Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!

Sleep Paralysis: Awake But Still Asleep

SerendipUpdate's picture

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

2)The Body During Sleep

3)Basics of Sleep Behavior

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 

Comments

JC's picture

if you feel that SP

if you feel like your in SP,,,just say one name..JESUS..say it wlth heart..and you will release in your SP.

Anonymous's picture

I think I've experienced

I think I've experienced this..The first time it happened was about 6 months ago after I donated blood. I'm 18 years old and a frequent donator and never experienced any problems with donating, but that day I passed out twice and later that night I was laying in bed and I was laying there when randomly it felt like sand was being poured all over my body, not in the accumulating since, but in the tingling. I thought that this might have been associated with my donating difficulties prior, but these strange episodes still occur. The other night is what iniated my research, it happened several times within the hour, sometimes I'd feel like my bad was kicked in the beginning, then as if i was being shook, and I would hear weird high-pitched voice that I couldn't make out words to.. It's kind of rediculous but all this made me assume something spiritually was occuring. Then last night it happened again, the first time I wasn't in my bed when it happened which made me eliminate that theory, but what was weird about this was I managed to open my eyes a couple times during the episode, and when I did it'd get worse or start up again if it was nearing, and I swear I saw a man standing in front of the bed I was in, but it also could've been the unfimiliar room I was sleeping in bookshelf..After the episodes I can rarely get my mind off it, iniating another attack, i can slowly feel my body slipping into the paralys state, I try to prevent it by frequently moving my body parts. I really don't know why all of this is occuring, but I just want answers.

Today I sing the blues's picture

dream or sleep paralysis?

Last night I woke up in the supine position. I was having a full body spasm, and I felt something external was sucking my energy or my soul from my chest. I could feel or see an intense light going out of my body. I couldn’t open my eyes, I couldn’t move. I was very scared. Since I was brought up in a Christian family, in despair I repeated in my mind the name of Jesus and ask him to make it stop. I wanted to awake from this nightmare. Eventually I wake-up and I drag myself out of the bed. I’m exhaustated. Suddenly the door opens and my sister-in-law and my nieces enter into the room with presents and cake (my birthday was a week ago). I try to explain what just happened to me, but they don’t really pay attention, and then I realise I was still dreaming as my family lives 5887 miles away from me. I woke up, now for real. I was breathing rapidly, and I was lying in bed in the supine position. I turned to my usual fetal sleep position. I was still a bit scared, but glad it was a dream, despite the first part felt very real. Was it only a dream? I attended an African drum workshop and then a jamming session the night before. The sound was very intense. Can this somehow have anything to do with my dreams? Even I slept 8 hours, Im feeling very tired today.

I once had a “true” sleep paralysis. I woke up in the supine position and I couldn’t move, I couldn’t call my mother, I couldn’t open my eyes. I had no hallucinations. I was completely conscious. It was very scared. I started praying, and then my body was released.

I find that, most of my nightmares happen when I sleep in the supine position, which happens rarely.
I’m not sure whether when it´s sleep paralysis or whether it´s just a dream. How can I tell it?

Peace,
Ci

Can be controlled's picture

Glad Im not Alone but getting the hang of it.

I have been experiencing this sleep paralysis for a couple months now. First it was once every two weeks and it has become habit I'd say about 4 nights a week. Honestly, it was overwhelming at first buzzing, weight on my chest, no ghostly shadows or anything but screaming for my wife to help me which felt like an eternity only to realize it was a matter of
ten or twenty minutes and her lying sound asleep next to me.
I do not do drugs, rarely drink, and believe in God but not
overly religious and at first thought this to be an evil or
spiritual attack. Still learning but all I can say is when you find yourself in this state again be calm and take a mental time out so to speak. I have come to find out whatever
dream state its called or scientific explanation you can actually control the outcomes of what happens. I cant hold on and control for very long but slowly but surely I have been able to spend more time in this paralysis as they say and I guess explore my subconscious? I dont have the answers but dont be afraid of it and as for astral travel and projection just remember that following that path will leave you open and vulnerable to attacks and you probably wont go unnoticed for long.

Anonymous's picture

Similar symptoms

I've also had several experiences with what I now know is sleep paralysis. My episodes were somewhat similar to others but I never heard any voices, and on all occasions except one I was aware that I was not fully awake. I had it happen while sleeping on my stomach as well as my back. It usually occured while already been sleeping for a couple hours. The best way I can desribe it is a tingling feeling occasionally it is my entire body other times it is isolated to my chest and upper arms. The first time it happened I was terribly frightened so I didn't even try and move I was too scared. I felt like I was being pinned down to the bed and someone was trying to suffocate me. It continued to reoccur so frequently my fear eventually subsided and I would try and move but it hurt to move my limbs. After a few months of this happening 2-3 times a week I would just say if you want to kill me just get it over with because I can't take it any more. My last episode was 3 days beforemy fiancé passed away unexpectedly. I was upset with him so I went downstairs to sleep on the couch. It seemed like as soon as I closed my eyes a dark shadow came from out of the ceiling and pinned me down I was unable to breathe or move. It last a matter of seconds and dissappeared. It freaked me out so bad I was scared to move and go back upstairs with my fiancé but eventually I ran up there. This o e made me so scared because I felt awake and I saw the shaddow before I felt the tingling. I know there had to be some logical explaination because I don't believe in ghosts. The strange thing is the day my fiancé died I told him about it and that I thought I was going crazy, rational people do t see things that are not there. He said his uncle seen the same thing a few weeks before he died.

sv's picture

its has happened to me

its has happened to me various times, im 30 now.
it just happened in an afternoon nap.

What i've always done is focus on my breathing, i start feeling it heavier and heavier as i do this and suddenly i can snap out of it(or wake completely up), sometimes like today it takes me various attempts on this, i feel like if i'm almost done with the process of snapping out(waking up), and then i realized i'm still paralized, and i once again focus on the breathing .

i've never had hallucionations or heard voices,
what i've experienced, is the feeling of being pushed.

One time , i was staying with a work collegue in a hotel and i came into this paralized state, and i could really feel his side of the room pushing me to the other side(i felt i was falling down the bed).
This time, it did enter my mind thoughts of him being evil on had a bad spirit or something, jeje, because i felt like if i've beaten him because when i was paralized and felt the push, i focused on my breathing and it felt like i was pushing back, i even felt the force in me pushing back, then suddenly i woke up.

Doesn't really scare me or anything, i also agree its scientific, but i have an open mind regarding this, maybe its scientific but 'external energies' may have a secondary effect as well?

PD. it just happend in a nap, and my dog was laying down next to me, when i finally woke up, he was staring at me wondering wtf.. is up with me, jajajaj

Donna's picture

I have just been looking up

I have just been looking up sleep disorders and came across this site and don't feel any better after reading about the evils associated with SP! I am 35 and have only experienced SP twice, the second time being this afternoon. The first experience happened to me one night last year. I woke up but could not move at all for quite some time (maybe it was a few mins but it seemed longer) no matter how hard I tried. My bedroom looked the same as it always does and I knew I was awake but I could not speak or move. Eventually I managed to touch my face and got a bigger schock, when I felt my eyelids they were closed! This really did frighten me because I could not wake my body up when my mind was awake. If that makes sense. Me second experience of SP was today, I wasn't feeling too well so I went to bed for an hour this afternoon and when I woke up I could not move. I could see my bedroom and nothing looked odd but I could not turn or move my head. I managed to put my hand to my face and could see my fingers. I felt my eyes and I had one eye open and one eye closed. All I could think of was how can I fully wake myself up? My mind is awake but my body is still asleep. Fortunately my partner came home and the sound of the door banging shut downstairs made me jump and I woke up! It's just scares me to think how long would the experience have gone on for if I hadn't woke up fully?

Anonymous's picture

sleep paralysis

Don't be afraid of the sleep paralysis. I've had it for years and finally figured out how to train my brain to wake my body up. It's much like lucid dreaming. This may sound a bit cookie but I basically tell my mind as I'm falling asleep that I can wake myself up NOT through bodily muscular force but by ordering my body to do so with my mind's command. It's a strange 'mind' trick but it works.

When you are in that panicked state, instead of stressing and 'pushing' and trying to lift the seemingly dead weight, you will use your mind to command your body to get up. I don't know why this works for me but it does. My dad has sleep paralysis too but he just gets my mom to give him a good hard shove when she hears him whimpering in his sleep.

cathal's picture

sleep disorder

i have this disorder since as long as i can remember im 21 now and lookin into it 4 d first time ever nice 2 know im not on my owne but i do find when it does happen i can stay calm and just wait to come round ...some tims i hav shortness of breath witch is scary but my gfriend knows when im breeding funny to wake me witch is good .. i only a few times had hellusinations but usually i just stay calm and i come out of it witthin a few mins

Anonymous's picture

I need answers

I am so happy to see that I am not the only one this happens to. It just happened to me last night and I hate it. I didn't want to go back to sleep when I finally woke up. For me it's always the same. When I wake up, I'm always on my back when it happens, I see my room as it really is. I am aware of everything that is going on. I can't move, speak, or wake myself up. A feeling of dread comes over my body and there is an evil presence. My breathing is short and fast. I always try to reach for my husband because he can wake me up from it. My husband knows when he hears me breathing like that to wake me up,and I snap right out of it. It's puzzling that he can wake me up but I can't wake myself up. I'm not under a lot of stress in my life. I would love to know why this happens to me.

Anonymous's picture

Some solution

Guys, i was reading all these stuff mentioned by different people.Me too having this problem
From my pesonal experiance You know, it depends up on the rooms aswell,
I have changed the room recently, means like almost 2 months,i don't feel this kind of problem in this room. But if i change to some other room,then sometimes,its happening.

Jack's picture

its really scarey

The 1st time it happend to me was when i went to america for a holiday. I put it down to my body getting use to the different time zones but when i got back home (Ireland) it was still going on. It seem to happen if i had sat up really late the night before. I would have felt myself starting to float then this screaming would start and it would get louder and louder. I would try to wake myself up or even just move a part of my body but couldnt. I tried calling for someone but nothing would come out. When i finaly did snap out of it i would drift back to sleep and it would start again. It has happend in about a year and a half thank god.Didnt know what to make of it. kinda thought i was losing my mind.

Ryan Phillips's picture

very common for me

this happens to me regularly and just like many of the comments above me i ALWAYS "awake" on my back unable to move
i ALWAYS try to move my right arm first for some reason and my eyes are open every time and i can see things but i cant move my eyes its a frightening feeling and every morning i wonder if maybe this is gunna be the time where i just wont be able to move and i try and try to move and then finally my arm pops up and i can move again but i never feel as if im waking up and my eyes never re-open they just stay open as if i was awake the whole time which i believe i am i have night terrors and wake up many times a night usually unable to go baq to bed also i must usually if not always force myself to sleep and as a result do not get much sleep as little as 2 to 3 hours a night if any i am 18 and this has been happening for as long as i can remember also i talk in my sleep and sometimes sleepwalk it doesnt really bother me anymore i just wait for the pop up of my arm and then i feel safe again this info doesnt really help but it is reassuring to know that it is all just a brain malfunction so to say thanks for posting this im sure it helps countless ppl around the world cope with something they thought was terrifying or unique to them and thought they were alone in the world.

Anonymous's picture

Paralysis? Feel like I'm Dying

From reading these post I have suffered from the same thing since I was a child myself and I still do. I had one just the other night and I'm 45 years old. In the begginig I was very frightend and I thought it was a demon trying to drag me to hell literally and only saying The "Lords Prayer" will make me wake up. One night I decided to go with it and not struggle to wake up just to see what would happened, where it would take me this sleep paralysis, because it has taken so much out of me in the past to. I was frustrated I thought why fight? It might be something good and I started to drift with it, deeper and deeper but it only got darker and darker and more scarier and scarier I then decided to turn back and wake up so I don't know what is on the other side. I won't go into details of the how it made me feel but it was the the worst ever.

After the years have passed I now sleep 5 to 6 hours a night, sometimes 4, because I'm scared to go to sleep in that I will have an attack of my secret illness and won't wake up, but I see that I'm not the only one with it so I'm glad to see that I'm not losing my mind, but I don't wish this on anyone. I sleep with the tv going all night or the lights on, it can get expensive or I sleep with a black cover like a blanket, robe, sheets, black anything it helps a lot I don't know why. The tv is a distraction to let them know I'm awake and to stay awake as long as I can because they obviously know that I have this medical condition way before I knew. My undereyes are black. I'm afraid of the spirits trying to claim my body for their because what's happening is that I'm suffercating or I'm choking to death in my sleep. My spirit wakes up and I find something is struggling with me and my body and my Spirit immediatley starts to pray, no questions asked, because I need extra help with dealing with whatever it is I'm dealing with. My Spirit knows what it is going on more then I do, I feel I'm dying. There is always a presence in our daily lives of good and evil and I'm more aware of it when I'm in this state of awareness?. The answer can be scientific to a certain extent for me because I believe there is an underlying medical condition that causes me to die in my sleep, I get that. But what about the Spiritual aspect that I feel when I'm touched by a spirit and I feel that lifeforce either good or bad tearing at me? I know at that very moment, two powers exsist in that room God and the evil and I pray for the power of God to save me. I just know that I need saving from what I don't know I just know I need God's help to deal with whateer "IT" is also Unknown. The Unknown medical problem I have takes it vengence on my waking and sleeping life and I don't even know what it is either, or even if it can be cured without medication and their side effects. Surgery? The paralysis is death to me already, knocking at my door when I'm in that state of awareness I worry is there loss of oxygen to my brain, while trying to wake up from my own death?. One night I screamed and hollered and struggle to move, none of that was making a difference in the past anyway, now I know why from readng this article I was paralyzed!(I once thought I moved that I actually craweld on the floor to another room to get away and it was such an effort on my part to crawl out of that bedroom. I was so happy to get out of my room but I woke up only be in my bed still. I didn't move an inch a single inch).But There is a light at the end of the tunnel, the waking up part, one night when I was dying in my sleep and I felt the presence of what I believe to be an Angel's soft touch on my face On this occasion my Angel turned my head to the side, out of the bottom of my pillow so I could lay on my cheek and so I would stop suffercating to death. I awoke in the nick of time to see my Angel do this for me that night and because I felt this I have learned that when I sleep on my side sometimes I suffercate in my pillow. It happens when I'm exhausted or stressed out to the maxium of my capibilty. And if I sleep on my back I choke to death or I can't catch my breath and I wake up gasping for air trying to catch my breath to breathe because I know that I ani't breathing. There must be some chemical thing going on in the brain and that is scienitifc but the spiritual side is also true. I think I need to evaluate the stresses and people's in my life, examine my whole life, the things that causes me stress and the trauma I have suffered in my life and the pain, let it go! Instead of holding it in, It can become malignant. The not sleeping until my brain is brain dead, the body heals itself when it is asleep. This can't be good I hope it is stress that can be handled and not some mysterious disease. I have had a whole lot of stress in my life since childhood and it just kept going on with me holding it all in. I think it is stress and I'm slowly suffercating myself to death. I need to let it all out and let go and give it to God in my waking state like I do in my sleep state!!!!! let Go and let God.

Anonymous's picture

I hear demonic voices

This started about a couple of years ago, I was sleep on my side and I then turned on my stomach... My body went into paralysis and I heard this deep loud voice saying something to me, I couldnt make it out and all of a sudden I started to suffocate from my pillow and I felt a tussle of my pillow trying to suffocate me more and the pulling of my pillow away from my face... The pillow was pulled away from my face however, unlike you I did not see who did this. All the while my pillow was being tussled the voice began to roar very loudly in anger.
The next time which was this past sunday my boyfriend and I was having trouble sleeping. I was still awake, I had turned to my side still woke and all of a sudden I got this hot numbing feeling in my body and my body went into paralysis, my eyes were open and I was trying to kick and yell for my boyfriend who was right next to me but I couldn't. My eyes closed and once again a loud deep voice was talking to me but I could not make out what it was saying. I struggled to wake myself up by opening my eyes and when I did they started blinking rapidly like I was possessed or something. I have yet to see any figures and I thank God I havent. My boyfriend whose father is a minister and heavily in God has told me stories about demons coming into their home and even going as far as trying to drag my boyfriend and his siblings into a closet when they were young... This is the reason why I think this is something spiritual and not scientific. My boyfriend told me next time it happens just say a prayer or call for Jesus and it will stop as this has happened to him before. I dont know why this is happening to us and I hate it, I wish I knew what was happening to us... Is this a sign from God or are we doing things that the Devil doesnt like and he is trying to torture us? I will talk with my uncle and boyfriend's dad to see if I can get any answers and post them up here because I know we are tired and fearful of our lives and I believe that we need to help each other get through this scary stage in our lives!

Anonymous's picture

Don't Fear

I have been doing alot of reading on OBE (Out of Body Experiences) and Astral Projection and learnt that maybe you
are going through the beginning stages of an OBE, but because you fear it your vibrational frequency is low, which describes why you sense/hear an evil presents. Simply allowing your Spirit body to leave your physical body with a high vibrational frequency can lead to amazing things! look up Astralboobaby on youtube, he has all the answeres and info on what I am describing and even has a video of a similar experience you are going through (link below). I hope all goes well with you and everyone else with the same situation.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhWKOvIzVJ8 (video may seem scary but if you check out all his other vids you will see why Astral Projection is an amazing thing!)

kEviN's picture

very scary.

i get this about once a month AFTER i wake up from a dream and it is usually because there is a loud sound in the dream, but it is covered up by what sounds like a jet breaking the sound barrier that continues on after i'm awake. this being the only thing that has happened for the past 6 months or so, i decided not to think about it. however, last night was different. i woke up with the sound behind the caw of ravens, which chilled my entire body and pinned me to my bed. then i looked over and my light had turned on BY ITSELF and i reached over to turn it off and it wouldn't, because i was only imagining that it was turned on. (this seems logical since it was shining but i still couldn't see anything in my room) so i was actually turning it on and then off and then on and then off again and again. then every sound i heard in the back of my head triggered this rush of air in my eardrums again, and every time there was a high-pitched whistle in my ears that got louder every rush. this stuff went on for about 45 minutes straight. i finally summoned up the strength to roll over on my back, and the moon was shining through the curtains on the white fedora that i had worn to school that day. and ONLY the fedora (no one in our family knows where it came from). i got up 15 minutes later, and, being the superstitious teenager that i am took the fedora out of my room and back in the closet. everything had stopped from there on out!

Anonymous's picture

annoying.

im 15 and it happens a lot, but i have a horrible sleep pattern.
it always happens to me after iv slept really hard, usually in the afternoon, and i wake up but then cant move. sometimes i can get out of SP but then it comes back within the next 30 seconds. its so annoying.
haha now im totally freaked out that ill hallucinate something scary. great.

prayer helps. (:

Valerie Cronin's picture

Falling back in

I used to play around and taunt the SP..like i felt it coming on and would let it do it's thing, then i would jerk out of it but not all the way and let it slowly take over my body again, and after a few times i would lose the battle and get stuck and think "why didnt i stop this when i had a chance?" lol. I've learned that the paralysis will def sneak up on you, and it only takes about 5 seconds to set in. It's like slipping underwater...but instead of not being able to breath, you can't move. It's like there's no electricity allowed to pass through your muslces. Literally, I think that's it. They say ghosts can steal our energy right...?

Anonymous's picture

very common for me

This happens to me almost weekly and it usually happens while im trying to fall asleep at night. Usually i have some sort of dream from which i wake. But not fully. I never see any evil images, intact i only see what is truly infront of me (or at least what was when i fell asleep) I've often wanted to do experiments with this such as putting a large digital clock that is easily visible from my bed to see if the paralysis is in real time, or if it is a mental snap shot. I have full consciousness but simply cannot move. It feels like an eternity before i can move again. Also get a very uncomfortable tingly sensation that makes me feel almost sick and is by far the most horrible part about my paralysis.

The strangest thing is for me though, that this happens not only in my bed, but other places as well. I have actually had it happen to me MANY times while in class. I accidentally doze off, and wake up paralyzed. Its funny because i know i am sleeping and a get very scared that the teacher is going to call on me and wake me up.

I've also had it happen to me when i was sleeping next to my girlfriend. I was disappointed because she didn't look at my eyes to see if they were open or not, she thought i was just having a dream because i was twitching alot and breathing heavily.

Anyone else have this experience outside of their bed?

dream's picture

sp

i just know dis its really worst part of my life

jamie's picture

the same happens to me

omg. the exact thing happens to me aswell. i woke up after it this morning and i thought about the same thing (putting a clock in front of me or a cam corder) can you move your arms well when i say move your arms i mean your arms feel like they are moving but they are not.(sort of like it is your spirit body. i felt my eye when i was asleep and i felt it opening and closing but could not see my hand) i know. you can try putting a mirror in front of you when you fall asleep. then see if you can see yourself opening your eyes.

Max's picture

Wow

I was worried it was something supernatural or even worse, something like a stroke. Now I have a clear idea of what it is.

Thank you for taking the time to post this article, it really relieved my mind.

- Max

Sancho's picture

Sounds like me

Its about 4:24am on March 16, 2010 as I am writing this. The train is sounding in the background of the night, dogs from all over the neighborhood have not stopped barking for who knows how long, and I have just woke up from what seems to be a Nightmare. I say "from what seems" because it felt as though I was still awake lying in bed trying to fall asleep. I was just laying down counting sheep you might say when from nowhere it seems that either someone or something lifted my bed cover and as the cover came down I felt a little draft as the result. Electronic or computer noises came right as the cover came down with I say again either someone or something presing it down. I felt as if something was pulling at each of the four corners of the cover and holding me down though my bed sits at the corner of the room. That's when I started to get nervous because at the same time something was pulling the cover at the foot of the bed. I heard what seemed like little monsters noises at the time; undistinguished yet that's my best comparison. I figured I was having a bad dream or something when I knew I had my eyes closed and still could see a few things just blurry and out of place. I tried to call out for help but it was like I lost my voice and my screams where not heard. When I felt like a crack splitting up my bed with pressure that I could feel from the foot of the bed to the middle I tried so hard to wake up. I felt trapped and scared; paralyzed for the most part. I could not move at all. So scared that I thought I might die. As I was waking up I felt a little relaxed but I started to go under again with the same feeling of panic and anxiety that I kept trying to break free until I was able to get up and reach for my phone. This has not been the first time this has happened. Its been a worse experience before. Its been more frequent as of the past 6 months. I don't know what it could be. I read some where that it could be sleep paralysis, one doctor said it might be narcolepsy. Who knows. Hopefully this nonstop writing has been enough time to deter my brain from whatever path it chose to take me through that ordeal.

Brian's picture

Feel your pain.

I will be honesty, i could only read about 5 sentences of this description it sounds terrible and literally gave me the chills and gave me tears. Sleep paralysis can be terrible. I hope this doesn't happen to you often.

I get it about once a week, but i don't see images or hear sounds. i just get a deep feeling of terror and dread.

But my advice to you is that when it happens to you, get up and calm your self down a bit. I usually turn my TV on and just watch it a bit to take my mind of things or listen to some nice music. Then i settle down in my bed very well. (for me it seems i get the parylsis whenever i try to force myself to sleep or i am in a strange position or something)

Good luck

Anonymous's picture

Strange occurrence following death of my mother

I am wondering if anyone can explain a very strange and unsettling phenomenon that happened to me recently? A few nights following the death of my beloved mother who was 91, I was in bed and trying to sleep very early in the morning, as I felt as if I hadn't slept at all. I was crying and also praying for her soul to be happy, when suddenly I felt something jump against the curve of my back. Because I have a cat that I love that I "sneak" away from at bedtime and close my door, my first thought was that she had followed me in and had kept quiet until then. So I felt behind my back and actually rubbed her fur, which is very smooth. She didn't move at all, which seemed very unusual, so I rolled over to look at her. There was nothing there at all and my bedroom door was still closed. This has continued to worry me, because now I am wondering if my mother was somehow trying to convey something to me. If anyone has an idea as to the reason for this incident, I would definitely appreciate hearing from them.
Thank you very much.

Susan

samirkumar 's picture

All started after my mother's death when I was 12

I never used to have any kind of sleeping disorder. But soon after my mother passed away. I started having the same fleeing of not able to wake up but your eyes are open. Sometimes feels like someone is walking with you behind. sometimes feels like someone wants to hold your neck. Soon after recovering from that i feel cold and shaken. This was happening very rare like once a month but after 15 years it is still following me and more frequent. I do not know but one of my good friend told me to pray one slogan of conquer death. which i always do when i get bad experience in dreams and after that i am able to get some relief.

Anonymous's picture

Hello Susan, First of all I

Hello Susan,

First of all I just wanted to say how sorry I am for the loss of you Mother. My father was killed in a fire about 9 years ago. I am 33 years old and have been having these sleep episodes ever since I can remember. I would tell my parents about them and no one ever understood what I was talking about until recently a lady that I work with was telling me that it was a sleep disorder. Although it would scare me, I always knew that it was my mind playing tricks on me. I always tried to explain it as my body was still asleep but my mind was awake. It seems to happen more often when I have a lot on my mind or when I'm upset about something. The day that my father was killed I was laying on the couch, home alone, crying. Above my couch was a shelf that had hearts with strings hanging from the shelf. I guess I had fallen asleep. I opened my eyes to see the hearts. I couldn't move and I couldn't talk. The hearts started swinging. All I could do was lay there and watch it. It scared me at the time but when I fully woke up I wandered if it was a sign from my father. I believe I was just having an episode but it did make me feel better thinking maybe it was my Dad trying to tell me that he loved me. Then a few nights later I was asleep in my bed. Something made me open my eyes but again I was completely paralyzed. I could hear someone in my bedroom walking. I had my eyes open and it was my father who grabbed my hand and kissed it but then looked at me with his eyes opened wide and started screaming. Then I knew that it wasn't my father cause he would never scare me that way. I think that when we are upset and thinking about something that our minds are not at ease and even when we are sleeping our minds are racing about these things. Is this the first time that you have ever done this? When I was a teenager my sister and I shared a room. I woke her up in the middle of the night freaking out telling her to look at all the snakes in our room. I remember this clear as day. I could literally see them and hear them. She of course started freaking out. I woke her up another night sitting up in bed looking at my arms and crying telling her that OH MY GOD I HAVE HAIR ALL OVER ME, I'M HAIRY. She of course replied with your not hairy, your a dork. LOL She didn't get much sleep sharing a room with me! I've had my eyes opened but couldn't move and a very scary lady was holding me down and screaming in my face. I couldn't move. I could feel her touching me and feel her breath on my face. These episodes are so real. The only advise that I can give you is try to calm yourself, if possible in your situation, before you go to bed. Try to think happy thoughts. Worth a try. Good luck to you. Liz

Jord.'s picture

Well.

The only time I have Sleep Paralysis is when I sleep by myself on my back. If i'm by my self and I fall asleep on my stomach, it doesn't happen. I don't know why though. It still freaks me out. I will never be used to it. But I hope this helps other people. I'm just a scared person to begin with, so it doesn't really help me anyhow. But I know that its not a reoccuring dream.

Have a good day everyone.

Mike's picture

I love when this happens to me

Am I the only one that likes when this happens to them? Don't get me wrong, it terrifies me when it happens, I hear footsteps, sometimes screams, I feel like I'm falling, I thought I heard my girlfriend walk into my house and take her jacket off the other day. This happened when she was in a different city. LOL. I suffer from SP occasionally, I think because I am a shift worker and have a terrible sleep schedule. It happens most often when I work day shift. I will only typically sleep 5 or 6 hours a night. I work a long, physically demanding 12 hours. So, usually by the 2nd or 3rd night's sleep, I can go into SP from a waking state or "wake up" into a SP state. When I nap on my "swing day" (when Days switch to nights. I work 3 days, then 2 nights) I can awake from SP and force my eyes open and look around. Things are blurry and weird, and I can usually hear things that aren't there. Anyway, that is my experiance and I really do think that it is cool.

Holly's picture

I have experienced this too.

Sleep Paralysis has happened to me twice. I am 24 years old and decided to research this because while napping at work today I had my second experience and it scared me. The first time I experienced Sleep Paralysis was a few years ago, and I do not remember if there were any stressful situations happening in my life at that time. All I remember about that experience was that I was sleeping during the daytime for some reason and I thought I was awake but could not move or open my eyes. It seemed to last at least 15 to 20 mins but may have only been a few seconds. I did not experience any weird visions or sounds, but thought that my sister was sitting on my bed (which she would not do while I was sleeping) trying to help me wake up. When I finally woke up I was scared and told my sister about it.
Today, I had laid down on the floor at work to try to nap. I am experiencing a lot of VERY stressful situations in my life and have not been sleeping well at all. I take Tylenol PM and still do not feel tired although I am exhausted. Today, I felt like I woke up and again I did not experience any weird sounds or visions. I thought that I was awake but could not move or open my eyes again. I thought I heard my co-worker calling my name and telling me I was making noises in my sleep. Finally the sound of the phone woke me up and once again I was scared. I asked my co-worker if I were making weird noises and she said she wouldn't have known because she was napping also. I do not want this to happen again but have a feeling that due to so much stress and sleeplessness it will happen again. I am going to talk to my psychiatrist on Thursday and hopefully she will be able to help me with this problem. Now I will hopefully not be as scared knowing that this is not such an uncommon thing and will not cause me any harm. I was scared because it felt like I was in a coma or something and had no control over my body.

Anonymous's picture

relaxx

i started having this when i was about 12 im 16 and it happens only sometimes now but when i was 12 i was so scared cuz i heard this ringing noise and couldnt move at all and my heart beat would slow down and my breathing would go all wiered cuz i panic alot and i felt like i was awake i learnt that if i listen to my ipod everynight cuz i use to have it all the time but know i only have it sometimes i just relax think about something else and soon enough its gone when i get it i hardly ever get scared now only wonder why it happens but now i know and im happy im not the only one but just dont panic and think bout something else and soon enough its over! :)

Anonymous's picture

sleep paralysis

I have had this also, I have to force myself to move or I feel that I am going to die. I had it 3 times last night. usually only when I am laying on my back and it feels like someone is trying to pull me through the bottom of the matteress, but last night it was while I was laying on my side as well. It felt like someone was behind me and holding me which was stopping me from moving...but I sleep on my own....this can be very frightening...I was told once that it was an attempt to drag me to "the dark side"....whatever it is it is very scary and sometimes I dread going to bed at night.

babylin palonpon's picture

me either I dread going to

me either I dread going to sleep now T_T because I felt like my eyes open while I am sleeping and see's exactly what happening in my room I even saw my niece taking my favorite shoes and wore it but sometimes I was just dreaming, the never ending dreams. As of now I feel exactly what I am feeling when I am just sleeping and having a dreams. It seems I feel like I am not still in reality T_T

Peyton's picture

My experience with Sleep Paralysis

I'm Peyton. I am 15 almost 16 years old, and have experienced Sleep Paralysis four times in my lifetime. My first experience was during my freshman year of high school, and the other three were this year (sophomore year). My last experience was February 12th of this year. I have very vivid hallucinations and fear for my life. There's not a more terrifying feeling than Sleep Paralysis, and not a better feeling that waking out of it. My parents do not know of what I am going through, but I think that is for the best. From what I've read, Sleep Paralysis is not life-threatening. Especially if it is, I don't want them to worry of losing me. They lost my infant brother a couple years ago, and I know losing me too would be the end of them. I do keep a record of previous Sleep Paralysis experiences, just in case. I tend to find that Sleep Paralysis occurs within less than 15 minutes after I fall asleep. It generally takes 90 minutes for you to enter your REM cycle in which Sleep Paralysis occurs, so I'm not sure why I experience Sleep Paralysis so early after falling asleep. I often suffer from stress, depression, sleep deprivation, horrible sleeping habits (it is now 2:30AM), and procrastination. All possible causes of Sleep Paralysis. It's comforting to know I'm not the only one experiencing this horrible sleeping problem, but at the same time I feel very alone to know none of my friends experience it. I wish there was something I could do to keep from having Sleep Paralysis ever again, but it seems that's not practical. I've found that I am able to get out of Sleep Paralysis the fastest when I calm myself. Calming myself is almost impossible in that situation, but I do my best. Reassuring yourself that you will wake out of it should help too. Never just give in to Sleep Paralysis. I struggle my best to wake from it, hoping I always will be able to.

Anonymous's picture

Why not to 'give in to SP'? I

Why not to 'give in to SP'? I believe in astral projection and it can begin from a SP or end in it.
YOu have to try to relax the most and fell strong and beautiful lights warming your body, try to fell being floating in a beautiful and clear sea. Due this stage of 'halucination' it is possible to see beautiful things.. and also terrible things, it´s your call.
Best regards.

reni's picture

I have had this SP since

I have had this SP since childhood. It usually happens to me when I'm really tired and can't fall asleep easily. I can't move my body not even my fingers or toes apart from my eyes. If i close them i start hearing an endless buzzing everything gets dark and start hearing voices which is reall scary. My breathing is very heavy and slow. Once i tried breathing slowly and the light came up like the one you would see when you die. As many people believe in heaven, I do too. I was so scared that time really thought i was gonna die. I was fighting with my breath but eventually i managed to wake up. I washed my face with cold water and went back to sleep. It still happens to me but now I never close my eyes and take deep breath which helps it go. It's just not normal.

Key's picture

I've experienced this for over 20 years

I have experienced SP since I was a child. I am 30 now and it hasn’t stopped but it comes and goes in spurts but I have more control and less fear now than I did when I was a child. Some months it may not happen and others it can happen 3-5 times in that month. I’ve come to a point were I’m not scared when it happens I just mostly concentrate on trying to snap myself out of it. I used to try and scream, but to no avail so now I just concentrate on moving my limbs or my head. I’ve had more success moving my head and usually it doesn’t take long. I’ve had moments where I was trying to fight out of it and will either go into a deeper sleep or the sp gets worse but I always snap out of it. I never know how long it last. I always can see my surroundings but it feels that someone is holding me down or has wrapped me tight in my in my blankets. And it always seems as if someone is in the room but I can never see the person, just feel the presence. I usually wake up and go back to sleep. I have found comfort in prayer, during and after SP. I have found that it not only comforts me but it also protects me and stops it, at least for that night. If there is someone next to me when this happens, they never know what is going on, I try to make a noise, reach, hit, kick them but it never happens and they have no clue when I ask. I do, at times, jerk awake but that is from my struggles to move and my muscles finally working for me. Prayer has been what has worked for me. It is a scary experience. This is the first I’ve heard of this, I was just told that evil spirits were trying to get to me. And I also felt it was from stress because it happens more when I’m busy or having issues at work. I’ve been involved in athletics my whole life, I played college basketball and I continue to workout intensely about 4 days a week so I thought fatigue may have something to do with it too. I’m glad I came across this article.

Anonymous's picture

having a bad arm

this has happened to me a cupple of times since i moved in to my new home one time i was in ma bed and felt awake but couldnt move and ma son was in his mosebasket next to ma bed and i could hear him cry but i couldnt move the i felt someone grap ma arm and lift it up and put in ma son basket but he wasnt there then i was screaming his name and the only reson why i woke up was coz i had a crap in ma leg and when i woke up my arm was hurting but it really freaked me out and i didnt want to go bk to sleep so i sat in living room and watched DVD then fell asleep on sofa i had one last night i didnt feel anyone in the room i just could'nt move and i was screaming to wake ma self up but didnt work i dont really remember how i woke ma self up i just drifted in to a real dreame. i have had enough of this i am really scared becouse anything could happen to me or my son i need HELP to stop this can some one help me please!!! coz there has been people how have this problem and end up arming there partners in the night!

Anonymous's picture

Have your new home blessed by

Have your new home blessed by a priest.
Also, next time, while it is happening, struggle to pray - Say 'Jesus' a few times and it should leave you alone.
Keep holy water beside your bed, bless your room and yourself before going to sleep.

There is alot more going on here, and in many other cases that reaches further than their 'scientific explanations'.

Rasy's picture

my 1st paralysis sleeping experience

I started to experience paralysis sleeping when I was 22, now I'm 23. The first time it happen to me was when I was falling asleep on my bed from watching tv. Whereas my little brother was on the computer. I woke up but couldn't move! I was screaming my lungs out and yelled at my brother telling him to wake me up!
After a LONG minute or so I woke up completely in sweat and fear... Fear I never felt before...it was beyond any other fear that I have encounter in my lifetime. I asked my little brother "why didn't you wake me up didn't you hear me!" He said "what are you talking about you were asleep the whole time". My brother looked at me and asked me if I was ok because I was all wet from the sweat and my face was covered in fear. Now that I know paralysis sleeping has something to do with your spirit visiting the spirit world, it makes me feel more aware and less frightin from paralysis sleeping.

sleeper's picture

Sleep Paralasys my experience

I have had this expirience since i was five .And i have it in all off its shapes.Over body expirience when you see your body in your room and all its things in place but cant move or speek.Had it when i was the director of my dream that means that you can do anything in your dream but soon you get bored so i try to kill my self in that dream to wake up and it helps.

azza4017's picture

ive had these dreams since i

ive had these dreams since i was 6 and im 31 now.usaully its a demon like creature sitting on me or trying to choke me but sometimes its a more human female creature that dry humps me or sits on my bed laughing.anyone else had something like this?its gotten to the point were i cannot sleep at night anymore.

Anonymous's picture

Try to hug it with no fear,

Try to hug it with no fear, and wish peace, light and love. Soon it is gone in a better appearence.

Christian's picture

Im 17 and my last dream which

Im 17 and my last dream which was yesterday was the worst one. I was mad at the devil for some reason and i saw his face and i through myself at him cause i was scared and i wanted to stop being scared. I like went in him and it turned black and i woke up. But my body was parailized, i couldnt see, talk or breathe.

Anonymous's picture

PRAYER!!!!!

Prayer is the answer!!! Only the Lord can heal you from what I believe is an attack from the enemy. I have prayed and and asked the Lord to protect me as I go to sleep and it never happens!

Anonymous's picture

PRAYER IS THE ANSWER

I have had this happen as well. The key is praying to our Lord and savior. Nothing is ever to powerful when you are protected by his word. Read the bible there are scriptures leading to the answer to any question and or concern/fear. ThiS is more than a "disorder" otherwise it wouldnt alwayS BE related to a satanic act. Its always scary and uncomfortable. It comes from an evil force and if you dont know Christ and believe the word that states NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST YOU SHALL PROSPER ( Isaiah 54:11 ). Then you leave the door open for anything that isnt from our Lord.It is possible to live without fear let alone sleep. All you need is to trust and ask the lord to control your thoughts.

kumar's picture

Hi my name is kumar, im 28yrs

Hi my name is kumar, im 28yrs old i have a problem of not falling sleeep. Dont know why ? looking for a proper reason and suggestion. i goto my bed to sleep i'll lay down on bed to sleep but whole night im still awake i close my eyes to fall sleep and also i stopped to think to fall sleep but unable to sleep. this im syffering from 6 months can anyone can provide me the solution please.. thank you..

15 yr paralysis's picture

Ive had sleep paralysis

Ive had sleep paralysis episodes at least since I was 6, because the first I remember took place in a house that burnt down when I was 6. Im 21 now, btw. I read that stress, lack of sleep, sleep aids, being in a new place, etc. can contribute. After I actually found out what was happening, I wondered why it would happen to me when I was so young, and why it would happen so frequently to some of us. I had sp until I was 11 or 12, and it stopped for awhile. Id forgotten until I think when I got to high school it started again. I rarely have hallucinations, just panic. For some reason, I guess position contributes too. I know sleeping on you back can, and maybe sitting up because your bodys more exhausted rather than relaxed? Anyway, recently Ive only been having sp when I sleep in a recliner. And usually its mixed with a dream where Im trying to move my head. Also, when I have regular sp, I usually try moving my toe or finger. Sometimes concentrating on trying to move a small body part can bring you out of it.

Anonymous's picture

I had these episodes before

I had these episodes before and had two one after another today... I figured it was stress due to my husband being deployed. I have this horrible feeling that I can't prevent or slip out of right before I find myself unable to move and breath. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to die right there in bed and never wake up to my children. I wish I knew some way to make this stop. It usually happens to me if I fall asleep during the daytime. It feels like someone is choking me and I'm fully awake and can see myself from above, but no one is there hurting me in reality. I'm terrified of dying in my sleep.