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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
Slanted Roof
I sleep under a slanted roof and my paralysis/experience happens 98% of the time under that slant. It truly terrifies me and I don't know what to do to ignore it or stop it. I woke up to the loud rapid beating of my heart last night (around 11:30-12iah)and felt burning and pressure on my throat and hands...I am afraid to sleep. I moved to my living room couch and still felt panic and anixiety about the situation. I felt a presence and sat in the bathroom with the lights until it was time to go to work at 8am.
Feeling something walk on me
Ok so a little over a year ago i had a similar experience my roommate was leaving as i was half asleep and right when she left i was up but about to go back to sleep but all of a sudden i felt like something was sitting onmy chest i couldnt breathe or speak i was watching my roommate get in her car as this was happening i tried screaming for help but nothing came out i continued to wrestle whatever it was and finally was able to turn on to my belly... But my man concern is what just happend I know it is possible to be sleep related since i have had maybe 5 hours of sleep in 2 days. I was laying down for like a 30 min nap at work (I work 3rd shift at a hotel so its really slow and with the lack of sleep ive had i needed a nap) well i was dreaming that i was working and it seemed real but i was back laying down in my dream then out of now where i felt something crawling up on top of me slowly like footstep on to my body and then it happened i couldnt breath or speak i didnt see anything unusual but i got scared kind of paniced and kept praying in my head saying gods name for help then the only reason it stop was my alarm had went off and i was able to move after that... Idk what happened i just know it was terrifing to experience it...
PS
please excuse my spelling: i think you in advace,,,,
hi to all. night before last, i had a , well i can't really it a dream, cause it did not seem like one....anyway, there i was sleep. i guess
i heard a muffled humming sound, like a motor running, but pulsing, i heard a thump on my wall. i saw a green, light no bigger than my pinky finger nail. about 3 and half feet off the floor, i screamed, over and over. seemed like hours, i was so scared, i could not move, no sound came, when i screamed, finialy i thought to myself no one can hear me. no sound is comming out, i felt like my heart was going to stop. i screamed my sons name, he came to my room. but i was not sure it was really him. it took , what i thought was hours, but realy just a few seconds to see it was really him. i jumped out of bed and ran to him.crying. this is the first time this has happened to me. but, not the last......last night after i was sleeping, still did not feel like sleep....i saw lights going by my window, almost like a stream of car lights....(we live in the country, off the road, so there is no way this coould happen) i again heard the humming sound, i thought , no this is not happening again, i yelled , my son came right into my room. ask me if i was ok, this was just as scarry as the night b efore, i don't know how i got a grip on this dream... i just told him what i saw and said not again.,
now , during the day, yesterday and today. i feel distant, from my self. i have no engery, not even wanting to do things. that i normaly do, i am shakie, i do feel like in a dream state. like i'm here but not really here....
i am 58 years old, and never had this happen. i stopped my medican, i have been on for a long time. i have had a heart stent 10 years now. i am really scared, i have never been afraid of anything....this is not me.....
my son ask me what i thought the first experents was, what i thought:::i said i thought it was an ailen., and i belive it
I have these kind of things
I have these kind of things between one to three times a month usually nothing evil or creepy is there i just fight to move and i then barley move a finger or toe and bam i can move everything and im up. But then last night i had another one but i heard a laugh(not sure what it was but ill go with a laugh) then i saw a symbol constantly repeated with a light orangeish red backround. Also i dont have these waking up only going to sleep. So i was wondering if i have sleep paralysis or somthing different.
turn the experience into a good one
I've had this too ... I live in a 500 year old house that's creepy too which doesn't help... many times it has happened to me and when its 'agressive', for some weird reason whenever I saw 'God Bless you' or 'Jesus loves you!' there's a shreik and it goes away, and I can move again... once I floated up out of my body and looked down at myself, I even saw the exact jeans I was wearing on the floor clear as day.
Scientists may be correct, its just the mind not meshing with the brain in sync... but spiritualists believe that when you dream the 'astral body'/soul, floats up out of the body and goes travelling... when it comes back, if it becomes self aware of the proccess before it 'clicks back in', it freaks out and can't sync with the body for a while, at which time you are susceptible to spirits in the spirit world... so now i never have any mirrors in the bedroom, even the TV has gone so no reflections - and I read that if you sleep on your back you are 5 times more likely to have this (which is true for me).
... the other day it happened, tho' I was lying on my side, I turned around (struggled to turn over but managed to) and caught a cute little cherubin angel hovering next to me - he looked at me as if 'Oh shit! you've seen me!' - then it scooted over to the corner of the room, looked at me with a cheeky smile (by the way it was kind of glowing with a rainbow vibe flowing through it, which looked awesome, kind of pearlscent), then it just zoomed into a kind of portal with whoosh and a little pop it was gone... I jerked about an inch, did a body twitch and found myself staring at the exact spot, completely conscious, sweating... and noticed the point he disappreared into was a quartz crystal that was on top of my TV.... WWWWEEEIRD.... but very cool. About time it happened - and I think partly it happened because after it happenening so many times, I grew to know that whatever spirits are around me that wanted to taunt and poke hands at me for fun (to be fair, I think I'd do that too to some kid if I was dead it must be funny as hell to do, so they're just mischevous... or, frankly good spirits in disguise to test us)... I know I can sucker punch the mo fo's with a 'Jesus loves you'... so my fear had gone, I only had good vibes and was actually just excited whenever it happened as I learnt to relax with it.... hence, perhaps the angel/cherub was a projection of my new, fearless consciousness... or real - who knows. Someday when I'm dead I believe I will find out WTF happened and why. Cool.
So in summary, no reflective surfaces, sleep on your side .... or, frankly do the oposite and conquer your fear. Your choice =) Its all natural, even those cheeky bastards who are scaring you are - whether Jesus is full proof for all I don't know, worked for me but I was brought up in Christian schools so its ingrained in my consciousness I guess, whatever works for you perhaps. Or maybe Jesus IS the son of God after all?!!! Who knows...
Tips ..
Hey , I'm really interesting about this issue because it happens to me very often for years. But it's not problem anymore .
Firstly , when I was child I had a very serious issue with night walking
because sometimes I had injured myself during my night walks.
My parents put chairs around my bed , and it works perfect.
Sleep paralysis found me when I was teenager and athlete.
It's an awfull expirience , feeling like you are going to die , you feel terrified
sometimes can't breath , or have false awakenings , or even you see
your dream inside your room! Usualy after waking up I'm feeling exhausted , and want water and something sweet like chocolate .But somethimes , sleeping only 1-3 hours I feel refreshed like having being sleep for hours ! (of course after chocolate :)
Anyway observing myself I can present some tips , and hope you 'll found them helpfull.
1.It 's not some kind of paranormal or spiritual expirience so you have no reason to scare some kind of ghost etc..I understand it like mind waking up before body , I don't think it is so strange , like some people using to present.
2.It usually happens after an exhausting day, It was happening to me more often when I has athlete than now.Also it happens after hours without sleeping.
3.Very often during the expirience I can hear my heart not knocking normally. After checking it , a doctor found that sometimes I have arrhythmias and hypotension, so that could be a very possible reason . Doctor suggested me just try to relax and less smoking.
4.If it will happen to you try to not be scary. It's not easy , I know
but neither fear neither prays to god can't help you. Try to wake up you body , or hold some minutes and it will stop. After that do not sleep again , because, it may happen again . Stand up , drink water , eat something , listen radio or watch tv ,forget it, and sleep again after one hour.
5.Go to a doctor to check your health , you have no reason to fear to talk about it, it's is not something unusuall .
You only have to persuate your self that there isn't no monsters in you room, and you won't be scared again ;)
I have this i think...the
I have this i think...the doctors tell me i dont have seizures....but i feel a tingle in my leg when it starts and then it goes through my whole body and i cant move all i can do you see and im trying to scream and i cant i almost feel trapped inside myself ...i cant do anything and i use to have bad dreams and then it would happen but now its just me laying in bed and i wake up and get the tingle feeling and i knw its going to happen and i cant stop it ...i also have seen things b4 they happen...stupid little things but i see it ...i think during the time i get knocked out cuz it gets fuzzy and black and then it feels like my body gets released ...i had it happen to me 4 times in the passed 2 months ...and then a few weeks ago it happend ....but it happened more than 10 times in a few hours and i could feel it happening it hurts so bad i dont know what to do ...it tires me out ...i feel so weak and my body kills i feel like a 80 year old woman im only 19.....the doctors scanned my head but there was nothing ...i lay in bed half the day because i cant sleep im soo tired but no matter what i do i cant sleep cuz the pain in my body hurts so bad ...i dont know what to do i almost feel hopeless .....i feel like the people i tell think im crazy because it seems crazy ...and i thought it was evil at first but i wasnt scared only when it happend i was scared but i see things i dont no what they are just things in the corners and on the floor and every where and when i go to look again its nothing ....im not scared of seeing these things...im more scared of what people think of me when i tell them ..i dont feel like they listen to me ..they dont listen to whats actually wrong with me ...i dont even no whats wrong with me ..only half the things in here seem right ..but i dont have bad dreams when it happens im in the present ..it happens where im at and i wake up and in my room and it happens and i dont know its confusing..
spirit? or mind?
okay, so i remember the first time i felt like i couldnt wake up, i was little. maybe like 10. but these "episodes" would happen to me maybe once in great while, months would pass and it would happen again. im now 20 years old and it seems that this "thing" happenes atleast three times a week. i wake up and a tingle starts in the back of my neck, then a loud buzzing in my ear and i feel my body tingle and buzz. and when i try to move my hand or foot or even lips and tongue, it seems like it makes those parts buzz harder. i got used to them cause i know they go away after a minute, so i controlled the anxiety attacks i would get at first. so far only a few times ive had my eyes open, same things i felt, but i didnt see any weird things. only once i remember i woke up and i heard a "grrrrrr" from a dog getting closer and i remember starting to invoke the blood of christ and when it did, i heard as if someone took a towel and swished it in the air, and i woke up. anyways that was besides my point. im used to these things happening, but last night something happened that never happened before. i woke up, same thing as always. but it lasted longer than usual, so i started breathing deep and heavy. (at times that helps me wake up) but this time it didnt, so i started getting frustrated and i remember getting angry at this and i felt my whole body buzz and tingle the worst ive ever felt it. then the weirdest part happened... i felt my body float as if my spirit was floating (laying down upwards, not standing or looking at my body like other people say) and i feel it floating downwards, i heard voices getting louder and louder. and it felt like my spirit was being taken to hell. thats when i started getting spooked. but idk how it happened that i fell back asleep. i know cause i started dreaming again. but thats the worse its been. im a christian but as everyone i have my faults, i forget to pray at night (or for my food) but this "sleep disorder" has been increasing more and more these passed months. should i go to a doctor? i just want to be able to sleep and wake up normally again.
ok, how srange. at first when
ok, how srange. at first when this started happening to me i thought that i was having sum kind of stroke. i always try to stay as relaxed as posible when im n this state because i was worried about what was going on inside my body. i often try counting, breathing, but only in my mind,or closing my eyes again. this started when i started having luced dreams, i dont know if in sum way they could be length together.when both of these started i was having naightmares like i have never had ever.extream nightmares, i even got the feeling that there was a presence in my nightmares that shouldnt be there, spooked like crazy id wake up fast & be stuck in a SP state.in my SP states ive never seen or heard anything freaky, until the other night when i dozed off & woke up again with SP.i knew this was all it was but when i tried to relax all i could see where flashes of red, black and white, rapidly.what wazs that? it seemed so....like, like it was a gost like thing going on. i know that if this is SP, i should just work around it, but i am so going to a sleep spec.. mentaly it wheres me out.sence these have started ive carried so much of a stress feeling.
i get this sp from time to
i get this sp from time to time; it has subsided as i got older but when i do get it it seems worse. When i was younger i wouldn't see any figures or hear any voices whispering nonsense into my ear as i do now. When i see this black figure(one time it was grey because it happened in the mourning when the sun was out) it happens when a dream i am having goes kind of wrong and the people in my dream start getting physical (sort of harassing me to do something) and i have a blackout moment then i wake up (or at least i think i wake up) and i cant move, but i can move my eyes and i always see a figure on top of me not doing anything physical (except one time im not sure what was going on but while in sp i felt like someone was digging out my stomach and i couldnt open my eyes while that experience occurred) but it always seems to be looking at me. Today i am writing this because it happened to me twice today in the span of a couple hours. The first time (i was dreaming of myself already laying in bed and my mom was harassing me about the computer that was apparently in my lap) i was laying on my back and i opened my eyes and saw the black figure and it was breathing on my face. The second time (i was dreaming something kind of sexual lol) i was laying on the left side of my body and i woke up and saw what seemed to be the same figure but this time it was whispering nonsense into my ear. It was kind of scary because it seem as if both times he was looking into my eyes and knew i was conscious and helpless (thats if its not a hallucination). Sometimes when this happens i dont know if it was really happening or if it was part of my dream because it seems like i wake up more than one time and i dont know if im waking up from my dream or waking up from when the sp takes effect because it seems im always opening my eyes. When the sp goes away it seems as if i wake up again and im always in the same sleeping position from when i see the figure on top of me.
just outta of curiosity has anyone seen a figure move while in sp? I had this one experience when my brother left for work in the mourning (we sleep in the same room) i woke up as he left to shower and i went back to sleep than all of the sudden i wake up and i cant move and i see something jump out of the closest (the closest is right by my feet) and jumps on top of me hissing at me constantly.
This has been happening to me
This has been happening to me for about a year now. I'm glad to finally know what it's called. It's also somewhat comforting to know that other people experience it too. This happened to me last night and, just like everytime it happens, it terrified me. Even after hearing this scientific explanation I'm still afraid to go to sleep tonight. I hope and pray that a cure is found for this terrifying disorder. I'm a college student and I need my sleep!
Okay, it's obvious what sleep paralysis
Okay, it's obvious what sleep paralysis is. People can try to explain it with science, or physcology or whatever, but that is NOT what it is. People experience mostly the same thing. They feel terror. They see things. Um. Duhh. It's like there's an elephant in the room but they're pretending it's not there. Sleep paralysis is spiritual. It's happened to me a couple times before, but I didn't see anything, I just felt pressure and I couldn't really breathe. I'm glad i didn't see anything or hear anything.. and it really is terrifying when it happens to you. While it was happening, I knew right away that something wasn't right. I started to pray to God. I don't know if I was praying out loud or just mentally, but it eventually went away. It never got worse for me.
Thanks
You took the words right out of my mouth
It was 6:00 am just happened
It was 6:00 am just happened to me is terryfing!! i was sleeping and suddenly "someone" was kinda looking at me first, then going into my body like checking it slowely, i thought it was a porn dream with someone around me, I could interact with him when he was hugging me soft, then suddenly he did strong in my head and in my chest, and i couldnt move but i was councious that wasnt normal, so he went and I thought "yeah its a dream so i will go back sleep"
And i was sleeping and this time he approached to me slowely and again straight into my head and chest he grabbed me very intense, so i definitely thought it was not a dream even, so i tried to say noo and move and i couldnt, then i tried to look my room (which wasnt totally dark cause i left a window open) and I saw a shade standing in the right side of my bed while i was still grabbed for him, I was so afraid cause I thought now are many?? and i still couldnt move, speak, and why they do it so strong, then after a couple of minutes he went, it was definitely an evil spirit.
Science and people can think it was the brain or it was your roomate bothering you, but only us the persons what experience this horrible experience, we know exactly. is someone else.
Yes your truly right no one
Yes your truly right no one can tell you what it is until they experience it so science can kiss my ass I know when something is tryin to possessed or get my body cause feels like it wants my body really tryin to smother you out but I seems to call on God and it slowly leaves and I would awake but I would hear my ears ring as if a songs of horror
Sleep Paralysis the test of FAITH...your faith
I experince Sleep Paralysisa lots but one thing i notice the most is the power of the MIND because all this is in your mind,if you have a strong mind you can control SP just by laughing at it, fear is the real ennemy during SP because its cloud you judgment,when i overcome by fear during a SP i invoke my lord Jesus Christ and its stop,something i control my SP just by relaxing and lets the waves goes.
messed up
i was reading everyone elses posts and it seems like something else happend to me. i remember having a nice dream when all of a sudden the dream dissapeared and i felt pain and anger and i swear i could feel something extremely close to me beside my bed. once i realized this i tried waking up and my whole head felt like it was being shook back and forth really fast thats when i tried getting up and i couldnt. i couldnt move anything so i tried opening my eyes. it took me about 10 seconds before i could get one of my eyes half way open, and as i was opening it i could only see a white light thats when i finally got my eye open and i was fine again except for the fact that i had extreme chills in my head and my back for atleast 10 minutes. someone let me know if thats sleep paralysis.
Yes it is ...... U are the
Yes it is ...... U are the one shaking ur head back and forth but did not realize that it was actually u cz ur paralyzed, so u don't feel that ur muscles are being contracted, resulting into the feeling of something holding ur head and shaking it. Feeling a strong presence right next to u is one of the major symptoms of sleeping paralysis. U couldn't move ur body cz ur body is still in " sleep " mode, so all the orders ur sending to the muscles to contract are being cancelled, cz u were still in REM state. The white lit is either an illusion or just simple hallucination.
cant sleep
whats the story im 15
the past few weeks i think i do be sleeping,or awake and it feels like somethings holding me down and i cant talk or move what could i do to stop this?
its very fucking scary.then a few nights ago my door was open because im aware of this feeling. and i tryed to turn my head and all i could see was a white shirt with blood then it stopped i could move few days before hand i was sleeping i couldnt move or talk then i could then it happened again then i stopped (dont no if it was a dream) i went into my mothers bed room and i broth a sleeeping bag that i normaly sleep in on me bed and i said ma ma i cant sleep im shiting so she got up and went into the room my bed was pulled up against the door the i left it fully open and it was almost closed when i left my ma pushed eveything back and said get out of the room quick i grabbed me fone and we went do stairs and this was late.my brother was in work but he was in the house and he said whats going on then i woke up sweating i very very scared dont no whats going on
give me few tips
my wake up proccesing :- I
my wake up proccesing :- I was sleeping alone, I'm trying wake up but i was paralised, two small goests are over my body i can't control them, the one is over my head and the other is kiden up my leg,when my left hand start working i cutch one of them heir at this time he beet my leg. when my body is start working I can't walking properly for 5 minuets.
Not Alone
This is the first time that I've ever tried to look up my weird sleeping experiences and I was really excited to find out that it has a name as well as so much information on it. I found the scientific explanations reassuring, but then, reading through all of the stories on this site, became a bit disturbed by the "evil" aspect of it which so many people have written about. During the past few years, since its become a more and more common experience for me, it's never occurred to me that there was anything paranormal going on. I wonder if this new information will have any influence on my next SP and am fearful that it will.
Until last night my SPs have always been scary but my fear has always been based on my inability to move or cry out for help. Last night, believing I was awake, I could hear noises at my window and see a shape through the blinds which I believed was something terrible trying to get in. My terror was far more intense than ever before and I managed to make muffled moaning noises which were loud enough to wake up my son who entered my room. Even as I saw him enter, I still couldn't move or speak, but within a few seconds I managed to raise an arm and reach out to him. When he grabbed my hand, the paralysis ended and I woke up fully.
Along with SP, I sometimes have these mini-convulsions just as I'm falling asleep. As with the SP, I am aware of it happening, but am helpless to stop it. My neck will tense up and my head will start to shake and jerk. All I can do is wait for it to pass and then I wake up fully, only to have it happen again and again as I repeatedly attempt to fall asleep. Has anyone ever had this happen to them or know what it's called? My doctors have shown no interest in any of my sleep issues (we have far bigger fish to fry, I suppose) so I've always felt very alone in this. Though I don't wish it on anyone, it is reassuring to know that there are so many people out there going through it too and I wish all of you the best.
Time for bed...wish me luck!
My head has involuntarily
My head has involuntarily shook and tensed up. I have no history of seizures or ticks of any kind. It made the whole experience even scarier because I felt like something else was making my head move.
Could be epilepsy.
Could be epilepsy.
I always thought there was
I always thought there was something more to this than S.P. this is the first time I've ever tried to research it. The first time I ever had anything happen I was 19 and I was trying to go to sleep and felt like I was dozing in and out but seemed to wake myself up because the T.V. was on...so I started to watch the show that was on and my mind was really scrambled and I started to hear an evil chanting in my head over and over again but it was in a different language...I also felt a vibrating sensation over my body. But everything was clear I could see the T.V. still going and everything in the room. Then the vibrating subsided some and my mind seemed to be more clear but I could still hear the chanting over and over just not as loud. That is when short( roughly 4'0 ft tall) hooded dark figure walked into the room. At this point I realize I can not move or speak. The figure was solid it was almost as the best way I can describe it a monks robe. The hood was over his face and his arms seem to be crossed inside the arms of his robe. He began to move across the room to right beside me almost standing over me, and I could hear myself trying to make noises but the best thing I could do was grunt. He raised his arm and pointed at me and I could not see and hand like his robe was longer then his arm. He then pointed to the foot of the bed where there was a small square clock. It was not a digital clock it was a clock with a hour hand and minute hand, it was spinning and coming towards me. I continued to struggle to move and right before the clock touched my face I was able to break free and sit up in bed the figure and clock were gone but the T.V. that I had been looking at throughout all of this was going as it was the entire time this happened( on the same show ) so therefore I almost know I was not asleep. I could not sleep for the rest of the night and for the rest of the week really.
I could not sleep in that room anymore and began to sleep on the couch in the living room I of course had to have the T.V. on. It was a few nights after the first incident I fell asleep on the couch I was facing the back of the couch on my side, and was having a normal dream where I was boxing my friend( he was a boxer so he used to show us moves) and it was like he tried to tie up with me almost like wrestling. When I woke up from the dream something had its arms around me I could not move. Again I began to hear the chanting but this time it was if the figure was chanting and it was just one deep voice.The figure was actually behind me holding but I could feel its head resting on my my neck. I could not move anything but my eyes and out of the corner of my eyes I could see the profile of its head. It was all black it appeared it have a long chin or facial hair that come off to a point, and had horns on top of its head. It was solid and completely black. After awhile I was able to struggle free and it disappeared. I was NOT asleep the entire time it was happening I could see the lights of the T.V. reflecting off the ceiling above and behind the figure and was the only reason I was able to make out the figure. For weeks after this I could not go to sleep without the demonic evil chanting, but I was able to snap out of it every time I heard before anything could happen. Sometimes I would have to wake myself up 4 or 5 times a night before I could go to sleep. This happened for weeks before it finally started happening less often, and has gotten to the point where it almost never happens. Sometimes still even though its been years ago(currently 29) I have to wake myself up when I get the feeling and start hearing the chanting.
I still do not sleep very well and can not sleep with the T.V. off. I feel like the lights of the T.V. make me feel like I'm still awake and can tell the difference between dream and reality. I can't really stand to watch any kind of movies or shows about anything demonic in nature. It brings back the memories of that time. The only reason I'm researching now is because I explained to my fiance why I can not sleep with the T.V. off and do not want to watch scary movies with her of a demonic nature. She is actually typing this while I talk because it freaks me out and gives me the chills every time I speak of the incidents. I just had no idea people had similar things happen to them and I still do not understand why I was awake and not asleep every time this happened to me. I was hoping someone could explain to me because it's hard for me to believe it's just S.P. Also after reading several stories on here I have not seen anyone that heard the chanting or anything evil in a different language.
Thanks, John Smith and his finace
solution
I'm 18 and for like the past 4 months i've been having these experiences everytime i sleep. I have realized that when i sleep under my cover i do not experience these dreams because i guess since the cover blocks my vision, my body do not hallucinate. even if i experience sleep paralysis i am under the cover where i am blind. so if i have one i wouldn't notice because i am blind from the covers and my body thinks its asleep and i think i am asleep so i do not panic.
I have the exact same "problem"
Well for some reason I just decided to research this "disorder" also. I've read all of the other stories but yours is the closest in similarities to mine. I hear the same sorts of chantings. I see the same types of black beings. I also started seeing these things in my teenage years. For me it was early teenage years. I know for a fact that this is no dream state or brain disorder or whatever. I have seen these things with lights and lamps fans and televisions on. I have heard languages I have never heard of and seen things that I have never seen in movies or on TV. I have also heard voices that sound like a million people whispering. If it makes you feel any better you are not the only one.
Exact same problem
I've had these episodes since I was about age 6. They don't come with any regularity that I can figure out but they scare the bejezzus out of me when they do happen. These episodes are the most frightening thing I have ever experienced and I'm 54 years old. I had one night before last and it freaked me out so much I couldn't stop thinking of it the next day so I decided to research it on the Internet. It was so good to find out that lots of other people have this exact same problem and that it's not truly something evil coming after me. Just to be safe, however, last night I did a whole ritual before going to bed -- praying to Goddess and my angels to protect me. Nothing happened last night. I've just started reading a book about about SP and ways to turn the scary episodes into something positive. If it happens again, I'm determined to just go with the flow and think of my higher power and being protected by Her light and by my angels. It may take some practice as I don't have these on a nightly or even weekly basis but I will fight the fear now that I know there is nothing to be afraid of.
i have...
i have heard the chanting during a thunderstorm in a tent i was jus relaxing and i passed out like that.. and started walking upwards and heard chanting and a dog whimper.. the chanting got louder and then i passed the trees and saw the sky with a huge face of some sort (ancient human??) idk but it pushed its hands over my head then pushed me down into my body like i felt holy while i was walking to the sky then the higher i got i began to feel that fear and the dog howled and then i howled and woke up wet?? like i was outside?? i know i could of got drips but i was wet all over but a dampness?? and my heart felt like a rabbit?? hope my reply eases you....
I think you were just
I think you were just drenched in cold sweats, which is common when you haven't been getting enough sleep and your immune system is low. Stress can also be a contributing factor. I get cold sweats all the time when I have 2-4 hours of sleep three nights in a row. However, my sleep paralysis is a bit different from what I've read...I don't even know if it's sleep paralysis. The night before I dreamed of going to a house, but that person wasn't there. Then, I took a nap in the afternoon and my dream continued (a nightmare) and when my mom came to wake me up, it was almost as if I was stuck in two realms (between the dream state and reality). I couldn't tell the difference. Also, it felt like my chest was getting squeezed and I couldn't move my neck, shoulders, body, legs, or feet (my whole body). It was almost as if I was gasping for air, trying to get air in my lungs, but couldn't. My mom shook me awake really hard and had to pat my chest to get my breathing again. I was dizzy for a few seconds (blacked out) and I realized it was all a nightmare. Scary thing was, after I was awake I walked downstairs and I thought the instigator in my dream was staring outside of the window. My mom came to me and it went away. This was after I went through a serious nervous breakdown from an excessive amount of stress due to school. Can anyone possibly tell me if this is sleep paralysis or something else?
After reading some of the other experiences, I didn't see any shapes or hear any sounds. Occasionally in the past when I'd wake up I would be unable to move, trying to breathe, and hearing a static sound buzzing in my ear.
s.p. and a man standing infront of me...
Hey, I'm 17 years old, I live in Sweden, and I have experienced s.p. three times.
1. First time was day-time and I was on vacation in Italy. I was sleeping in a car as we were driving. My brother took a (funny) photo of me sleeping with my jaw completely open. But during this sleep I woke up and I could actually feel that my jaw was open but I could not close it nor make a sound.
2. Second time I was just about to fall asleep back home. My family was out in the living room (two doors, approximately 2 meters from my bedroom) and they were still watching tv. I had been asleep for probably less than five minutes before I woke up paralyzed. This time I could feel constant energy flowing through my body, and it was extremely strong. (If anyone of you knows what Qi/Chi energy is, that's what I've been practicing these latest 6 months of my life and it feels like constant adrenalin in my hands after maybe 5-10 minutes, like when you get really scared and you can feel a quick rush through your body, but only in my hands and it's constant.) During this s.p. I felt the same energy as I feel in my hands when practicing Qi but ALOT stronger and it was constantly flowing through my entire body. I could not make a sound (because I was trying to scream to get my brother in there) I was very scared this time and s.p. #1 was nothing compared to this. Also: I could feel that my Qi energy was alot stronger than usual, my stomach was very warm and my hands very cold.
3. Third time was 4.30 am. This time I could see my father and my brother, but they didn't believe/understand that I was paralyzed (my brother was sleeping on the other side of the room in real life, and my father was actually in another city, but in this s.p. they were both next to me and awake). As I was trying to get their attention I raised my hand and in front of me was a big man. I then said three words, but with a typical dark "demon voice" similar to the demon voices I've only seen in movies. This was 7 hours ago and when I now woke up I draw the man I saw on Paint, and googled the three words I heard/said. And I actually found a man born in the middle of the 19th century. This man was a copy of the man I recall from the s.p. and also a copy of my Paint-drawing. This man existed.
I've never seen him before, he is not famous. Why and how did I see this man?
I would very much appreciate a reply and an explanation.
Thank you,
Alec
Relieving.
This happens to me very frequently. I am completely conscious but I cannot move (except for my fingers and mouth, but cannot control my vocal chords therefore cannot talk), however I do not experience any kind of hallucinations but I am susceptible to go on another dream if I start to imagine it. When I was younger, like 8 or 9, it came with the normal symptoms: mortal fear, increased heart rate and shaken breathing, but as time went by and happened to me more, I somehow (I want to believe, perhaps this happened to other people) to "control" it. Whenever I get sleep paralysis now I am usually deeply relaxed, very very conscious and I do not experience any kind of hallucinations any more. Also, I feel that my mind works very fast when I go into this state, because I am able to imagine big and complex objects like buildings, machines, trees with high precision. I can imagine them easily, I am able to do maths much faster, and as I study music, I think, I have sometimes been able to create beautiful melodies too. Even though I'm paralyzed, my mind works freely and fast (perhaps this is why most people hallucinate and hear "real" voices or feel "evil" presences near them). I am also able to hear real-world noises from things that happen outside my room like my father's voice who is in the house, cars passing across the street, crickets or birds. When I want to wake up, I relax myself and then try to... I don't know how to explain it, I try to do something suddenly, like start running or jumping. Eventually, after some tries, I wake up suddenly (as if out of a nightmare) and very tired. I would like you people to tell me if this happens to you, if you don't feel fear or have hallucinations anymore, and have this lucid-fast-working state of mind whenever you get sleep paralysis. Thank you! By the way, I'm 16 now.
I do the exact same thing we
I do the exact same thing we I try to wake up. I relax and stay calm then try to do sOmething suddenly! ...but before I can get to that state it seems as if it takes me hours to move...it be like slow movement step by step then I'm finally able to grip the edge of my bed and pull myself suddenly!
S.p
I had my first about to 45 mins ago. It scared the shit out of me. I herd someone running into my room and I could feel them right in my face like they were looking at me. I was paralyzed I couldnt do anything. I'm honestly scared to sleep in the same room for awhile.
This is what exactly happens
This is what exactly happens to me.
Has anyone experienced
Has anyone experienced convulsions before the paralysis? I'll be having a normal dream and it will instantly turn evil, my body convulses and when I realize I'm awake the convulsions stop and I'm co poetry immobile. It happens often and my wife will wake me up because I'm convulsing.
i need alot of help
I've been dealing with sp for quite a long time and I'm only 18. The scariest experiance was when I had finally fallen asleep after staying up on the phone all night my sister had gotten up to get ready to go to school and my room was always very dark then suddenly I felt as if my bed was violently vibrating and I felt a great force holding my arms against my will over my head and I soon started to pray and it kind of worked then it happend again and even more violently and I saw a black shadow staring at me it was the worst of all. In other experiances I've heard footsteps and giggles.
I've also had out of body experiances I can see others doing things and I can see my body sleeping it feels horrible I fear sleep. I don't know how to get rid of this. After I'm done walking around I go to my body and I am able to wake up.
I also can wake myself up for a bit in dreams I just simply tell myself wake up wake up and I wake up for a bit but my body since its so tired of not getting good sleep I fall back to sleep and continue to have bad dreams.
I can also control somewhat of what I dream. Someone please help me I don't know what's happening to me. I don't sleep much its becoming worse and it only happens when I sleep alone
I fear sleep too!
I have alot to say but I no my hands will get tired so ill shorten it for now :-) Hi,.. I am an emotional 20 years old and only found this didn't happen to everyone when I was eighteen and tried to ask my friends how they dealt with it when it happened to them... They looked at me like I was pulling there leg and still only barely believe.
I have suffered with this for as long as can remember and find it so... terrifying... it is definately comparable to the nightmare on elm street films!... Over the years I have felt the presence of another 'being' hold me to my bed more times that I care to think about, stare through my bedroom window and watch me struggling for breath, throw me down the stairs and many, many more sinario's, A part of me doesnt fully believe the 'bieng' is a person but the state is so powerfull that it feels like one? Throughout my life I have NEVER been able to struggle free from this state, I just have to wait it out. I have always longed for someone to whistle, make any noise, shake me and wake me up, roll me... Anything but have never been so lucky.
I have tried praying, singing in my head, counting, talking to 'the being', shouting my mum, none of this works but some things I have tried helped because they have made the feeling of panic lessin, bide time or allow you to imagine more pleasant things to get you through the time of SP. I have felt my body, outside of my body as strange as that sounds.. My arm has been moving infront of me and I could literally feel it moving but Im not moving it and its been under my head in reality so I can relate but I cannot explain it, Its kind of like my spirit being out of sinc with my body??
I have found that I can control my dream, depending on how my head is feeling at the time, the more scared I am, the less control I have?.. I would like for you to help me... I am too scared of going to a doctor and being laughed out the office or being told there is nothing they can do for me,.. Maybe we could help support each other with the scary times and come up with a few things to try when it happens? I am not a mushy person but hear and feel your cry as mine is the same... Alack of sleep could make it worse, as scary as it is, your body will be extra tired, making your muscles relax more when you sleep which increases your chances of sp... I look forward to hearing from you, and If i dont.. I wish you the best of luck,.. wouldn't wish this on anyone :-)
Look up lucid dreaming its
Look up lucid dreaming its actually sort of a gift that you have that. You can control your dreams some what which many people want to achieve but can't. Its scary but remember you control not your dreams.
U don't need help my friend,
U don't need help my friend, ur fine , physically and mentally fine, you're just experiencing Sleeping Paralysis. Note this : vibration, evils force, dark shadow, footsteps, and giggles, are all symptoms of SP. It's all in ur head, they are no more than hallucinations, as if u were living ur nightmare. Ur not the only one, a lot of people experience that, and that goes for me as well.
As for the out of body exp. This is what's happening to u :
Those experiencing OBEs sometimes report a preceding and initiating lucid-dream state, though other types of immediate and spontaneous experience are also reported. In many cases, people who claimed to have had an OBE reported being on the verge of sleep, or already asleep shortly before the experience. A large percentage of these cases referred to situations where the sleep was not particularly deep (due to illness, noises in other rooms, emotional stress ( which i think is ur case cz it only happens when ur alone ) exhaustion from overworking, frequent re-awakening, etc.). In most of these cases the subjects then felt themselves awake; about half of them noted a feeling of sleep paralysis.
Relax my friend, ur fine, we all are, but it's just that our brain is a lot more powerful than u think and is able to do amazing things that we don't understand, and so not knowing how to explain, we go for the evil presence and demonic figures and paranormal activity, and end up praying for Jesus to help, which u need, and it worked, for the only reason that u kinda convinced ur self that god will help, so psychologically, for u, everything's gonna be ok, and that's why it stopped.
Since u are religious, if u feel conformable praying, then it will help u escape any further SP episodes before they get worse.
U don't need help, ur fine :) relax
In the future, if anything happens, and have questions about, email me, and I will be glad to help, I have been victim of SP since I was a little boy and picked up a lot of experience. This goes for every one else on the blog .
Regards
Hi my name is Jenna, I am 24
Hi my name is Jenna,
I am 24 and experienced sp twice at 22 and once just recently. It really scares me and I read somewhere that it is more common if u sleep on your back? I am trying so hard to avoid this. My question is why when it happens does the presence feel evel and out to get you ! Twice I felt arms around me pulling me out of my bed, I was pinching and grabbing my (reali life ) boyfriend who was sleeping at the side of me , only to find when I finally awoke I'd not moved a muscle. And he was facing the other way. This really scares me and I'm afraid to sleep alone I don't want to be able to control it I want it to go away. And all these real life stories of feeling possessed and evil spirits has made me even more afraid. My 3rd time felt more of a dream and sensed evil in my bedroom and a heavy breathing it took me a while to wake myself up . Why is it always evil :(
sp
Perfectly put! thankyou.....i have had sp for awhile and it is very scary,im 30 years old now and it must have only happened to me a few times in my twenties. But its more often now. The other day it happened like 3 times in a row. Ive never experienced any hallucinations of demonic nature and am suprised to see so many people have, however i do not believe in demons or ghosts so maybe that is why my brain does not create that image. I have had the vibration feeling in my hand and hallucinated but nothing evil. Ive also been really stressed lately and wonder if sp is linked to that. Im also concerned for the youger people that are experiencing this it must be so scary......im so glad i looked it up at least it is piece of mind to know im not alone and that i do not have a serious health problem or something. I told my boyfriend what happened the other day and he said it sounds like night terrors, but when i looked it up it was obvious to me that that was not it. So i figured that i would type in paralized while sleeping and here we are.....and im so glad i found out that its actually a common thing.......however that is kinda bad because sp is scary......i wish there was some cure for this..i could not imagine having this happen to me at a younger age and i feel terrible for the people out there who still dont know what is happening to them......its not like you go into work and say guess what i was paralized last night while sleeping and hallucinated.....just wanted to say thankyou for explaining sp so well for everyone.......
Well thank you very much for
Well thank you very much for replying to my message. All of what you said its true I grew up with the idea that they were ghosts which I never believed in. But sp really amazes me that you loose all control of your body I have managed yo be able to move around a bit and when I lived with my parents I would try and call out for my mother but my voice was too low. do you know how violent or how strong sp can get? What has also worked for me other than praying , I would curse the "evil spirit" I thought was there to leave. Maybe that can help others.
About the obe I don't know much about it,
But thank you for sharing your knowlegde with other my friend :)
Ur most welcome :)I have
Ur most welcome :)
I have experienced SP episodes since I was a little boy, I thing my first SP was at 7 years old I think......
Here is my worst SP episode ever, and that was when I realized how strong and ugly SP can get :
As far as I remember it was around 3 in the morning and I got back from work ( I'm a bar tender at night ), tried to fall asleep the first time, but 5min later, I started to feel that strange feeling that u sense throughout ur body, but as soon as I felt that, I used to move around, cz I knew if I was just gonna stay still, I was definitely be entering the SP state for good and end up paralyzed, the same thing happened at least 7 times, but unfortunately on the 8th time, It happened so fast I didn't have time to think, and there I was totally paralyzed in my bed and then suddenly I feel this immense presence right in front of my face, with very heavy deep breathing, as if it was 200 years old or something, I even felt his breath on my cheek, ( I was sleeping on my side btw, facing the wall of the bedroom) of course at that point I knew it was sleeping paralysis, but something was different. I tried to move around, but nothing was working, tried to scream but no sounds were coming out of my mouth. The more I tried to contract my muscles in order to move, the more intense the pressure was getting. Then the most scary thing happened, I felt something grab my foot, and pulled me towards it, and then pulling me upwards ( as if it was standing in front of my bed and pulling me towards it as if it wanted to hold me upside down from the foot) I was freaking out and terrified, and I was hopelessly trying to break free until the other thing that was right in front of my face pulled out both of it's hands, took me from the shoulders, and stared to shake the hell out of me in a really really really fast motion, backwards and forwards, with the breathing getting louder and deeper and ended up in one big ass evil horrifying laugh, and then I broke free. After waking up, I noticed that I was half on the bed and the other on the floor, my neck kept on hurting me for the next 3 days.....
This is how violent and strong SP could get, but of course when u actually know what's happening, and that it's not demonic figures or whatever else people
call it, u can always deal with it in some way. I can actually explain all the things that happened that night, logic simple explination. Remember, it's NOT real and it's ALL in ur head :)
Okay, so this happened to me
Okay, so this happened to me last night for the first time, I hope it never happens again but I am currently too scared to go to sleep in case it does. I am not remotely religious and have never been inclined to believe in the supernatural/paranormal. I have never had an experience anything like this. I have never had a mental illness. I am 26.
I heard footsteps walking towards my room. I knew it was somebody with bad intentions. At some point, while hearing the footsteps, I was aware that I was not awake, even though I felt conscious and was looking around my room and trying to move. This thing/person entered the room, and at this point I became terrified and was trying to scream and move and felt that I was moving in my bed but unable to release my arms or get up. I also couldn't make a sound. Then it spoke to me, in a deep male voice. Unfortunately I don't remember what it said. It didn't touch me, and I didn't feel the pressure on my chest that others have described, although I was definitely paralysed. I tried and tried to wake myself up, at times I felt like I had become fully conscious only to realise I was still in my dream. I eventually woke up - the time was 4.30am. Another household member was up and walking in the kitchen - I assume some of the noises in my dream were something to do with actual noises I could hear out in the next room.
This whole thing was terrifying because of the fact that I felt awake, there was a threatening and seemingly real presence in my room - which I heard, audibly, speak to me, and because I couldn't move. It seems I experienced this phenomenon called sleep paralysis. I didn't like it at all. I guess if it happens again I'll try and follow some others advice and think about something really positive.
I find it extremely interesting that others also experience hearing footsteps and having very negative experiences with something present in the room. It makes me wonder if there's something really weird going on, or if it is just that some people have positive experiences and some people have negative ones, and the ones with negative experiences are more likely to search for information online and then post their experiences on threads such as this, and are therefore over-represented. I also wonder whether the negative experiences are merely vivid projections of our existing fears.
Really hoping it doesn't happen again.
Hello there :) I know that
Hello there :) I know that this is new to u, but let me start by saying that there is absolutely nothing wrong with u, u are fine :)
I have experienced a lot of SP episodes since I was a little boy, so I kinda picked up a lot of experience along the way.
I don't believe in god, and I'm not a bit religious, and certainly don't believe in demons or ghosts or paranormal stuff, for me, it either has a logic explanation or it's simply bullshit.
While sleeping, ur body cycles between 2 phases that keep on switching, non-REM and REM ( Rapid Eye Movement ), non-REM is when ur usually sleeping and don't feel a thing, usually coming at the end of ur last cycle of phases in order for u to wake up normally, and REM is when u dream, cz ur eyes are following the images that ur seeing in ur dream, that's why it's called rapid eye movement. ( ur not suppose to wake up during this phase)
Entering a SP state is when u wake up during REM, u feel paralyzed cz ur brain had disabled the orders to ur muscles, cz technically, ur still asleep, and u can't move voluntarily while sleeping. So, ur brain is awake ( u are awake and fully conscious ), but ur body is still asleep, and since u had woken up from REM, the dream carries on, so u actually start watching the dream as if it was rolling in ur bedroom. ( this is the main reason why u feel paralyzed, but can still move ur eyes and facial small muscles, as for the rest of body is still in sleep mode)
We would all like to wake up from nightmares to put an end to the terror, but unfortunately, sometimes it only gets worse ( it ends up in SP ), but no one would ever like to wake up from a nice dream, So yes, all SP episodes are usually frightening.
Nothing weird is going on, ur just dreaming with ur eyes open ( although it sounds weird :p ). The sounds, the dark shadows, the footsteps are ALL in ur head, nothing is real.
When you're paralyzed, u would feel as if there's something preventing u from moving ( nothing supernatural, its the brain not sending any orders to ur muscles ) so if u try to move ur left arm really hard, the same thing preventing u from moving ur body well get narrowed down towards that arm, and this is why u feel more pressure on a particular part of ur body, instead of the whole body itself, which results into thinking that something/someone is grabbing u by the left arm, once again, it's all in ur mind. Nothing is real.
And yes, alot of people have SP episodes, but they are not the same. And yes a lot of people who fear spiders for example, may have visions of them during a SP state.
Now, there are many ways to get rid of them or as I like to say, "escape" from them, depending on ur believes, religious people pray and it works, cz inside the mind, when u convince ur self that Jesus is always here for u and will help u, it gives them some kind of relief, so psychologically there will be no more reasons for them to be scared, and no more reasons for the dream to continue, and so they wake up. ( the human mind is very powerful by the way, more than u can imagine ) as for non religious people, they know that none of it is real, and that it's all in their mind, so they ignore it and think of something else, I personally wake my self up right between REM and SP , as if it was a 2-3 sec warning, this is something I learned to do with time.
So if it happens again ( hope it doesn't ) u'll know what ur dealing with.
Hope I helped
Regards
dreams
ive had dreams where i can get up out of my body and walk around the house and see my family watching tv eating a late snack and then wake up and see my family doing exactly what i had seen them doing miniutes before it used to scare me till i was about 10 or 11 now it very rearly hapens the last time it did was just before my 20th birthday i am 26 now
IM SURE I HAVE THIS
I hope to god this is what I have; at first I though it must be spiritual as I never experience this at home, to count I have only had this on 3 occasions,
My first experience was when I was on holiday June this year I was sharing a sofa bed with my friend in the living room of our family hotel room, most nights I would have this ongoing dream of an old man he never done anything or said anything he was just there each dream was different but he would be in it some way or another like a piece of furniture or just a flash image of him then towards the end of the holiday I was sure I was fully awake and I have never been so scared in all of my life there was this terror just running through me I was staring at the front door just waiting and I kept having flashes from one image to the other of the man walking down the hotel corridor with a black Scotty dog on a lead to him slowly opening the front door with the light beaming in I was desperately trying to shout using all of my energy and trying to move but I couldn’t even move my head, as the door opened wider and wider I tried more and more to scream louder eventually my screaming broke free and I woke up my friend she leaped up turned on the light she was freaked out aswell at this point I could finally move convinced that he was till there I told her to check the door was shut and I just sat that shaking in terror I wasn’t making any sense so I had to wait until the morning to tell her what I saw, I was convinced this man was real and it must have been paranormal activity as the dreams stopped as soon as I got home from holiday.
The next experience I had was on holiday September this year a complete different hotel & country and I was holidaying with different people, once again I was on the sofa bed in the living room of a family room as reception had messed up our rooms so for the first two nights we had to share, any way half way through the night I woke up as I herd a noise in the bathroom tried to sit up but couldn’t I saw the bathroom light turn on and I tried to speak but couldn’t I herd foot steps and that feeling come back from the last holiday of pure horror it run s through the core of your body its like you don’t know what’s going to happen to you, you just know you need to get away feeling of helplessness as well as terror this time no one woke up and from behind a sheet got put over my head and I felt as if I was being suffocated and couldn’t breathe my body suddenly broke free my arms ripped the cover off whilst my voice screamed, I was in complete shock just sat there shaking nearly in tears I freaked my mate out completely and I told her what happened once I had calmed down and told her about the time before on my other holiday she seemed to think I was being followed by ghosts but I was praying that it wasn’t the case. The next episode was on the same holiday this time it was towards the end, we was in our new hotel room which was two single beds in a standard hotel room, I was asleep then awoke by a little girl whispering and gradually turning into talking coming from the bathroom I tried to move my arm to turn the light on but I was paralysed from head to toe this time I started to panic more as I knew what was coming, I was laid on my side facing the balcony door so I had my back to the bathroom and front door, I tried to ignore the little girl but I herd the bathroom door creek open and each footstep she took made the fear worse and worse I was staring just waiting to see her she, soon enough she walked into my view it was a shadowed figure but I could tell it was a little girl with long dark hair wearing a long night gown and no shoes suddenly she dashed whilst laughing behind the balcony curtain her feet where still in view and I thought for sure it was real as the curtain even moved, still in my paralysed state whilst all this was going on I was shouting using all my energy to try and wake my friend in the bed next to me, as soon as the little girls feet where out of view from behind the curtain as if she just vanished… a man was behind my back I could feel his presents and I was even more scared as I got this evil feeling from him he put one hand on my head and one hand on my shoulde4r blade pressing me into the mattress I was still paralysed and had this immense pain on my neck I was trying to move so bad and struggling and screaming I have never been so terrified in my life I was looking at my friend to see if she was waking up the man was laughing and I knew he was going to put something in my neck I had to wake my friend up and make it stop I eventually screamed so loud it woke my friend up she went what’s wrong what’s wrong I was still paralysed and I could still feel his hands holding me down she banged on the light and I was released but the whole next day my neck was killing me…after I returned home nothing has happened like this its unexplainable. Please tell me I’m not being haunted!!!
Relax, ur not being hunted
Relax, ur not being hunted !
As I noticed, u have been experiencing sleeping paralysis when being in hotel rooms, not at home, in other words, it's only happening while not being 100% comfortable when it comes to sleep, u would probably be more reassured and comfy if u were sleeping in ur own room and bed. It's one of the SP symptoms.
Hypnagogic hallucinations, explaining the sounds and noises, especially the laughs, the footsteps, the pressure on ur body, the dark shadow and the suffocating, u are actually dreaming, but with ur eyes open, I know it sounds weird, but it's true.
First episode, u heard footsteps and the man came at the front door, trying to enter the room
Second episode, Different hotel, heard footsteps coming from inside the bathroom ( so whatever it was, is now in the room with u, not at the front door trying to get inside, but in the bathroom, in other words, closer to u)
Third episode, u saw the little girl, and had physical contact with the man.
Let me say this again, NO ONE is following u ! the only reason why the next episode is worse than the other is because u didn't know what was actually happening to u, and couldn't explain it, so eventually you would get more and more terrified the next time, and freak out more, cz every single time u used to enter a SP episode, u would remember the previous one, and automatically, the " story " will continue and u would get more and more scared.
Absolutely nothing to do with demons or huntings or any of that crap, it's ALL in ur mind.
I have been experiencing SP episodes since I was a little boy, and had more than 200 episodes, some light ones, and some really strong ones. Trust me, as soon as u know what's happening, u'll learn how to coop with it, and how to control ur self if it ever happens again.
I can give u some advice, if u haven't noticed, when the SP episode begins, it always starts with this very strange feeling that u sense though ur whole body, it starts out to be very light at first , but only to increase rapidly in the next few seconds before u enter the SP state for good and get completely paralyzed, so, as soon as u start feeling that, and while it is still light ( while ur still not paralyzed ), try to make any movement, turn to the other side of the bed, cross ur legs, scratch ur head, clear ur throat, anything that requires ur body to move or ur mind to concentrate, and u would be able to wake up and be perfectly aware of everything, and so escaping from the SP episode.
Hope I helped :) and remember, there are no such things as ghosts or demonic figures or paranormal activity, it's no more than ur mind playing tricks on u.
Like u said, the dreams stopped right after u got home from ur holidays, in other words, u started to feel more comfy and had better nights because ur actually sleeping in ur owne room and bed again, ur going to sleep in a better state of mind, and so nothing will bother u while sleeping.
Regards
this cant be science
i just had a so called "sp" but i believe it is a form of haunting. i felt as if i was being dragged off my couch and across the floor seeing a blurred vision of my living room. I even tried to fight back seeing my arms waving in front of me. How would i be able to extend my arms if im facing the back of the couch? I even forced myself awake and fell back into sleep being pulled off the couch again. i even felt myself get back onto the couch before i woke up in a sweat. i heard footsteps and how can that be everyones same hallucination when some people have carpet, some tile. in my case it was tile and exactly what i heard. Now. i dont take acid but i do know that it is very rare for two people to have the exact same trip. so it would be quite simular to the logic. i heard the whispering and a voice behind me...but that came when i was fully awake. i jumped up and went over the direction i heard the footsteps lead...my bedroom door had been opened. please.....explain how thats science
Sleep Evidence
Hi. I have had SP episodes all my life. They scare me to death. I am frozen but can move my eyes but my head is always tilted in the wrong direction. Something normally whispers my name while the pressure is on my chest. Anyway, has anyone ever had any physical contact? My last SP, My body was frozen as normal but something was different. I could move my leg. I felt something crap my leg which put the leg back into paralysis. I felt like there was a small creature on the end of my bed. When I woke in the morning I remembered everything very clearly. I went to the beach and a friend of mine said 'oh my god what on earth happened to your leg'. Where I felt my leg being grabbed or 'bitten' I had huge bruising. I was embarrassed and told my friend a lie and said I fell over. He knew I was lying because the bruising was too strange for a fall. I took photos and tried to have the bite marks identified and all tests came back inconclusive. I showed my Doctor but was too afraid to tell him about my SP episode. I still have the photo and the horrible memories.