Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!
Sleep Paralysis: Awake But Still Asleep
Biology 202
2000 First Web Report
On Serendip
Sleep Paralysis: Awake But Still Asleep
Hiro Takahashi
A person may wake up and find himself unable to move or speak as if he is frozen. He also may hear footsteps, see a ghost-like creature, or feel someone sitting on his chest. Throughout the history, people considered this phenomenon as work done by evil spirits. However, the modern science can explain the terrifying event as a Sleep Paralysis.
A Sleep Paralysis is possibly a hereditary disorder in which one experiences very frightening seconds or minutes of total body paralysis with little respiration and eye movements (1). A victim in this state feels awake, but he cannot move or speak (2). In addition to the immobility, the common symptoms include feeling choked or suffocated, hearing strange noises like footsteps and voices, seeing beings or dark shadows, and feeling an existance of someone in the room (1). Although these symptoms often direct the victims to believe in ghosts, mistransmission of neural signals in the brain causes Sleep Paralysis. When a person sleeps, his brain sends signals to inhibit any muscle contraction (3). If he comes into consciousness before the brain sends signals to activate muscle contraction, he cannot move his body, and consequently, become "paralyzed"(2).
In order to understand how a body becomes paralyzed while the person is awake, it is necessary to understand sleep cycles. In a mammalian sleep, the brain activity undergoes two different states called non-REM (NREM) sleep and REM sleep, which differ very much from wakefulness (3). NREM and REM sleep alternate cyclically through the night; in human, about 80 minutes of NREM sleep starts a night of sleep, about 10 minutes of REM sleep follows, and this 90 minute cycle is repeated about 3 to 6 times during the night (3). During NREM sleep, a body produces few movement, but the body has capability of tossing about in bed and producing some other motor events, such as sleepwalking and sleeptalking (3). The cardiac-muscle contraction and breathing occur at a uniform rate, and the eyes move slowly (2). During REM sleep, on the other hand, heart rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure vary (3). The eyes move rapidly because most dreaming takes place in this period, and the sleeper probably "look" at the moving objects in a dream (2).
The brain's control over muscles during REM sleep points out that in this period, a body is normally in the state of total paralysis, called a "nonreciprocal flaccid paralysis" (3). Probably to prevent a person from "acting out" a dream, the brain sends signals to inhibit any muscle contractions (2). Although some peripheral muscles, such as the muscles of the fingers and face, still twitch, the large skeletal muscles become relaxed, or "paralyzed" as a result (3). Some evidence supports that the motor paralysis of REM sleep protect against the acting out of one's dreams. A patient who suffers from rare syndrome called REM Sleep Behavior Disorder lacks the normal nonreciprocal flaccid paralysis, and he acts out violent dreams during REM sleep, often with injurious consequences (4). For example, a 60-year-old surgeon dreamt that he was attacked "by criminals, terrorists, and monsters who always tried to kill [him]" and fighting against them in the nightmare, he was actually punching and kicking his wife who slept in the same bed (4).
A nonreciprocal flaccid paralysis during REM sleep is accomplished actively by postsynaptic inhibition of motorneurons (3). Although the exact process of motor inhibition is not clear, some neurotransmitters and hormones are known to generate the many components of REM sleep. Aministering physostigmine, an inhibitor of the catabolic enzyme, increases the concentration of acetylcholine within the neurons in the pons, making it possible to artificially generate and start REM sleep in the middle of NREM sleep (3). Carbachol, the cholinergic agonist, produces a period of REM sleep in cat when directly injected into the pontine tegmentum (3). The hormone melatonin, a "master hormone" (5) that mainly controls circadian rhythms, also seems to play an important role in enhancing the REM state; the level of melatonin secretion by the pineal gland reaches its lowest during REM sleep (5). Such neurotransmitters and hormones probably activate or inhibit the activity of second messengers, which then activate or inhibit the third messengers, and so on till the last messenger inhibit the synaptic transmission or cause hyperpolarization of the motorneurons. And if, for some reason, the nervous or endocrine system continues to release the neural inhibitors, a person may experience Sleep Paralysis as he enters awakefully into or awakens directly from REM period (2).
While the modern neuroscience can describe the state of Sleep Paralysis as some errors of the neural transmission in the brain during REM sleep, a person who has seen or heard ghost-like figures/voices may easily believe that eveil spirits fully controlled his entire body. However, the images or noises, which the victim believes that he has seen or heard, are most likely hallucinations; and hallucinations, too, can result from the brain activity. In the 1960's, the Canadian neurologist W. Penfield introduced that electrical stimulation of the temporal lobe can cause the auditory hallucinations in the wake state (5). The buzzing or ringing sounds in the ears and other auditory hallucinations are closely associated with the activity of the auditory cortex and involves the temporal lobe (5). During the early period of sleep paralysis, the activity of the temporal lobe increases significantly, sometimes inducing hallucinatory sense (5). Similarly, the visual cortex generates internal visual stimuli, causing the victim to "see" terrifying figures during the paralysis (5).
How an episode of Sleep Paralysis induces visual or auditory hallucinations is still not clear, but it seems to have a significant relationship with anxiety (5). For anxiety is a neurocognitive event closely related to both psychological and physical processes, the extreme anxiety or panic may cause the release of several different signal molecules that trigger all kinds of physical events (5). A person experiencing Sleep Paralysis feels mortal fear or extreme panic, and hence, the brain generates and releases internal visual or auditory stimuli, producing hallucinations.
Also, hallucinations during Sleep Paralysis may happen, for one keeps dreaming even after some parts of his brain wakes up directly from REM sleep. Since the nervous and endocrine systems continue to release the neural inhibitors which sustain the paralysis, it may be possible that those systems keep releasing the neural activators that stimulate dreaming. Thus, a person continues to "see" the images and "hear" the noises produced in the dream that he has just had in REM sleep from which he has awaken.
Understanding more neural concepts of Sleep Paralysis, some researchers now hypothesize that a very rare condition called Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome (SUNDS) may closely relate to Sleep Paralysis (1). Upon the death, a SUNDS victim produces no body movement even though he experiences a myocardial infarction and strong breathing difficulties and should straggle in agony (5). The death may be caused by the extreme muscle atonia during Sleep Paralysis, which is so severe that even the cardiac muscles and the diaghragm paralyze (5).
Until I started researching on this subject, I have believed that the total paralysis of a body is due to an evil taking absolute control over the body. However, the interactions between neurons in the brain can explain this seemingly mysterious phenomenon in a scientific way. Although the explanation is not complete yet, for there are many unclear processes about Sleep Paralysis, the current hypothesis appears to reject the possibility of ghosts on this matter. Of course, it is impossible to completely disprove the existence of "spirits", "minds", or "God" affecting one's behavior. Nevertheless, like Sleep Paralysis and SUNDS, many or the mysterious conditions and behaviors which are only explained in supernatural terms probably result from brain.
WWW Sources
1)The Evil's of Sleep Paralysis
4)REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: A Neurologic Dissociative Sleep Disorder
5)Recurrent Isolated Sleep Paralysis
Comments made prior to 2007
I have been trying to figure out what was going on in my sleep untill i read this.Now i am happy to know what my body was expeiencing. It's quite scary your first couple experiences of sleep paralysis but now i'm gonna stay calm when it is happening to me and try to get my own understanding of the experience ... Jeremy, 21 March 2006
I have had sleep paralyisis at least once per month for the last 8 years. I am 29 as of this writing. I just had the experience about 1 hour ago and thus has caused me to do reasearch about it on the net. I noticed that many Dr.'s contribute this to anxiety, stress and other factors. My question is ... why is there always an evil presence in that concious yet body is still asleep phase? Today I heard a loud static sound, and opened my eyes to a spider crawling all over my arm. When I prayed to God, or said His name (Jehovah) the spider would start to disappear. I finally went thru my mental prayer when I awoke. This leads me to believe that it is more of a spiritual occurence, because I never have positive images while in this paralized state. I know there are many things in which our ancestors thought it was demonic rather than scientific, only to find there was a scientific explanation. However, I think this is different and cannot be simply written off as "scientific". There is not enough proof to show that it is scientific.
About a month ago I had another episode of sleep paralysis and I saw a small presence in the room with me. It was dark, and I could not see it's face (I am getting chills typing about it right now). My question is, why is there always an evil presence not only associated with my episodes, but so many others I have read about? ... Abel, 24 August 2006
i was thinking it is evil who do that during night but now i find out why. I am suffering from sleep paralyze possibly every nigh spicily when i have dinar ... Salah Nasser, 28 January 2007
I used to have this sleeping disorder when I was a child. It has come back once or twice with adulthood, but otherwise, it is in the past. I used to, with great effort, move my hand to my face and pull an eye open, which would wake me up, but sometimes the struggle was too much and I would go on into a deeper sleep.
Since the brain can do this to me, can it also cause me to get migraines just as I am about to wake up?
It seems, as I have discovered, if I get less than 4 hours sleep a night, I do not get migraines. If I get 6 hours or more, it's about a 90% chance I will wake with a migraine. Later in the day, I get an hour or two nap and that is the routine as it works. Doctors just sort of treat the migraine and don't get into the sleep thing I have. I take MaxAult for the migraines when they do get me.
I woke one time, and just as I woke, I felt this white-hot needle going into my head... bingo. A migraine in 5 seconds. That is how they can occur. I wake with them otherwise. I figure it my brain doing things it shouldn't. I have a clean bill of health otherwise.
Thanks for your time. Have a good day ... Jay, 11 February 2007
I have a question, and hope someone out there has an answer, it has been months and I have thus far failed to find one. Has there ever been a record of anyone receiving the effects of sleep paralysis without having been asleep? The reason I ask this, is a while ago, having not slept in a few hours, I was sitting at my computer, and it seemed to have happened to me. Within seconds I was too tired to hold up my own head, and my breathing got very difficult. Then I began to feel a sort of dizziness as my limbs lost feeling, and dropped to my side. after this, the dizziness turned to near blindness. I could see, but nothing would focus, and everything I tried to look at seemed to dart around like a mosquito. By this time I had no feeling in my entire body, could move nothing without quite a bit of concentration, and I could barely breath. My mother heard me try and make out some kind of cry for help, and found me there spilled into my computer chair. She rolled me to my bed, and poured me into it. Within about 10-15 minutes I had regained everything I once had, but my sea legs did not ware off for another ten or so minutes. I went to the emergency soon after. I had an E.K.G. and a C.A.T. scan, with no results, and I piss less in a week then the amount of blood they took that night. After basically telling me I was lying, the doctor told me that my symptoms did not fit anything at all. What I do know, is I have been researching the issue ever since, and can only base my problem on Sleep Paralysis. All the symptoms match. And again, my question....Has there ever been a record of someone under the effects of sleep paralysis without ever having gone to sleep? I hope you can shed some sort of light on this subject, as it,...well, it freaked me the hell out, and no one has been able to answer me! Thank you for your time ... Mitchel Henderson, 7 December 2007
I used get this "evil paralysed me" feeling when i was paralysed and usually saw a ghost. i tried to shout or move but no sound escaped my mouth and couldn't move at all. it happened again yesterday and was almost convinced that ghosts/evil spirits were getting the better of me. But, me being a practical and logical guy, erjected this theory and started researching on this phenomenon. I came across this research paper on Sleep Paralysis. This greatly helped me in alleviating my fears. And next time i "see" a ghost during sleep paralyses, ill just laugh at it ;-) Thanks for the research ... Siddarth, 10 December 2007
Remote Ready Biology Learning Activities
Remote Ready Biology Learning Activities has 50 remote-ready activities, which work for either your classroom or remote teaching.
About Student Papers
| This paper reflects the research and thoughts of a student at the time the paper was written for a course at Bryn Mawr College. Like other materials on Serendip, it is not intended to be "authoritative" but rather to help others further develop their own explorations. Web links were active as of the time the paper was posted but are not updated. |
What's New? Subscribe to Serendip Studio
A Random Walk
New Topics
-
4 weeks 1 day ago
-
4 weeks 4 days ago
-
4 weeks 4 days ago
-
4 weeks 5 days ago
-
4 weeks 5 days ago
Comments
Hey
Hi my name is john I heard about your experience on this site as I read the others but yours seemed as close to my experience as anyones. I'm 16 going on 17 in June, I don't have these experiences much any more but I'm always researching it and learning of the other experiences people such as yourself have had. I'd like to give advice if it works for me, I hope to help you as well. And seeing that yours doesn't seem as extreme as the others claim theirs to be( not to doubt them it's just Ive learned to sort of control these anxiety attacks in your sleep) when you wake up you try to move but you can't of course when this happens I sort of "feel" my body I feel the blood rush through my body and I just focus on it let my self accept the feeling and I just drift off or wake up. Unfortunetly it doesn't always work because sometimes you feel uncontrolable fear and of course you see whatever it is your minds projects to you mine in paticular I think is a woman with flowing hair and translusent features kind of beautiful when I think back on it, but not my feelings at the time, when I see this figure I either let it do whatever to me without letting it "win" if you know what I mean and once again drift off, know if this doesn't work I reach for it and as soon as I touch her I wake up :) scary but simple. Also don't be afraid to go to sleep I know it's hard to but you just have to if you want to control of suprese the anxiety attacks or sleep paralisys whatever floats your boat. I hope you feel better and enjoy sleep with the advice I've given to you. I've left my email if you wanted to just talk about your experience, I find it easier to release an uncomfortable subject to a person that won't judge or see you lol.
hearing music during SP
The other night I went into SP and had a small black dog running around on my bed. I then heard a man talking to me in English who I could not see. He later played me an entire song (early Brit-pop style) which I listened to very carefully. It was catchy, and I had a feeling it could have been a hit, but was nothing like the kind of music I would ever listen to. I rapidly forgot the finer details of the song when I snapped out of it, but remembered some of the lyrics which I googled, but found nothing. I don't write music and certainly cannot write lyrics. So this made me question; is the brain so sharp that it can spontaneously produce an entire original song from nothing, with lyrics, instruments, verses and choruses? Or is there really something outside wanting to be heard?
CAN WE SIV THE FREAKS HERE FROM THE GENUINE FOLK?
In reply to Ki (hearing music) For years I have heard music whilst half asleep and it to has been rather modern (most of the time..with classical other) and this music/song/tune is always half decent, really, I honestly use to get excited over the prospect I was dreaming of a undiscovered chart hit!
Also does anybody hear their alarm clock, have to drag themselves out of bed, enter the bathroom before realising their still actually in bed!?? happens all the time! are these two above phenomenas related to sleep paralysis? well as I have sleep paralysis I can only assume so!
As for my title..is there anyway we can get us serious people to communicate better without all these crazy (and most probarly fake) replies regarding the devil and how we need to rush to a church immediately haha
You can find me under my alias on facebook, but I will only accept those i believe to be credible or of some help.
to paulafarrellsmith
Being a Christian does not make us crazy or fake any more than being a non-Christian makes you a devil worshipper. I'm as real as one can get and my mind is whole and sound.
I am not saying that what has happened to you or any others on here is not of a scientific or physical nature (I know it is b/c it occurs during the REM), but can you not consider that it may very well be spiritual as well? Come on now, we Christians are often the ones considered narrow minded. Evil presence? Sound of wings? Dark shadows? Fear? I'm crazy for thinking that this is not spiritual in nature?
I can't say that I have experienced SP to the extent that most have on here. I have heard a loud boom upon drifting off that shook me out of my slumber. I have heard and felt things that woke me out of a deep sleep, but nothing was there. I've heard the rushing wings. But I call on the name of Jesus and the evil presence flees. Coincidence? I think not.
I am glad that you all have this forum as a sounding board and you have support for your SP. I stumbled upon it one day while doing some research because I heard of people with narcolepsy can have paralytic episodes while awake. I wanted to see if it was true (it is: http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec06/ch081/ch081e.html). Being a teacher of the gospel set free from demonic influences in my life, I had to comment.
So, how about this: we be supportive of one another and disagree without jumping to irrational generalizations without knowing a thing about us. In the meantime, I will keep praying! :)
This first started happening
This first started happening to me a year ago when I moved into my uncles house. I noticed it would only happen when i took naps in the middle of the day.The first time it happened, it was terrifying! I tried to move but couldn't. I felt as if someone was trying to push me off the bed. In another episode, I thought I heard someone laughing. I would get so scared at these incidents that I would usually be able to move within a couple seconds. Then out of nowhere, the episodes stopped. I was free of any sleep paralysis when out of nowhere I started experiencing it again this week. It has actually happened to me every day this week. (not fun). They seem to get worst. I can hear myself screaming with terror and always feel an evil presence. Now these episodes last more than 10 minutes. Its getting harder and harder to wake up. I'm so terrified that I can't even sleep.
Listen, u really need 2 pray.
Listen, u really need 2 pray. If u dnt believe in God, now would be a good time. I know sleeping is becoming hard 4 u, cause youre scared that next time you might not wake up. When u get thoes experiences, call out to jesus. You wont be able to, coz that experience will not let you. But you must. Its the only way.
Try that and dont work
I've tried doing that many times. This started with me since i was a kid and been dealing with it since. Im 28 now and done every possible thing out there and no luck.
I can pretty much garauntee
I can pretty much garauntee that this will happen if I go to sleep really late, normally I'll go to sleep around 11pm but If for some reason I'm not getting to bed until about 2am and I did not drink that night then as I'm trying to fall asleep this happens.
Scratches visible after a hallucination with sleep paralysis
I am a male of 25 years old and I have had problems with sleep paralysis for many years. The hallucinations that i experience are terrifying and quite strange. I have hallucinations of demons touching my penis. Then when i come out of the paralysis state i have an erected penis with scratches all over it. i am quite concerned. How can I stop this?
If you're sleeping on your
If you're sleeping on your back try sleeping on your side or front instead
YES i NEVER sleep on my back
YES i NEVER sleep on my back anymore... only on my side and my belly. every time i sleep on my back... an episode of Sleep Paralysis is most likely to happen.
It makes me want to masturbate
I am a female of 20 and I have something similar to share. I just had a few minutes ago (thats why I search that and come across this site), that sleep paralysis symptom, and I was "forced" to start touching my self (without wanting it) and do masturbation. But I knew behind of my head that I don't want to do that, that it is wrong, but somehow "something" was forcing me to. After a while I turned my head a little bit on right and then I saw a black ghostly-like figure passing on the left (like wanting to go inside of me) and I heard it screaming terribly. I was terrified of course but I was still on that paralysis state. Then I started hearing my door opening (something that usually happens when I undergo sleep paralysis).
sleep paralisys
I have been suffering from this since i was about 14 i'm 23 now and fuck the first couple of time i was so scare that i didnt sleep for about 4 days people in the house though i was crazy and i though i was crazy too i though i was being posses by the devil, i used to write every single details i could remember until i stared doing a lot of reading about it. i still get scare from time to time, and sometimes i even feel like if i get stuck in it for days its crazy but interesting, there is some times that i keep on having deja vu and they are so real that i can even guess what people are going to say next and i kinda freak them out.
happened to me alot
I used to have the same thing over and over last year twice or maybe three times a week. I thought that I was the only one, I talked with some friends about it but no one could understand you have to get through it to know it. I would always have the same dream that I was fighting with someone on my bed and its totally dark that I never saw his face and each time he beats the crap out of me and all i did was try to crawl and escape and then I wake up fully paralyzed, I even had it two times in the same night. And sometimes when I go to sleep and that dream begins I would be still aware and I try to force my eyes open as to wake before I get paralyzed but its not that easy. Its really terrifying and I would like everyone who experienced sleep paralysis to get the album "el cielo" by dredg as it is based on the concept of sleep paralysis and also try to go to traversing.net where the album is analyzed its a masterpiece.
I would also like to know if it is genetic ??
hey my name is stephanie, i'm
hey my name is stephanie, i'm 18 years old and i have experienced sleep paralysis but i was never able to open my eyes or hear things but i did have difficulty breathing when it happened. i read somewhere that this is hereditary and that makes sense because my dad and i both had it about two times.
Not Science
I'm a very logical thinker yet still religious. My symptoms of paralysis and seeing two shadowy figures have never actually manifested bodily harm. I just knew I was in immediate danger and felt like my mouth was covered, ankles were bound, and a pressure on my chest like someone was sitting on it repeatedly. But I spoke to someone last week who has a brother who's bed not only shook violently, but had his sheets ripped. There's no way you can convince me that ripped sheets are just in his head. Science tells us that the brain can generate hallucinations during sleep, but the same exact hallucination for thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people world wide? It is very unlikely. And hallucinations by definition certainly don't have to always be negative. I agree with science in explaining normal paralysis, but not when accompanied with visions of shadowy figures, a black pit, and/or spirits whispering in an language I don't even speak. So I'm unsure how I could have a 1 minute 1/2 long dream of someone speaking it fluently and it be made up in my head. Here's how I got rid of my problem; along with my normal short bed-time prayer, I added these lines I got from Demonbuster dot com :
"Father, in Jesus Name, I bind all demons of the night, nightmares, bad dreams, torment, sleeplessness, & torture. I command these demons to loose me and come out of me, and I ask that you protect my mind while I sleep. I ask for giant warrior Angels to protect me and my property as I sleep, through the night and the day. I ask for a fiery wall of protection around me. In JESUS name, Amen."
Happy sleeping! :) Let me know if it works. (For the words to have any meaning, you must actually have a relationship with God in your life. If you don't, ask someone who does to swing by your house and bless it. Some Churches have outreach programs."
to Mike
Hi Mike,
I just saw your post on this forum and I completely agree, though I believe that many can be explained scientifically as well. They are, however, very spiritual in nature as far as I am concerned.
What caught my eye is your prayer. That is the key and what you said at the end is very important. Saying a prayer is good, having a relationship with God is absolutely necessary. Otherwise, our prayers can be like a rubber ball bouncing off the ceiling. They go nowhere.
I remember praying pretty much the same prayer over my children when they were young. I would ask God to dispatch his warrior angels to stand guard around their beds - to stand guard and guard their dreams as well. When they got older, they continued on their own. My son told me he never had bad dreams (or SP), except for one time when he forgot to pray.
So please, anyone out there who doesn't know God and have a relationship with his son, Jesus Christ, now's the time. If you need more info or have questions, feel free to ask or email me.
help
i only get this when i cant sleep normally at night, when iam anxious.
i also suffer panic attacks.
when i am drifting off i always wake up & see people in my room my boyfriend says sometimes i shout about things.
when i see these thing its so real and i dont really get that frightened really cause it happens allot.
its a different person every time i have a feeling that they are men allot of the time.
i already see a cpn about my panic attacks and i want to get help with my sleep too but my boyfriend says no.
he thinks iam exagerating but he doesent know how real it is and i want it to stop so that i can get a good nights sleep at last.
i have had this happen to me
i have had this happen to me alot. i am 17 and im scared to sleep because of it. i hear people whispering to me and touching me, i can never make out what they say but it frightens me to the point i dont sleep. i havent slept in 3 days because of it.
Been happening for awhile
This has been happening to me for as long as i can remember. up to 4 times or more a month. After a bad car accident it went away for about a year then i joined the Army. Its now worse then especially since deployed. Usually the story goes the same, getting ready for a mission brief look into a mirror see a shadow and then cant move or breath, usually am able to slam my head on something in the dream then i look up and im in whatever room i fell asleep in, the showdow usually comes through the door stands next to me and i feel like im being choked, now i see everything in the room, even if there is someone like a friend in there moving around i can see them doing so. Finally i am able to scream or knock myself over and when i come to my throat hurts and im dizzy and faded as if someone was actually choking me. It happened really bad about 2 nights ago and after i smashed my head in the dream again "woke up" in the room i fell asleep in and saw this damn shadow walk past the person who was in the room with me and stand over me, i start feeling like im getting strangled and i notice the soldier who is in the room with me staring at me liek "WTF" is wrong with him, i try to scream but the soldier said all they heard was me moaning really load, they shined a flashlight in my face and my neck was extended out of my kit, face was red and my eyes looked as if i was seeing an exorcism or something, the soldier was to scared to even do anything after this and i was finally able to knock myself out of the chair i was in and wake myself up right before i actually was about to black out, my throat was sore and the muscles ache. It was the worst experience ive ever had with this problem. Reading this has helped put my mind at ease a little but still doesnt make sense to me on why it would hurt so bad...
me to
I to have experienced this laying down in my bed at night. My eyes are often open or I wake up to being held down choked or silenced. My husband shook me a few times because he saw I couldn't scream and some times I moan. The night before last it was really bad because the dark shadow came back and its all was over me. Sometimes behind the one holdme are others just watch from the ceilings. But last night was the worst and unusual because it held down my neck and my left arm only.two days later and my neck is killing me my wrist is better. I tried to push against it and as usual no matter how much I fight I loose. Even though my husband has seen it happen to me he doesn't believe the physical harm but even the nurse I work with see my neck swollen on my side
sp
I have not had an episode in years (thank God) but I had a thing I did during one that helped me....I would work on my breathing to where I was breathing really heavy and my husband knew this was a sign to touch my arm and gently wake me......at the same time I would work on moving my toes or fingers and it would help me be able to move all of me, this process sometimes took a while since it seemed it took time to move one finger or two and then work on the next ect. ect....one body part at a time til everything worked.......I hope this helps someone, good luck.
Robin
Think I understand at last
I had thought that my own personal experiences were down to night terrors, but after reading the stuff on this sight, and in some medical journals I think my own personal experiences were down to sleep paralysis.
Basically, I recall two or three instances from around the age of 15 or 16, and later a couple at the age of 30.
The most prominent one(15-16yrs) in my mind was the feeling that I was paralysed, sweating, unable to open my eyes, the room was black, but I had an image of the floor of my room falling into a deep pit, at the bottom of which was a voice, something deep and evil sounding shouting at me really hatefully, but in a language I couldnt understand. This was back in the 80's, but later I would have described it as like the vocal style of death/speed metal singers)
The panic was intense, but I was totally unable to move, as I felt the pit getting bigger and my bed starting to tip over the edge.
The whole thing seemed to last 5-10 mins, though with sleep who can tell.
Even now almost 30 yrs later, I can still recall it.
:'(
Hi, this is my first time doing research on this subject and I'm really glad other people have had this and I'm not the only one.
This has been occurring since I was around 15 (I'm 17 now). They're usually very short and I'm able to shake it off. Hardly ever happens, to be honest I can't really remember the last time it happened because I don't really pay much mind to it, But today was different, today was the worst:
I had been stressed about always being home, and I really wanted to go out and do something but I had nothing to do. So stressed I go to bed to escape being bored. About 10 minutes into trying to sleep I get the paralysis on and off, very short paralysis maybe like 3-5 seconds each time, but then out of no where I get it really deep for about 2 minutes, I couldn't move I couldn't scream for help, I was helpless... And when I had finally shaken it off I kinda I got up and moved my head but for one split second I say the scariest creature standing at my door way, an unexplainable horror. I was terrified. But eventually I just went on to taking my nap.
Seeing as it's said to be hereditary I'm hoping someone in my household has it too so I can have someone to talk to about it.
I'm not religious at all but just reading up on this really just makes me want to turn to a higher being for help...
Have any of you tried going to a psychologist for this? or a doctor? I don't think I'm gonna be able to sleep tonight...
This might help.
Do not turn to religion; as if your belief is weak it will get worst. I had one today and i found out the best way of getting rid of it is really just giving up and relaxing. try to go to bed as hard as it sounds. Ill leave you my story. Comment me back if you have questions.
05/14/10
Today I had a my first sleep paralys that i can remember. My body was facing my closet and my head was set on my computer screen. I felt really tired thirsty. As I tried to stand up it felt like my blanket was 10 tons and i could not get it off me. The feeling of being trapted make me panic and gave me a burst of adrealine and i was up. However, everything but my Bed was gone in my room. In the corner i saw a figure like of a lepercon, but it did not have hat and did not have green clothes. Quickly my heart started beating and pounding. I rushed to it thinking i could overpower it, but it was that same second it smiled at me and in a blink of an eye i was back in my bed. At this point i thought ok this is just a dream so i can change it. Me being the geek i am i started thinking of the World of Warcraft and thought i was in a huge battle. I cant remember exacly how it ended or if it really began, but again in a blink of an eye i was back in my bed stuck under my blanket. I heard things falling and moving all over my room. The struggle of opening my eye felt like trying to open a locked door. Suddenly my anger grew and my body felt enpowered with this new power. The moment I tried the movement of getting up this ungodly sound over my body emploded, almost like a a very low toned static boom. With that horrible sound my fear grew into terror and my body was completely frozen. This made me revert into a stage of my childhood where I could speak with demons and satan himself(or so i thought). To help you understand when i was a little kid I had very strange things happend to me, but the one thing that made me completely terrified was when i was about 7. Just so you guys know I do not remember any of this since I was very young, but my aunt was able to remember this all very clearly. My aunt was in one room and i was in another; I walked into hers and i told her in these words " They are going to kill you and take you back." This story gives me chills till this day. Any ways back to the main story. So i was still awake and could not move as much as i tried. I heard movement outside my door so i thought my mom woke up. I started yelling "MOM!" in my head but nothing came out of my lips. At this time there was nothing i could do; I was defeated. After i accepted my lost it all blurred out and I woke up.
This is probaly going to be in my mind for a long time and i will not be able to sleep. I hope some one can relate to this and has a real answer other then religion, everything i bring god into my paranormal problems things get worst.
HELP
this happened to me 2 days ago it was the scariest feeling ever I was laying down sideways & triedto turn to the other side when I felt my body was froozen, I couldnt turn move or anything, I tried lifting my leg & nothing after a few minnutes I was able to jump off my bed & ran to the kitchen' I prayed & sat on my bed for a few minutes then laid back down I felt it back on top of me but this time even heavier than the 1st time it was such a scary feeling my son was laying next to me so I tried to reach for him but was not able to move. Does anyone know why this happens?? Or what to do when your in a situation like this??? A few people have told me to start cursing & that will make it go away???
My brother and i both suffer
My brother and i both suffer from this. He yells at the "demons" he sees but because he suffers from it so badly he doesnt get fearful anymore but very angry. He says it has worked for him many times but on accasion he feels like it enrages these "demons"
brain junk or spirit junk...these episodes are NOT cool.
I too swear at the spirits
I too swear at the spirits and give them the finger. It has happened very often recently. Still very scary as far as i'm concerned.
Reply to the Reply to Comment Help
Unfortunately I have experienced the full spectrum of undesirable situations in sleep paralysis. Rather than cover much of the same information that I'm sure you already know, I'll just get to the point: during the worst situations I've tried everything to "snap out" of the experience and have found only one guaranteed method that works everytime. I'm sure the explanation differs in the realm science verse theology, but both schools of thought would agree to the effectiveness of prayer. Cussing, may work, and please let me know if it does, but I hardly get through a few phrases of the Lords Prayer and I'm up, out of bed, and walking around the house. Hope this helps, remember that you're definitely not alone.
Don't worry
First of all do not worry as although these symptoms are terrifying you are are not alone. I to used to suffer with these sort of sleep terrors when I was younger and please don't think they have any spiritual or supernatural meaning! The only way I found how to combat these horrible episodes was to try to relax and not fight as this made it feel a lot worse. The mind is very powerful thing and and when you accept that there is nothing physically wrong with you and there are no black forces at work and learn to relax if it happens again you will see these symptoms disappear completely.
My thoughts exactly if you
My thoughts exactly if you learn to control your feelings of terror while experienceing SP you wake up after time. I repeat the process and feel fine although my experiences are trivial compared to others this works best for me. It's almost like excepting your fate, scary but true.
Your explanation was
Your explanation was relieving as I have had this paralysis occur randomly throughout my life. At first, I fought it and it really made it worse. The times that i have tried to relax and slowly try to become conscious have been more successful. However, it's still terrifying and exhausting. I
worry as I get older how I will cope with it. Do you have any info on treatments or physical or chemical causes? Any feedback would be appreciated. thx
:[
Its all the same for me but I could tell I'm dreaming and not awake cause there's certain things that are different when I snapp out of it like my t.v. is off in the dream and wen I wake up its on but everything else is the same every exact detail in my room is the same. Wen I'm dreamin I cant move I can't scream and I feel like sumone or sumthing is coming for me but I can't see I could jus feel it. Wen I have thos dreams I sometimes can't breath can't move scream like always but wen I wake up I see that the covers are over my face I guess dat explains that..lol..but my friend told me to curse and get mad at watever is doin that and it will go away. So I try it and it works but the last time I tried it it got worse n I couldn't wake up and my legs started lifting up like if someone was lifting them up so I start telling it off and I wake up and snapp out of it the last time I tried it my legs lifted again so I got mad and started cursing and took it as a joke but I still wasn't waking up so I tried snapping out of it and watever was lifting my legs pulled me by my leggs into the wall that was infront of my bed it was really scary so I woke up. I also sumtimes feel my bed shaking before I go to sleep and sumtimes after I wake up from thos dreams let science explain dat for me plz....oh and it usually always happens after I smoke lol you know how you get all tired and sleepy after a while I guess dats a way of god punishing me lol but I got use to it and I don't think there's a scientific explination for evrything jus get use to it and find a way to wake yourself up out of it and you'll be ok...
I've also had dreams of me standing and walking scared of sumthing and trying to turn on any light in my house and they don't turn on they flicker for a little bit and always turn off and I get so scared I run to the next room and try to turn on the light but it doesn't turn on no matter how many times I switch it on or off. The lights flickering happens in my room in real life sometimes but I run to it and flick it on and off and it stays on idk what could explain that...one time I looked at myself in a mirror and saw myself but like in the future because I'm letting my hair grow into a ponytail and my hair was really long I'm not even half way there in real life so dats how I know its a dream and not real idk if seeing my self in the mirror was a sighn but I know science can't explain any of these things...
I'm Fed up With this,something need to be done
Hello im a 19 yr old female, This has been happening to me for a very loooong time. I usually have them like 3-4 times a month ,give or take more. But here recently, they are more frequent and its always the feeling like its something ungodly in the room, but these last few experiences I have had the feeling of something sexually taking advantage of me,i try to scream nothing ,move yet again nothing ,so i just pray to god to send angels around me, and my home, and i ask that if its not godlike to leave the room and go back to where it belongs , then it slowly fades way.I haven't yet saw the figures or anything i have read here and i pray to god that i don't see them, but i do hear the voices and feel them on and around me. I wish it was a medicine for those of us who experience these encounters, i fear one night, it'll be too late.
I have learned to like it (sort of...)
I get it for last 10 years or so, 1-2 a year perhaps.
It doesn't get any better or worse.
It always happens on the morning, usually upon premature waking up after good night sleep with dreams.
There are no demons or "beings" of any sort present.
Sometimes there is only a few minutes paralysis with full awareness but sometimes there is a dream going on as well.
Dream is usually (but not always) abstract.
After few incidents I have learned how to "direct" that dream to certain degree and this can be a very enjoyable experience (particularly if there is a beautiful woman controllable by my mind in that dream, albeit that have happened only once as long as I remember).
Of course on this particular occasion my wife have spoiled a fun and disturbed me and all goodness was gone...
Occasionally there is only a paralysis with full awareness and no dream at all.
This was on first 2 occasions or so and this have produced much FEAR.
FEAR was about quite trivial issues (I was concerned that that's it, I will end up as a vegetable for life).
However once I have learned that paralysis went away on few occasions, most of fear went as well albeit there is still sometimes unpleasant feeling that you may forget how to breathe for example.
On one or two occasions I did have failed to realize that I am in that funny state and I simply got up.
I was very surprised that it didn't work and regardless of getting up my body is still on the bed.
Anyway, I have learned to like this funny state of consciousness.
I consulted it once with a guy who is dealing with hypnosis and who is my friend.
He advised me to tell my wife and family that if they suspect that I might be in this state, it is disadvisable to talk to me or particularly talk something stupid or malicious.
He have said that peoples in that state might be extremely susceptible to suggestion, so for example it could be very unpleasant in consequences if someone tried to convince me that "all food is s..t" or that "water is a poison and I shouldn't drink it".
read this
Psalm 91 (New International Version)
Psalm 91
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [a]
2 I will say [b] of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-
10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."
new message
thank u for posting this on the internet. I've been experiencing this symptoms ever since i was 6 years old. at first i thought it was evil spirits haunting my dreams but now that i know what it is, im not to worried about it anymore but still i would like t oask if this can have any long term affects.will you please contact me on my email. once again thanks for the information.
had it for years
had this sleep disorder for many years,went for medical advice and know one was sure what i was onabout in the early 90s!im pretty glad to see it just isnt me out there with these horrible eposides!my wife sences when im paralased and helps jolt me to release me from this state!however i dont think this is supernatural at all,my guess is basically part of the brain has woken and part of the brain hasnt!i think its a slight brain defect that hasnt been correctly researched!
i have faced sleep paralysis
my 1st experience was very scary i was home alone. i was in a dark and i woke up and couldnt move at all. i tried with all my strength n i just wounldnt move. i started to hear foot steps and scarier laughing. then i heard some one what sounded like an old man saying i have you repeatedly 3 times and i closed my eyes and snaped out of it. my second encounter with it made me never want to sleep again i fell asleep on my bed and i couldnt move at all and this time i saw something a little girl in a white dress. i couldnt see her face but i was scared because she doesnt live in my house lol but she was walking towards me and my vision was getting blury and my cat ran and was hsssssing at it and i was trying so hard 2 move and i woke up and i didnt sleep that whole night. i hope this is all just a mind game because i dnt wanna face no evil spirits in my mind. :(
Intresting...
That's about the same thing I see I wonder if there is a connection in the visions different people see, like the symptoms of why it happens like a sign or symbol. Anyways I find the dream a fun experience somtimes and have learned to just relax and let my body do whatever it does, but if I see a being like the girl you see (btw does her hair flow outwards and reach her hand on your face or neck area?) and I just touch "her" and poof it's over. Try that, it works for me
I use to get dat wen i waz
I use to get dat wen i waz yunger. Im 18 now nd i had one last night. But it waz werse den any before. It lasted a long time. Its weird thou from all da ones i had i never saw anything evil. My eyes been always close.my little broder dus get dem alot.but anyways last night wen it happen i had a stomak pain and heart burn so i went to take sum med den i came to bed nd slept facing up. Cus dat wat made it feel better. So den an hour of sleep nd it happend. I kept sayung bad words to myself. I waz trying to move my fingers but it waz jus sooo harf i remember tryna say help to my little broder wich i knew he waz sleeping. But i still tried. I kno one time da word "help" came out clear. But still no hope for my bro to hear. So den it waz finally over nd i rememberd my broder telling me. Never sleep straight facing up. Lol i waz like omg hes right! So i turnd around nd went bak to sleep.he also told me not to open yur eyes wen its happening. I never get a chance to opend dem thou. For sum reazon it scares da shit out of me wen it happens. But i go bakk to sleep like 10 seconds after is over lol i bet it happens to everybody. One thing i forgot to say is wen i feel dis paralysis. I dnt hear nothing but my heart beating sooo hard. Nd i have a heart problem so it really scares me tgibking i mite get a heart attak nd die in my sleep. Sorry for my spellin im on my fone
It's not always scary
Was reading through all the posts and have seen quite a few people get scared through these experiences.
Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to lighten the situation as I know it can be terrifying, I would just like to add my 2 cents and let people know that sometimes it doesn't have to be scary.
It basically happened a few years ago. I'd woken up groogy with the sunlight pouring through the window, and couldn't move my body at all.
Then there was a figure - just the outline in my minds eye and the only details I had was that it was male and had short black hair - that was ontop of me. He was holding my arms down and trapping the rest of my body underneath him.
He was leaning towards me and I didn't feel threatened or afraid in any way,just uncomfortable as the more he leant towards me, the tighter my chest seemed to get.
My brain must have kicked in at that point as I flicked my wrist and the weight vanished.
Curious as I'd never felt my body feel so heavy before, I tried to see if I could enter the same sort of state again, and did within a few minutes. The same heavy feeling, the same figure, the same mild annoyance and tightness in my chest. And then again, it was gone when I finally had enough and managed to move my foot this time around.
It hasn't happened since and I'm not bothered by it.
I've had my average share of sleep apnea, seeing things, feeling things etc. and want to say that somethings are, yes, definately scary, while others don't have to be.
Again, this is just my two cents but, if you see little creatures sitting on your chest, what if they aren't evil, just curious?
First time but 2 people. Why is this happening? Same thing?
This just happened to me about 5 times in a row while I was trying to sleep in our basement that my boyfriend and his friends just cleaned out. We slept down there 2 nights ago and everything was fine, just a little cold. Tonight however was waaaaaaay different. We both fell asleep and it felt like right as I fell asleep I woke right up and tried to scream because something was suffocating me. I heard something whispered in my ear and I continued to try to jerk until I had control of my body and voice again. Immediately after I had regained control my boyfriend started breathing really heavy as if he was having some sort of panic attack like I had just had. We stayed awake for a second and fell back asleep. This happened to me a few more times and I told myself that if it happened again, I was coming up into the house to sleep in my room. Well, it happened again even more violently and it happened to him again too, but it scared me so bad because he was like trying to beat on himself to be able to breathe and he had this look of utter panic on his face. I had to come upstairs because I was so freaked out, but he wanted to stay. Now I'm really scared and have the tv on as a distraction. What is going on and why is this happening all of a sudden???
none
i only feel like nwhen im sleep im really fallin as if i was awake. weird
wow so I totally had one of
wow so I totally had one of those things for the first time in years today and the worse part was my eyes were awake and I saw my mom cause I had gone home and took a nap at her house before mowing, and i tried to say help to her again and again but i was ignored oh yeah I started to panic, didn't see a dark figure though, but i called my mom later and she had said she did here me saying help but contributed it to sleep talking. I actually just stopped taking Tylenol pm for the first time in years, so is this gonna happen a lot cause Ima about to be in the military and that will really suck
how to stop it?
This used to happen to me all the time, but never at night only when i took a nap. I could always open my eyes and see everything around me and hear things, but could not move or speak. I can always sense something evil in the room too. Its strange though because when i am like this what i see is actually going on its not a dream, like the t.v being on and someone having a conversation, but there is also something evil. Anyways, I know how to stop them now, .................i close my eyes and try to relax and not fight it, try to go back to sleep!! and it will feel like im falling then i wake up.
Scary dreams with sleep paralysis
I got it herredity from my dad side of the family, and I keep having this and reocuring dreams where I am trying to talk, cant, and when I do some strange horible scary voice comes out of me...im telling whatever it is to get out of me and the other day I felt something strongly pushing up against me and not to mention, when I officially woke up, about 5 minutes later my bed started shaking.. I think its demons or something..im only 16 )': this is horrible!!!
Problem Fixed ! I've had the
Problem Fixed ! I've had the same sleep paralysis awhile ago. My bed didn't shake but I was wide awake and fully alert. I saw two shadowy figures, one which looked like a Gargoyle with tentacles and felt them holding ankles, covering my mouth, and pressing down on my chest. Here's how I got rid of the problem; along with my normal short bed-time prayer, I added these lines I got from Demonbuster dot com :
"Father, in Jesus Name, I bind all demons of the night, nightmares, bad dreams, torment, sleeplessness, & torture. I command these demons to loose me and come out of me, and I ask that you protect my mind while I sleep. I ask for giant warrior Angels to protect me and my property as I sleep, through the night and the day. I ask for a fiery wall of protection around me. In JESUS name, Amen."
If you still feel the need you can also tape a very small message over the door jam and main window of your room facing readable to the outside looking in saying "Whoever or whatever enters this home is covered with the Blood of Jesus". I haven't had any problems since. Just remember that if you're saved the only thing demons can do is try to intimidate you. They can't physically posses your body because it's inhabited by the holy Spirit (if you're saved). If they could, no-one would be physically alive. Also, they only attack people that are a threat to their unholy kingdom by having a close relationship to God in the future, so actually it's a compliment. By using Jesus' name you can tell them to leave your presence immediately. Now go get some rest :)
yes and thank you! both my
yes and thank you! both my brother and I have these episodes. we were sharing our experiences tonight and has a prayer he says asking the Lord to send some angels to protect him. He immediately gets relief. Before turning to prayer nothing worked and his episodes were growing increasingly terrifying and threatning.
I have just experienced this
I have just experienced this strange phenomenon! Last night was the first and hopefully the last time I'll have to go through what I did. I too felt something was in my room. I felt the presence of something sitting at the foot of my bed. I could feel the heaviness of their weight at my feet. At one point the bed shook almost like a small quake...I thought my dog had come in the room and jumped on the bed, so I called his name and then I looked but nothing was there. I felt totally conscious and awake and I repeated to myself, how is this a dream while I'm feeling wide awake? I also felt a presence scoot up against my body and breathe close to my neck...but I couldn't move or scream..I tried so hard to do both...I was so scared...I began to pray out loud...The Lords Prayer..it finally subsided..I don't know how long this went on, but I was petrified. I decided to research and found this site and similar with varying stories. I'm glad I'm not the only one who's experienced this..but, I still feel scared...tonight I'm sleeping with t.v. on...only hope this darn thing doesn't decide to turn my t.v. off...I'll simply have to run out of the house!
I am praying right now.