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Sleep Paralysis: Awake But Still Asleep
Biology 202
2000 First Web Report
On Serendip
Sleep Paralysis: Awake But Still Asleep
Hiro Takahashi
A person may wake up and find himself unable to move or speak as if he is frozen. He also may hear footsteps, see a ghost-like creature, or feel someone sitting on his chest. Throughout the history, people considered this phenomenon as work done by evil spirits. However, the modern science can explain the terrifying event as a Sleep Paralysis.
A Sleep Paralysis is possibly a hereditary disorder in which one experiences very frightening seconds or minutes of total body paralysis with little respiration and eye movements (1). A victim in this state feels awake, but he cannot move or speak (2). In addition to the immobility, the common symptoms include feeling choked or suffocated, hearing strange noises like footsteps and voices, seeing beings or dark shadows, and feeling an existance of someone in the room (1). Although these symptoms often direct the victims to believe in ghosts, mistransmission of neural signals in the brain causes Sleep Paralysis. When a person sleeps, his brain sends signals to inhibit any muscle contraction (3). If he comes into consciousness before the brain sends signals to activate muscle contraction, he cannot move his body, and consequently, become "paralyzed"(2).
In order to understand how a body becomes paralyzed while the person is awake, it is necessary to understand sleep cycles. In a mammalian sleep, the brain activity undergoes two different states called non-REM (NREM) sleep and REM sleep, which differ very much from wakefulness (3). NREM and REM sleep alternate cyclically through the night; in human, about 80 minutes of NREM sleep starts a night of sleep, about 10 minutes of REM sleep follows, and this 90 minute cycle is repeated about 3 to 6 times during the night (3). During NREM sleep, a body produces few movement, but the body has capability of tossing about in bed and producing some other motor events, such as sleepwalking and sleeptalking (3). The cardiac-muscle contraction and breathing occur at a uniform rate, and the eyes move slowly (2). During REM sleep, on the other hand, heart rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure vary (3). The eyes move rapidly because most dreaming takes place in this period, and the sleeper probably "look" at the moving objects in a dream (2).
The brain's control over muscles during REM sleep points out that in this period, a body is normally in the state of total paralysis, called a "nonreciprocal flaccid paralysis" (3). Probably to prevent a person from "acting out" a dream, the brain sends signals to inhibit any muscle contractions (2). Although some peripheral muscles, such as the muscles of the fingers and face, still twitch, the large skeletal muscles become relaxed, or "paralyzed" as a result (3). Some evidence supports that the motor paralysis of REM sleep protect against the acting out of one's dreams. A patient who suffers from rare syndrome called REM Sleep Behavior Disorder lacks the normal nonreciprocal flaccid paralysis, and he acts out violent dreams during REM sleep, often with injurious consequences (4). For example, a 60-year-old surgeon dreamt that he was attacked "by criminals, terrorists, and monsters who always tried to kill [him]" and fighting against them in the nightmare, he was actually punching and kicking his wife who slept in the same bed (4).
A nonreciprocal flaccid paralysis during REM sleep is accomplished actively by postsynaptic inhibition of motorneurons (3). Although the exact process of motor inhibition is not clear, some neurotransmitters and hormones are known to generate the many components of REM sleep. Aministering physostigmine, an inhibitor of the catabolic enzyme, increases the concentration of acetylcholine within the neurons in the pons, making it possible to artificially generate and start REM sleep in the middle of NREM sleep (3). Carbachol, the cholinergic agonist, produces a period of REM sleep in cat when directly injected into the pontine tegmentum (3). The hormone melatonin, a "master hormone" (5) that mainly controls circadian rhythms, also seems to play an important role in enhancing the REM state; the level of melatonin secretion by the pineal gland reaches its lowest during REM sleep (5). Such neurotransmitters and hormones probably activate or inhibit the activity of second messengers, which then activate or inhibit the third messengers, and so on till the last messenger inhibit the synaptic transmission or cause hyperpolarization of the motorneurons. And if, for some reason, the nervous or endocrine system continues to release the neural inhibitors, a person may experience Sleep Paralysis as he enters awakefully into or awakens directly from REM period (2).
While the modern neuroscience can describe the state of Sleep Paralysis as some errors of the neural transmission in the brain during REM sleep, a person who has seen or heard ghost-like figures/voices may easily believe that eveil spirits fully controlled his entire body. However, the images or noises, which the victim believes that he has seen or heard, are most likely hallucinations; and hallucinations, too, can result from the brain activity. In the 1960's, the Canadian neurologist W. Penfield introduced that electrical stimulation of the temporal lobe can cause the auditory hallucinations in the wake state (5). The buzzing or ringing sounds in the ears and other auditory hallucinations are closely associated with the activity of the auditory cortex and involves the temporal lobe (5). During the early period of sleep paralysis, the activity of the temporal lobe increases significantly, sometimes inducing hallucinatory sense (5). Similarly, the visual cortex generates internal visual stimuli, causing the victim to "see" terrifying figures during the paralysis (5).
How an episode of Sleep Paralysis induces visual or auditory hallucinations is still not clear, but it seems to have a significant relationship with anxiety (5). For anxiety is a neurocognitive event closely related to both psychological and physical processes, the extreme anxiety or panic may cause the release of several different signal molecules that trigger all kinds of physical events (5). A person experiencing Sleep Paralysis feels mortal fear or extreme panic, and hence, the brain generates and releases internal visual or auditory stimuli, producing hallucinations.
Also, hallucinations during Sleep Paralysis may happen, for one keeps dreaming even after some parts of his brain wakes up directly from REM sleep. Since the nervous and endocrine systems continue to release the neural inhibitors which sustain the paralysis, it may be possible that those systems keep releasing the neural activators that stimulate dreaming. Thus, a person continues to "see" the images and "hear" the noises produced in the dream that he has just had in REM sleep from which he has awaken.
Understanding more neural concepts of Sleep Paralysis, some researchers now hypothesize that a very rare condition called Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome (SUNDS) may closely relate to Sleep Paralysis (1). Upon the death, a SUNDS victim produces no body movement even though he experiences a myocardial infarction and strong breathing difficulties and should straggle in agony (5). The death may be caused by the extreme muscle atonia during Sleep Paralysis, which is so severe that even the cardiac muscles and the diaghragm paralyze (5).
Until I started researching on this subject, I have believed that the total paralysis of a body is due to an evil taking absolute control over the body. However, the interactions between neurons in the brain can explain this seemingly mysterious phenomenon in a scientific way. Although the explanation is not complete yet, for there are many unclear processes about Sleep Paralysis, the current hypothesis appears to reject the possibility of ghosts on this matter. Of course, it is impossible to completely disprove the existence of "spirits", "minds", or "God" affecting one's behavior. Nevertheless, like Sleep Paralysis and SUNDS, many or the mysterious conditions and behaviors which are only explained in supernatural terms probably result from brain.
WWW Sources
1)The Evil's of Sleep Paralysis
4)REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: A Neurologic Dissociative Sleep Disorder
5)Recurrent Isolated Sleep Paralysis
Comments made prior to 2007
I have been trying to figure out what was going on in my sleep untill i read this.Now i am happy to know what my body was expeiencing. It's quite scary your first couple experiences of sleep paralysis but now i'm gonna stay calm when it is happening to me and try to get my own understanding of the experience ... Jeremy, 21 March 2006
I have had sleep paralyisis at least once per month for the last 8 years. I am 29 as of this writing. I just had the experience about 1 hour ago and thus has caused me to do reasearch about it on the net. I noticed that many Dr.'s contribute this to anxiety, stress and other factors. My question is ... why is there always an evil presence in that concious yet body is still asleep phase? Today I heard a loud static sound, and opened my eyes to a spider crawling all over my arm. When I prayed to God, or said His name (Jehovah) the spider would start to disappear. I finally went thru my mental prayer when I awoke. This leads me to believe that it is more of a spiritual occurence, because I never have positive images while in this paralized state. I know there are many things in which our ancestors thought it was demonic rather than scientific, only to find there was a scientific explanation. However, I think this is different and cannot be simply written off as "scientific". There is not enough proof to show that it is scientific.
About a month ago I had another episode of sleep paralysis and I saw a small presence in the room with me. It was dark, and I could not see it's face (I am getting chills typing about it right now). My question is, why is there always an evil presence not only associated with my episodes, but so many others I have read about? ... Abel, 24 August 2006
i was thinking it is evil who do that during night but now i find out why. I am suffering from sleep paralyze possibly every nigh spicily when i have dinar ... Salah Nasser, 28 January 2007
I used to have this sleeping disorder when I was a child. It has come back once or twice with adulthood, but otherwise, it is in the past. I used to, with great effort, move my hand to my face and pull an eye open, which would wake me up, but sometimes the struggle was too much and I would go on into a deeper sleep.
Since the brain can do this to me, can it also cause me to get migraines just as I am about to wake up?
It seems, as I have discovered, if I get less than 4 hours sleep a night, I do not get migraines. If I get 6 hours or more, it's about a 90% chance I will wake with a migraine. Later in the day, I get an hour or two nap and that is the routine as it works. Doctors just sort of treat the migraine and don't get into the sleep thing I have. I take MaxAult for the migraines when they do get me.
I woke one time, and just as I woke, I felt this white-hot needle going into my head... bingo. A migraine in 5 seconds. That is how they can occur. I wake with them otherwise. I figure it my brain doing things it shouldn't. I have a clean bill of health otherwise.
Thanks for your time. Have a good day ... Jay, 11 February 2007
I have a question, and hope someone out there has an answer, it has been months and I have thus far failed to find one. Has there ever been a record of anyone receiving the effects of sleep paralysis without having been asleep? The reason I ask this, is a while ago, having not slept in a few hours, I was sitting at my computer, and it seemed to have happened to me. Within seconds I was too tired to hold up my own head, and my breathing got very difficult. Then I began to feel a sort of dizziness as my limbs lost feeling, and dropped to my side. after this, the dizziness turned to near blindness. I could see, but nothing would focus, and everything I tried to look at seemed to dart around like a mosquito. By this time I had no feeling in my entire body, could move nothing without quite a bit of concentration, and I could barely breath. My mother heard me try and make out some kind of cry for help, and found me there spilled into my computer chair. She rolled me to my bed, and poured me into it. Within about 10-15 minutes I had regained everything I once had, but my sea legs did not ware off for another ten or so minutes. I went to the emergency soon after. I had an E.K.G. and a C.A.T. scan, with no results, and I piss less in a week then the amount of blood they took that night. After basically telling me I was lying, the doctor told me that my symptoms did not fit anything at all. What I do know, is I have been researching the issue ever since, and can only base my problem on Sleep Paralysis. All the symptoms match. And again, my question....Has there ever been a record of someone under the effects of sleep paralysis without ever having gone to sleep? I hope you can shed some sort of light on this subject, as it,...well, it freaked me the hell out, and no one has been able to answer me! Thank you for your time ... Mitchel Henderson, 7 December 2007
I used get this "evil paralysed me" feeling when i was paralysed and usually saw a ghost. i tried to shout or move but no sound escaped my mouth and couldn't move at all. it happened again yesterday and was almost convinced that ghosts/evil spirits were getting the better of me. But, me being a practical and logical guy, erjected this theory and started researching on this phenomenon. I came across this research paper on Sleep Paralysis. This greatly helped me in alleviating my fears. And next time i "see" a ghost during sleep paralyses, ill just laugh at it ;-) Thanks for the research ... Siddarth, 10 December 2007
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| This paper reflects the research and thoughts of a student at the time the paper was written for a course at Bryn Mawr College. Like other materials on Serendip, it is not intended to be "authoritative" but rather to help others further develop their own explorations. Web links were active as of the time the paper was posted but are not updated. |
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Comments
Stress from Military Deployment?
I just had one of these incidents. Its 1am and I have my light on in my room and I'm all over the internet looking for answers. I just returned from a military deployment to Iraq and don't know if this is just my body readjusting to normal sleep. I try to put answers to it, but its just my mind trying to make me feel better about it. Whatever the cause, I want it to stop.
While I was asleep, I was laying on my stomache and I felt like someone was laying on my back with their hands wrapped around each side of me. I knew I was still awake mentally, and it litterally scared me more then anything I have ever done or seen in my life. I tried concentrating so hard to get an inch of movement out of any of my body parts, because I knew that would be enough to wake me up completely. I would drift into a dream, then back into this state. Once I knew I couldnt move any of my body I began to try to breath harder, thinking I might be able to control that in order to give me a little "shock" to wake me up. That did not work either. The whole time I felt like someone was laying on me. I dont know what happened but finally I burst awake, yelled I think, and my heart was racing. I am affraid to go back to sleep. I wish there were more answers.
Felt good to give my story and it gave me a few minutes of being awake.....thanks for listening
its not real, try and move, but realize its not real
ive had it twice in my life where i woke up and could not move. both times i was very tired when i went to sleep so i believe when your sleep is kept up on a normal schedule it will go away. at least it did for me.
also i realize its hard not to be scared, but you can control it by telling yourself its not real, and trying to be calm.
And now, a voice...
Hello, I am 37 years old and this is all so familiar. It happened to me the first time when I was 17, shortly after I had become a Christian. I was tormented by irrational fears at this time too. I believe that the attacks of SP are demonic. They always seem to happen to me when something spritually significant happens in my life. Its spiritual warfare. I was lying down in the afternoon and when i "awoke" there was a heavy presence "sitting" on my chest, mocking me without words. It was horrible.A cold evil presence suffocating me. I couldnt speak or move and i was terrified. I finally managed to weakly utter Jesus'name and the presence left. I know this is gonna sound far-fetched (or maby not, considering why were all here) but when the presence departed it seemed to me that I heard the sound of wings "flapping" I'll say that after the ordeal was over, i never slept so at peace that i can recall. I literally felt as though I was being held and coaxed gently back to sleep by a benevolent presence. I know that what I expierienced was real and i can assure you all that these things are spiritual in nature. Most recently, this morning actually, I was woken up by a voice. It sounded like an evil language. It was almost a mantra or a chant it seemed' and it gave me chills. I have had "minor" sleep attacks from time to time since that first occurance when i was 17, but this one really shook me up. If anything I'll take it as a spiritual wake up call and get right with God. I believe that this may have happened because i have been falling away from God pursuing my own worldly interests instead of pursuing God and leaving myself open to attacks from the evil one. I would encourage all here to look earnestly at a Bible and you will see that this sort of thing is significant and should "awaken" you spriritualy enough to seek out your creator. Jesus is greater than any evil spirit and can protect you from these attacks. God bless you all.
Scared
I am a 23 year old girl. Last night, I had dozed off into sleep (like less than 10m min) and woke up telling someone in my mind to turn off the fan because I was cold. I thought how weird...kind of coming back to conciousness I realized I had dozed off and I just went back to sleep. Minutes later laying on my back (dozed to sleep again) I felt a solid pressure push on my chest and all of my muscles tense so hard it hurt. I saw a flash of something, what I don't know. I could not move any part of my body, not even open my eyes. My jaw was locked and I tried to call for help but only guttural noise would come out at first, and then nothing. I don't know how long it lasted becuase I was not fully awake, but I remember thinking that this was not a dream that it was really happening. And I did feel another presence in my room, something evil. When I finally was able to open my eyes I jumped out of bed and would not go back in my room. I was convinced that the devil or something evil had taken control of my body. I consider myself a very rational person. Sure, I believe in spirits, and God, and ghosts, but never have I been fearful. I was terrified last night, and my body is sore today. When telling other people about it I sound crazy, even to my own ears. I guess what I find unsettling is that the explanations I've read online are not very clear. I have been extremely stressed and anxious and I read that this can play a factor in provoking it? Can this be explained scientifically even though it hasn't really been proven? Spiritually? I am not very religious, and am more apt to believe in facts. I am terrified of it happening again.. :(
I've had this for over 3 years.
I remember when I first went through this. It was so terrifying. It feels so real and you know you're sleeping and all you want to do is want to wake up. So in this first dream I was on my bed opened my eyes and I saw a shadow of a face in the top corner of my room. And then my natural reaction was to turn away or do something. But then I instantly felt all numb. I could not move my face or my entire body. I was trying to scream, and move..but was forced to look at that face. I was telling myself that this is not real. my heart was beating so fast. It seemed like something evil. And I tried to fight off this numbness but it seemed like the harder I would try, the longer I would stay like that. So I finally calmed myself down and then i finally woke up. But I woke up so terrified and scared. That night I cried cuz it was so scary and I would not go back to sleep. So I always turn on a light or tv... and am scared to back to sleep. It seems like I do get this when I'm more stressed. I've had it so many times. Always something very scary happens like Ill be in a room and the lights will turn out and the doors will close.. and it feels like I'm getting attacked and then I'll go numb. Regardless it's always been terrifying. But each time when this happens, I try not to fight, and the less I try to move or scream the faster I'll wake up. I used to think that I got possessed and stuff. It's just so terrifying.. and I pray to God to please help me and not let any evil things in and let me have good dreams.
.. this has worked for me pretty well. But last night I tried to control it and to stay calm.. but it was harder. There was a ghost or some sort of presence.. I was at my grandma's house. and trying to leave the back room and then the lights went off and I was trying to breathe but I couldn't and then I went to the ground and went all numb and I felt like that, it was like I went through a complete mental breakdown but I wasn't moving. Usually the numbing goes away sooner but not last night. When I woke up I cried and turned on my tv and stayed awake as long as i could.
Something weird to me is that these dreams happen about 10 minutes after I fall asleep.
I started sleeping with the
I started sleeping with the lights on. Im wondering if the lights really do go off or is it just in the dream?
sleep paralysis
I've had the same problem for years. I go to sleep and soon after falling asleep (its never later on at night, its always within the first hour of sleep) I wake up with a terrible panic attack and see something, either a spider or the shadow of an evil person who wants to harm me, standing over my bed. At other times I have dreams where I know I am dreaming and something terrible is coming that I don't want to see but I can't wake up. I try and scream but nothing comes out and eventually somehow after great effort I wake up. I hate this and I wish it wouldn't happen. It doesn't always happen every night but quite often. I wonder why its always in the beginning of the night soon after falling asleep? Very terrifying even though it really doesn't last that long.
SPIRITUaL OR SCIENCE?
anyways ive had this happen about 5 times in my life just happened last night too.
this is how i started off.
I fell asleep like at 1 am and then woke up in the middle of the night. After waking up i could not fall asleep so i closed my eyes hopefully to drift on to sleep. While my eyes were close i was still awake but I felt like a vibration all over my body as if i was numb or something. It was a tingling sensation it felt good. I tried to move but i couldnt as if something was on top of me. I believe in spirits and god and all that so what i did was i prayed to god and sure enough i snapped out. Has anyone ever had that tingling feeling? my dog was sleeping on the bed and when i awoke her tail almost transformed into like some object like a blur but then it went back to normal? can this be caused by sleep paralaysis? anyways that was my experience. thanks all
please reply :)
For the Young People
Hello - I hope this may be of help to some of you. I have been having this Sleep Paralysis "SP" for over 40 years now. Mine begins as I start to fall asleep. I get a buzzing in my ears -- and sometimes my body feels like it is vibrating too. But, once I feel this it is usually too late. Even if I catch it, once I start to fall asleep again, it will probably get me. Sometimes I can move my pinky finger to get out of it. Sometimes I end up going to sleep after it.
They started when I was a young child (maybe 4 or 5) and I am almost 50 now. They were worst in my teens (almost nightly) and I rarely get them anymore.
When I was very young I remember that I couldn't even explain to adults what it was that I was so afraid of. As a teenager I was a born-again Christian and I literally thought the devil was trying to posses me. The SP was the worst at this age.
As I got older into my late 20s and 30s I went into a several years atheism and did not get the SP as often but when I did, they still gave me a feeling of overwhelming fear and felt evil.
I got into New Age beliefs later in my 40s and the SP took on a sexual aspect (not good at all) and still they felt evil. (With the New Age belief system I was also able to see Astral Project / Out of Body Experience components as part of my sleep experiences as well as Lucid Dreaming.)
With help, I learned to call on Arch Angel Michael for protection. This does help somewhat.
I am not sure why but these do seem to calm down with age. Lack of sleep seems to make them much worse. Even after 40 years of experience it does not matter how much I tell myself to remain calm, once the buzzing starts, the fear starts.
Mostly for the young people -- I know these terrify you out of your mind. I am still alive after 40+ years of dealing with this. I used to drink tons of caffeine and stay up way late and I think that makes things worse. (Sleeping pills were a disaster for me.) It did not help me to have a friend spend the night as I could not move enough to wake her up. (Being married didn't help for the same reason.) Asking for Jesus or God or whomever to protect you may help. Staying on a regular schedule may help you. I also think age helps. I only get a couple a year now. Take Care.
sleep paralysis
I am quite releived to come across this website with so many comments about S/P ive been having them now on and off ofr 20 yrs i cant see a pattern as what triggers it off, but i've just had one today i get petrified when i have one and like everyone else, i cant move or speak and i feel a presence in the room and always an evil one im fighting to move and shout "leave me alone" but so frustrating nothing comes out of my mouth except what i feel is a mumble i felt sick and my legs were like jelly this morning, im dreading it happening again, i see people have said try and stay calm, this i will try but it is very hard when you are frightened.
Sleep Paralysis
I'm seventeen, and I've had this problem since I was young. I've never connected it with ghosts or spirits, although I believe in both.
It's occurred more often lately than ever before, but I don't feel especially stressed or anxious. I have, however, been sleeping-in everyday for about a month (no school or anything), and it has occurred about three times in this week alone, and about once a week for a few weeks before now.
I don't feel any pain when it occurs (thank God, though, because it sounds painful, the way some of you have experienced it), but I cannot move any of my limbs, fingers, eyelids, mouth or any other part of my body.
I am a firm believer in God and ghosts and almost anything spiritual, but it was not until I read this that I ever even THOUGHT that it had to do with spirits. I've seen and heard ghosts throughout my life, but I still doubt that they have anything at all to do with my sleep paralysis.
I have never heard footsteps or voices or seen anything, but the fact that I cannot move anything is terrifying, to say the least. I could be wrong though...there are many factors that seem to cause the paralysis, but in my experiences, it seems like a neurological disorder. Don't take my word for it, though, because that's just MY experience with it. Others are sure that it is spiritual.
I have also suffered from Bells Palsy three different times since I was fourteen. It causes the right side of my face to lose all movement for about two weeks at a time. It hasn't occured in about two years, however. I am not sure if this has ANYTHING to do with sleep paralysis, but after reading this article and understanding the neurological causes, it makes me wonder...
But for all of those who have experinced Sleep Paralysis for the first time, rest assured that it only lasts for about a minute, and that if you stay calm and focus on moving something, you'll snap out of it. It used to scare me, and it still does at first, but once you realize what is happening, it's easier to calm down.
:)
I don't feel any pain when it
I don't feel any pain when it occurs (thank God, though, because it sounds painful, the way some of you have experienced it), but I cannot move any of my limbs, fingers, eyelids, mouth or any other part of my body.
verry terrorfing
one night i just laid down to go to sleep and about one minut my entire bodey whent numb and i cold not move at all and all of the sudden i felt so terorfide that whan i cam back to reality i was swetting and when it happend my eyes were cloesed and i thoght that i was screaming and kiking but i wasint sorry my spelling is horrible but overall it was the most terrorfing moment in my life
just read your
just read your experience...really weird i had same thing about won week ago.when did it hapen to u.
Hi, im a 22 year old male, i
Hi, im a 22 year old male, i experienced paralysis, this always happens to me, maybe twice or 3x a week...
i tried a lot of experiments during the "paralysis" situation..
my eyes are open, i moved my tongue out, but i cant move any of my limbs, i tried talking but i cant...this happened at least 5-10 seconds after i close my eyes...
its like my mind is still awake, but my body still sleeps...
if youve got any explanation my email is
..thanks
sp
it happens me but usually after drinking the night before!!!but when it does happen i say the prayer "our father" and before i get to finsh it i snap out and fall back to sleep!
Ive had Sp since around the
Ive had Sp since around the age of 13 im 19 now and just learned what exactly it was i would ask friends and family but they would think i was crazy. After all the years of this happening ive never hallucinated or felt a "strange phenomenon" ive find that to be non-sense that people bring a higher power or there god into such a situation like theres a demon force in them i would much rather have scientific help to actually guide me through this.
What happens to me is it mostly happens when i sleep on my back or an uncomfortable or sumtimes when i try to keep my self awake. Once im deeply in the state of SP one or more things happen i realize its happening and try to stay calm but then again try to snap out of it which my legs or arms will start shaking or my eyes open i see and hear everything around me yet i cant move or speak but usually if im lucky someone is around that knows this happens and helps me wake up its been happening alot through the past month or two but not for a long period of time under a minute or so then im able to wake myself its very scary at times if it last for a bit but ive sort of learned to cope with it thinkin to myself your fine just take it a step at a time try to focus on moving sumthing or get someones attention but after i wake up im afraid to fall back asleep and am wide awake so i dont go back to sleep until im practically about to pass out sumtimes i stay awake for a day or two because i cant stand wondering if it will happen again but when i go to sleep i make sure everything is perfect i have to have the tv on because if it happens in the dark i freak out a bit make sure im sleeping comfortably on my side but when it happens i kno im sleeping wrong.
So for anyone else with SP problems hopefully my comment helps try to get a good sleeping schedule and sleep comfortably and dont panic because really your fine just try and find a helpful solution to snap out of it and believe what you want but ive never had dreams through it yet and hopefully i dont but its not evil spirits coming to get you its just a regular sleeping disorder and anyone with helpful tips for me i gladly welcome them.
Exact same for me. It's been
Exact same for me.
It's been freaking me out wildly every time it happens, which most recently was this morning. Like you, I have never hallucinated or dreamt of strange phenomenons in my room with me or a presence so to speak however I have freaked myself out majorly.
This morning was the longest one I've ever experienced. Probably only a minute but it felt like a very long time. I was laying on my back and I could not move anything except I was able to wiggle my index and middle fingers on my left hand. I dread when this happens as it scares me so much, but I will take your advice to stay calm next time it happens.
Thank you so much.
Last night was my first time
Last night was my first time i ever experienced SP i'm 37 years old and it happened 3 times. i felt like something was holding me down and choking me and i tried to speak but nothing would come out. i'm glad i looked it up on the web. because i thought something was wrong wit me. hopefully it won't happen again.
I've been having this problem
I've been having this problem for about a year i am now 15 years old my name is Taylor.What I experience isn't at all scary or frightful to me its just an annoying nuisance.During the night maybe twice a week id just be sleeping then all of a sudden i feel awake but cannot move this lasts for about 10 seconds until i begin shaking my eyes never open they just flutter but i never blink.Ive always pushed myself out of it how i do that i don't know but it is really really hard sometimes i give up take a break then go back at it.Its as if i am relaxing my body its hard because you are almost automatically trying to fight it off so when u relax you feel as if your giving yourself up to something putting yourself in danger the feeling is so uncomfortable its never painful but its almost like the feeling of butterflies(10x worse) while being put to sleep by narcotics and you have no control over your body but full control over your mind. And i think overtime it gets worse because now it seems that my mouth opens and locks and that actually hurts when i try to relax myself.
Can someone examine what I've said and make unique reasons to why this happens to me,things i can do about it.
wow....... I am not alone?
of all of those that I have read Taylor. You and I both share very similar symptoms. when you said these words, i got chill bumps.....
"i give up take a break then go back at it.Its as if i am relaxing my body its hard because you are almost automatically trying to fight it off so when u relax you feel as if your giving yourself up to something putting yourself in danger the feeling is so uncomfortable its never painful but its almost like the feeling of butterflies(10x worse) while being put to sleep by narcotics and you have no control over your body but full control over your mind"
I have had this happen to me since i was about 12 years old. over 20 years! you never want to give in because you think you are losing, and giving in and and giving up. I have learned over the years that you have to relax completely or attempt to jerk yourself out of it. the relaxing and staying calm part is what works. I also learned that you can just tell your mind to go back to sleep. that gives you the "surrendering" feeling as well, but it works. I personally do not like the feeling and do not like the pressure that I feel on my chest. When I was your age it would always occur with the presence of a huge black bird...... sometimes it even happens when I am awake, and in the stage of falling asleep. It is something that you never get used to, you only become familiar with it and accustomed.
LOOK IVE HAD IT AWAKE AND ASLEEP AND AROUND PEOPLE
i am 16 years old have it once or twice in year nine when i close my eyes sometimes i see incests or hear my voice in my head saying things that arnt my thoughts ..... I ALSO HEARD THE FOOTSTEPS !!! the one that the dude described when i read this my heart stopped beating .. i wasnt asleep because i asked my sister can you hear them she said no ... then they came closer and closer and attcked my head major freezing thing cant move cant talk or scream ect ( paralasys) i have been in a mental institution before ... iam scared if i tell docs they will take me back because one night whilst i was asleep in the hospital a massive huge spider like the size of my face came down it was blue and as it hit my face i closed my eyes and screamed rolled out of bed ran to the nurse .... i was scared to go back to sleep .... comming along to my other point I HAVE HAD IT AWAKE !!!! when sitting on a pc before when crying before the exact same sensations .... its a mental illness in my opinion because when i get a lil feeeling that its comming with the static sound i scream no no nooo!!! it kinda backs away ..................should i go docs?
If it scares you and causes
If it scares you and causes extreme anxiety, you may want to talk to a doctor about it. If you have had it awake, I think Narcolepsy has very similar symptoms (Narcolepsy is when you basically spontaneously "fall asleep," but your mind is still awake). I'm not sure what your exact history is but if you're simply having sleep paralysis, it doesn't mean you have a mental illness. I've been experiencing sleep paralysis since I can remember. It's very terrifying and I don't want to fall asleep at times, but if you can remember what is happening biologically in your brain and in your body, keep calm, and sing a song in your head until it's over, you'll be okay.
and i remember now that id feel the presence of
someone there in my room aswel at my side da it woz something id feel an it is lik electricty goin trough my body or somethin i cnt exsplain it an breathing in 2 my ear an when i saw my lil brother but i new it wasnt realy him i new it was a spirit r ghost watever ya call em!!i remember it al now reading over some peoples comments its freaky an i think this should be showin on tele or something so people understand because its frightning an people did die from this i seen it on tele but heres woz a evil spirit wouldcome in neel on there chest an choke them an they paralize 2 an wake up with marks on there neck one girl died from it let science expslain that it happens to good few people an gos bk hundreds of years ago but never taught id get similer experience without the choking and al the fellin of that something being there an seen it its evil an thats what made me paralized!!an yes i do suffer from depression aniexty my nerves are on edge i woz on anti depresents diff 1s but now goin 2 a healer and not as bad but i tink evil attacks the week an vunerble lik a bully!!
is this the same thing!an i hear a voice calling me
i taught i was awake if felt so real an my curtain started moving it was a like a ghost body coming out 4m it i was terrified i couldn move i got so paralised i couldnt move and the worse i got but it turned out 2 be my little brother but with a creepy voice an i new it wasnt him really he kept saying to me michelle its me michelle its me it didnt sound r act lik him i tryed my hardest to move i couldnt i could hardly talk it got worse an worse i got stiff an fell back (because i woz sitting up in my bed looking at the curtains)i fell back on my bed an it stopped!that woz it but it felt so real and i couldnt move it frightened the life out of me an i think it was a few days before that when i was watchin tele in my bed an my name was called out in a mans voice in my room an thats not the 1st time i herd it it happened a yr b4 that 2 some1 in a boys voice called me but it was outside my window my mother said i must of been half asleep but i remember been still awke been scared but i was awake i wasnt asleep r what is it PLZ TELL ME R DID THIS HAPPEN TO YOU.....its scary like!an now i havent sleept right in 2 years i just cant usuly go without sleeping 1 nite an fall asleep about anytime between 7am to 12.30am
Hi, it's good to see I'm not the only one experiencing this
I'm 17 as of now and I've had this twice and I remember both together with the details. The first time I had this was shortly after I had gone to bed after staying awake for almost 24 hours in 3 months ago. Don't ask me why, I just say it wasn't a party or anything related to it (actually it was a school programme). I had a dream in which I was walking with a girl hand in hand then suddenly I woke up (to a certain extent) with my nearly all my muscles paralyzed and my hands tilted 90 degrees, paralyzed like the rest. The unpleasent part was yet to follow, though: I heard drums, then a bell ringing and a face resembling Vlad Dracula appeared whilst my eyes were still closed. It all ended, however, within less than a minute. The second occasion was roughly a week ago. The precursor this time was demonic laughing followed by sounds like that of a tube containing compressed air ripped open. Just like the first, this was also short and weird. Being an atheist and a rational and logical person, the first thing that came to my mind was that I was becoming insane. Upon experiencing it again and hearing laughter that time I took into consideration the possibility of the action of something paranormal, a ghost or a demon, for instance. Now that I've gathered enough information about this problem I feel relieved. To be precise, it wasn't intertwinned with neither extreme anxiety nor diffuculties with breathing. Even my heart wasn't thumping like mad. It was just the whole feeling that terrified me. I believe stress has really got something to do with this phenomenon. The important thing is to be calm and try to wake up completely.
it happens
its not hallucinations, its real and there are ways to control it
how?
how?
unfortunately it happens
I decided to google this subject not knowing it had a medical term but in the search engine typed ' spirits paralysising people ' as i myself have been experiencing this since i was 15 ( ten years now ) at first it started off when drifting off to sleep, i recall the first time it happened i was having a afternoon nap and drifting off to sleep but the paralysis come on and i heard an old lady's voice tell me to "just let it happen ......." i of course tried to fight it, i considered the fact that i may have been having an outter body experience without realising, it then happened to my older sister - we thought the house must be uneasy but since living in 3 other homes and still having it happen on different occasions i have decided it is not the house but the person experiencing sleep paralysis, dont believe for a second the voices you hear, the spirits you see and the pressure you feel are all in your mind, they are infact very real and do pose a certain danger to you, i live alone and experienced the most terrifying occassion when a black demon lay on top of me breathing loud and deep into my ears and the pressure so intense i prayed and god helped me - he soon left, this is not hallucinations this is a way in which inconsiderate spirits either want to possess your body or send you a message, i saught help with local spiritualists, to provent this happening regular burnings of white sage throught your home, sleeping with crystals beside your bed and sleeping with a beanie on will cover your 3rd eye, last but not least praying before sleep for a protective white light to surround you and your house, with a restful night sleep will indeed help these terrifying incidences occouring - trust me i know, good luck to you all
Lost Years
I am 44 yrs and had my first experience with this terrifying condition when I was 18 yrs old. I have lived with it since then. This is the first time I have googled this site, although, I knew this condition existed, having being diagnosed when I was 28 yrs old, and there was still alot of research being carried out on it. I was surprised to find just how many other people out there actually suffer from it.I have since wondered if it is all scientific or is there a spirit element to it. I sometimes wake from these nightmares with deep scratches all over my body as if I have actually been struggling with someone.My last nightmare I watched myself having sex (this I saw as shadows above my bed) with an entity with horns.I am not afraid anymore and pray incessantly whenever it happens.This seems to be more effective than any medication.
I am now divorced and during the course of my marriage I would somtimes hit or spit on my husband as he lay sleeping and yet would have no knowledge of doing it. At one point I was absolutely terrified of going to sleep and these nightmares were not confined to the bedroom. I could be riding the bus and nod off and my body would go all heavy and I would not be able to move and yet I could hear the coversations and sounds around me. This was what prompted me to seek medical help. I was refered to a psychiatrist (where Im from, the Fiji Islands the only psychiatrist is in the asylum dealing with people suffering from depression or marijuana smoking side effects.) The psychiatrist was doing a thesis on it at the time so it was sort of helpful to him that he had someone with the condition to work with. I was given medication but found it sort of made me spaced out and if I took it at night my brain would shut down but my body felt like it wanted to go for a run, so I stopped taking it and learned to deal with it my own way, by trying to relax and not fight it but that can be very hard if the experience is frightening. Later I found that praying in my mind helped me relax and come out of the paralysed state. I still suffer from this condition though the incidents have gradually become fewer over the years, but, when I do have one it never fails to remind me how horrifying they can be. I feel for those who are experiencing it for the first time.
Sleep Paralysis
This has happened to me alot over the past several years and continues to happen. I dont know what to do about it because you never know when its going to happen. Can anyone tell me what top do about this??? As well as it happening to me often, it lasts for several minutes. reply please.
So here's my story.
I was sleeping at the back of my class on the desk last year and when I 'woke up', I couldn't move. My head was on the desk, my arm was right before my head and although I could only hear some distant mumblings(Teacher's endless ramblings, I assumed). I tried lifting my head and sit upright, but my body didn't respond. I tried moving my legs, twitching my fingers endlessly hoping I would snap out of this but I can't tell if I really moved at all. My vision was blurry and I'm sure my eyes were wide open. Apparently I couldn't breathe well, felt like something was on my right side of the body, pressing onto me. I'm also sure I was thinking and voicing thoughts like normal in my head. However, a part of my brain did felt numb during that experience and I wonder if anyone else has ever felt that as well.
It was not until later after I had calmed down and closed my eyes that I was able to finally wake up. I'm also pretty sure this has nothing to do with the spiritual as I have no belief in God whatsoever. The feeling I had when my brain was that the numbed part was completely 'shut down'.
Hope I never have to go through that again.
It has happened to
Hey, i am 13 years old and am having these things happen to me alot. like 3 days out of the week and it happens about every two weeks. I was just woundering if there is any way to stop it because the last time it happened to me, i woke up and was in my brothers arms saying im dizzy and cant breathe. My mom and dad do not believe me when i tell them this. WHAT CAN I DO TO STOP THIS???? PLEASE SOMEONE TELL ME SOMETHING. ANYTHING,IT HAS BEEN HAPPENENING SINCE I WAS 11 AND A HALD. IF YOU THINK YOU CAN HELP PLEASE TELL ME. THANK YOU.
hey man. it happens to me
hey man. it happens to me just as much.
what u do is. next time it happens. calm yourself down and, try to open your mouth.
then pull in a deep breath to get oxygen into your brains.
you'll wake instantly.
add pain
I have been having attacks with all these symptoms since as far back as I can remember, and I am now 24. But I can not find anywhere listed of people experiencing sleep paralysis with pain. When I awake paralyzed, hallucinating, and unable to breath at all, it is accompanied by the greatest pain I have known. It's like the worst charlie horse in the world but rippling through every muscle and even feels like someone is squeezing my organs and tearing at my spine. Sometimes I think I am successful in calling out for help or even dragging myself to someone for help, but of course I am not moving or making a sound. If anyone has ever experienced or heard of one experiencing this kind of pain along with their disorder please e-mail me. Some weeks I will have several attacks almost every night. After over two decades I am so tired and frustrated. I just want to go to bed without the fear and pain.
hey man i get the same thing
hey man i get the same thing and its bad casue i already have bad anxiety im on anti depressents and i just had one like 10 mins ago im freaking out with mine i dont feel so much pain however there is some and with mine i cant breath at all and i cant move at all then when i come to my head feels weird like im gonna pass out and im kinda dizzy scares me evern more i have to take adivan and then im affraid to close my eyes iv been pulling alot of all nighters latly just so i no il instanalty fall asleep
You should try to relax and
You should try to relax and listen to music or watch a movie and listen or watch to something happy and dont think about anything
I agree with you. Relaxing is
I agree with you.
Relaxing is the best way.
To listen to smoth songs.. and to see beautiful landscape pictures.
im 18 and i have the same problem
it is the worst pain ive ever felt it feelas like my organs and my ribs crushing i start to stop breathing its really scary and i never wana go to sleep now...
me 2
i have been having this same exact thing wer i cant move and it feels like someones crushing my ribs it is the worst cruching pain ive ever had i dont kno y but i wish i did
Hello, Ann. I have been
Hello, Ann. I have been having sleep paralysis dreams since I was a teenager - I am now 31. My episodes are usually accompanied by some very unusual and scary dream experiences with demons and evil spirits, of which I try to convince myself are due to the fact that I'm a creative artist. I can't say I have the same sort of pain as you, but I can relate - mine is more of a loud, progressively building static sound ending with a very uncomfortable and sometimes blindingly painful lightning shock between my ears or temples through my brain.
One thing I noticed that has helped me to prevent these episodes is to maintain a sleep schedule. The more I divert, the more chances that the paralysis occurs. I now avoid naps during the daytime because it seems that oversleeping, for me, heightens the chances more than undersleeping. This article makes perfect sense, as the body has a natural cycle, and if you change its routine, you may confuse it to release certain hormones at the wrong times, interfering with a normal night's rest. I wish you the best, as I know how unsettling it can be.
I've had weird experiences
I've had weird experiences with me being half awake but my whole body twitching and me being paralyzed, but I've never heard anything strange or seen anything scary. I'm 16 years old and reading these stories scares me and makes me think it'll happen to me now. But I have them quite often and they only last about 4 seconds and I snap out of them by forcing a body part such as my arm to move. It's really scary I just don't understand the "spirit" part?
I have had this many times
I have had this many times during a period of my life. First time was when i was 18. At first i thought it was my sub conscious going back into my body, because i woke up during my dream. Then i was thinking that it was some form of evil.It was painful and there was so much g-force on my body. I came to the conclusion that it was stress and anxiety.I also had chronic fatigue syndrome. At that time i had a girlfriend. She was easily the best looking girl in town and because of her beauty, i became jealous,protective etc. I was blindly in love with my girlfriend and use to stress a lot thinking that she was going to cheat on me. I was tired. I was going out with her for 3 and half years. I found out in the end she cheated on me several times. I was very glad to split up with her because i always was tired and thinking too much.Soon as i split up with her, my sleep paralysis disappeared and never had it since.
Get rid of all your stress and anxiety, this might help.
my experience
I've been experiencing this state on and off for a few years now, and quite often lately. When it happens, it is always when I am drifting off and prevents me from going into a proper sleep. I have found that sleeping on my side usually prevents it. Before I knew about it I would often experience a cat walking across my bed, or sensations of a hand pushing me in the side or the foot. I didn't mind the cat, but the worst one was when I felt a creature sitting on my chest, and then cold hands coming under the covers which I had to fend off to stop them from attacking me. After that I read all about sleep paralysis and was reasurred I wasn't going crazy. Since then I have become a lot more comfortable with it, and can even slip into it voluntarily if I lie on my back and just calmly observe the sensations around me with no fear. I sometimes feel I can move my hands but when i snap out of it, I realise they are still by my sides. Its very strange and I sometimes wonder if this state is linked to what people call "out of body experiences". More research needs to be done.
Hello, my name is Brynne. Im
Hello, my name is Brynne. Im 18 years old now but the later years of middle school is when I first started getting the episodes of sleep paralysis.
I had no idea what they were, the first episode i remember was one night before i went to sleep I started worrying about the world ending while i was sleeping. I finally closed my eyes but felt like i could not sleep, and my whole body went numb, I opened my eyes, and I was still dreaming. As i was dreaming, i tried slapping my arms and legs but could not feel anything, as if I going through myself. It was pretty long ago, so I dont exactly remember how i woke up or if I even went to sleep that night but eventually I woke up, i remember that.
That same week, i kept having recurring dreams of spirits/ghosts jolting into my body, and as they did I would wake up, fully concious and feel my whole body felt like it had been hit by a car and i couldn't breathe for a couple minutes. I had never felt anything like it in my life. Anyway that whole week was crazy and weird for me, one of those nights it was late and I was sitting at my computer and all of the sudden I hear this loud rumble, it sounded like a huge earthquake, and of course I live in CA so we have those, but there was no shaking. So i ran into my moms room and was freaking out. She asked me what was wrong and I was screaming. She told me she did not hear any rumbles or crashes, and she was just up feeding the baby. There is no way those sounds could go unnoticed so I know it had to have been in my head. Most of my sleep paralysis episodes have taken place while laying down, drifting off to sleep. But a couple of my recent ones have been after I woke up in the middle of the night. I had sleep insomnia for a good year, all of 2009.
And it seems like the ones I have had the past couple weeks are right before I go to bed, i think about scary, unnessesary things like, "everyone dies, and Im going to die one day." obviously, if you couldn't tell already, I suffer from severe anxiety/ panic disorder. It runs in my family, but not sleep paralysis.
I've researched this before but I have never read peoples personal experiences before tonight. My point on that is, those stories I told you that happened to me years ago, all this time I thought they were out of body experiences and ghosts trying to communicate with me and restless spirits coming and going. I thought those experiences were paranormal activity. Which somewhat I still believe.
My recent experiences don't involve the paranormal anymore though. Ever since 9th grade, ive been really interested in the paranormal and human behavior. I was in counseling at that time too, as it was the time i got diagnosed with anxiety.
As I am righting this I am actually experiencing one right now..but I have seem to regained feeling in my body.
I was taking zoloft for almost a year, then i stopped taking it for other reasons, but i cannot recall if I had these sleeping episodes while on the meds. I do not remember.
first experience
Today was my first experience.
It started like this,I went to sleep at 11:00pm for an appointment to see the doctor(sorry if i wrote it wrong im still working in my english)so anyways i couldn't sleep at all, until 12:45am that when fell a sleep(well i think i was actulally im still not sure). I heard foot steps so i tryed to see if soemone was there, my mom or my dad ect. but i couln't move, i was scared i didnt know what was happening to me. tryed to move my hands but at that instent i felt vabration all over my body. I though of moving my head to the right, it was really hard, my head felt that it wheiht 100 pounds but i didnt give up.when i move my head to the right just i little my whole body moved an i was finally out of it.
also
if GOD wakes us up in the morning, surely he puts us to bed. maybe we have nothing to fear after all.
one more thing
I think i am asleep dreaming i am awake. caught myself today. afraid to sleep now. almost like freddy kruger, doing what i can to stay awake.
The Nature of this.
I've always had this. now i am bi-polar.
Are we going to die in our sleep like this?
I'm not crazy
I'm 16. I have always been interested in dreams and the subconsious of the human mind, which is why i plan to study in clincal psychology and neuroscience. Well being young I haven't been able to study much so far so waking up paralyzed was a new experience. I still remember every detail. Waking up to find out I can't move and looking at my wall where shadows danced. I was so confused because my room is pitch black at night, no light anywhere, how could there possibly be shadows that flowed so liquid like. Then it felt as if my body was moving but I wasn't moving it then i heard a guy's voice whisper "ahhh".
When I woke during day I was confused as to what happened and I wanted to search it up. All results from the places I looked where "scary", "evil", and "possesion". But that couldn't be because I could tell if I'm in danger or not and I wasn't scared. I don't find it as a scary experience I actually hope to have those types of nights again. But this did explain alot though with the whole hallucinating. And here I thought I was going crazy :p.