand riches and
honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.
The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
By understanding He established the heavens;
By His knowledge the depths
were broken up,
And clouds drop down the dew.
My son, let them not depart from your eyes-
keep sound wisdom and discretion;
So they will be life to your
soul
And grace to your neck.
Then you will walk safely in your way,
And your foot will not stumble.
When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.
Proverbs 3:11-24 (NKJV)
Alexander Marinakis / California USA
Sleep Paralysis
Its sounds strange but its also comforting in a way to know that im not the only one that goes through this situation. Im 37 now and i think i have had this since i was in my mid 20s or late 20s. When it happens to me i usually find myself glued to the bed...i read someone saying to sleep on their side..but it doesnt help me..whether i sleep on my back or sideways its the same.its always a scary feeling..ive moved from living in India to France to the UK now and its happened in all locations. When i was in india and i was living at my parents place..it first started as if someone was sitting on my chest and wouldnt let me get up and scared me shitless..im 6 ft 2 and a big guy and im usually the one that probably does the scaring so this whole incident was new and to be honest freaked me out. im lucky in a way that its not an often occurence but that said its still scary. After i moved to France and i was living with my aunt the occurences were the same..i could hear ppl talking and i could even hear the kids playing outside but i could never move my body even an inch...i find myself struggling really hard to move myself. my incidents usually happen around dawn or after the sun is up..i cant recall having seen anyone or anything when it happens. Im married and living in the uk now.. and the last few times its happened i have this feeling that someones broken into my house and are probably stealing stuff..i usually hear sounds coming from downstairs and all i wanna do is wake up and go down and check whats happening but i cant move an inch. well this occurence usually lasts about 5-10 seconds and i push myself quite hard to wake even tho i know i cant..i cant even open my eyes when this happens..i think maybe once i let my body relax thats when im able to wake u..i think the next time this happens'all of us have to just try and relax and let our body come out of this paralized state..i know easier said than done cos so much is goin on in our brains..but i guess maybe if it helps me it might a few others as well..im fairly religious and believe in God..so i guess it helps prayin as well to relax ourselves..i wish u all the best and God bless you all...hope you all sleep well and peacefully and have nothing but sweet dreams xxx
Trust in God
I as read a lot of post,I see that there is alot of fear and concern in this matter.I have experienced this when I was younger,( I'm 17 now) and even though I don't experience this anymore, I still have haunting dreams.Like many of the people who posted on here, I have accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. I encourage anyone who is experiencing S.p or nightmares to pray to the Lord to help you through these times.Also, there are things you do that will help minimize the occurrences.
1.Sleep with lights on
2.Try to sleep on your side
3.Read a book/Bible before you sleep
4.Pray before you sleep
5.Have the TV on before you sleep
Whatever you do, try not to worry about the situation.Try to relax and if you have a partner,have them keep an eye on you while you sleep.My heart goes out to all of you.God will protect you if you have faith in Him.
May God bless all of you. :-}
I saw your comment, it was
I saw your comment, it was really sweet :)
Thank you
Thank you! I'm glad you liked it :)
i'm 27 now, but back when i
i'm 27 now, but back when i was a teenager , my dad was making a lot of money (now he's broke) and we moved into this massive 7 bedroom house. throughout the years i used to experience unexplained shadows, wind and stuff like that in my room but i always ignored it, i was young and nothing scared me, only until i started having Sleep Paralysis. The first time this happened, i suddenly woke up at night sweating heart racing as i just had a nightmare, i tried to move but i realized that i couldn't, i could move my head around but that's it. I felt a huge weight on my chest like someone was sitting there and i was struggling to lift up my arm, at first i thought i was dreaming but as seconds passed it started to hit me that this is real. the first thing i thought of was that i was medically paralyzed and now i'm screwed for life! I didn't think much of demons as i never believed in that stuff. I started to panic and i tried screaming but no voice would come out. The whole thing was horrific and for some reason i just decided that the best course is for me to just relax (maybe my brain trying to fix things). I closed my eyes, relaxed and fell asleep. One hour later i woke up and regained control of my body.
The episodes continued every other night for the next 2 years, eventually i would start to hallucinate dark figures and would have nightmares with v twisted demonic imagery that is out of this world. I got so used to it that at some point when i wake up i would go like "here we go again" . My self awareness really helped me overcome this. MY sleep paralysis however (thankfully) stopped after we moved out to another home. My parents used to think that i may had demons chasing me, but i don't believe in that. i do believe in God however and i believe that by doing Good things God always protects us from harm.
I only learnt that it was called sleep paralysis YEARS after i experienced it thanks to the internet.
Hey Guys! I'm 14 Years Old
Hey Guys! I'm 14 Years Old And I've Been Experiencing This Since Two Years Ago.I Went To Sleep But It Wasn't A Deep Sleepy Eyes Were Open (Not W I D E Open) And I First Heard Lots Of Noises I Don't Know What They Were (Nothing Was On In My Room Either) And I Saw Something In ALL BLACK STANDING BESIDE MY BED! I Tried To Move, Scream I Couldn't I Felt A Force It Was Very Strong I Couldn't Breathe Almost Like Wind Was Blowing In My Face It Can't Be Anything Demonic Because I'm Saved. I Thought I Was Going To Die So I Was Saying In My Head "Jesus Jesus No No Jesus" And It Stopped My Heart Was Pounding Really Fast I Was Scared To Go Back To Sleep. Then Again Like 15 Minutes Ago I Layed Down To Sleep Now This Time My Eyes Were Closed I Had A Dream That I Was Running Through My Schools Hallway With My Friend And My Boyfriend Was Chasing Me And When I Reached A Room My Dream Blacked Out And There I Was Lying PARALIZED IN MY Bed! I Tried To Scream For Help But No Sound Came Out I Tried To Move But My Body Refused. In My Head I Called On Jesus And It Began To Stop But As My Body Was Rejuvinating It Began To Go Back In The Paralization State Again But It Stopped. I Didn't See Anything Unusual But I Felt Sonething Was There Watching Me As I Was Struggling To Get Myself Back! I Am Afraid To Go To Sleep Now. Somebody PLEASE HELP!
Help
Hi Mikayla! I know how you feel. Like you, I'm a teenager who use to expierience this.I,myself also has been saved.The only advice I can give you is to pray.Satan is after all of God's children and he is just trying to place fear of you.Stay in the Word! Know that our God is more powerful than any force of evil.Seek the Lord's protection and I gurantee that you want suffer S.p anymore.
I've had these dreams since I
I've had these dreams since I was younger. I'm now 22. Every time I experience sleep paralysis, I feel as if I'm awake. No matter where I'm sleeping is where the dream happens. It's happened at home, in my college dorm, at my boyfriends.. no matter where I am is where the dream takes place. Always in the room I'm sleeping in. Today, for example.. it was about 4:30 and my roommate came home and turned on the light. I knew she came home because I was half awake. My dream took place in our room.. with the light on. I heard her voice speaking to me and what not. When I woke up for real, she was in the bathroom. There's no way she was speaking to me. This is scary as hell and I find it really hard to go back to sleep once it happens. It happens so often that I know I'm experiencing SP and try to wake myself up. Does anyone do anything specific to wake themselves up? I try to open my eyes usually but its really hard. Sometimes when I can open my eyes, I find them automatically shutting again without my control.
sleep paralysis
This used to happen to me when I was around 10-11 but then started up again around age 18. I am now 22 and this happens to me around once a month. I have never had it happened if I consciously touch some part of my skin to my boyfriends skin before I fall asleep. A few times I will wake up while I'm still sleeping and try to get the attention of someone around me by making a groaning noise through my mouth untill I wake up or my boyfriend wakes me up. It completely freaks him out and it spooks me for hours after I wake up. It's really a horrible scary feeling.
Non-Scientific View
My 11 year old son has been traumatized by episodes of sleep paralysis that began around the age of 3 or so. (There is a good book about dealing with sleep paralysis by Ryan Hurd.) After having a few episodes myself, I've begun to believe that there is a spiritual dimension to this. Try Googling "Astral Projection" and "Out of Body Experiences" (OBE's) and you might recognize experiences similar to yours.
I just woke up from this.
I just woke up from this. First time. I grabbed my phone right away and researched this. I was having a bad/scary dream, almost like a paranormal activity movie. But as I was first experiencing sleep paralysis, it felt like something climbed into me and wasn't allowing me to move. At all. I don't really believe in ghost/demons, but it sure felt like some crazy shit like that. I first tried moving my arms, nothing. Then tried to move my lips, nothing. Now mind you this only lasted about 10-15 seconds. When finally and ACTUALLY woke up, I just laid there and didnt really move arond until I made sure I could move everything. I scared shitless to open my eyes. But I finally woke up from everything, and googled what I experienced right away.
God bless the internet :D On
God bless the internet :D
On the other side:
I believe ghost/demons are fallen angels, who take that form in order
to scared people, they play tricks on ur mind .Blehh.. I believe this and im not very religious.
Do I have SP?
Just looked this up because I had my first episode last night or so I think. I am 28 and I really do not know what to do or think...here is my expierence maybe someone can help. Went to bed and knew I was dreaming because I seen my besties sister and we were talking. In my dream I put my kids to sleep then go back to my room and continue the conversation. I look down and continue talking then look up and she is gone. I lay down mind you I'm dreaming and am aware of it. I wake up and laying on my stomach and look at my monitor (its always on) I try to move and I cant...I close my eyes,I open them this time I think I was just dreaming. I try to move and I cant I panic and try forcing my body to get up as I do I feel shaky because I'm using all my might to get up. I concentrate moving my hand away from under my pillow no buge. I close my eyes again thinking this is just a dream then open them only to find myself in the same position still feeling like heavy on ky back I look on my pillow and see a spider moving away from me at this point I'm scared I pray I say in Jesus name I rebuke you ( I don't know why) I continue to pray as I do I hear a strange voice.Still I feel like I cant move I say I believe in God I am going to get up in Jesus name I rebuke you. My leg gives Incantation move I loo around get up turn the light On and pause in bewilderment as to what just happened. My baby sleeping peacefully next to me I go get my boyfriend then we check on our kids everything is fine. I had trouble going back to sleep even my boyfriend was now in bed with me but as I'm explaining this to him I started crying. The next morning I wake up fine but then sleep in really late. I'm still confused and after reading I still have my faith. I am a believer in one God he is my Savior he will see me through.
Is there some sort of
Is there some sort of medication to stop it? I'm 17 years old and it's been happening to me for about 4 years and its been occuring more than usual lately, and at least four times tonight. It's interfering with my everyday life as I am too tired to function during the day due to staying awake at night because I'm scared of
my hallucinations. Some way to stop it would be great!
Head shudders
I am so happy to be able to see other sufferers of this condition. I can't say that my attacks are very frequent like twice a week but they happen more than enough - the first time it happened that I can remember was about 10 years ago. It would happen alot during day time napping when I would maybe worry about sleeping for too long so I wouldn't go into a proper sleep, over the last few years its been happening during the night around the same time (2am) sometimes it will continue as I drop of to sleep but this usually scares me into falling asleep again so as soon as I get the head shuddering and tingling in my head I know its going to happen again I make myself stay awake and talk to my husband who is usually asleep. On two occasions I have had a presence of one of my kids next to me but they haven't been there. The last time a presence was there it was my cat flying across the room, though it was a hallucination not really my poor cat. The paralyzing state lasts for a few minutes and I come out of it after forcing myself to move my fingers, it does frighten me but I have never thought of this being a talking to God moment. I noticed a lot of spells after a recent back operation when I was taking pain killers, but maybe because i was at home and sleeping during the day the spells were more frequent... I can't really find a pattern - just that I HATE napping during the day because of this condition. Why should we be scared to to go to sleep !!!!
I had this sleeping disorder
I had this sleeping disorder since i was 15, I'm currently 18.
Its very frighting, I always thought it was an evil presence of something
When this happens to me I'm able to open "my eyes", (or so i think) but i prefer to close them.
What is intriguing to me is some people see things or hear sounds, I have never experience this, and i hope I never do or else i wont be able to sleep alone anymore. Well every time I open my eyes everything its moving, it also feels like if someone is shaking me, but i don't feel anything holding me, and its so true about not being able to move, its a very scary experience. I'm not a very religious person, but every time i say Gods name,it helps me wake up. I always do this after a few seconds I'm in this stage, because I'm scared to see what could happen if i don't try to wake myself up.
hey
I knoe right it feels better when you close your eyes & also I get really scared and start praying. what do you believe it is?
Well it only happens to me
Well it only happens to me when I sleep late and tired. I really don't want to speculate of what It can be, because then I'll get more scared. It also happens to my both of my parents, but for them its more "frighting", they have told me that they feel a presence, and often they feel someone on top of them and breathing down their neck. Both of them have experience this, they actually feel and see things.
I haven't, but I for me I believe the more I think of what it can be, the more chance it can become real. Every time it happens to me I tell myself over and over came "calm down" "calm down". Recently it happen again, after I freaking read the post of other people, I started panicking more, and i started hearing MUSIC, so I had to tell myself "calm down" it actually work.
So when THIS happens to me I try not to think and stay calm, It helps.
More to it than that
I am 50+ years old.This morning I had a sleep paralysis experience. First one in a while...but I had them quiet often between the ages of 30 - 45. I believe our spiritual bodies are in a different dimension when this happens, while our minds are partly in a dream state and partly conscious. So part of what I read above is true, but not complete.
There will come a time when science & medicine will comprehend spatial dimension in a better way and be able to connect it with the spiritual existence.
This sleep disorder happens
This sleep disorder happens everytime i have time to take a nap at home (rarely) and just a couple minutes ago i was home alone taking a nap when i was awaken by my dog's barks and i had an image of a man trying to break into my house. I tried kicking and moving but I felt as if my blanket was choking me and I couldn't wake up completely. It's very scary and i'm glad I decided to read and research this because it is a very terrifying feeling but now i know that my stress and anxiety has something to do with this
I'm 19 years old and I been
I'm 19 years old and I been experiencing this and I just had one not t o long ago and I just had to read somethings about this but when I have it I actuallydont see ghost or dark shadows I just see whatever I'm facing like my wall, the window etc. I've had this for awhile and the first couple of times I was scared because I didn't know how to act when I can't move but lately when I have it I just close my eyes and finally I wake back up. Of course my heart races and I hear myself think like I have to tell myself I'm okay or talk to god or just tell myself to calm down but today I was actually scared because my sisters put in my head lately I could die so I did panic more then I usually do but I realized that if I close my eyes I will be okay.
Motionless
I am 20 and have these dreams very rarely but when they occur they can repeat throughout the night when I sleep I am let's just say stuck motionless but am trying my very hardest to do so and am looking in one direction desperate to shake it off because like others have said there is a sense of fear about the whole experience even at time when I managed to break free and it was quite clear I was in my room and in the real world that I did break free and got up and ran for the door only to find boom I am back in my bed paralysed its interesting and scary and would like to know more
Reply
I am not a doctor or anything, but I am a High School student. But I was reading your comment and saw this "I did break free and got up and ran for the door only to find boom I am back in my bed paralysed its interesting and scary[...]", I am only stating my opinion/guessing but I think this is when (whether or not you believe you have a soul), your whole physical being is trying to move, but only ((a) mental/(the) part thats dreaming/(your) soul leaves your body, (doesn't matter if you got up,turned around and saw your body), but your soul/being automatically slips back into your body noticing that something is missing.....
Sorry if this didn't make sense...
It makes sense
It makes sense
Reply
Albert to your reply I have to say yea I am big believer in souls and am glad of your opinion as I do feel this may be what happened as for a fact I know that even tough i wasn't in my body I was actually in the room which is a very surreal experience and has happened to me few years ago when I actually was looking at myself....strange or what ha
sp?
glad to know that there are many others with similar sleep / no sleep problems/ episodes
i have suffered with this so called SP since i was 12 yrs old... 40 something now...
my father and i and one of my daughters has this problem.
not sure what to make of it... my daughter who is a polysomnography (sleep study tech) feels it is caused by apnea/ sleep apnea. Until......she had a strange experience..
a few yrs ago.. my spouse and i had woke out of a strange dream.. both of us woke at the same time about 5 am.. i had woken from a frightening/ strange dream or SP as some medical authorities like to call it. .. but my husband woke at the same time gasping for air... as i laid there in bed not want to move to much .. because.. well i was not sure if it was a dream/sp or what?? "THEY" could still be in the house was my thought..lol.. so i whispered to my husband.. "are you ok"?.... he said.. "not sure.. i just had a strange dream".. and i asked him quietly .. what was your dream about"?.. he said "aliens"... and the strange thing.. is that I had just woken from an "alien" dream too!!... so ... could we both have SP???? . at the same time????? ... that morning i called my daughter and asked her if she could explain how sleep apnea would cause the both of us to .. well ...have the same "dream"???.. she said .. "it is just coincidence"!!.. then.. some time later (months) i receive a call from her in the early am.. she sounded frantic... she said "OMG!!! mom something weird happened to us (she and her fiance ) last night... as we fell asleep "SOMETHING" entered our room!!. it was strange , it was like we were drugged.. like we couldn't move but i felt pain to my arm.. like someone / something was cutting into it. and Bob (not real name) couldnt move either!! and when it was over we both woke at the same time!! and we both felt scared to death !! soooo ... now she believes me !!!... that there is something more then just SP!!
thanks for letting me share xoxoxo best of luck to all of you!!
Are the more types of seeping paralysis?
Hello, I'm currently 17 years old and have had this happened to me a few times over the years. The last one that happened to me differs from the other ones that were explained here. When I'm in a half-dream state (you're kinda dreaming but you can feel yourself in the bed until you move) something happens in the dream and I stop dreaming, but I can't move. I feel the bed and hear the fan for a little bit, then my hearing starts getting "replaced" by this loud rumbling noise, soon afterward I can't hear the fan anymore. The noise was explained here and it's a hallucination but, at that same time I feel like my body's shaking up and down rapidly, (compare to the feeling when you are in the water a long time and when you go to bed, you feel your body like it was in a water-like environment) And even it stops and I can move, if i close my eyes and start thinking about it, I start hearing the noise again. Now what I wanted to ask is that the hallucinations other than the vision and auditory effects, can actually effect the body it self?
The other things that have happened to me is that in an also half-dream state, I see this blinding light which wakes me up. When I do wake up, I am covered in sweat, gasping for air with a massive pain in my chest. This has happened to me like 7 times during the years, the last time was like a year and a half ago. I know it may sound weird or like if I'm using the symptoms shown in the movie "the fourth kind" where the people are being abducted, but I am not saying this as a joke and it has really happened to me. I just wanted to know if it can be explain scientifically as a type of sleeping paralysis, and if there are people that this has happened other than myself. Thank you for your consideration.
I thank you for sharing this, I know now that I have the sleeping paralysis disorder. Other than the two things that I mentioned I also has experience sleeping paralysis.
Scared, but strong, & Manages.
I live in New York City.
I am 21 years of age.
Ive had years of SP, & never really came to mind untill minutes ago, to look it up.
I slept the whole day yesterday because i was off work lastnight.
I always break night & been awake since about 9 lastnight & have to work later today.
I always have sp. & when it does happend, as you all know i try to move but cant.
The only thing i can move at times are my eyes, & i manage to move
My hand maybe an inch every 3 seconds as i try.
I do get scared , because i force myself to wake up, because
I always have a feelinq that somethinq is in the room tryinq to get me.
Yet, i can hear everything that goes on in the room, but ive never heard any weired noises or seen
Any presence of evil. Even though i still think..
There have been times that o have used the name of God & Jesus Cryst , & i manage to wake up in seconds.
I sometimes hear my mom come in the room, & call my name & yes, she has been there in reality tryinq to clean my room lol.
& im pretty sure she has seen me struggling to get up.
Especially because what i do to get out of the SP is, i try to make my head Jump & most of the time
It does jump & im able to open my eye for half a second, but then ill fall bahk to SP.
& while i loose breath ill stay calm & count about 5 seconds eachtime to catch my breath, & on againg to make my head jump. Lol.
It is pretty funny, yet scary because i am conscious of my sorrounding.
But everytime i do break into SP, while its happeninq i get really scared, because
A few years ago, one of my friends told me that he had a friend that suffered from this, & his mother tried to wake him up, & he died in the instant as he struggled to wake up...
Maybe this happend because the more she forced to get him up, the more breath he lost & suffocated to death.
(That is my opinion).
After reading all this, & all of your testimonys, i am still scared, but i wasnt all wrong about feelinq something out to get me...
You can all add me on FB. Itll be nice to talk about this.
<~~
Fb email.
Hey
I have the very same thing happen to me. When I am in sp I can only like move my finger a little bit, it drives me crazy and I have to fight like nothin else to not let myself sink in. I have often wondered what would happen if I let myself go. Sometimes I feel like my heart will stop.. And sometimes I feel like I am leaving my body. I know this sounds crazy but it really happens.
Rely
The exact thing happens to me word for word was wondering how to stop
My son suffer from SP and is only 11 and scared to death as an I
My son is 11 yrs old and has has 5 episodes and tell me he can't move and is so scared he won't sleep alone anymore I lose sleep watching him all night and he holds my hand thru the night in case it happens and need to sleep with tv on loudly!!! Is there any where we can go or someone we can see to help cure this??!!
sleep paralysis
I been having this dreams, for about 30 years, they started once in a wile. But last night I had a very bad one I was paralized and coul hear somebody singing a very nice song, ( I'm HISPANIC) the song was in spanish. After that I heard my husband talking to a lady in the living room.
The thing is that my husband died 3 months ago. 1 week after he died I felt somebody trying to hug me I scream no it left me alone. but I'm afraid to go to sleep,
I pray and I think I'm talking but it last a wile. PLEASE SOMEBODY HEL US THIS IS TERRIBLE. I NEVER FEEL THIS WHEN I SLEEP WITH SOMEBODY
BUT I'M ALONE IN MY ROOM, MY DAUGHTERS DON'T BELIVE ME,I'M GOING TO GO TALK TO MY DR. SEE WHWT HE SAID. WHAT VER IT IS IMITATE VOICES
Yolanda, I have been having
Yolanda,
I have been having these experiences for many years. It is unlikely doctors will understand. They will probably want to give antidepressants. I don't know what the answer is. Pray for for an answer.
Terri