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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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Comments
sleep paralsis
I am 25 years old, and i had my first experience when i was thirteen. i was led in bed asleep,my mum was in the next room, about two oclock in the morning i felt like there was someone sitting on my chest.I was screaming and shouting for help but no sound was coming out.I felt like i was still awake. It sounds stupid but i saw my mum flying across the room laughing at me. after about ten minutes i woke up. ever since then i have been scared of the dark and i have panic attacks, and to scared to sleep. one time i was in the shower and the electricity went off, i just stood their screaming and shaking until my boyfriend came up.
I am so glad that I am not
I am so glad that I am not the only one who is experiencing this, I remember last night, when this happened, I was sure that if it would happen to me again I would go completely crazy because it just felt so real. Before I fell asleep I prayed, I was feeling completely calm but for some reason I am always tense (my back and neck always hurt the next day)... I am not sure why since things have been going great and I am very happy with life right now. Anyway, I decided to try a relaxation method... I started to imagine that I was in a cloud and my body felt so light, I was relaxed, I only had pleasent thoughts in that moment and started to realize that little by little I was losing conciousness and falling asleep. This happened to me before, although it was a different dream, and the previou one was not that scary, but weird instead, I went through the same relaxation process. The only way that I can describe it is that... I entered in some type of trance, I felt half awake and half asleep. Everything felt so real and in my "dream" (which I am still not sure if it was a dream of if I was awake) I was in the same position I fell asleep, my room was exactly the same, everything was like if I had never fall asleep. I only remember a voice which I thought it was from the devil, telling me horrible things, I felt so frightnened, I could not move... at the same time I felt something sexual about the dream, I really can't remember why since I did not "see" something, I just heard the weird scary voice. It was so scary, then I "woke up" and went to my mom's room and something weird happened again which I don't remember, and I started crying and sweating, then I opened my eyes, this time for real... and I actually did go to my mom's room, I was fully awake this time, I starded crying, she asked me what happened and I couldn't talk, I couldn't breath well... Omg it was horrible I need an explanation for this, this has only happened to me when I decided to do the "relaxation" process, which nobody taught me but I thought would help. I am 100% sure that I can make it happen again if I want to, but I am scare that next time I'm not gonna have to try to relax, and it will just happen. I was thinking that maybe when I try to relax, my imagination flies and it feels soooo real... but I need a better explanation, if anybody has gone through something similar, please write back. Thanks for taking the time.
sleep paralisis
i finally understand,,,mennn i was really terrified i couldnt even go back to sleep without having a drink,,,i used to keep a constant supply of wine in my small bar, all my friends used to admire and love it but when i told them it was fro helping me get my sleep they all laughed,,,,i understand now so i wount be freeking out,,,,but we all have to admit that it is quite an experience
I've had this my whole life!
Like many of you I came here searching for answers and finally found the name of what's been happening to me. I was happy and feel as if I actually belong to a community of people that knows what it's like and can identify with me.
I'm now 27yrs. old and I can't get rid of it. I was in sixth or sevnth grade when I first experienced SP. It was the middle of the day I was taking a nap alone in my room. Suddenly, I felt someone tapping on my shoulder, I turned around no one was there so I freaked out and went running through the house to my mom's room feeling like I was being chased. She believed me but her boyfriend at the time who is now her husband thought I was crazy. Anyway, that night is when it happened. I was paralyzed stuck, couldn't move, scream, or do anything. When I finally got out of it, I woke my mom told her. She let me sleep in her room I thought it would end. I was wrong, everytime I nodded off it kept happening. I was terrified to go to sleep.
After a few years, I experienced other phenomena in that house and when we moved it didn't happen for a while. Just when I thought it was over it started again. I was laying on the couch and again I was paralyzed, I then felt as if I was sinking into the couch and I could see but half of me was sunk in the couch. How weird.
After so many times I thought I was being followed by some kind of spirit or entity. I'm still unsure. I think it has to be some kind of clarivoyance or sensitivty to spirits. I don't know I don't belive it's just scientific I was almost fooled to believe that.
Recently it's been happening so much that that's when I decided to do some research and found this website. Yesterday, my husband and I were going back to sleep after taking our kids to the bus stop. I told him to make sure he kept his arm around me and his leg intertwined with mine so if it happened, hopefully I could be able to move my leg enough so that it would signal to him to wake me up. Well, as assumed it happened. He was able to get me out of it. We then went back to sleep. This time he starts moving his leg funny and I realize it's happening to him. I wake him up and he's almost in shock. We both calm down again and try to go back to sleep. Bad idea. It continues again. It happens to him two more separate times. Because we are so tired again we go back to sleep. Finally, it happens to me again. Typically, I get signs of it about to happen and kinda stop it before it starts, but maybe we angered the spirts by doing what we were doing so it hit me full throttle. I tried moving my leg back but the pressure of it and the severity of the paralysis was too much. I felt like I was slipping away. I could barely breathe and felt like I didn't have much fight left. Thankfully, my husband moved his leg just a bit enough for me to jump out of it. I was so scared I gave up trying to sleep.
This morning I had another attack this time right before it happened I usu. get a kinda weak feeling letting me know it's about to happen but not this time. I heard an evil like growl and then I felt as if someone was holding me down. I saw lights, all these lights flashing and then continuous noise of these growls, it became so strong I could barely breathe. I literally thought I was gonna die. When I finally got out of it I was almost in tears because I'm so tired of living with this and I don't know what to do. It's even almost happened during class lecture and I was wide awake. I can't just write this off as scientific. I've seen figures and heard all kinds of stuff. I want answers. I just want to know if anyone has found a way to stop it. I've prayed before, after and during. Actually, for me at first praying during helped now it angers it and the attack gets worst. I'm baptized and I believe in god but I don't think that's enough or has too much to do with it happening. Actually, I just want help. How could this be just scientific yet it kept alternating between my husband and I like that? Hopefully, sometime soon I get a resolution. My fear is that I may someday become a part of that small statistic of people who really do die from this condition.
Scared but Never Harmed
When I married, both husbands experienced my attacks. That's how I really knew something was going on beyond the medical field, and I wasn't crazy.
These attacks started when I was 3. (I am now 44.) I heard growling, unknown languages and couldn't move. My parents thought I was being harrassed by a demon.
I have had brain scans, and have been checked out by a neurologist and cardiologist more than once. They said there is nothing wrong with me. I am very healthy.
During college as soon as I would lie down on my back usually (not necessarily asleep), the attack would begin. It would happen over and over. I couldn't move, but I could move my tongue and eyes and see the room.
While awake or asleep, I have experienced something sitting on me, hands wrapped around my neck trying to strangle me, something pushing against my chest to keep me from breathing, and something turning me over in bed.
I am aware of the regular normal sleep paralysis that occurs and can differentiate between it and my attacks.
When I assumed my attack was demonic, I made incredible progress. When the attack would start I would use the name of Jesus and command it off of me. (Consult with God first on this. You must be a Christian and in a right relationship with God. Remember the seven sons of Sceva.) It would get off me and go stand in the corner of my room. I could feel it in the room (discernment of spirits). But as soon as I would lie back down, it would sit on me again. I found this very terrifying and annoying and did not get much sleep for years.
I went through a major Biblical deliverance a few years back, just me and God (the God of the Bible). He told me how to pray for deliverance. My deliverance took several years. He also told me to quit being afraid of the spiritual realm. He's actually in control of it. I learned a lot from Him.
Now when it happens I just relax and go through it as long as I can stand. It starts out with a bubbling sensation all over my body and then the paralysis takes over. If I speak the name of Jesus, the attack will immediately stop, but I try to just ride it out. Sometimes, I feel fear, but I think it's a childhood memory of the fear I felt when I was 3.
BTW, being the engineer that I am, I tried speaking other words or phrases to test out how to get the paralysis attack to stop. I couldn't force any words through my lips except the name of Jesus. I found that interesting, and actually I was not surprised.
One thing I realized, I was never harmed at all by these attacks, just scared, really scared. God told me to stop being afraid of the spiritual realm. I worked on that for several years, and so now I am not afraid. I just let the scary feelings pass and go back to sleep. I do have to sit all the way up, though, and get all the way awake before going back to sleep - kind of a reset.
I still have the experience to some degree, but it doesn't cause me any problems now. I understand a whole lot better what the experience is and no longer fear it. I now sleep in peace.
That is my story. It is exactly what happened/happens to me. I have posted my story before on other websites only to have people "poo-poo" it and say I'm just having an anxiety attack or some other medical problem and bringing up spiritual matters is not appreciated. Well, that may happen here again, but it will be worth the negative remarks if I can point just one person in God's direction to get their truth and finally sleep in peace like I do.
I cried when I read this
I cried when I read this because my story is literally almost identical to yours.
I am now 25 and stated having theses experiences at about 15. My Grandmother, who raised me for 11 years of my life, was a very spiritual person and she is my greatest influence. When I stated having this so called "SP", I immediately knew that it was something spiritual, maybe even demonic and would say The Lords Pray (the very first pray she thought me) to throw it off. But the feeling became more intense and harder to throw off, so I started going to church which didn't do much. It is not until I sincerely and consciously from the heart stated seeking answers through The Bible did I begin to control it without much effort.
I would say that this was a blessing because it strengthen my faith in G-D, Jesus Christ and The Bible.
Peace.
Explanation to what you felt.
You are not being attacked by a demon. There is three scientific explanations. A. Narcolepsy can cause you to fall asleep without even feeling tired and your brain would never know the difference so saying that was not it is pointless. Because you would not know. B. Ur husbands experiencing it, sympathy pains is very common nerological possibility. Also there is some minor movement when you are under the effects of elapsed REM so others can detect you in it or they can experience your reactions or movements. C. The pressure and strangulation you suspect is your chest muscles paralyzed and contracting to your panic. Your muscles may be paralyzed but your nerves are not so the contractions can be detected as heavyness in the chest much like that of a heart attack but it is not anywhere near that severe. The best medicine for this is not going to church and praying. Although praying never hurts and God is always watching over us. I can clearly tell you he would not effect this many people or let this many people be effected by this event. Your best bet is to have positive thinking when this occurs and elimnate it. Be a master of your own world!
I have faith in you!
R.D Pearson.
I understand your scientific point of view but
I understand your scientific point of view but some people here have claimed that praying or calling out the name Jesus usually gets them out of it immediately. Even if one prays it in their head. So how can this be proven that praying doesn't work? And calling your mom or husband/wife's name doesn't do it. I am speaking from a personal experience too.Positive thinking doesn't work either unfortunetly because the thing choking you or hovering in the room doesn't seem to care. But for some reason saying Jesus or praying to Him in your head usually ends the episode immediately.
To continue my comments on SP. Why its scientific.
Yes, I will tell you right now. People put their faith strongly in god. Thus they should. When you beleive in something you get a positive energy that is going to do two things. Calm you down and make you feel comfortable. Ask yourself this. If you lay on the edge of a bed with your feet out the covers you get the feeling that WOW what if something grabbed my feet? However pull the covers over your feet and you get instant releif. Not because your feet are covered but because you truly beleive that if they are covered nothing can get them. This is the exact same concept. If you beleive in something strong enough your mind will make it true. The power of the mind is so powerful that it can literally alter your perception. I get sleep paraylsis ALOT. I can tell you when i get an episode of SP the feeling that what if something drags me across the floor comes into my head then sure enough BAM, I am being dragged across the floor. When i tell myself i know this routine here it comes i just relax and let it pass. Sometimes i will fight it and awake then go right back then awake and go right back. In some cases i am thinking i do not even awake and it's just one long session until i get out of it and my muscles are always very weak which leaves me to beleive that fightng it actually does use muscle mass and weakens your muscles. I can tell you this. Lack of sleep,Insomnia are the two main reasons you get this event. I don't care how many people reply to this post and state but "I" get plenty of sleep. If you have a common problem with this you are not getting enough sleep that your body wants. If you take naps uh-oh! Thats the culprit of SP. Heres the reason why. Your body has a bilogical clock. It times when you sleep and makes you tired around when you would soon sleep again. If you wake up 4 hours early one day and sleep 4 hours late the next. You will wake up tired then start to feel slightly more awake then goto wide awake. Then 2-3 hours after this you go back to exaushted and tired but for one reason or another you won't sleep. Rather its to close to work time or for other reasons such as plans with your friends or going to a party ETC ETC. This puts the anxiety or stress of why you will not goto bed with an already messed up biological clock. Your body is a machine. It requires rest or it will overheat. In this situation overheating would be SP. Now here is my scientific opinion on why SP occurs most often when on the back. The Central nervous system controls all transmissions of pain,reflexes,instincts and body movement and of course the chemical reaction we undergo during SP. When sleeping on your back will put pressure on this area causing a much better chance of blocking the transmitters from doing their work thus if you wake up from a screwed up sleep schedule then the transmitters are stuck in translation and WHAMO! Sleep Paraylsis breeding ground. For the best results of avoiding SP, sleep on your side.
Again this is all my hypothesis and all my beleifs. I am not saying that SP is not a spirital visit or journey. For some it very well could be. But for the majority of us with the same stories over and over points to scientific explanations. I gurantee you spirits have better things to do then harass us and sit on our chest and if they did'nt then i am not looking forward to death simply for the fact that my future will consist of sitting on peoples chest and or screaming and pking at them.
I am R.D Pearson and i hope my information was helpful to you!
scientific theory sounds good, but....
I am a person who has experienced SP. I was not raised in any religion. As a child I just think that my Mom just didn't even think to even bring up the subject of God or religion. As an adult, I experienced things on my own that led me to believe in God. So basically, I am saying that I have not been "programmed" or brainwashed in any way. All I can say is that these SP experiences are very real and now that I have chosen to get closer to God, the episodes have become more frequent and demonic. As a matter of fact, they are always involving my seeing dark shadows, hearing eerie laughter, hearing footsteps when there is no one around, leaving me with with a feeling of fear. Recently, because of all the theories about us being half asleep, I make sure that when it begins, I am always telling myself that I am awake. There are now times when I will have 3-4 episodes back to back. Because I am so amazed by what is happening , I will sometimes allow myself to go right back into this SP episode just to prove to myself that I am not asleep. Once I even asked my daughter to stay in the room so that if it were to happen again, she could tell me how my body was reacting, but it would not happen while she was there. Only after she left out of the room , did it happen again. I am at the point now where I come out of it so quickly now just by mentioning God or Jesus (something that was suggested to me). I feel so much control during this experience now so I am no longer afraid of SP.
My thing is why is it that when it comes to certain topics, there are people who will go out of their way to convince us that something has a scientific explanation? I mean, I am Not here trying to convince anyone of anything. Although MY experiences seem to be spiritual, I am not trying to convince everyone that their experiences are the same as mine. I am just here to share MY experience and this site has been helpful to me and everyone has been pretty open minded without judging everyone so I feel comfortable sharing. I just can't help but notice that when it comes to certain subjects, people who may or may not have even experienced something themselves, they will make it their business to have an answer for everything to the point where it seems obvious that they want to steer you away from thinking a different way, or that it is even remotely possible that it just could be spiritual in some cases. During SP, in my head, I have called out to people and it didn't help, but Every time I call out to God or Jesus, my SP episode immediately ends.
I am a mentally stable, energetic, working Mom and I am not at all a religious fanatic or anything. In my case, the SP seems spiritual and I was Not asleep. I believe that not everything can be explained.
Thank you for insisting that
Thank you for insisting that this is scientific because I am very scared. Even though so many other people have experienced the same thing and I do not experience hallucinations, I am sometimes too afraid to fall asleep because my imagination runs wild. Is there a proven diagnosis to this sleep paralysis?
Please go immediately to an
Please go immediately to an assemblies of God church, they will pray for you. Make an appointment with the main pastor and talk to him. Scientists may try to explain it scientifically but the individual knows its evil. I went through this for many years until someone advised me to go to assemblies of God. If you can call the name Jesus it also helps immediately, or THE BLOOD OF JESUS even after you wake up. That evil stuff is among the worst things that can happen to someone I always thought I was among the few now I know many people experience it.
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i never had this problem
i never had this problem when i was a child. until i got married and stop going. then later on it started happening to me. it has happen so much that sometimes whe i lay down, i already know when its gonna start. this morning i couldn't sleep. stay up until 5 in the morning. then when i try to fall asleep, i started getting that feeling. right when that happened, prayer was in my head. and i started to pray. then i had the feeling that i needed to get up, so it wouldn't hurt me. i got up and started looking for answers and now i know. because i prayed.
Stuck between two different worlds.
Just like all of you i have dealt with this problem for what seems like ever since i can remember.In fact this experience had just happened to me this morning,which would make it probably the second time this month,but until now never thought anything about it, i just kinda thought maybe i was dreaming it,and often i have dreams in which i know im dreaming, and do everything in my power to wake up and just can't.It's almost like im stuck between two different worlds.And now im afraid to go sleep for fear of it happening again.Until just now i had no idea whatsoever it had its own scientific definition,or name,or treatments,or that there was anyone else that experienced it for that matter.It's good to know im not the only one.=)
Please go immediately to an
Please go immediately to an assemblies of God church, they will pray for you. They may try to explain it scientifically but the individual knows its evil. I went through this for many years until someone advised me to go to assemblies of God. If you can call the name Jesus it also helps immediately, or THE BLOOD OF JESUS even after you wake up. That evil stuff is among the worst things that can happen to someone I always thought I was among the few now I know many people experience it.
wake demons
I have had this problem since I was in college, 1996. Black mists comming to me and talking to me, only when i was alone.. Sleeping in my bunk bed, I was on the top bunk, thinking it was my roomate climbing my bunk. When I turned over, I looked up only to see a large black mist. Before I could do/say anything, it said "ssshhhhh dont scream" all I did was turn over and put the covers over my head.. It has never left me since.. I was only 19 at the time.. Intermittenly, talked, whispered, and touched me.. Later after I left that dorm room, it sought me out again in the house that I moved into with other girls at the same college, close to a year later. Same circle of freinds, same town. But a year later.. Had some difficult dreams at home that summer, but paid 0 attention to them, as I was used to them from school.. When I got back to the new house it was GAME ON... Had nothing but awful dreams.. Felt covers being pulled off of me, and claws across my neck when I said NO, out loud, to my assailant.. It only got worse from then on out.. I finally left school and came home. Not only for those obvious reasons, that no one would have believed, but normal college drop out whoohs.
I have since moved on, went to other colleges and received a degree. These occurences with my "dark shadow" as I call him, had/have become so frequent, that I have just told him, "leave me alone, go away, not now, nnnnoooo!!!!" It was that frequent... I knew I was stressed.. I was under.. under everything..That THAT was it..... that was y I was sooo. CRAZY. Well untill, I had my daughter.. I had already had another child, my son.. I had some other issues with the, black shadow when he was born, but chalked that up to more stress. Nothing had been... PERSONAL, as u could say, until I had her. A couple of months after she was born I was trying to sleep, she was next to me in her bassenet, and then it happened again.. I felt the bed shake, and I looked over at where she was, and all I heard, as I felt a pressure on my face trying not to let me move my body, was, " I JUST WANT TO KNOW THE NAME OF YOUR BABY" At that point, I did what I always do, and tried to "move myself awake" When I finally was able to do so, she was fine, asleep next to me, as was her father, and that was it. She was about 6 months old at that time, and is 4 now. I have had many other encounters since then, but they had stopped for a year until 2 nights ago....I had just, again, chalked it up all to be stress. It again came to me again when I was not asleep, but not awake. I felt my own body, knew my surroundings..I felt a pressure on my right hand moving it, that was not my own. At the moment that I knew who/what it was, I began to resist. Then thats when I heard the slurping sound in my right ear. I tried to call out NO and move all at the same time.. I first was able to move my hand, and then I finally could muster a muffled nnooooNNNOO. Then I could move my hand and the rest of my body..I knew nothing was there, said the Lords prayer, and turned over and grasped my boyfriend for dear life... This has consumed me for so long I could write a book/movie about it.. I dont know how to make it go away.. I thought I did. I was wrong...
Books on OBE's
I know sp is not an obe, but it could very well be the threshold of an out of body experience. I recommend ewading Robert Monroe's books on out of body travel, also Willian Bulhman. Excellnt reads.
Sleep Paralysis...I thought they were evil spirits
Wow, I just finished reading comments regarding this sleep paralysis experience and I dont feel so scared anymore! I never knew what these dreams were all about, I thought some evil spirit kept harassing me in my sleep. My boyfriend even bought me a dream catcher thinking it would help. I told him that the dream catcher didnt work!
I'm in my 30's and now that I think about it, I've had sleep paralysis since I was a child but my "dreams" are more scary now... Last night I had another "dream." It's so wierd because it doesnt feel like a dream, it feels real... I'm lying in my bed and I know I'm awake (at least I THINK Im awake) and all of a sudden I feel my little dog behind me walking toward me. I realize that my dog is downstairs ... what is this walking towards me? Then I feel it touch me, a spirit, a ghost? It hugs me and I feel like I cant move... I have that feeling like something is sitting on my chest and its hard to breathe. I start praying and tell it to go away. Then it leaves, it always leaves when I pray. I wake up with goosebumps all over my body and of course, I cant sleep anymore... it felt so real.
In another instance of sleep paralysis I was staying in a hotel with a friend, she was sleeping in the next bed. Again, I felt myself wake up and there was a leprechaun jumping at the foot of my bed. OMG it sounds crazy but there it was! My roomate was fast asleep next to me but I couldnt speak or move. Once the leprechaun saw me wake up, he started jumping towards me, I close my eyes and I feel him holding me down. I felt paralyzed, again I prayed for it to go away and I woke up sweating.
I have a few other memories of these "dreams" that felt so real. Its wierd that my regular dreams seem to fade from my memory but I can remember these sleep paralysis dreams very clearly... like they are reality. Finally, I read that a few people cannot fall asleep on their back because thats when the sleep paralysis happens most. I agree, I cannot fall asleep on my back because I feel like something is suffocating me ...
My dreams have always been very pleasant except for these dreams where I wake up but I am not really awake... so wierd.
Thanks for all the comments, they helped me to understand what is happening to me.
Sleep Paralysis-Or Demonds?
A few hours I had my most recent "Sleep Paralysis"--which before this point I would call it : "My demond encounter"...this was not the first time..actually since i was a kid this was a problem..but i had never told anyone ..being afraid people might think iam "cucu"..Today it happend to me 3 times in a row..usually i would see the same things..., things that are not nice. this morning while in trans i saw a big black dog seating next to my bed looking at me, while this guy was enetering in my room and sat next to me, voices where all over the room..and i felt like if my heart was about to come out of my chest..i was so afraid..but coulnt wake up..my eyes kept looking everywhere..but still i was not able to manage my condition..today i staretd doing my research..and althougth now i know is not : An Evil thing:..lol I think i know how to make it better..which is i guess staying calm..closing my eyes..knowing that is something going on in my brain and no spirits trying to control me.
Scared
I am 15, and I get this about once a week. its so scary. i cry for about an hour after. i will go to sleep and then i will wake up. although, my body wont be awake. i will be lead there and i cannot breathe through my mouth as it is shut and I cannot open it, i try to open my eyes but can only open them so much that everything is a blurr. and i cannot feel or move anyother part of my body.I often see people walk past me like shadows and it looks as if they are infront of me.then when i wake up they are gone. sometimes i feel asif i have a big weight in top of me restricting me from moving. i get them about 3-4 times a night. and about once or twce a week. althought sometimes i dont get them for about a month.I can still hear people during the attack, and hear people walk past. I will try to scream my mum, but nothing comes out of my mouth not even one sound. then when i wake up i will be all hot and sweaty and i sit up tryin to not get back to sleep for hours. someone please help me. i dont know what to do about it. and my mum doesnt think anything of it.
ooter body experience
hi
I have had sleep paralyses for as long as I can remember, however the other night i had the most amazing experience, after the expected horrors that we all seem to share I in desperation tried to pull myself up from the bed to break the paralysed state and felt myself float out of my body. I was hovering above my self still in the same position laying face up. as soon as i relised what I had done I panicked an fell back into my body. The next day I was convinced that if i could do it again i would be able to control where I went in an outer boby experince. however not as easy to do as whenever it happens again fear takes over and I just want to get out of it and wake up
Has anyone experienced this I would really like to know
Roni
Remedies for SP
I have had SP for many long years. Some of my observations regarding this are
- It always occurs only in noon naps for me.
- This always happens when I goto sleep on my back with face facing the ceiling.
- There is always a person trying to suffocate me during this period.
- I sometimes see hallucinations of someone trying to talk to me, holding me.
- Trying to move my whole body / any part of the body possibly informs the brain that a particular muscle needs to move. As soon as I make an attempt to move, I wake up within 10-15 seconds.
- This occurs only when my anxiety / stress level is higher than normal.
Over the years, I have learnt to be patient when this happens. I dont panic, I just take deep breaths and make an attempt to move the body in anyway possible. I assure myself that I would be through this in a few seconds.
To avoid this, I try to sleep sidewards as much as possible. Wikipedia also gives a remedy for this through medicines. But, I really dont feel this is necessary. It is a natural harmless phenomenon which can handled with patience and confidence.
Happy sleeping!
My ongoing dealings with SP. It's like a different world: A scar
I'm 40 years old and I've had SP for as long as I can remember which is about 5 years old. I know what I experience but I've never asked anyone else if they had the same experience. I never bothered to do any research on until a few weeks ago when I was watching a UFO special on one of the networks where they talked about a few of the symptoms that people who have had "An alien abduction experience" and they linked it to "Sleep Paralysis". After doing a few searches, I found that I'm not alone and that other people experiencing the same thing that been experiencing for years. Believe me; I know how terrifying these experiences can become. For me, it started at around the very early age 5 and I remember stand at the front door of our house back in Mexico which looked more like a barn door and I remember feeling so small. I'm mean smaller than my physical size (about the size of a cat) and would get the feeling like there a large rolling object heading my way and there was nothing I could do about it to get myself to move. I remember feeling completely numb and you guess it; Paralyzed. As a youngster during family gatherings, I would on occasions take naps and I remember being awake but not being able to move and could see the people around me but I could not make out what they were saying at the same time I felt another presence, it was one that I could not see but felt so real and dark. This would also happen when I would take a nap on the bus.
As I grew older, I still took naps and I remember one time when my mom and sister went shopping and forgot their house keys. I decided to take a nap and I heard knocking and my name being called out but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't move a muscle and I felt that dark presence in the room with me holding me down. It's hard to describe how this feels but it's not the type of feeling like when a person holds you down where you can move parts that not being restrained by the other person. It's like there a magnetic force that fills the room and you can't fight it off. Well, since there was nothing I could do to get up, my sister had to finally come in through a window and wake me up.
However, after dealing SP for nearly 35 years, I can say that there have been several levels of experiences and I've tried different methods to get myself to wake up. I still can't figure of the best method nor have I found a pattern that trigger SP for me. I can't tie it to stress, anxiety, sleep pattern or time when they happen or duration of the episode because there is no true consistency with me. I just know that I don't know when it's going to happen and that I hope I can remember how to break free and wake up. I can' try staying awake.
There are a few things that have worked in the past which are: a) Like some other people have mentioned, try to get just one small part to move like a finger. b) While Sleeping on you back, sleep with your legs bent in an A shape and knees together so, they can easily collapse if you try to move. c) If you can't move anything, try biting you inner lip (this sounds painful but it's not). d) If there others around that can wake you up, try to yell out. (This is very hard to do but once you get started you should keep going.) I usually try this and my wife wakes me up. However, the best that comes out of me is more like a groan but if someone can wake you that's your goal. I notice that I can groan when the SP experience is very intense. d) On occasions I have prayed and that’s helped. Since, I’m a Christian perhaps I should try to pray more. But when you are going through an SP episode, all you want to do is wake up and sometimes you forget your strategies and if you do remember them they sometimes don’t work because you are so paralyzed.
I’ve been reading other peoples experiences and found so many similarities but I still have one that’s really different (I’ll leave it for last) which make me wonder if there can be some type of exploration in these SP episodes.
Common themes for me that I notices from other people’s comments:
1) I can tell right before its going to happen and I can sometimes snap out of it but most time I drift back in
2) I have heard the electric buzzing sound but not all the time.
3) The feeling of a dark presence in the room or in the next room and feeling like there is a magnetic power or force keeping me down (I’m getting chills just writing this).
4) Feeling of having my eyes open and aware of my surroundings.
5) I have felt intense pressure on my chest but not from someone or something sitting on it but from a feeling of what I would guess to be a heart attack.(I don’t have heart problems) but I dreamt that I was having heart attack in a couple of my SP episodes. Once in the same room, the other time in the Kitchen.
6) My next point is that I have been able to have a sense of walking during an SP episode. It was more like dragging myself around because I have to contend with the force that’s keeping down. I have dragged myself across the floor several time trying to get to the door find someone to wake me up. I found out that I can get around the house very sluggishly in effort to find someone to wake me, and sometimes to try and confront that dark presence but no luck with either. (Chills again) (Also must point out that I never leave my bed it just feel like I do because as we now know during an SP episode everything feels like it’s actually happening)
Okay the Uncommon theme for me:
Since I have been able to get around the house during my SP episode, I will never forget this one I was as usual dragging myself around trying to get out of the bedroom and find someone to wake me up. I dragged myself across the hallway into the washroom where I cough a glimpse of my reflection and what I saw was a bit disturbing because it did resemble me by very lifeless and kind of swollen looking. The best description I can identify with would be like a zombie. What scares me about SP is where can these dreams go? Are they dreams? That’s why earlier I said “I wonder if there can be some type of exploration in these SP episodes?”
I must say I was bit concerned when I ready that some people have had suds because an SP episode. I found that in Wikapedia. Not that you should believe everything you read on the internet of course. However, all that I have stated are my true experiences and concerns. I’m so glad I found this resource. Please reply if care to have discussions.
Explanation to your problems with SP.
Alright, Probably my favorite theory in the whole SP phenomenon. Out of body travel or vision's during the occurence. Again this is related to the power of the mind. Do you realize that your brain is your soul it is your personality your exsistence. In about 30-40 years from now i would not be surprised if they can put our brains into robots. The rest of your organs are simply instruments to provide us all of a method for eating,sleeping and living which is what our brain needs nutrients,sleep,knowledge. A shell for your brain to strut is a good example. During a SP instance you may come to realize am i asleep when i am having SP or am i awake when i am going to work or driving a car or not having SP. Aw the power of the brain. You can always tell when your awake but you can never truly tell when you are or are not dreaming. Which leaves some with the idea that they won a million dollars in the lottery and woke up thinking YES YES! oh wait ah hell it was just a dream! Again the mind is a powerful thing. Let me give you an example. If you beleive and truly beleive that little tiny red bump on ur arm itches then beleive me it will start itching. Thus becomming a problem simply because your mind thinks its a problem. You are in control of your brain and if you tell your brain to think something then you better gurantee it will! Placebo's is a great example of my theory. The doctor gives you a sugar pill and says you are cured. 90% of all people who goto the doctor feel releif once they are there because they know they will be taken care of. So the scary feelings are now gone. Same concept as SP. If you beleive your dragging around or going to get pulled around the mind makes it happen. Your mind is at its most potent when you sleep because its refreshing all neuro transmitters. So if you think in the stage of SP then your mind is at its sharpest thus creating the dragging feeling or the visuals. Heres my best advice to you. When it happens you do three things. 1. KEEP YOUR EYES SHUT! You are in complete control of your eyes during SP so keep them shut and that solves visions. 2. When you hear what sounds like screams or buzzs or anything for that matter. Tell yourself over and over it's probably just my fan or my AC and the sound will almost immediatly translate into that noise from a wicked laugh to a long drawn out fan spinning noise that a regular fan makes. Last but not least 3. Find something that makes you very comfortable such as faith in jesus which is widely used to end hallucinations or think about a loved one or something that makes you feel safe. When you do this your mind relaxes and it begins to make sense. If you scream GOD WILL SAVE ME and you give yourself that comfort and beleif then your brain is now convinced. Because your the boss. So your brain see's the image dissapear or leave because you just told it to.
I am R.D Pearson and these are my ideas and thoughts. Not based on any hard facts other then what i studied under my psychology courses. But i can tell you right now. You are 100% safe during this and the sooner you beleive that the sooner it will be less severe and the better sleep you get the less you will see it happen.
Goodluck to you!
Mine Went Away...
I had recurring nightmares as a child, usually involving puppets. My SP normally manifested itself in the middle of the night. I'm a light sleeper, and anyone stirring in the house at night would wake me -- at least partially.
When SP struck, I would awake - paralyzed - and observe the puppets I kept in the room (marionettes and ventriloquist dummies) jump from their shelves, approach and tickle me all over. This sounds funny, but it was terrifying. It was very hard to describe this to anyone. I knew it was extraordinary, and I knew I was "awake" when it happened. Of course, I had no idea what sleep paralysis was as a kid.
The interesting thing is that it hasn't happened to me since I was a youngster. I can't recall it happening once I entered my teens.
sleep paralysis
I've had many episodes over the last 20 years or so. Thankfully, most of them are not accompanied by hallucinations, I just find myself paralyzed and unable to speak. I try to shout and the effort wakes me. Sometimes I actually do shout as I wake, which wakes up my husband. I did have one episode when I was a teenager that included the classic "evil presence" sitting at the end of my bed. I was afraid and so began to pray, after which the presence left my room, went out of my house and flew away. I thought that was bad, but the one I had today was far worse.
Today is Monday. Saturday night I got very little sleep, I had to wake up in the middle of the night to travel and made the mistake of having a caffeinated drink with my dinner. Sunday night I got 7 hours of sleep and I felt OK this morning, but mid-morning I felt a headache coming on. I took a Maxalt (I get migraines) but it did not help so I left my office and came home to sleep.
I dreamed one of my dogs got into my craft room (I keep it blocked off so I can leave works in progress out without worrying they will get chewed up). I was angry and I was standing outside the room when suddenly I heard a loud metallic/electronic "Zing" sound repeated 8 times. Each "zing" was accompanied by an intense pain in the top of my head and a flash of blue/violet light. I was standing rigid, with my arms at my sides, with my elbows bent so my hands were extended out in front of me with my hands made into fists. I felt myself falling forward but I never hit the floor. I felt like I was floating, but still paralyzed. I moved my leg and woke up enough to confirm I was still in bed. Then, the pain and "zinging" returned even more intensely. Again I managed to move enough to wake, only to be taken a third time. I felt like I was being electrocuted, or perhaps being zapped by space aliens. The pain was so bad, I wanted to cry out. I woke the third time with my heart racing and I got up out of bed to prevent being zapped again. Is the pain part of the hallucinations, or was I having a stroke?
sleep paralysis
I also wanted to add that the last time I had the attack, it wasn't just one, but multiple ones in one night every time I tried closing my eyes back to sleep again. I think I had 4 or 5 in a row and it's so scarey and disrupting that I've been thinking about it everyday since. I've been good and sp free for over one week, but I am pretty sure they will happen again. Has anyone had multiple ones?
Multiple
Yes, mine are always multiple, right as I am trying to get to sleep, usually 3 - 5 times in a night. I get them around 8 times a year, its terryifying
sleep paralysis
I am 39 years old and I've had sleep paralysis on and off since my early twenties. I didn't know what they were until just recently after doing research on the internet. I wasn't far off when I diagnosed them myself as being related to stress or anxiety. They are worse when I'm going thru a bad insomnia period. Right when I am just able to maybe drift off to sleep they hit. They seem to last a few seconds when all is said and done, but feel like an eternity during the moment. I have some sense of relief knowing that they are, for the most part, not harmful to one's health, however, I do get a weird, intense pressure in my head, almost like if I was hanging upside down too long. The pressure in my chest scares me too. I feel like someone is sitting on it. I have never had any hallucinations or heard any strange sounds. (Thank God, because I think that would scare the hell out of me even more). Basically, I get the pressure in my head and chest, can't breathe or speak, can't open my eyes and have to try really hard to move a limb, most of the time to no avail. I believe they just end naturally. My efforts to move are usually wasted. I have found a strange, but useful remedy and so far so good. My last attack was about a week and a half ago and it was so bad that I've been afraid to try and sleep. My remedy is this: I notice if I kept my eyes open, they don't occur, but that gets ridiculous when you actually want to get to sleep. So, instead I close my eyes, but I just keep moving a finger or shaking my foot until I just drift off to sleep eventually with no attacks. I know this sounds crazy, but basically I'm keep myself awake to fall asleep, so as not to fall in that in between state which seem to host the attacks. Somehow, some way, I am able to keep moving a limb until I fall asleep 'properly'. As much as I have read and feel relieved to know I'm not crazy, I have to say I am still terrified each and everytime I get them. Some are worse than others. I have never been able to 'welcome' them or 'enjoy' them. The physical effects make me feel like I'm dying or slowly shutting down. At times, before I started using the shaking of the limb remedy, I would just get up and walk around the house or sit up for a while and then had better luck when I would go back to sleep later. I also haven't noticed any pattern to them as far as bodily position goes. I never sleep on my back. I am a side sleeper. The one clear pattern is definitely stress/restlessness/anxiety or insomnia. I just don't know if getting a sleep study will show anything. I do not believe I have any apneas. I would like to just be confident that mine are harmless, but the info on a rare, sudden death syndrome is really frightening to me. I just hope they go away. I did go thru a good year or two without one and then they came back recently. They are a not a welcome part of my life. Nobody seems to understand either. People look at me like I'm crazy or just imagining them. Glad to know I'm not alone.
SP
I've experienced SP a few times, and I didn't really think much of it because it didn't happen often and it only lasted a few seconds. The first time it happened I told my brother about it which made me feel less worried in a way. But this happened again this morning, I had not had an SP episode in quite some time (I didn't even remember about them), I had just put my niece to sleep and decided to take a nap myself and then it happened. This episode was different though, all the other times were quick, and this one felt like it lasted forever, I saw a cloud type thing floating rapidly towards me and felt like it was shaking me vigorously. I;m sure it was a hallucination but it scared the crap out of me! I've felt sick to my stomach the whole day just thinking about it. I know it's nothing evil, because I have great faith in God and I've read alot of the other comments (they were really helpful, thank you!). But I still can't shake the feeling, I feel scared to even fall asleep because the feeling of SP is horrible. This doesn't happen often, like I said, so hopefully it will continue that way.
I'm 16 and experience something different
I notice everyone talking about how they have "visions" of evil things. I do not have these, nor do I hear a loud buzzing sound. I will explain everything that happens, and what I do to get my limbs back to working.
So, I'm tired and I lay my head down. I find that when I fall asleep with lights on, and my head tilted up I fall into this "sleep paralysis." I close my eyes, and I get a huge sense of dizziness and I can tell exactly what's happening right away. I immediately tell myself "This is the paralysis, stay calm." At this point I'm unable to move and sometimes my neck is in an uncomfortable position to breath. This is very very dangerous, so I avoid putting my face in my pillow, or making my neck in any way bend as to cause breathing difficulties. This is where I begin my steps to waking up. Find a limb that is free and easy to move. Either your toes or your fingers. Relax and tighten the muscles, when you feel them start to move, do not stop or you will be paralyzed again and back at square one. Keep relaxed and make a fist or crunch up your toes. Once you get that far, begin to try to move your arm or leg to the side that has no resistance (For example, if you sleep with 1 leg on top of the other, use the leg that's on top so you don't have to use strength to get the leg underneath to move out from under your other leg). When you finally are able to move your leg or arm a little, start doing the same thing with the other limb and you'll wake up. Works for me, just letting everyone know. I have this paralysis moment, like I said, very rarely now because I know now what causes it for me. However, I'm still confused as to why everyone claims to hear, see things. Personally, when I'm paralyzed, I can't open my eyes. I don't feel or hear anything, I just get a really hard, dizzy sensation when I go into the state, which goes away after I'm paralyzed.
Feel free to e-mail me if you need any additional pointers. I'd also like to hear how YOU experience sleep paralysis.
I'm 33 and still get these!!
I am 33 and i still get these really bad. I found out my brother was gettin them to, started about 2 years ago for him. It is so scary, and when you try to explain people think your mad. I'm so glad other people get these.I only get them 3 times a year but when i was younger it happened nearly every month.
sleep paralysis?
ok so i just woke up and im not sure if it was sleep paralysis but i think it might have been. it happened to me before about a month ago. anyway today, im not sure if i was dreaming or not but i had trouble moving and then i tried to open my eyes but they wouldnt open all the way. and when i opened them all the way, i didnt have my full vision. i have this poster in my room and when i tried to open them, i couldnt see the whole thing and it was blurry. so i kept trying and eventually gave up. then i dreamt about something. then i woke up and i was facing my poster. was this sleep paralysis or just another bad dream? please help, yeah i know im just a kid but this stuff is scary
Thank you. Now I know what's
Thank you. Now I know what's been happening to me.. but when I have it I try waking up and once, I got up I always go to the fridge to eat something.. like a piece of bread, and when I go back to sleep it's all gone..I've been doing that for two times now..
I'm glad I'm not the only one
I have had these horrible experiances at least once a week. Even twice on the same night. This is usually how it starts:
- I feel this force coming from the bottom of my feet all the way to my head. Slowly paralizing me. Like a snake devouring its prey.
- As soon as I am completely paralyzed, something pushes me down, and almost chokes me.
- As soon as this "something" stops pushing me down, my body bounces back up and it feels like my "spirit" its leaving my body and floating through the air.
- The feeling of floating feels sensational. I am literally bouncing from the walls. I can feel everything I touch. You know when you touch your wall, the wall is usually cold...I felt it!
- Since I feel that I am floating and left my body; I see myself sleeping, struggling...trying to move.
- All of a sudden I am back in my body, in my room I sense the presence of something.
- I look around, and hear these voices sort of like mumbling.
- All of a sudden I see dark shadows, and I hear evil laughter.
- One of the shadows approaches me, and shakes me. The shadows are calling my name. Asking me to come with them, that they want me to be a part of them. As soon as I say in my head "please God protect me" the whole experiance stops.
When I first experianced these "attacks" I simply thought it was just a night mare. I never gave too much thought in to it. However, when these "nightmares" came repeatedly...I knew something was wrong. I began thinking about possible reasons that might be a cause to it. I realized that every time I slept on my back, I would suffer an "attack". I spoke to my mother and my pastor about it, and they prayed for me. The attacks, stopped for a while. But they had just started not to long ago. I did some reserach online to see if I was the only one going through this. To my surprise I was not the only one. I am glad to have a somewhat of an answer and that my hallucinations are some what the same as other people. It is a great feeling to be able to share this, and not be afraid of being judgzed. Before, I felt like I couldn't talk about it. I didn't want people to think I was crazy. I am not sure what the real cause is...weather its a disorder or an evil spirit....sleep paralysis is a real thing. It's real, and it's scary!!
Sleep paralysis is a small part for me
I started having sleep paralysis approx 20 years ago. I seem to be more prone to it if I have napped during the day. Just as I’m falling asleep ( it happens for me mostly lying on my side) I start hearing & feeling a strange vibrating inside my head that slowly but surely intensifies.
My body starts to vibrate at the same time - sort of like a seizure. Sleep paralysis is kicking in at this stage as well. Unfortunately for me no matter what i do to avoid the vibrations after this, I cannot. It always comes back.
So.. the vibrating & pitch intensifies to a point that can only be described as excruciatingly painful ( i think i'm going to die during this part)& only ends with a massive exploding BANG in my head, which by this time is truly welcomed. At this point my feet start pulling upwards and away from my body towards the ceiling until my entire body is upside down & joined only to my physical body by a small part on my forehead. I usually believe at this point i'm fighting for my life to stay joined or ultimately i will die. When i am in this position i can see a wispy sheet of silvery white attached between my floating self & my physical body (on the bed).
After the struggle to ‘hang on’ to myself I am left lying back in my physical body completely paralysed & then lurch into both audio & visual hallucinations. The visual hallucination could only be described a type of silhouette bust on my bedside table ( weird) & because I was trying to scream/ yell out for my daughter (I could hear her talking in the lounge) I heard a voice repeating her name in a mocking way. This scared the crap outta me because I thought it was someone outside my bedroom window.
Altering reality
I have only had "it" since 2 years ago and I am about to turn 33. In my view, and it is only my view, if something like this happens to me, it happens for a reason. It might or might not be a problem, crying for my attention...the cause and severity of such issue depends on its manifestation, on how I perceive or feel it happening. I agree with the comments that it might mean or relate to unrealised desires and (hidden) fears, but it is much more than that, at least in my case.
For you, I would suggest to pay attention to who you are and the surroundings around you: spiritual, physicial, mental, olfactory, etc, and, please, don't forget your intuition, listen to that "voice"...what comes first to you when you think about this situation or ordeal...its solution most likely lays in that area.
We are all unique beings and, therefore, require individual solutions to our questions and inquiries. The only cure, that helps all, in my view, is LOVE...by giving and receiving It you change the reality in, around you, and beyond.
Im 28 and first experienced
Im 28 and first experienced sp when i was 14. It is a horrific feeling at the time of which it is happening, my breathing gets slower and slower and i think this is the end (an awful suffercating feeling). I think the scariest one i have had is when i moved house. I could see the celling but new i was asleep, i always feel that i am trying to move my fingers to reach up and peel open my eyelids to bring myself round. I could feel awful presence and then started to hear deep thud then scrape from the atic reapetedly getting faster. I saw that it was some kind of torso what had bandages dragging where its limbs had been torn off.
From reading through this website i think that it could be to do with anxiety and depression for i suffer with both, but then again i have had spiritual experiences before which relate to numbers 333 or 33 ov which close friends and family will laugh at (which doesn't help)
I also know that it happen's more when you sleep on your back.
I always wonderd wether i could die from this and i read at the top of the page about sunds n its not helped agggggggggghhhhhhhhh!
when you go to sleep, your breathing apparantly slows down so it makes me think that a part of your brain is asleep but another part is awake. so i think thats why u think you are suffercating which makes you scared which makes your brain think scary things ........oh my goodness i cant explain in writing coz it looks stupid soz .....
I am so glad that there is
I am so glad that there is some type of scientific explanation for my temporary sleep paralysis. Great info.
Overwhelming neural energy when in sleep paralysys
Hi my name is marcus and I am 23 yrs old. I have had sleep paralysis since I was very young. I no longer fear the intensity the condition. I no longer fear if i have hallucination's or cant breathe... but there is one thing thats starting to happen to me that i have not been able to find out about when researching this condition online. When it happens to me now I have an "Overwhelming" amount of energy pulsating through my brain.. and it is no hallucination. I can feel my neural pathways and neural transmitter almost ready to explode.If anyone can help me explain this in any way I would love to even talk about it.
Drugs.
I suffer from all the symptoms here and worse (ive bumped into this trying to find something about black angels... anyone?) but i have to admit i have only had them 3 or 4 days after taking drugs - anything from dope to coke and maybe lots of alchol. The worst seems to be ecstasy and i used to get the energy vibration through my head and body with an evil presence... those were lightweight compared to what ive experienced this year after glastonbury. Hands all over my body scratching and molesting me awake and paralised, trans-dimensional creatures crawling all over... fucking hell basically.
Now, ive stopped the drugs and been researching and have an open mind to the science side but have my own view that although it can be explained this way physicaly i think there is an overwhelming amount of evidence to suggest that the brain is capable of entering other dimensions as peoples experiences are all to similar, and i for one had not heard of this until i researched.
I do notice that no-one ever mentions drugs, i think they are not maybe aware of the connection - all id like to say to those that do and are having these experiences is STOP you are opening doors to shit.
WTF?
this is a really strange phenomenon... unlike most on this board, i don't see or hear evil spirits (thank goodness) - this all started about 3 years ago when i was 33. i get hallucinations for sure, but they are usually blobs of bright color floating in the room near me, they don't seem evil, just otherworldly. i've only been completely paralyzed twice by this - once i felt as though i was having a heart attack, and that time sleep came on really fast while i was lying on the couch.
the last time i went to bed super, super tired, and only 30 minutes into my sleep i awoke to what felt like my little dog standing on my hand, and my legs making big circular motions although they were perfectly still. i couldn't move or open my eyes (though it seemed as if i could kind of see around my bedroom), but kept trying to roll over. it was a scary feeling - being stuck, like my body was dead, but i was still alive in my brain - and i thought - what the heck did i eat? finally i did roll to my side and fell right back asleep.
it wasn't until the next day that i was able to connect all of these experiences together, and part of me figured that it was due to the seizure disorder i've had since i was 3, which is not strong enough to cause epileptic fits, but is enough to cause depth perception hallucinations while i'm awake (i'm abnormally large and the world is abnormally small, or vice versus) that my doctors call "auras" (not related to seeing a person's energy field). i can control those by not eating sugar or consuming caffeine before i go to bed... i wonder if it is something i ate?
stress does not seem to be related - but how tired i'm feeling when i go to bed does.
i wonder if anyone else has seizure disorders and SP?
you need to read this
[...] This is an alternative explanation to sleep paralysis which I believe to be equally valid because the scientific theory of "it's your own body's doings" has not been proven. I have wasted quite a bit of my time searching for the exact hormonal compound that purportedly causes this paralysis. Neither have I found the nueral synapse misfire responsible for it or anything to point me in the right direction. I have wasted my time looking for the answers when I know enough to realize what is actually happening.
[...]
I am a firm believer in what I personally experience and not somebody's speculation on what may be the cause.... they werent there, they didnt feel it so they cant know and its as simple as that. (please correct me if I'm wrong. I love being proved wrong.)
Everything I propose is the product of deep contemplation.
The things people experience in their lives....even their day-to-day lives are so much deeper than the first (and more often than not the only) glance given.
When I was much younger and more cruel than I am now I froze my ant farm. I left them in there for a while and I felt bad for making them cold, but when I took them out they weren't moving at all. I put them out in the sun because I thought they might have just needed to warm up....and thats exctly what they needed. A little bit of energy/spirit/some other name. just imagine! tiny solar powered cleaner -uppers....genius...
I'm not into all that mystic shugawugaba, crystals, gems and mah jong for the record because no matter what way you cut whichever denomination it's all describing the same thing in the end.
"The first blind sadhu felt the trunk of the elephant and proclaimed, 'the elephant is long and serpentine like a snake!'. the second blind sadhu reached out, first touching a leg of the great beast and then embracing it he declared , 'nay brother, you must surely be blind! for the elephant is thick, tall and mighty like a tree'"
So pick your flavor, would you like plain old vanilla or would you like super chocoberry swirl? sun worship or christianity. I'm not trying to bash anybody though so dont get me wrong. My point is this: ALMOST every religion glorifies what?....energy, thats right L's/G's...energy. Albert Einstien proved the existence of god with his theory of relativity.
[...]
I used to believe science was the only truth and reject anything I couldn't hold in my hand, but coming to the realization had broken my world...the world I was encouraged to believe in. I am asleep no longer..
please dont joke about this "how about the WHY NOT believe this lunatic?"
I wasnt on any drugs when I discovered this and I had been clean from any and all hallucinogens for 5 months. since making this discovery I have smoked only bud.... Resisting the urge to soar to the scary abstract levels of conscious thought with the help of mr.roboto and contemplate this or synonymous subjects.
[...]
Sleep paralysis robs us of our energy. I believe that this is why we are paralyzed when we awaken. we FEEL...our senses scream that we are in mortal danger and there is a foe.
I am sure of it and I don't care what any walled up second-hand scientist tells me what I experienced. show me exactly what happens in my brain to cause this and make it known to the general public because I have looked for this and i claim it is not there. show me different.
I was in lake havasu, Arizona when this happened. I was lying on my couch/location of slumber face down with my head hanging off the far edge. I awoke because I was so hot. I felt like a broiler oven, I couldn't breathe and it felt like something was weighing me down hardcore. almost immediately after I woke up and realized something was attacking me I summoned up the..whatever..mojo..gusto...and tore free from It's burning grasp and I could breathe again.
"remembering a time so long ago//when death took me into its fold
as a young child awakening//face in a pillow suffocating
all my senses were there to me//but i couldnt move and i couldnt breathe
as i died i realized//there was a reason i was paralyzed
inside this room i was not alone//there was a presence neither flesh nor bone
even though i could not see//i felt its evil beyond imagining
more afraid of it than death//i broke its hold upon my flesh"
jumpsteady's "true stories"
That pretty much sums it up for me.
Sleep paralysis occurs when demonic energies try to steal your energy out of you [mythological succubi and incubi? I dont know and I'm not here to give labels]
well? am I friggin loony or what doc?
HOW CAN WE ALL SEE THE SAME THING????
I HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH S.P FOR 21 YEARS, I HAVE BEEN TO SLEEP LABS AND BEEN ON SLEEPING PILLS THAT ONLY SOMETIMES HELP, AND I AM STILL SCARED OUT OF MY MIND EVERY TIME AN EVIL SPIRIT COMES TO ME AT NIGHT, I AM A RELIGIOUS PERSON AND PRAYING ONLY HELPS A LITTLE. I SWARE I SEE THE SPIRIT WORLD AND IT LOOKS LIKE HELL TO ME! I TRY TO FORCE MY MIND TO SEE DIFFERENT THINGS BUT....NOPE....EVIL ALWAYS WINS I AM SCARED OUT OF MY MIND EVERY NIGHT....I WISH THERE WAS DR.'S TO MAKE THIS GO AWAY.HAS ANY ONE OUT THERE
In between World
I have had SP for years. I had my first experience when I was around 12 and thought there was something wrong with me. I never told my parents. After awhile, I just got used to it, and it was always the same. It was like I was trapped in this place. It felt like I was between worlds, all white like clouds, and I had to concentrate really hard to break the spell. I never felt like there was someone with me, that's what made it so scary. It was like if I didn't get out of this wierd in-between place that I would never see anyone else again. The thing about it was it never a long time, but when you are in it; it felt like forever. Glad to know that I'm not the only one.
After birth??
I have suffered from sleep paralysis since just after i had my first child. I would hear my son crying but physically not be able to move. I always thought that it was because i was not used to being awoken from a deep sleep. Although i have found that over time it has gotten a lot worse. I have had episodes of it where i would wake during the night without anything/one waking me and have had someone on top of me choking me as i watched and couldn't move (while feeling like it was really happening to me). I tried calling out to my husband next to me but all that was coming out was quiet moans (which were definately not loud enough to wake him). I more recently mainly get it when i have day sleeps, i will wake up not being able to move thinking that someone is knocking on the door or pulling up in the drive and hearing footsteps around the house. It wasn't until i fell asleep watching a movie with my son one day that i realised i wasnt just dreaming (which was my husbands diagnosis) i awoke not able to move watching the movie, when i finally snapped out of it the movie was up to the exact bit that i had just left off from. It was then that i started researching it. I am very worried about it although people have said that it is nothing to worry about, i do go into a panic and really stress and i start having heart pulpatations and difficulty breathing when it happens, and i cant seem to stop myself from doing this. I have two kids under 3 and i am pregnant again and usually when it happens i am the only one home with them. I was curious to know wheather anyone does know a way to maybe re train the brain to wake up properly... maybe hypnosis? has anyone been successful?
awake in your sleep
I'm 23 and get sleep paralysis every second night now. I had no idea what was going on so it's good to see others get it to. When it happens I just cant wake up. The odd time I can see myself sleeping and start walking around the house waiting to wake up.
Astral projection
What you are doing when you walk around the house yet still "sleeping" is called astral projection. IT is when you leave your body. I am 23 an also have sleep paralysis. Sometimes I manage to conjure the strength to move. but rather than waking... I come out of my body and can still see everything around me clearly. One time i got my friend to lay poker cards out on a table and i would astral project and come out to read them... Through this whole experiment my bedroom door would be closed so i was not sleep walking.. this is very real. Next time it happens take notice of things you see in the house and there placements... and then when you wake up go and see if its the same.. this will tell you for sure if your actually astral projecting rather than lucid dreaming.
outer body ex
hi marcus
I have had sleep paralysis for as long as I can remember and I am 46 , however the other night whie trying to pull myself out of the sleep I seemed to throw myself out of my body and I was floating above myself I frightened myself so much and fell back but I do feel that i could do it again if i could control it ( easier said than done)do you do anything to go from the paralysed state to the outer body state.
Roni
Just realizing
I am 29 years and I think I suffer from sleep paralysis. I hadn't experienced it since I was 20 but just recently it has happened again. When I was younger I used to believe in evil spirits and things like that but I have learned to look beyond that. I even fond simalarity in sleep paralysis and an acient energy called kundalani. The thing is lately when I have gone to bed it has been very long days when I find my self half awake and half asleep and has I feel like my sleep is getting deeper I begin to feel like a force on my wrist and legs and then my entire body it feels like a presence is holding me down I try to call for my husband cuz I can hear him in the background and I find that on top of not being able to move I can't speak either no matter how hard I try. I guess since I'v dealt with it before the presence that I feel doesn't scare me I try to ignore and like the blog I read I too look to prayer while I'm in that state I find that when I stay calm pray a little and just wait a minit tends to go away. Do I still feel freaked out? Sure I do but What else can i do to prevent it.