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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
THiS JUST HAPPENED T0 ME RiGHT N0W!
0h my gosh! this just happened to me about 20 min ago f0r the very first time! I was s0 scared! I was ready for bed, I prayed then after about a minute I fell asleep but at the same time I still felt awake inside. I heard a buzzing noise that was getting louder and louder. But I thought it was just the heater noise. My body felt paralyzed. I could not move at all. I was just in anatomical position, frozen. I felt so scared. I wanted to yell my room mate's name but no sound was coming out of me because my lips couldn't move. In my mind I just kept yelling her name because I wanted to wake up, or get up. After about a minute I started hearing me yell her name inside my head. Then I slowly could move my right shoulder then the rest of my body followed. After that experience, I called my room mate right away and asked if she could sleep with me tonight. And now here I am typing this experience on her laptop in her room. I'm just glad I didn't see any shadowy figures or felt like something was attacking me like the other people described. That must be much more scary. I would probably cry if I experienced that also. I just hope I don't experience this again. It's scary!
There's saying tht you have to move your toe when SP is happenin
Hi my name is Tenzin and I'm from Tibet. My parents told me tht wheneva they experience such things, they spit on the face of tht dark figure and tell thm to go away. I did it too but it was useless. At hostel, we were told to move your toe and pray and i don't know if it's helpin or not. I was frightened as shit whenva it happens. So I'm like used to it but fear is alwaz there. Thesedays, I give them my cutie smile whenva I meet those figures. Tryin to be friendly though it's giving me heck of fear. Lol. I want to suggest my friends here tht you shoul be fine. Everything is normal, only difference is we all are dreaming different dream coz your dream belongs only to you. Haf a gudnite everyone!
This is bizare, as I had an
This is bizare, as I had an episode of this last night and have been for the past 3-4 years, of which I can remember. However, every time I try discussing this with a friend, "I wake up sometimes and can't move it's a horrible feeling, like you're still asleep. Have you ever experienced it?" And they would reply, "yeah like you're asleep and then you jump." And I always used to think no not like that, but was so confused by it all that I just linked the two.
In addition to the timing patterns stated above mine differs as I have NREM sleep where I wake up semi-conscious and start to sleep walk (i.e last night I was turning the light on and off, and sitting up in bed.) I can always vaguely remember these, then when I'm back in bed I fall back to sleep (probably to REM rest, I don't know as I'm no expert!) but find my self waking up 10-20 minutes later (it seems) completely paralyzed.
The usual thing which I experience is awareness and I find my self trying to fight it by telling myself to wake up. I can sometimes see the whole room, sometimes I just see blackness. I also get a horrible tingly stabbing sensation throughout my body, almost as though it could be shaking.
One of my experiences was very unusual, I felt out of body and it felt as though my body was spinning all around the room. Whether it was the feeling of the tingling causing me to hallucinate I do not know, but what I do know is that it was absolutely terrifying.
Another experience is I was asleep next to my mum in bed, and I was trying to call her for help for minutes, which seemed like hours! But no matter how hard I tried to scream it just seemed like a little murmur and no matter how hard I tried I could not scream, talk or get her attention. Finally when my body decided to function I woke my mum up and asked if she could hear me calling her. She said no, so I just assumed that I was dreaming.
Most episodes feel like they last from around a minute to several minutes. I probably get them 2-3 times a week, mostly after not long from being awake/sleep walking. Also I tend to find that I get them more if I eat before I go to bed, or I get them during naps in the day, or if I'm under alot of stress. I always wake up in the morning feeling rough with a bad headache if I do get SP. It is become a daily nightmare as I always feel exhausted!
I was talking to someone in
I was talking to someone in my dream, although not aware I was dreaming and a terrible feeling came over me. I felt a profoundly terrible feeling from my chest as if my life force was being sucked out of me. I saw though my dream and could see a black face with no eyes and the face of the person in my dream was like a mask covering the reality. The person was trying to keep my attention but i could see the evil grin of the true figure I looked down and could see its hands reaching into my chest... and that truelly terrifying feeling I dont know how to quite describe... intense fear, with a draining helplessness as if your very essence is being pulled out of you quite painfully x100. I became very angry the charcter was still talking to me and I yelled "F@@k you Liar get off me" and I pushed the figure. As I was pushing I awoke as I completed the "off me" portion of my sentance. I could still see the figure but more clearly now and was completely awake as anger replaced the fear the figure lost control and got up to leave. I was paralyzed but managed to break through it and Say "Im going to beat your a$$" as I sat up pulling away the covers. Just as I was getting to my feet the figure reached the door and dissapeared, its clothes had amazing detail it wore a fedora and a trenchcoat and I was left standing awake in my room with everthing just as it was while I could still see the figure a moment earlier.
When I awoke the figure was in the exact position as portrayed in the drawings on other sites.
I have had other times where I has woken from dreams paralized but it was not scary but those times were occompanied in the dream with dealing with some sort of entity. The first time was when in a nightmare I became lucid and demanded the presense chasing me stop and give me a gift... I awoke paralyzed to beautiful music. The second time I had a dream of watching a presence go to wherever bad things were occuring in some village i was looking down on the i went on some sort of car ride with someone who I identified as not being a regular dream character then all of a sudden I was on a sort of white astral plane with the figure that looked quite like the demon except for white but it had a good feeling to it and it gave me some advice on how to master fear saying "dont fight the waves of the ocean go with flow. Now comes the hard part." I awoke paralyzed to the sound of the tides of a beach in my bedroom.
i know is a spirit
At night when im asleep everything is quiete and suddenly i hear a voice more like an evil voice i can really hear what it is it said something to mei couldnt really make out what it was but it wanted to talk to me so i started waking my husband up but only i couldnt because i couldnt move i was being help by this spirit i felt like it was next to me in bed ..1 thing for sure i know it was a male spirit i just felt it because the voice was deep ..i sometimes freak out when im going to bed because im afraid this will continue..sometimes i try to fight it off by not being scared so i get up from my bed only i see my self lying down while im still in the air..THIS IS TRUE..ITS LIKE IM FLYING AROUND THE HOUSE OR SOMETHING IT WANTED ME TO COME OUT THE WINDOW SO I GOT SCARED AND STARTED PRAYING...WHEN I STARTED PRAYING IT WAS LIKE MY SOUL GOT CLOSED TO MY BODY IN BED AND I WOKE UP...what ever it is is trying to get to me and i dont know what to do..i want it to go away...sorry for rambling so much i needed to talk to someone .
Wow, the descriptions here
Wow, the descriptions here are very vivid and validate what I have experienced for more than 20 years. I am now 41. REading the descriptions especially about the choking feelings brings back my anxiety and almost a flashback experience. I know my grandmother had this and was also terrified by it, but she died when I was pretty young. My sister once told me just to stay alseep if I can't wake up and I could never quite explain how frightening it is. The "hallucinations" of someone being in the room or even doing something to me are also very similar to the ones described. My husband is supportive and knows to shake me if I make any type of moan in my sleep but often I can't or think I am but don't make a sound.
What helps
Always have a glass of water handy. If I wake up I sit up fast before I go back to sleep so it doesn't recur and drink the whole glass of water. This helps prevent the dry throat/ choking if it recurs. I need to really wake up before I can go back to sleep. If my husband is there I'll get him to push me up quick before I can go back to sleep.
Try never to nap and have very regular sleep hours. I had way more problems when my babies were little. I love naps but regret them when this occurs either during the nap or when I sleep that night and am not as tired.
I do better if I sleep 6-7 hours at night not more. I am not religious or superstitious so I only blame this on bad luck/genes. I have also tried to relax and wait but it is absolutely terrifying almost every time. Next time I am going to remember that you all wake up eventually every time as well!
am not sure.
I think I have sleep paralysis as well many times most of the time I cannot move but I test my tongue to make sure I am awake usually I can move my tongue but when I scream nothing will come out. Also there have been times when I'm not asleep and it happens. Once I was in bed and someone kept texting me I was awake I was going to text them back later because I didn't feel like it at the time. All of a sudden I felt this pressure on my body and I could feel something there I knew it was about to happen again. I started feeling more pressure on me and than my eye vison got blurry for a little and my eyelids kept trying to flicker shut but I was fighting to keep them open. I saw a black shadow go from one corner to the next. and than my vison was not blurry anymore and I was able to move. am I alone here and this isn't the worse case. sometimes I'm awake and my heart beat starts to race and my ears pop and I know it's about to happen. if you have an idea what you think it might be could you email
may be helpful for readers
if everyone would please google 'sleep paralysis' and 'astral projection' it might answer alot of your questions! your experiences feel very real because they ARE very real, but please note that when you bridge between the waking and sleeping worlds, your mind will still interpret and manifest things symbolically, and so if the idea of paralysis is frightening to you, your mind will still interpret your feelings into a somewhat frightening physical manifestation. i have myself had numerous experiences with the "some one sitting on my chest thing" and it was very confusing until my friend explained to me from a metaphysical standpoint what it's all about. so rest assured that yes, these experiences are more than dreams, but no, they are certaintly NOT demonic in nature. sleep paralysis is harmless, and is associated with the pressure placed on your chest when your soul returns into your body at night after projection. HOPE THAT HELPED!
hello
my name is keshia and i'm a 21 year old girl trying to get to the bottom of a lot of experiences i've had in my life. hallucinatory sleep paralysis had to have been by far the worst.i have read countless books and websites and am very curious as to why most scientists are not seeming to realize the demonic pattern in these occurances. many people around the world, of different ethnic, religious and spiritual backgrounds are having the very same experiences. it is not something our subconcious minds are making up.we are very awake, very concious and very scared when this happens. i myself have had many paranormal experiences in my life, angelic experiences (:D), i can see auara's and am very sensitive to energy. i've already decided to devote my life to trying to understand these phenomenons and how to help others going through them. we all KNOW intuitivly that what we feel when this happens is not the average nightmare. and so far, our science cannot explain this. hehe, anyways, i would really like to talk to more people about this, so maybe oneday in life, i can be someone who will help solve these nightmares so we can all have a sound sleep with peace and love in our hearts all the time. xoxo.
sleep paralysis
Hi, my name is tracie and i am also 21. I am writing you not on my account but on my cousin amanda's. She has experienced something similar to this. She said she saw scary visions and she said it felt like the bed was being shaken and she didn't move or make any noise during this because i was in the same room and slept through all of it. And my friend pointed out that it was around 3 when this happened. I wondered if that was a coincedence like on Amnityville Horror, when the guy wakes up at 3 and goes crazy and sees crazy things.
Hmm, thats a very interesting
Hmm, thats a very interesting idea. Usually things like that start happening at 3:15. I will tell you one thing though, to help someone who's terrified you must turn them back to a positive state. Negative presences are weak against an even powerfuller positive feeling, so whatever she does (pray, fight back, start thinking about who protects you) anything positive will work but she has to be more stronger then the negative presence. This is coming from a young person who's not even 20 yet and I've also wondered why things start to stur up at 3AM.
P.S. "Stay Strong, be strong."
WOW this sight is very
WOW this sight is very interesting, i have been experiencing these episodes for a while now but tonight it really scared me. I feel like im being raped and im not sleep at all, i get the sleep paralysis when i wake up after a dream and im just lying in bed. Right now it is 5:51 am and i cannot go back to bed because im to scared. Sometimes i can feel a person touching me inappropriatley and even trying to kiss me and other times somethings just holding my neck down but i can see a dark shadow above me, i try to just close my eyes so i cant see and relax until its over but its really scary and i wish there was something i could do.
Say help me Jesus in the
Say help me Jesus in the inside if you cannot talk aloud.
SP
Sleep Paralysis happens to me all the time. Sometimes 2 to 3 times a night, not every single night though. The nights that it doesn't happen are amazing because it really is such a frightening experience. It started happening to me when I was about 16ish(I'm 21 now). I mentioned it to my mom probably once, she just sorta shrugged it off but I can't wait for her to see this website so she knows that I'm not making it up. The reason I finally decided to do some research is because SP has started to occur a lot more than usual and it's driving me crazy. Like someone said before, everytime it happens I'm always like "ok, next time I'm not gonna panic or struggle, I'm just gonna go with it.." That is sooo much easier said than done, as most of you probably already know. It use to happen in the middle of the night, I'd "wake up" and experience SP but now I'll be lying in bed trying to fall asleep and then feel it come on little by little. I try to end it as soon as I start feeling it come on but it's always too late, once it starts, it doesn't stop. I always panic because I hate when it happens so it ends up just getting worse and comes on super strong. I hear things, and it definitely feels like I'm being held down and suffocated. I can feel and hear myself breathing harder and harder and even trying to make some noises. The worst is when I "break through" and completely wake up and then it just happens back to back. I swear the other night it happened atleast 5 or 6 times throughout the night. I'm glad I'm not the only person that this has happened to and I figured I'd also share my experience. I'm always so shook when I finally come out of it. I'll sit up still gasping for air, sweating and it's not until I'm fully awake until I feel as if there was someone there watching. I feel terrible for everyone that this happens to, it is not fun or enjoyable in the least!
3 tricks to 'fewer' episodes (worked for me)
Yep, when I feel it coming on I try to shake it off, but it's usually too late as well. Sometimes I have to get up and walk around before I decide to fall back to sleep- that way it doesn't happen multiple times during the night. Try doing that. One occurrence a night is better than three. Another thing and perhaps the most important to me is security. SP can happen and has happened while other people were in the same room or lying next to me, however it's unlikely. But, I found that having extra pillows or having a stuffed animal next to me helps me feel secure and less scared. It is really just a mind thing. Also, another trick I worked out is wearing ear plugs. The thing about SP is that your conscious is awake first, we can still hear things and sometimes certain sounds were made and get into our ears before we are able to fully wake and register them. If you're too uncomfortable with ear plugs, then try sleeping with a pillow over your head. I'm 25 and I've had SP for 6 years now and I went from having 4 to 5 episodes a week to no more than 2 a month, or I'll go a couple of months without having any.
this is so weird...it
this is so weird...it happened to me last night!! it wasnt my first time but i was so freaked out after it that i had to look it up...!! the first time it happened it was like something went in through my ear and i could hear a loud buzzing noise and den a heavy pressure on my chest suffocating me, last nght was different tho..i woke and someone was holding me down i tried to shout but i couldnt breathe, then i said (in my head) please leave me alone and tried to push at something but it just felt heavier and then i could feel someone scrathing my face and pushin my head into my pillow...then it just stopped and the room felt peaceful after that!! only seems to happen when im really stressing about something.
Dear sir/madam: Please let
Dear sir/madam:
Please let me tell you that I was in a bad way, when this women came to my house and said that she had a ministry with Christians and that God was going to relieve me of head pain, (it felt like a rope around my head.)Say what you will ,I have never felt any of that pain again.Can you explain this ?
Why I am writing you ,I don't know? Maybe the big guy wants to deliver you too.
This is freaking me out!!! Me da mucho miedo.
I was so happy to have moved into my friends house. A fairly new home built in 2003. Before moving in I was always there, whether we were partying, drinking, watching tv or playing video games, i was always there literally. Nothing strange ever happened before. They have this 3rd room where they use to store turntables, and music equipment. So about a month and a half ago i moved into that room. After about a month of being there i felt this heavy force that everyone on here is talking about. I dont feel hands but i do feel almost like a magnetic force against me and i can barely move and my jaws struggle to open my mouth to speak. i can only breath out words. WTF. It has happened a total of three times now and its freaky. I dont see figures luckily but I do feel a cold presence after it leaves to my prayer. I then begin sweating heavily and hear noises when i try to fall asleep again. I dont know if i just hear stuff from being so freaked out from it or if noises are really being made by something, I hear what may be footsteps and noises in the walls and feel a presence. I began sleeping in the living room downstairs and it doesnt happen there so im sure this thing doesnt want me in the room. Yesterday I went upstairs into the room after waking up in the living room and i layed down on my bed in the room and felt something in there and i know its not me because i was not afraid in there for about 10 minutes, i was just texting my gf and all of a sudden i feel this presence that made me get out of there. I then sat in the living room by myself and heard the cd player lid on a boombox close shut and i freaked out. I was so happy to have moved in, now I can only be there during the day or when my friends are there too.
sleep Paralsis
i started this a couple years ago i was so scared but when i got pregnant it all stop but after i had the baby it got worse and igot real scared that if my baby woke up i wouldnt be able to move to get her it scared the shit out off me i'm just glad i found out what this was and that i cant die from it
maybe this will help
I thought I would post some of my knowings & first hand experiences with this.
Maybe some of it will help some, maybe maybe not.
I have had this "sleep paralysis" pretty much as long as I can remember.
At first, it seemed very frightening. Through the years I become more famaliar and comfortable. I have now been experiencing SP at will now for about 15 yrs.
Most of the time, the experience is a very very pleasant one. My experience with SP has lead to something else all together in a positive way. I am not trying to suggest that someone should let this behavior continue if they are not comfortable. And I am not any authority on the research or answers one may seek. I am one person sharing experience.
Here are a few things I have felt:
It seems easier for SP to occur when you are over tired or sleep deprived.
Sleep positions can help to induce or stop SP
During SP, being calm and speaking to yourself using thoughts can help ease off anxiety or the panic feeling
Drinking & Eating right before bed sometimes seems to help induce SP
SP often makes me feel mentally wiped out the next day. As does lucid dreaming. If I feel this I do not do anything that encourages either for at least a month or so.
I think (could be wrong) that alot of the negative feelings, anxiety etc. during the intro to SP is your natural reaction to something that is so new and powerful to your mind and body. I know when I was young, I would fight SP, and try to "break it" so I could regain movement. Sometimes I would suceed and find myself sweating profusely. From the fear, from the anxiety, I believe that I would began feeling and seeing fearful and dreadful things.
When I was still new to SP, it seems like it always began with a loud CLOSE drum sound. I could feel the drum more than hear it, for it seem to be a very LOW pitch. After 10 or so single beats, the "boom" would get closer and closer (more frightening). If I wanted, I could almost always stop it right here and wake. But my curiousity would always get the best of me. So if I let the "boom" get really close, it would all of the sudden cease, and I was IN.
No movement. Sometimes I would feel like something was standing next to my bed. Pretty scary stuff. But I learned to get over this fear. I decided to experiment.
I noticed that during SP, I could see my ceiling fan spinning, I could hear my radio playing ( I always sleep with BOTH on). So, I thought if my mind is concious, but I cannot move, why don't i try a few things.
First I tried to sing, to the song being played on the radio. I could hear my voice. Awesome I thought. But, quickly I realized that even my vocal chords were asleep. Every time I could hear my murming trying to sing.
Then I practiced falling into SP with my head facing toward the openess of my room. I also moved my bed against the wall so I knew nothing would be on that side of my bed. That really helped with the terrible feeling that something was next to me or next to my bed all the while my head is frozen looking straight toward the ceiling.
I found things WERE their (or at least my mind saw them).
But they were not anything terrifying. It appeared to be energy flowing in & out of the room. Most of the time the energy appears to be like a silouette of many people walking around , oblivious to my presence. This made me feel ok about the whole idea of this new unknown behaviour I was experiencing.
I began to relax with SP. Sometimes it would be quite dreamy feeling, I would relax and think about daily accounts and even distant memories. I realized that I could remember details about a memory that I could not normally see. I then began to have fun with this. It seemed liked a "super" memory.
I also started having SP quite often. I felt closer to myself. I know it sounds crazy. I probably sound koo-koo to most. If anyone needs to stop SP, I suggest a trip to the DR.
Eventually, I began having SP at will. This really got interesting.
But, I think I will stop the story here.
SP Mine
I can see how you see it that way because you learn to controll it but how can you explane the dreams it pulls you into. From being awake not being able to move back to the scary dream of lights burning out and them all around you wanting you to go with them. Mine has became reality. When I come home and try to turn out a light it burns out. Sometimes 3 times a day but not that offten right now.
I grew up very religious but since 14 have gotten away from it Im now 27. It started when I was 17 and pregnant I thought I was possesed for sure. It happened quickly but I could still hear slim shady on the cd player and the time after it happened was only 2 mins latter. I looking for answers from people experiancing it. Everyone else I tell thinks its evil so do I. One girl Trys to say maybe its alians but I dont belive that. They already made it clear Augest 18th that they wanted me. Im just wondering when it will happen next.
Please write back.
Faith
:(
last night i had this happen to me , i was laying on my bed when all of a sudden i felt myself lift out of my body , i felt like i was dead , i seem to 'fall'' back in my body and try to scream out for my mum but i couldnt speak or move, i felt a heaviness over me it felt evil. I really didn't like it . I feel really tired today almost drained .
wht you experienced waz more
wht you experienced waz more like an OBE (out of body experience) its totally normal, its when ur 'soul' floats out of your body....different to an NDE (near death experience)which occurs when uve done something tht can caorse death such as bang ur head really hard somewhere but in ur case it happened during sleep and wht happens is u enter the 'spirit world'....but dnt worry your not dead, u can always return to your body!! search it up and learn more bout it...its kinda a positive thing where u can explore the world az a spirit.like walk threw walls!!<<--- hope this helped!
WTF?!?
So I was sleeping just like I always do, no dreaming or anything. Suddenly out of nowhere I heard 2 taps on my window, and realized I was in my room in the exact spot I was sleeping. I felt completely conscious and awake when I heard the sound. Next thing I know I feel this extreme pressure over my body. It felt like I was being covered by a hundred comforter blankets. I started to freak out because I couldn't move, and my face began to feel very tingly and had that same pressure as the rest of my body. Then it started to go away, but when it did it tapped on the window 2 times like before and came back. I could feel the exact same feeling as before and then I really started to panic. I couldn't wake myself up fully. I tried knocking on the fridge next to me (I'm in a dormitory), and when I did i saw images of my little sister and woke up immediately after. I've never had this happen before, so after I somewhat calmed down I started looking it up. This seems to be what I experienced, but after reading some of the other comments I'm starting to wonder again. I have never ever been this freaked out by a nightmare in my life. I'm just going to chalk it up to SP and hope it never happens again, but to those of you that have this happen often, I am sorry. That is definitely the scariest thing I have ever experienced. Sorry for rambling for so long, but I had to tell someone and it's too late to call anyone. Good night all.
my expericences, im only 15
This has been happening to me since I was 12, I'll wake up in the middle of the night unable to move and speak. I've heard sounds like buzzing that seems to get louder, I've even heard laughing. When it happens, I feel like someone is holding me down and trying to choke me, I've seen figures that look like people standing around me, sometimes laying next to me starring. It lasts for about several minutes. I've told myself that if it happens again, I'll just go with it until I can move, but every time it happens I get too scared and I start panicking. Sometimes it'll happen more than twice in one night. I've told my mom about this and she didn't think anything of it. Would it be a good idea to talk to my doctor about this?
sleep
Im not sure, I have felt the same thing at several homes that I lived at in my life.. it sure is scary. I always begin sweating after that force leaves. I sweat like crazy and panic and most of the time i cannot go back to sleep and i feel like running out but im scared that something will pop up lol
I realized I was asleep - finally.
I had this happen on a recurring basis when I was a teenager, and it was so vivid - I felt there was an evil presence, and that it was sitting on my chest. I was in absolute terror, and tried to scream, but I could not move.
The last straw was when this happened in the middle of the night, and as I struggled to scream, the wind blew open a door in the room. It seemed to me that pure evil had come through the door. I awoke in panic and couldn't sleep the rest of the night for fear it would happen again.
The next day I finally spoke to my father, who was wise about these things. He told me, "You're dreaming." I argued that I was awake - I remembered seeing the room I was in. He persisted, saying I truly thought that I was awake, but was really not. He didn't use the term "sleep paralysis" but explained that it was my own mind that was holding me hostage in this event, which was in fact false, and not true.
I must also say that at this time in my life, I was studying world religions. My mind was fixated on good versus evil. I was tormented by the belief that an evil devil was afoot in the world, alternating with the certainty that a good and loving God would protect me.
Shortly after this talk with my father, the next, and last, episode I had of this, I had the same feeling of being suffocated by something evil, and trying to scream, but my mouth was open and no sound would come out. I saw myself in the family's guest room bed - but then, I woke up, in my own bed. The episode seemed incredibly real, but I realized that my father was correct - it happened just before I woke up. I think the state of consciousness at that point makes it difficult to differentiate between dream and reality.
I finally realized that this was a dream state. Whatever reason my subconscious mind had for creating this illusion - was it my adolescent working out of religious beliefs? - this last episode helped me realize that whatever was happening to me was not the truth. My TERRROR was AN ERROR!
I have never had another episode of sleep paralysis since that day.
Tricks of the mind or paranormal activity
Once I fell asleep in my lounge area at about 11:30 pm on sunday. When suddenly I heard a very loud bang that woke me. When I tried to get up i realised that I couldn't move. So instead of trying to move i tried my best to shout on my wife but i could only breathe out her name. after what felt like 10 minutes of this i could feel someone in the empty room beside me and when i looked around i could see a figure witch appeared to be a samll female child with longish black hair. Once i seen the figure i knew i was still dreaming even tho it felt so real. he figure then started to move closer to me and all i kept saying to myself was am only dreaming. But then a could hear her whispering someone that i couldn't make out and it made me panic but i still couldn't move. When the young girl got close to my face i could see her eyes and they were very very black and dark and also her mouth was wide open. when she go right up to me face she knelt down and i was sure i could smell her breathe and feel it against my face. I tried to scream but nothing came out. She then whispered a name in my ear and i heard it very very clearly. It was a girl from work who i was having an affair with. at this point the little girl got up from my side and walked pver the room to a point were i couldn't see her anymore. then i heard the loud bang again and i woke up shocked and scared. I looked about them room but it was empty. My wife came in and i told her what had happened and what the figure had said to me. I lefgt out the part about the affair. I looked at the clock and it said 11:37. A couple of weeks later the very same thing happened again at near enough the same time. I told my wife again but also told her about the affair and its never happened since. I believe it is all in the mind and if you work out what your brain is trying to tell you and set it right it will stop happening.
sleep
I have experienced the same exact thing except the ghostly encounter but the last three times this happened to me i remember counting the numbers in the time that it happened and all three times they added up to 12. Weird.
SP ... Me Too!
I've had this since I was a kid. My mom has had it too, so I probably got it from her.
When it happens, I try to relax and little by little get my arm to move. A few times, I have heard things or felt an evil presence on my bed trying to terrify me, but I can't move. I've tried to scream out, but nothing comes out. When the evil presence takes place I just mentally confront it with all the courage I can find.
SP is a horrible feeling, but I typically recognize it the minute it happens. I guess because I've experienced it so many times before.
The more you panic the worst things will get. Try to remain peaceful, acknowledge it, and ease yourself into consciouness.
Sucks to have it, but don't know how to get rid of it.
These get scarier and scarier everytime
The first time I experienced this was when I was 14, I'm 22 now. I remember feeling panic as a figure in a black hood crouched over me then sat at the foot of my bed. I remember trying to yell over to my sister (who was 10 at the time) as loud as I could but only able to breath out her name and when I did the figure rose and began creeping up towards me again, I just remember praying in my head as the figure stood over me. Next thing I remember is closing my eyes and having the covers pulled over my head. I woke up in tears to my sister saying my name and asking what the hell happened to me. She heard me struggling to say her name so she did what a 10-year old who's afraid of the dark does... pulled the covers over my head.
This week I've had this experience 3 times. One night I felt someone biting on my hand... again I was unable to wake up. I tried scratching and pinching my leg and kept telling myself to wake up but still couldn't. I even tried to toss myself off my bed and dart towards my door but when I did I felt something push me down and throw me back in bed. As I lied in bed I felt a presence looking at me from the far corner of my room. I yelled out for my mom and finally it was over, I woke up. When I did my heart was pounding like crazy. In the morning when I looked at my leg I had pinch-marks that were beginning to bruise up.
Last year I was diagnosed with an axiety disorder for which I refused to take medication. Instead I changed my lifestyle and was able to control it. So my question is, if I decide to see a doctor about this- what will my options be as far as treatment?
This is a very scary experience everytime and I'm just scared that the more frequent I have these episodes the more severe they will continue to get.
Bro I know what you are going
Bro I know what you are going through, I am 26 and I ve been having this since I was a child. In the last 4 years, I ve had pretty much every time I fall in sleep, it is like a curse. Sometimes I ll have 5 times during a night of sleep.
I am so relieved I have had
I am so relieved I have had this happen to me twice in one night..... and thats tonight. I cant sleep... im too scared to. even after reading this website. the shit that just happened scared me.. lordy may. I even chanted a prayer in my head. but thank god there are others out there!!! im 19 this is this is the 3rd time this happened to me in my life. The last time was when I was 17.... oh my gosh though. like i was convinced I was the next emily rose. hahaha thank you for this website. it does calm me down. but hell motherfuckin noQ im not sleepin tonight
the beginning
Im almost forty and i still recall when my first episode happened. It had to be before I started school ( under 5 years of age). I was sleeping in the bed with my mother. This was typical because there was no room for me to have my own bed in our tiny little apartment. I woke up. I could not move nor breath . I was so overly aware of this. To make matters worst my mother had her arm over my face. I felt it. I felt like I was going to be smoothed to death. although i called out to my mom she did not hear me.The act of calling out was a strain But at last I woke up.
As I have obviously matured these sp have continued.
Except Iam even more aware, during an episode. I do feel a presence. it is always male and this thing Lays with me.
Sometimes I pray it away , Its often sexual in nature.
During an episode In my dreaming I have to forget or purposfully focus on something else. Then I just wake up. On three occations now I have been woken up by my x husband and resently by my daughter. My husband says that my body was jerking and he could hear me in a muffled voice calling out to him. Wake me up Please. Recently my ten year old woke me. Its odd IT just so happens I was having SP and I was feeling a pressence in the bed with me. when I heard my daughter get up out of her bed to go to the bath room. As I cried out help me I could again feel the heavyness of this thing on me. These days I can open my eyes to capture glimpse of the room inwhich I lye. I saw my daughter coming towards me , and infront of her ran a little boy with his arms out stretched. It scared me some. At any rate I have told my daughter that I wake in my sleep and if she hears me struggling
to wake me
just touch me and Ill wake up. Shes ok with this and well the last time she did just that. she heard me calling her and she came in and shook me awake.
The bottom line . In my Mind there is only one GOD
Unfortunately I wake in my sleep and it causes my mind to imagine all kinds of things.
same thing happened with me
same thing happened with me so many time but on this sep 2009 i suddenly wake up and i am not able to move my body but my eye moving .. same i hear voice noises like evil bull shit ..
almost after 2 to 5 min when i feel that my body start moving at that time i start feelings pain on my all vain special on brain and then i don't when i got sleep and when i wake after 5 to 6 hour i feel pain only my head
any idea what happened with me ???
Science still saying mabey this and mabey that, bullshit!
Am i the only one who thinks Hiro Takahashi SP theory is bullshit. Come on all he says is if's, but's, mabey, not clear, possibly etc etc. There is still no solid evidence that science can find to explain not how SP happens but how, when it does happen, it can be freaky as shit, weird, terrifying etc
My Sleep paralysis... you may have had the same experience so ill share it :)
Like im burried in sand (heavy weight all over me) but i can still wiggle my way out but it takes tremendous thought and physical effort and while its happening i have this intense INGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG sound in my ears that gets louder and when i concentrate on this INGGG sound it gets louder and i feel like i can give in to it and let it happen, just let this (what ever IT is) take over me. It feels like its the centre of my head where this thing is coming from between my eye brows but inside my skull (pineal gland?) and when i concentrate there i feel it ache.
Anyway one time, when the above was happening, ive had two different things happen.
One time i was freaking out and im not a religous following guy but i would say im spiritual. Anyway in my mind i said "in the name of god i demand you to leave me" because i could not wriggle out of this one. It may Sound cheesy but hey...
The other wierd SP i had (there all effing wierd but you know some stick out more then others) is when i felt a hand clasp around my upper arm and thats all it did, just held my upper arm. It could have been to hold me there, to pull me, to keep me still or to try and keep me in SP for a while longer. OR...orrrrrr it could have been a reasuring hold, like... to let me know its ok? :S
What i do know is, after that hand thing i came out of SP.
Basically i think science cant explain the above because its the supernatural that there trying to explain. But dont worry guys because if theres a evil theres obviously a good ;)
thank you for this
i started experiencing this roughly a month or two ago, and now its occurring more and more frequently, but i didn't know what it was. Every time this happened, i thought this presence i felt behind me would kill me, and i just needed to know what was going on. Thankfully, as i started to research this, i stumbled upon this site. Now i know what exactly is going on and now there's not much to be afraid of. Although its still insanely scary when it happens, even though i know i'm perfectly safe. But thanks a lot :D
-Norman
my experience with sleep paralysis
I had just finished doing a little something to my daughters hair and i decided to turn in for the night. I laid down beside my man and proceded to go to sleep. I have to small kids so i always keep the bathroom light on so that they don't get scared. So I laid there for a while in my mans arms and it happened. When i opened my eyes, everything was very dark. I was still laying in my mans arms but when i tried to move i couldn't. It was very hard for me to breath, so I panicked. It occured for about ten to fifteen minutes. When I came out of it, I could see the light shining from the bathroom and I could move and breath a lot better. What I don't get about the situation is why didn't my man feel me fighting and calling out to him while this was going on. It really scared me and I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. Is this normal. Is It a cure or some medicine to take for it or is it natural to have this happen to you. Someone please give me an answer for this because It is very scary being able to look around the room and see your loved ones sitting or laying right next to you and they can't even hear your screams or see you trying to touch them, or you may think that you are touching them and they can't feel your touch.
PLEASE HELP ME
With all your comments written on this site the exact same thing is happening to me but the worst part about it is that it happens almost every night 5 times a week for sure (for the past 10 years now.) I am begging someone to tell me if there's a cure or a specialist i can go to for help simply because i can't take it anymore. It is such a terrifying experience i dread going to sleep, i cry every night why this is happening to me and why i have to suffer like this. PLEASE HELP ME...I am willing to do anything just to be "normal". Its just too much to deal with for so long....
:(
Im only 15 and ive had this since i was about 8 or 9 and i sometimes hate going to bed cus i dread tht i may happen tht nite. its not everynite bt it is a frequent thing s0metimes it only 30 sec.s and other times it feels lyke 10 min.s i dnt think its has anything to do with spirits or anything it simply has to do with the way ur brains function while we sleep... bt i wonder do any of u tlk in ur sleep alot? bcus i do... i also have depression and im not very good about expressing my feelings and my mind runs all day long sometimes i feel exhausted becus i think of thngs and issuses in my life and i sleep alot cus thts my way of escapeing my problems bt im guessing thts not the rite solution bcus now ive been experiencing this terrifying sleep paralysis. its s0o scary i remember one time when i was experiencing "it" i was jus crying and yelling wantin someone to wake me up and i was trying s0o s0o s0o hard to just move my hand up bt i cldnt i was hopeless and i.... felt lik my lyfe was sliping through my finger. i hate it i wish thy cold find some way to tke it away :( and i kno its not all in my head bcus i can remember all the times tht it has happened, bcus i ammm trully awake bt whn i dream i cn nvr remember thm bt whn "it" happens i cn remember it perfecly....
I have just experienced this
I have just experienced this problem and it scared me so much i looked it up. All seems similar to what i have read except one thing. I had been up and was having problems going to sleep finaly i started dosing off and looked at the clock it was around 3:20am i turned to my side and closed my eyed and still couldnt sleep just laid there with my eyes closed then i heard my door open and everything around me went silent and i had the feeling of being absolutly alone i tried screaming but no sound would come out i was lurching over my bed screaming but there was nothing finaly i gave one last scream and i heard it and the feelings went away and when i looked back at the clock i could see the time gow from 3:57-58-59 like time was catching up with itself and to top it off my door actually was open so somenone was in the room with me just dont know who. scared the hell out of me any one have similar to this please let me know i hate thinking im nuts
Sleep parlyisis '' how to beat it ''
I have had episodes since i was a kid,and now there getting worse,see it used to be that i could pull myself out if i could see light somewhere in the house,if i wasnt faceing light i would scream over and over until a little wimper would come out. when i awoke i would turn the light and the radio on and go back to sleep.last nite i was feeling the vibrations that i usualy get right before an episode so i turned the tv on. i then went to sleep facing the tv,and for the first time i had an episode facing the light.with my eyes wide open and my hands folded on my chest i summon all my consentration on lifting my hand. i managed to wiggle my finger but i still coudlnt come out of it.then somthin really terrifying happen.my moms boyfriend walks into the living room and sits on the coutch next to me,i try as hard as i can to get his attention, i actualy managed to say ''help me please'' in a wisper,wich would usualy wake me but it didnt.it caught his attention,and i was filled with hope.then he stood up and leaned down to look at me,with the tv on i had a terrifyingly detailed view of the room,and he started laghing at me and sat back down and started flipping through the channels of the tv (directly in front of me).fully concious but unable to move i came to a realization, im staring into the light,and the volume of the tv is on,and i still cant awake.panic grips me as i start breathing heavily,and as i attempt to scream again i have an involantary cough,and im out!the moment i got my legs back i jumped up so fast that i had a head rush,the first thought that came to my head was to kuss kent (my moms boyfriend) out for not helping me when he clearly new i was having another episode and as i spun around to the couch he was siting on, he wasnt there. he wasnt ever there. the tv was on the same channel that i left it(although i saw it changed right in front of my face)that really hit me hard.so far the only way i have found to beat it is to sleep with the light on and a ceiling fan if possible(because looking at a solid moving object seems to help pull me out).another way to prevent it is to set an alarm clock to go off every 30 minutes. also dont go to sleep on your back.and try your best not to panic,because thats when it gets hard to breath.saying a prayer cant hurt either.hope this was usefull.good nite lol
Cant be sure
Ive always been afraid of the dark. Usually to this so called sleep paralysis. I used to cry in the middle of the night so hard it would wake me up but before that i would feel like something was trying to possess me and i would shake so hard trying to fight the entity off and pray like there was no tomorrow. well that was a few years ago and I finally got used to sleeping in the dark no longer afraid. I had even had dreams that I would laugh so hard i would wake myself up and i have to say it was a welcomed change. After maybe a year or two of nothing happening last night i fell asleep for a very short time. Maybe an hour before this happened. This time it was different from the rest, I started laughing and my chuckling started waking me up until i heard an evil laugh along with mine. I started shaking everytime i tried to move my eyes were rolling into the back of my head though i was trying to keep them open so hard i prevented them from fully closing. I looked around the room because my body couldnt move I tried yelling help but i felt it came out as a soft wisper. I layed there for a few moments having no choise and closed my eyes. Then I woke up fully and looked around hopeing that maybe I was just dreaming my seizure like experience but every shadow and light reflection was exactly the same and that freaked me out because not only had i got the familiar sensation of something trying to possess me I felt like I was having a seizure so i decided to reaserch and while this helps calm me a bit I still cant help but feel like I really was being attacked seeing as how Praying seemed to help alot and after that I could have swore i had a seizure because my eyes were rolling in the back of my head not just me shaking violently. I just dont know. Anyone have any answers?
I have seen things too, but
I have seen things too, but fully awake and could move. How do you explain that? I know it's true because my brother saw it too. That was truly scary and evil spirits do definitely exist.
I too feel the same ... SP
Its happening when i have sleeping disorders, Like reading late night and go for sleep. I can hear some activities noises which i made before sleep, and i doubt the same for sight. But i feel someones presence. I cant move my hands and legs. I cant speak. Its a feeling like magnetic force which stop my body to move free.
Thanks for the researchers who research in this topic and give us a solution to relieve from this fear.
sleep paralysis. im 19 yrs old.
hi my name is jeannette ! and i am 19 yrs young! this has been happening to me since high school. it sucks i hate it! just last night i felt like someone was pressing down on my stomach & it hurt :( and then my teeth were shaking & they moved me sideways!! and then the other night of last week i couldn't talk or yell! and i felt paralyzed :( i felt like someone was in my room.Then a few months ago i felt like i was floating on my room how can i make all this go away? someone plz helppp me :( i hate seeping alone now. last night i went to my moms room because i was so scared.
i need answers!! :(
2 Triggers for SP
i am 38 years old, male, healthy. I am experiencing SP since i was 12 on a monthly basis. SP gets me only in two occasions: when i have so much sleep during the day and to force myself to sleep later (about 90% of the SP cases) or when i have a very long day without sleep (about 10% of the SP cases). SP never happens otherwise.
SLEEP PARALYSIS
I am sooo relieved I found this site. I've had this condition since elementary. I havent had an "episode" lately which makes me come to several conclusions. But anyway, when it happens, Im wide awake, I can hear everything going on around me, but im not able to speak or move. When it first happen, I tried to scream, and failed. That scared me the most. No one knew I was just laying there praying so I could move. Being that I have a religious background, It caused me to believe that this was clearly an entity holding me down. And the way I finally came out of the paralysis was pretty tricky. I would try to raise my body and couldnt move. So, I would just relax, pray, take a deep breath and abruptly shove myself forward, causing it to seem like I just araised from a nightmare. It seems to work. For now.
And its amazing how I found this site because im doing a college paper for my psychology class about the theories about dreams and some how it associated it to sleep paralysis. Ant there popped up this site. Thank you to whoever created this site. it has really brought closure to a bad chapter in my life.
-College Girl :-*
My Experiences with sleep Paralysis
Monday, 21st of September 2009. Around 2:00am I had a dream when I awoke from this dream I heard footsteps in the kitchen wich is out of my view due to the large couch I was sleeping on, the footsteps were coming from the kitchen because I could see the ceiling which I was looking at with 1/2 of my eyes open. I figured it was my sister so I was pretending to still be sleeping though my eyes were cracked open out of curiosity. the footsteps came closer and a being which must of been 3 to 4 feet tall walked right by me, my head was facing the ceiling so I only got a peripheral vision. After it passed I got the courage to get up and look at what it was, I couldn't, I was frozen for about 15 seconds when I got up there was nothing around. I have had sleep paralysis since about 5 or 6 years ago about 10 times in my life. All have been triggered by dreams but not this one.
An experience
I only experienced this for 1 night a few years back. It was truly the scariest moment in my life.
I realized I was awake but couldn't move, my bed started to shake and I felt an evil spirit in the room. I tried to scream out for help but I couldn't speak. I instantly started to pray to God to make it go away. I just prayed and prayed. Then I came out of it. Then moments later I was back with the evil spirits......
I told my mom about it and she told me my uncle suffered through the same thing his whole life...
I don't know what to make of this experience, it was all too real for me.