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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
Trying to live with it
Well now I know I am not the only one troubled by this. I am 29 and I really hate it coz the entire experience is disturbing. It usually occurs in the 1st hour of sleep or maybe first 30-45 mins.. I will either feel that someone is sitting on me and choking me or sometimes I'll feel that I am partially awake and trying to trace a figure or shadow in my room and can hear the wind blowing loud. A couple of times I have had a strange feeling that I have moved outside my own body as if I am dead and feeling very light and have no senses active..
After these numerous SP, I have figured out that all i have to do is wait for it to get over and get back to sleep. But trust me waiting for SP to get over is very difficult, so I try to gather some strength and move my hand with a jerk for me to wake up. Some times this take too long and I start screaming for help and then I can see my parents walking into my room and waking me. Thanks to them, I get out of the SP but usually I wake up confused and immediately go back to sleep without looking them in the eye.. lol
Its really disturbing when it happens more than once in the same night. My worst was three times in one hour after which I decided not to sleep and turn the Television on..
the reality of what you experience.
Hi,
I have also had a few experiences with dp, but unlike everyone says, sometimes they are actually good experiences and completely because I control then. If you want to know what is actually happening then you should stop listening to this controlling scientific crap and look into the spiritual side of it. the reason why you caught my attention is because you said you had an out of body experience, If the answers to the following questions are yes then you are a lucky person,
1. Did you feel like you were around 1-2 meters from your body?
2. Did your body move side to side but you couldn't move limbs?
3. Did you feel pulses of srtong energy as light going through your body?
4. As you went back into you physical body did you feel like your were shaking uncontrollably?
If this is more or less what you experienced the through away the science and begin to understand what every single religion points across. This state is achieved and talked about by Buddhist,Jesus, Hinduism u name it its in there, only they have absolute control and can see the universe and every dimension, in this you can move away from the body and travel anywhere and anytime you want and even see and hear people who died.
To understand more, research about the third eye and astral travel. we must not forget that we are animals in a planet which is insignificant compare to the size of the universe so why is it we try and come up with logical answers to everything? we must accept there are things greater and better than us.
I have had various of these experiences and on of them was the virgin Mary sat by my side, I tried to listen to the whispers but couldnt make them out, but I know this, if you get scared it wall be disturbing and you dont last very long, but if you try and understand it it becomes a beautiful experience. remember that when your in paralysis, you mind is conscious and so you will know when you are in that state, so remember that at one point you will wake up from it so you might as well enjoy it.
Hey Gallo
Hey everyone my name is Edgar I am 21. I have read most of the posts on this website and I noticed that each story has something similar to one another, one thing that I noticed that keeps being mentioned is the dark figure that most of you keep seeing. Well my story is that this has happened to me quite a few times, the first time this happened to me I was in my bed laying on my stomach with my head tilted to my left, all I remember is that I woke up in the middle of the night and everything seemed normal until I noticed that I can't move a muscle and I tried to scream for help but I couldn't it was as if my mouth was glued shut, the only thing that I had control over was my eyes. I moved my eyes around looking in my room but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, after a few seconds I fell back into sleep without any control over it. Later when I woke up I had remembered the hole incident and told my mom about it and she told me that this had happened to her also, she told me that it has something to do with evil spirits and whatnot, but I hadn't seen, felt, or even sensed anything evil throughout the hole experience. The 3rd time this happened to me I was in my room again at night, but this time it was different, this time I woke up and again I was paralyzed but I wasn't on my bed I was actually hovering over my bed as if I was floating, I was scared shitless and amazed at the same time, I didn't know what to do if I should welcome this feeling of weightlessness and total emptiness or if I should deny it because it is out of the ordinary and is something that I had never experienced, so eventually within a couple of seconds, I would say about 15 or 20 seconds of being afloat I started to pray because something didn't feel right, once I started to pray to God I felt as if my soul immediately plunged back into my body. After this hole incident had taken place, once I was awake I remembered everything that happened to me and I was in a total shocked and dazed mode because I could believe the fact that I was actually floating. The fourth time this had happened to me was the last time it happened and again I was in my room at night sleeping, and I remember waking up again to be in this state, but this time I didn't feel scared or amazed, I woke up floating and said to myself, "let me see if I can control it" and surely I was controlling where I was floating in my room, so as Im floating in my room I am directing myself to go where ever I want in my room, this feeling felt so amazing to be able to float and control it as if I was in space. So as Im floating I end up hitting my head on the sealing of my room and once I hit my head I immediately fall back into sleep. The one thing that I am confused about is when I was floating I was in such a amazed mode that I didn't look down to see if my body was still on my bed, I don't know if it was my soul that got out of my body and started floating or if it was my actually body. Keep in mind people that throughout all of my experiences I didn't once see, hear, or sense any type of demonic or evil spirits. Oh yes and one time I had a totally different experience, I was sleeping and I felt as if I was half asleep and half awake and my eyes where twitching very rapidly and I remember my heart beating very very rapidly, and the feeling I had was indescribable, the only way I can put it into words it's is if I was about to instantly disintegrate without any pain being felt.
LOOK INTO ASTRAL PROJECTION!
Gallo is right (he wrote his own reply on SP called "the reality of what you experience" somewhere on this page...Anyhow. My point is I have had SP and tried to reason it away...but then i looked into astral travel and then tried it. It did NOT work. Then, I got bored one day, and gave it another go. IT WORKED. It was the most amazing experience. I did not leave my body completely, but i felt electrical light energy moving in me and i could see my hand, but my spirit hand, not my real one. I was concious and even thought "wow, this is crazy". I tried to get out of my body as I had read about, but felt like i was shaking and got "vertigo" which woke me up. So this science crap about SP is mans' way of explaining the unknown away. Humans always need to feel superior to everything and anything instead of accepting that the world n the truths in it are bigger and more complex than the understanding of some men. So next time you can, look into learning from your SP experience. Don't just swallow scientific crap. I mean think about it! "Science' has been wrong many times. Think about all the b.s. humans believed back in the ancient times because "scientists" told them so.
I am ashok.i ve also the same
I am ashok.i ve also the same problem.during my sleep i know everything what is going on bt i cant move my body as if it s paralysed .i use my whole power to move my body or to wake up bt cant after sometime i will be in my normal condition this problem i face during day sleep
Sp
Okay so I'm 14 years of age and I'm a victim of sp. I have had it many times previous bfore but now it's occurence is more frequent. I now have had it everynight this week. My experience as many of you said feel as though there is a evil presence in the room. I'm a kid so I sleep alone and there's no one to wake me up. Mostly i try to move as much as Ican to break out of it and wake up. During sp I dnt see and shadows bt I feel pressure all over my body and I js feel as though something is in the room with me, watching me. I also hear a high pitched noise during sp, and the noise makesme very nervous. An hour and a half ago i had sp and I looked over to my fan switch. It was in the "on" position but my fan wasn't moving. I knew I was dreaming or something. Then I looked to my right (that's when the sp occured). I coudlnt move my head back o cente and my whole body was frozen. For some reason I heard laughing then a scream. This made me freak out in my sleep. I eventually woke up and then it appealed to me to read up on my sleeping disorder or deffect. Dos anyone know why this "sp" thing happens or how to prevent it? Help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
It's me Kym
I'm here with another update.
I had no SP episode ..
But I've been experiencing anxiety - don't know if there's a true correlation between the two (sp + anxiety).
All I know I'm at a gym
Trying to shake it off
I'm not saying I'm cured from SP
I just haven't experienced one in about a month
O_O
this happened to me today and it was during school it was pretty odd, and it really scared me, it made me feel trapt. like i couldnt control anything. the craziest part is it happened two times in a row, and both times i didnt even try to sleep. but during the time i was in sp i was hearing everything, and then my ears began to ring and it got louder and louder and i got to the point where my ears hurt to the point wear i could cry if i was conscious. In my mind i kept telling myself to wake up both times and it never happened the first time i woke up because i eventually gained control. i dont think i would have got out of sp the second time if my friend hadnt nudged me to tell me class was over
Lying in bed unable to move
I've had this once before, about 2 years ago when I was 16 or 17. I'm lying in bed, just about to fall asleep, but not asleep though. I can't move or speak. The first time I freaked out not knowing what was happening to me. The second time was just 10 - 15 minutes ago, I was calm and just waited for it to pass. Both times was like there were a female shape, or an orb next to me, it took only a couple seconds, atleast that's what it felt like.. is this sleep paralysis?? Please give me an answer!! Time here in Denmark now: 0:49 am
Thanks!
Just wanted to say thank you for the people who shared this article with us. I thought I was crazy when sp happened to me for the first time, now I just try to stay calm and try to wake up my partner when it's happening. I do have questions tho, I would say about 98% of the time it happens I'm laying on my back. Is there any reason for this? And I also read a blog about someone worried about having a heart attack because of this. Is there any people that actually experienced a heart attack due to sp? Thanks for taking the time to read this. I look forward to hearing from you.
I've also noticed it happens when I sleep on my back....
Hey Jerry, I've also noticed that the majority of these episodes for me occur when I sleep on my back. When this happens, I usually feel like something is pushing down on my chest or stomach and I struggle to breath. This has made me think that perhaps I don't breath properly when sleeping on my back, so I try to avoid this position. I've noticed that it helps since I haven't had an episode for a while now. I hope I didnt just jinx myself and have a nightmare tonight! I will say, I find it difficult to believe it is a purely scientific condition. Usually when I have this happen, I can't tell if I'm awake or asleep because I can see everything perfectly well in my room or wherever I am sleeping. There is nothing out of place that would indicate it is a dream. I usually feel like this presence wants to take over me, and since I'm paralyzed and cant move or scream, I start praying. I do this because I feel like this thing can control my body but it can't control my mind. Praying helps me to partially wake up, I then have to fight to become fully conscious because if I don't, I fall back asleep and the nightmare will repeat itself. I've always been curious about these nightmares/health condition since I've never met anyone that has them, so I'm glad I found this page.
Able to see myself during the SP
Hi! I am suffering from the same disorder, just find out what it is.
Had the last episode today. Sometimes is exactly like you all describe it, and sometimes, I am literraly in a dream, bad ones ussualy, trying to wake up, and cannot. Or I dream that I woke up, and that I am standing up, or patially standing up in the bed, but in fact I am not, I am laying on my back, with my eyes open. This night was scarier because I woke up very very cold...
happens to me too...
Scares the hell out of me when i have my SP's, but now i know what i have thanks to this blog and would gladly share my episodes to make known i too have it.
I've had about 10 or maybe more episodes in my life and im 27 now. at first i didnt worry about it and thought its some kind of bad spirit or some alien encounters, every episode i pray though since its the only thing i could do. my episodes last about 5-10 minutes, and it usually happens when i wake up in the middle of the night. sometimes i felt cold and other times i feel like someone is touching my back and yes it was coupled with whimpering since it really freaks me out and wanted to shout but couldnt.one episode i was just looking at my ceiling and after my paralysis i look around and feels like something has changed like the shadows on my ceiling didnt look like that when i was paralyzed.my most recent paralysis happend today and started to research and voila sleep paralysis came up, i was really sleepy and started to sleep sideways then wham! i felt some gravitational pull from my whole body, i didnt feel the weight over me i just felt my whole body was pulled by gravity, now remember i was sleeping sideways and the moment it happend "i think i saw" myself get deeper on my bed because of the pull by gravity. (well, at the time it happend i was really sure i got deeper on my bed but now im not sure) at that time prayed the our father and "angel of God" like I was ready to die, after a few seconds i can move again.
Omg I have had the same
Omg I have had the same experiences like someone heavy is sitting on me and a strange tingly sensation of a gradational force weighs me down. The last time it happened to me I was 19 so that's 1 year ago. My mom always told me to pray and not be afraid but as it happens for about 5 minutes I'm so terrified. I'm glad there's an explanation other than evil spirits. Once I was sleeping and I heard an unfamiliar male voice call my name so I opened my eyes and a dark figure was floating above ne and it screamed in a high pitch scream when I opened my eyes so I quickly shut them and prayed to my father to protect me. What is mind boggling is that I don't feel like when it happens to me that I'm ever dreaming I feel as if it all happens while I lay awake in my bed...what about you?
13 at SP
When my first SP caused i dream that i was possessed or something but its really not.i was trying to wake up my partner but i cant talk,and i could moved half of my body,somehow when i touch my partner i just return back to my self i was still in SP
Mitchel Henderson response- READ this, may answer ur question
What Are the Symptoms of Narcolepsy?
Symptoms of narcolepsy include:
Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS): In general, EDS interferes with normal activities on a daily basis, whether or not a person with narcolepsy has sufficient sleep at night. People with EDS report mental cloudiness, a lack of energy and concentration, memory lapses, a depressed mood, and/or extreme exhaustion.
Cataplexy: This symptom consists of a sudden loss of muscle tone that leads to feelings of weakness and a loss of voluntary muscle control. It can cause symptoms ranging from slurred speech to total body collapse depending on the muscles involved and is often triggered by intense emotion, for example surprise, laughter, or anger.
Hallucinations: Usually, these delusional experiences are vivid and frequently they are frightening. The content is primarily visual, but any of the other senses can be involved. These are called hypnagogic hallucinations when accompanying sleep onset and hypnopompic hallucinations when occurring during awakening.
Sleep paralysis: This symptom involves the temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up. These episodes are generally brief lasting a few seconds to several minutes. After episodes end, people rapidly recover their full capacity to move and speak.
Sleep Paralysis
This seems to happen to me much more often when I overheat in bed. I have to be careful of that. Also, I know it's happening when it's happening, but I can't stop that awful rise of panic. In my awakening state, I always think that I will eventually have a heart attack, even if that means thirty years from now when I'm in my seventies having one of these attacks. "How can I NOT die from this kind of stress?", I think to myself.
I've only had this happen to
I've only had this happen to me about 5 times, but none of them had an "evil figure" or ghost in them. Mine only had me being able to see, but I had like a tunnel vision. I could only see what I was looking at directly, I also felt as if the room was trembling. I usually can just move my eyes, but just recently(I had one last night) I was able to move my finger-tips a little. What I normally do to get out of SP is just try to move as much as possible and then eventually I "break" out of it. My most recent one felt longer than usual though. I sleep with my cat so I feel perfectly safe when in SP, cause I can feel him sleeping by my legs still. Another thing that is strange though is that sometimes I can actually cause myself to go into SP, weird huh? It happened when I was like 13 (I'm 18 now) I had just seen something on the discovery channel about Sleep Paralysis and I really wanted to expirience it, so I tried different sleeping things where I would start to doze off and right when I hit deep sleep I would quickly awaken myself, and bingo... I was in SP. It freaked me out. I don't do it anymore but I still get it. Sometimes I will go into SP, and then fall to sleep and wake back up in SP all in the same night. BTW I usually only get sleep paralysis right after watching alien stuff or ghost stuff but none appear in my hallucinations. Hope that helps.
Just some advice stay calm and just break out of it.
Sp just happen to me again
It's happen to me be 4 it use to happen to me whne i was a bout 10 it was very veru scary at first and i hadn't had forever i just turned 14 and it happen to me about 30mins ago i dont see"dark figues" in the back ground i just see the room I'm in and what ever sounds thats going on but i think it only happens to me when i sleep in a weird postion or with the tv on or when i dont get alot of sleep then a dift in to sleep then maybe it seems like seconds in me sleeping i try to get up then boom sp happens i try to move me hand to my face just to touch it not move it nothing then as soon as i get close to my face i wake up my heart rate is fast and my arms and legs are very tired and im breathing heavly........word to all the people out there idk if it hurts you idk if it kills you but i had it alot and im prefectly fine just relax whne it happens you will pull out of it
SP ......
I have had SP episodes since I was about 16 or 17 and noticed they usually come at a time time of stress or anxiety. (Exam worries etc). Having a greater understanding of what actually is happening and being aware that they will happen and that I will awake unharmed eventually has helped. However, this has taken some time and can be extremely frightening during the episode. Trying to relax and breath deeper has helped but not always. Now an adult of 37, they still happen and I'm usually woken up by my partner who thankfully is aware - the only sound I can produce is whimpering like a dog while I try to shout and kick out. I usually feel like I've lost complete control and physically spin or am spun by another force and feel dizzy. After waking up I often realise that I have fallen asleep with my arm under my body or pillow and it has gone numb - probably therefore something to do with the circulation of blood. Anyway - hopefully by the time you have found this blog and the comments made by others, you will feel less frightened and be able to control the symptoms. I have no doubt there is nothing spiritual or religious, but is a completely physio - psychological phenomenon, but if praying helps, as some of you have said, then go for it.
SP
Thank you very much for the post. The comments also helped a bunch too.
I WAS PREGNANT WITH SP DREAMS!
I never had them until I was in my third trimester with my 1st child. First, it started as a tingling sensation like if your foot fell asleep but all over my body. It got really hot and I was paralyzed. I could still see everything that was still going on in my room so I knew I was half awake. Then as time passed, I would hear a voice. It was so unnatural and something evil about it, but everytime I woke, I'd forget what it was telling me. So terrified of the dreams, that everytime I'd feel paralyzed I'll say the Lord's Prayer. Whatever it was, the voice would get louder and louder like if it was trying to interupt me. The sensation would get more fierce as well. I'd picture myself leaping and trying to move to wake myself up. I'd ask my boyfriend that anytime he saw me possibly tossing and turning or whimpering to please wake me up. I wouldn't sleep in fact I dreaded it. Worried, being pregnant and all, I went to see my priest and he blessed me. They went away until after I had my daughter...then they came back. This time I remember more clearly what happened. I did my routine of saying the Lord's Prayer and "it" said Jesus don't love me. I argued with it saying yes He does, that I'm a good person, and leave me alone. I jolted up and started crying. I should mention that during this time, I had a rocky relationship with my boyfriend. Something about him wasn't right. After we had split up, the SP dreams went away too. I'm glad to say they have stopped since. I am relieved to know I was not alone in this!!!
Sleep Paralyzed!!
"You know that feeling you have when you're asleep but not asleep? You cant move, you cant talk..."
I'd always tell me mom that every morning, usually the days after I have had an experience. Today, Thanks to this Blog or what ever this is (I honestly dont know, I googled "I sleep, I cant move and can see everything" Haha..) I'll finally be able to tell my mom what happens to me when I fall asleep. Thank you !! ((Im only fourteen))
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One night, I was just drifting off to sleep. --I usually sleep on my stomach or on my side-- And I start to feel paralyzed... - this usually happens once a month for me.. so far..- I usually never feel it until I decide to sit up to get a drink of water, or roll over to get comfy, but once I realize I cant, I totally freak out!! I try to scream! I try to sit up and just run out of bed!! I occasionlly feel people sit on the foot of my bed. once I saw a man, just standing by my door, staring at me, sometimes he moves around the room until I am unable to see him because I cant turn my neck to look the way he went. It freaks me out so much!! OH MY GOD!! IS SOMEONE GOING TO KILL ME TONIGHT!! I often think someone has drugged me. Another time, I saw something in black, just floating above my bed, I am unable to see its face. (when I used to see this, I was thirteen and usually kept the lights on... I dont now..) Even though the lights were on, the room looked dark. I could hear voices... another time, I was just laying in my bed at night, nowhere close to sleep. when I swear to god my blood stopped pumping through my veins. I instantly couldn't move, For some reason, the first thing that came to my mind, was having sand in my veins.. I dont know why I thought of that, but I did.. It took me ten minutes to get out of that sleep paralysis.
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I am glad I got to post some of my encounters with Sleep Paralysis! Some of you, may think my experiences are bogus, or are weirder than your encounters so assume im a fake. thankfully, your oppinions dont matter to me. Im just glad I got let out my experiences.. I could never talk to my mom about them, they'd freak her out, about ghosts and such. and I do not, want to move anymore..
Thank you!!
Good Night !!
and I am glad that others have mentioned sand, Im not just going psychotic..
Spiritual Help For Sleep Paralysis
I am an outreach minister, and I would love to offer to speak with anyone suffering from SP. I am confident that through spiritual counseling and guidance I can help anyone overcome these attacks.
I first experienced SP in my 20s. This is not a battle that cannot be won.
www.myspace.com/cherylfritz
Hi can i ask when you say the
Hi can i ask when you say the battle cannot be won? I have the most beautifull thing over me but one night and one night only bad a dark one over me.
many thanks john
Hi John, In my post, I didn't
Hi John,
In my post, I didn't say that the battle cannot be won. What it actually said was, "This is NOT a battle that cannot be won." In other words, victory is attainable.
Here's what comes to my mind in regard to your post. You said that one night you had a "beautiful thing" over you, but another night you had a "bad thing."
The Bible teaches that satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. The beautiful thing that you saw may have been angelic, but then again, it may have been demonic and simply masquerading as an angel of light.
I would love to speak with you further on the matter.
SP or something else
I've been experiencing these episodes for two years now. It started happening when I became religious, after a long past of denying God. I wake up from a dead sleep and see shadow figures beside or at the foot of my bed. I'm able to move, but usually to scared to do anything but bury my head in my pillow or tell it to leave me alone or ask God for assistance. One night I saw what I would describe as black vine type shadows hovering over my boyfriends body who was sound asleep next to me. I blew this off as sleep paralysis for awhile, but one night after having a shadow appear I was terrified so I went to go wake my mother up so she could pray with me. I was walking up the stairs it was around 3am and I noticed my mom's bedroom light was on, which is very unlikely. I was almost to the top stair and the light went off. The switch was set to off this is when I began to think this is not something explainable, it had to be super natural or something of that matter. My little brother also deems to be SP. One night my brother was going to get a late night snack after what he described to be a horrifying dream, he was on his way up this stairs and my mothers light was on, it went off before he reached her room, the switch was off. Something tells me that whatever it is, it wants to be known.
Re: sp or something else
My name is Kym. I've posted a lot on here. You are not alone. There was a time when I denounced God. I just got my faith back. Before getting it back I encountered horrific sp episodes. So far I have no experienced any as of now.
I know some people will scream at me for putting God into this.. But you have to ask yourself why does it stop when you call for Jesus?
Recite the 23rd psalm
Jesus helps, SERIOUSLY, if you don't believe me try it next time
Yes, when i called on the name of Jesus the second time it happend, it stopped almost instantly.
The first time it happend i had a dream where i was watching tele, there was a guy who was on the run (i was watching a show similiar to Crimewatch) and they showed what he looked like with a beard then without one. Then there was a picture of the guy in a boat, his pupils were FULLY dilated. I then tried to get up from my dream but i couldn't move, i was sleeping on my back, then i tried to scream that didn't work, somehow i broke out after about 10 seconds of this and i ran to my mums room crying. I could feel the relief in my back from where i tried to push this thing of me, my mum told me it happens alot and that it is a spirit, i thought it was, but no I AM POSITIVE IT WAS a;
The second time it happened was the other day i was sleeping on my side, i was in a dream and i felt something on my shoulder, it felt like a small animal and i waited for it to get real close so i was smack it away, i tried to smack it but i could not move, i immediately knew what was happening and i tried to call my mum BAM my voice had gone, so i said again and again "jesus save me, jesus save me, i bind you spirit in the name of jesus", the spirit left withing 3 seconds and i leaped out my bed again feeling the relief of where i was trying to push it off this time with my arm, i told my mum what had happend, i went back into my mum reassured that jesus would save me next time it happend, i've read some comments on here and it appears people have had it WAY worse than me. Call on the name of Jesus even if you are not a christian and i promise he will save you.
Jesus helps during sleep paralysis!
I agree with you, that Jesus does help. The first time I ever experienced sp, I woke up from a dream and suddenly was awake in my bed, and the shadows looked strange, I heard something crawling around my room then stop when it got to my bed, then heard something flying, it then seemed as if I was floating up and I was inline with my ceiling fan, then back in bed, then flew toward my door, I was paralyzed, when I would close my eyes I would hear a very loud ringing in my head and feel as if I was flipping in my bed, so I had to open my eyes, once I seen a mans face supended on my wall, objects hovering over me, then a large black shadow moving toward me. I would try to scream for my mom, but my mouth would open, but I could not close it! As if someone was holding my mouth open...I kept praying "Jesus help me, Jesus help me!!" Then it would go away. I experienced these crazy situations about 4 times, BUT never experienced these outside of that one bedroom, not before, or in another room in the same house, or anywhere after I moved out of that house/room. If this is all sp, then how come most of us see ghostly figures, and pray? Ive had dreams that were much scarier, and never prayed, but these were terrifying, which you all already know.
I've usually found that SP
I've usually found that SP happens to me when I am going through a stressful and scary time. These wierd events are accompanied by some presence either pressing itself against me or in the case of what happened last night, pushing me off the bed. In my mind, I saw the storage crate right next to bed and how it was looming up towards my face. It was then I realized I was being pushed off the bed. In a way, I was relieved because I thought in my half-awake mind that if I fall, surely I will wake up and be released from whatever it was that had taken over my body. And eventually I did. Before, when SP first happens, I don't get scared. I get ANGRY. I start yelling and cussing up a storm - telling whoever or whatever it is to "Go Away!" "Leave me alone!" Last night, I was angry but I remembered some breathing techniques so I just made myself calm down. I was able to wiggle my fingers and I felt them brush across my face. It's frusterating and I always wake up exhausted.
IM SO LOST
i have had this since i was 10 yrs old, im 28 now. im dominican in my country they are very obsessed with evil and witches etc. so my mom and dad thought i was under some witch spell or something and they made me get bibles all around my room, my house, i couldnd go outside and play, i couldnt get near my sister and i get locked in my room every nite so i wouldnt hurt anybody. (well at least in my parents eyes) and i got an exorcism 3 times and believe me thats not pretty, i mean i was so frustrated with this happening i even thought of killing myself thinkin i was somewhat hunted, up until 2 years ago i started reading up on it and im sort of relieved that its sleep paralysis, except that now even when i am awake i feel a presence i cant be alone, i cant breathe and i cant move, i lost my family over this and, at one point and time i felt this thing hold me so tight i thought i was going to die, when i finally got a chance to move and run i just ran out of the house so fast and praying, in so much panic that i completely forgot my kids were in there sleep, still to this day it hurts me so bad and i just dont know what to do, doctors tell me its just sleep paralysis well unless you go through something like this its hard to understand and i want this to go away so bad yet nothing has helped. i dont know what else to do anymore, i been through so much over this damn disorder that i feel for anyone out there that is going through it, i get it almost everyday, i feel it when im awake, cant even be alone, terrified of falling asleep, cant concentrate, i know its a sleep disorder but cant help been so scared of the torture of not only the sleep part but the awake as well, it feels good to know im not the only one with this problem. i was terrified of telling anyone thinking they will think im crazy. now i know i have something to fall back on when i feel empty and scared, this blog. thank you guys.
I think i know what you have Ruth!
Hello Ruth,
I just happened on this site by accident and i couldn't resist reading some of the posts. As i read about your experience it's like you were describing my own. Except that all the symptoms you describe and a lot of the ones that other people posted are identical to the symptoms i have grappled with since i was a teenager. I am now 52 years old and i have been diagnosed by a sleep specialist aka a neurologist more than 15 years ago.
I have EDS (Excessive Daytime Sleepiness) which is Narcolepsy. Some of the symptoms of Narcolepsy are cataplexy, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations and restless leg syndrome. Ever since i was a teenager in Haiti, I could never get enough sleep. After sleeping for twelve hours, i still had difficulty waking up in the morning. And many times, someone would stop their car to pick me up and take me home after finding my address from my book bag in the street where i would fall, unable to move or speak even though i was conscious, hearing and seeing everything that was going on around me but completely paralyzed. Everybody believed that i was either possessed or under some sort of witch spell. After being diagnosed i started taking prescription drug that keeps me awake during the day and gave me back a life that i used to think was being wasted in too much sleep.
As far as the cataplexy is concerned, most people who have it get episodes every day if they laugh too hard or are very angry. Their episodes usually last less than one minute. For me what brings it on is a very bad stomach ache and i feel blessed because my episodes only come every couple years or so and can last up to 2 hours. At least now i know that i am not possessed and there is actually a scientific name for the condition.
As far as the dramatic dreams like the feeling of some dark figure hovering over the bed and dark clouds enveloping you or something sitting on your chest, all that sounds like hypnagogic hallucinations, like i said is another symptom of narcolepsy. Look up all these stuffs online and you will find more detailed explanations of narcolepsy with cataplexy.
I hope you will gain some insights after reading about my experience.
Good Luck!
can you please give me your
can you please give me your email address so i can email you directly
Narcolepsy with cataplexy
Hello Ruth,
You can email me at . It has been 12 years since i had a sleep study and i have one scheduled for next week at a Sleep Study Center along with a nap study. So i will be there from 9:00 PM to 5:00PM the next day. I have been so tired lately that the doctor wants to find out what's happening to me when i am sleeping at night and the next day i am supposed to take my meds like any other day. They want to see how fast i can fall asleep every two hours while taking my regular medication dosages. You can email me if you need to know more.
Hi Ruth, I'm not an expert on
Hi Ruth, I'm not an expert on sleep paralysis but I have it from time to time. Before I gave my life to Christ it was a crushing feeling on my Chest pushing me down down, but now when I have it it's a pulling feeling as though I am being pulled up, I still experience fear when it happens but when I call on the name of Jesus it simply stops. My advice is to sincerely pray about it and stop reading scientific stuff..it helps you understand but doesn't take the problem away. Give your life to Christ He truly is 'the' answer.
SP
hello everyone my name is Nathan and my experience with Sp has well over stayed its welcome i wake up laying on my back but i am not awake i am just laying there conscious and there is a black figure with a large hand 3 claw like fingers and a clawed thumb on my chest id say the figure is of male proportions and right over me i start to panic and call for help but i cant say a word but i can stare at the figure and the black face no eyes no features at all stares at me not saying a word at this point i get angry i don't like being held back by anyone or anything at this point i wake up angry and wanting to beat whatever was holding me down i am 18 and have had this happen to me in the past a couple of times in the last month iv had it happen 3 times knowing all this new info helps me out but i will have to have another one to see if i can control the outcome this time
thanks for reading and if you didn't that's OK too,Nathan B.
Just relax and focus on controlling your breath
Before I learned that the body paralyzes itself so that you don't act out your dreams physically, I found experiencing this phenomenon rather terrifying. Then I saw a clip with comedian Mike Birbiglia (he is excellent!) talking about his problem of sleepwalking where he mentioned that the body normally shuts down your physical control of it when you are dreaming. So then I figured out that was what was going on with me.
In any case, what I do is focus on taking control of my breathing and any small movements I can make--and that brings me out of it.
Good luck.
Just relax
I just had my 6th episode over the course of 2 years, the very firsr time I got one I had heard a voice asking me how I could live with myself, then boom! It hits me, I felt like some crushing pressure came over me and I couldn't move, what was extremely scary was that I felt like I couldn't breath, I was scared to death when I woke up, and I have had a few more since then. I found that the harder I struggled the more fearful I became, but when I accept the pressure flooding over it passes much more quickly, its hard to do this but tell yourself to relax, you feel like your not breathing but your body actually is just very little. Try not to will your body to move because at least with me that made it worse. Instead get your emotions under control, I still feel overwhelmd but I keep telling myself to relax, then the pressure lifts just enough for me to move, when I snap out of it I don't feel out of breath nor does my heard pound...its all how you control your emotions. Today was different because I heard a different voice and during the emotion I felt this looming shadow behind me, and I heard a swing set. Amongst all of this though I remained calm and it eventually passed. Hope this helps, God bless
Sp
Hello im not sure if people are still reading these but i have had a few experiences myself,
The strangest one was not so negative.
I was asleep in bed lying on my back when i suddendly awoke, I was looking at the ceiling and instead of the usuall black shadows I saw a white misty blob, constantly shifting shape, its hard to explain but it had faces in it that apeared and disapeared and instead of fear and dread I felt extreme calm an it was the most wonderfull thing ever! it spoke to me also but inside my head.I tried to wave my arms at it to brush the mist away but it felt as if I had slow reactions (i was not truly paralysed but felt like super slow motion) it didn't even move, it did go away though and i was just left wide awake looking up at the ceiling totally calm.
Unfortunatly i have had the bad experiences also, but only after i started to read Gods word and asking for proof in parayer that He exists! I will not do this again!
Calling Jesus's name is the only thing that helps me so thats what i do and the whole thing stops.
Thanks for reading this,I just would like to let people know its not all bad , because with evil there must be good :)
SP Incidents
So, been reading a lot about SP and its certain effects. Felt it would be good to share mine. I had an episode about an hour and half ago, haven't gone back to sleep, because I still have some adrenaline going. I've been having these episodes for years, but been having them regularly since I was finally relieved of pain medication about 7 months ago. I had 4 back surgeries in 4 years. So, pain killers was part of my daily regimen for almost 4 years till 7 months ago. I had a few episodes of hallucinations, due to not taking my pain killers and dropping them completely without tapering. I would recommend never doing that cause those hallucinations can become very intense. After figuring out that, I never really did that again.
Since, the age of 19 (I'm 23 now) these episodes have been happening. The first few incidents or episodes, I feel almost every time a presence it can change on whichever side of the room. Only 3 times have I seen a shadow and it was moving above my bed or next to it. It never makes voices really only once I heard a dark demonic voice. It said " I am now done with you", the shadow then rushed me I woke and yelled. Most of my episodes happen when I'm laying on my stomach, or side usually. The rest have been where I feel pressure building on my body completely and I can't move anything regardless of how much I try, I always wake with adrenaline mostly fear, but anger too. I feel like I yell, but nothing ever comes out and no one ever checks on me after wards. My ex told me when I came out of an episode my eyes would open quickly and completely built with fear. the reason i did was because I thought she was the presence, but of course over time knew it wasn't her. I've finally gained a sort of empowerment in the last few episodes and usually wake because of the sense of calmness and empowerment. But, it happens to me in the place that I am sleeping that night and only happens maybe once or twice a month. The have had 2 incidents in 2 different houses and one I've never been too before.
1st experience: I was at my cousins girls parents house, was just house sitting. I went to bed in one of the rooms, and about 2 hours after falling asleep, the episode arrived. And what I mean by that is that when its starts I feel a dark presence coming over me and I know it has started, it takes me a few seconds to realize its coming and the fear starts to build. So, I was looking around and felt two big pressure points on my shoulder blades and all I could hear was growling. And the pressure built, and it felt like I was being pulled into the bed almost with the pressure points actually feeling like I was grabbed hard by someone. This happened honestly in only... felt like a minute or two and all I can hear is the growling and pressure getting more and more intense.
I finally just had enough and almost went into a state of empowerment, and envisioned myself turning around and grabbing this thing by the throat if it was a demon/ghost/evilspirit or whatever. As soon as I gained enough strength and I'm about to do this I wake up. The freaky part is after I wake, I can still feel the after effects, because it took so much strength my muscles in my arms felt fatigued as well as those pressured points felt hot and like someone hit me with a bat in those spots (they do go away about 15 mins after I wake up). I didn't sleep the rest of that night. I've been getting this empowerment in these situations and since then haven't been as frightening as the first few times, but still are completely intense. I usually can't sleep the rest of that night cause after wards my heart is beating fast and feel like I was just about to fight. So, my mentality when I'm wake up is I'm about to throw down with whatever is there and everytime nothing, but the emotions and adrenaline are there.
2nd incident: I went to bed again about 2 hours later, I feel something in my room. I open my eyes see a dark figure next to my bed this time I heard a name, but not clearly enough to understand exactly what it was. Then I lost sight of it I'm looking around my room. All of sudden I feel like I'm being pulled towards the foot of my bed. It not my leg or anything, but almost like my whole body was being sucked towards it. Fear started to build then I felt a calmness and just let it happen, then as soon as I relaxed all of sudden I felt something come over me and almost straddling my rib cage (I was lying on my side) breathing was hard at that moment. And all I could hear was humming of a women, so I thought. I then had the envision of taking my right arm and grabbing it, whatever it was by the throat again. So, I just let the episode happen started to gain strength and again right before I feel I'm able to do that I wake up. Again after waking my heart is beating, adrenaline running, sweating slightly and shallow breathing. I look around of course I lift my head and see nothing in my room. I tried going back to sleep, but couldn't. I finally just got on here and felt like sharing my episodes maybe someone can do the same.
I feel like this will help those that just started having SP happen. Remember, I know its hard at first but realize this is most likely nothing regardless of how real it feels. If your not a very faith driven person, as I am. If the god thing isn't comfortable enough with you. Try being as calm as possible. Slowly gain strength don't fight it at first look at it as a defense mechanism. Then envision you facing whatever it is you see or feel, and grabbing it and confronting it. Trust me this maybe scary at first, but overcome that and just gain the courage to do it. Trust me you may feel hopeless, but your not. Everyone is strong no matter what the odds feel are against them. I don't want to discount the people with faith, those may be better choices then mine. I just know what works for me and it can work for others too.
I hope you all the best, and remember if you need help just reply to my comment and I'll try to be in touch. Just take my story as is, and remember your strong and you'll be fine.
My experiences are so similar
My experiences are so similar to yours its crazy. I've woken up partialy paralized probably 75+ times now. Usualy around 3am or just after. On several occasions i woke up to like a growling or groaning sound, angry voices that i cant usualy understand, or sometimes unexplained humming noise like u said (somtimes more high pitched then other times),and even screaming. The ones that really bothered me were where i woke up to feeling a presence over me, and then felt somthing tightly grab me by the ankles and try to pull me out of my bed, or a few times I have been very violently shaken in my bed. I've been reading on this alot, and most of the times this has occured to me i believe can be explained logicaly, but on two of the occasions where i feel like somthing is dragging me out of bed, I have actualy woken up towards the end of my bed. Now if all of these "logical explanations" are telling me I'm supposed to be paralized while this is happening, how and I moving in my bed? This has also never happened to me while sleeping next to my girlfriend, only when I'm alone in my room
Here is a answer to your question
In some extreme cases, this can be paranormal but logical answers are your best bet. I have thought this through for awhile now. I honestly believe that my case is that of SP and nothing paranormal. It only does it when, I'm stressed about school/work/personal reasons, w/e the case may be. But, since this happens only when your alone, maybe logical answers cant explain whats happening to yourself. If it is paranormal just confront it, you need to be strong you can't show any fear. These malevolent spirits/beings will feed off of it. You need to stand up and yell stop after an episode or even while its happening you need to show no fear. You may be afraid at first, but believe me they can't hurt you completely. Find some kind of inner strength, I am truly sorry this is happening to you. If you need any help, I can help you as much as I can over the internet. A friend and I are starting our own paranormal group. If you feel you need help please let me know, and we will try and help you as much as we can. Our group is still in the beginning stages, but we can help with any support you deem necessary.
Being pulled
Perhaps I can count on one hand how many times I've had an experience like this - specifically VERY much like yours. Up until I read your original entry, I thought that no one's experience was like mine - similar in nature, yes - like the obvious paralysis and an "evil presence" but I don't recall there being any difficulty breathing. I had an experience last night and at least one other time years ago that I can recall.
Last night there were certain things that I think played a part in my experience: I live in the country so there are times that the house loses electricity. When in returns, certain alarsm go off to indicate that there was a power outage. At about 3am, power came back - I don't recall hearing this alarm or such, but I'm guessing my brain heard it while I was still asleep and from the slight trauma, my body hit SP mode.
My experience: At first I was just floating above the bed, then I felt like I was being pulled toward the foot of my bed. I didn't actually feel any hands or points of pressure but I could actually hear the sound of my covers sliding against the bed. This I had dremt before. But it was when this same force that was holding me, slowly turned me so that I was then perpendicular to the bed and then proceeded to move me back and forth against the side of my bed. I recall feeling my covered feet move against the wooden side of the bed. I couldn't see anyone in the room - my eyes being open, but I could only the room from my point of view such as my door and the angle at which everything had shifted seemed accurate. This was going on for about a couple of minutes as I fought utter panic but eventually I got fed up from fear and screamed to be let go - I woke up with start, screaming in my dream; I know that nothing actually came out of my throat. Because of my position I had exepected to fall down next to my bed, but when I came to, I was lying on my back, in the position I had fallen asleep. I threw the covers over my head, got into a fetal position and managed somehow, by some miracle to fall back asleep.
The last time I recall having this type of experience before last night was in my mid teens (I'm 31 now)...the experience was similar in that I was being pulled to the foot of my bed, but then I had heard a sinister chuckle when I asked it who or what it was. I did wake up lower on the bed then, but I gathered that maybe my subconsious compensated because it knew where my body was positioned.
Nonetheless, both these times I woke up terrified.
I'm really not sure what to make of this. All my life I was raised agnostic - but it felt so evil. What's the most disconcerting about all of this is that yesterday, we got a visit from a Jehova's Witness trying to tell us the end was near. We had an interesting debate about religion and then he left on amiable terms. I gather there's a scientific explanation to everything, but maybe there more than one picture available, not either this or that. Why does Science need to rule out any kind of paranormal and/or spiritual?
Thank you to all who posted. I'm glad this site exists!
G.
i belive your spirit was
i belive your spirit was going to the other side but your mind was still in your body when you relized you were still there you pulled your self back.
Wow, I have had an expereince
Wow, I have had an expereince that is so similar, although when I let go and gave into the sucking feeling, when I relaxed and let it come over me, I heard a "stay away!" yelling which sounded like it came from somewhere very ominous. I instantly sprang out of bed and out of the paralysis, with sweat and my heart pouding like I had just ran a marathon and I was very shaken. I have had experiences like this before but i always resist and it is fine. But if i let go it gets very scary and it just seems like its natural to resist so i do.
wow,i didnt know so many of
wow,i didnt know so many of us were experiencing the same things,im glad im not alone!!! i have had this going on for as long as i can remember!! one of my scariest times-i was living with a friend an had my own room,one night i was sleeping i felt a hand going up my leg,i could even feel the weight of it,i tried to wake up but couldnt,i was parilised i felt like i was strapped down,i could feel straps going accross my feet,my waist an my arms were close to my body strapped, i tried to yell but couldnt!i still feel the hand by my feet going up my leg,then i see a glowing hand go right in front of my face,i was so scared at this point,but still couldnt do anything!!!i then seen a glowing orangish face by my feet then by my waist,i finally woke up,an could not go back to sleep!! i have these almost every night!! i am so sick of them,an it does make you not want to go to sleep!!i had one last night i felt a cable cord around my neck,an then i went to scream an it was like i froze i couldnt breath,an i really dont think i was,i woke up gasping for air!!it also scares me that this might actually kill me,i wake up at all times of the night,an some times more than 3 times a night! i feel evil presences all the time,i see things,an feel things its scarry,like i said i have had this experiece every since i was a little girl i am 24 now.i dont know what causes this i really dont know what to call it!i have read some of the replies from the scienctist but i really dont know if i agree belive me i want to but some of the things i see,hear,an feel are so real to me,i really feel an evil presence does this to me!!
omg i have these almost every
omg i have these almost every night too! its so creepy its been going on for years now. i have so many stories i would like to share if you don't mind contact me at iheartprincessj@yahoo.com
sp
Does anyone know if sp is linked with astral projection because i used to have both but luckily not frequent. Also never had sp after i have had alcohol. Not sugesting that we all start drinking but just my observation. I had people trying to strangle me heard noises then i came across you tube video .how to induce an out of body experience part one and two.
sleep paralysis
Hi an Ashley Williams. I have been have experience sometime now. For the last four years this has been happing to me. The 1st time I was so scared I didnt know what was going on really.It was like something out of a horror movie. my heart pound fast my eyes was seeing things, I would try to yell for my grandma but I made no sound. I wanted to run out of my room but I could'nt didnt matter how hard I tried I could'nt. then two years ago I had it 5 time in a month time. So I called my Doctor to find out what they think it was. She told me that it is a spell. Because they too didnt know what was going on really. Till today I still have it. But now I live on my own am worry about a fire and someone breaking in and I cant move or do anything else and i wont be able to keep my baby safe. I come back in look at the sites too see if anything has change about this.