sleep paralysis

shanered · 23-09-2012 11:18pm

I just think that the whole people standing at the side of the bed thing is far from explained by the science, why does everybody have such similar images to each other?

o1s1n · 23-09-2012 11:23pm

shanered wrote: »

I just think that the whole people standing at the side of the bed thing is far from explained by the science, why does everybody have such similar images to each other?

Have you ever taken drugs? Or even had a drink? See what happens to you brain when it goes a bit screwy from outside chemicals?

Now imagine what happens to your brain during REM etc. It's nothing religious or otherworldly, your brain and your mind can do strange things. That's about the height of it.

shanered · 24-09-2012 10:49am

Still I think that "the brian can do think crazy things" is a little too simple of an explaination of why people see the same similar figures standing over their beds, usually with drugs/drink people see quite different things from one another, its just the similarity of what people see during sleep paralysis that I think science can't really explain!

Myrddin · 24-09-2012 11:25am

shanered wrote: »

Still I think that "the brian can do think crazy things" is a little too simple of an explaination of why people see the same similar figures standing over their beds, usually with drugs/drink people see quite different things from one another, its just the similarity of what people see during sleep paralysis that I think science can't really explain!

Its a primal/sub-conscious fear in the human psyche. Its all fairly conclusively explained http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

24-09-2012 11:34am

shanered wrote: »

Still I think that "the brian can do think crazy things" is a little too simple of an explaination of why people see the same similar figures standing over their beds, usually with drugs/drink people see quite different things from one another, its just the similarity of what people see during sleep paralysis that I think science can't really explain!

But who describes seeing the same similar figure?
Can you describe this figure for me?

o1s1n · 24-09-2012 7:53pm

Do you know what the most identifiable shapes are to humans? Other humans. From faces to the form itself.

It's why people see figures and ghosts in shadows, faces on Mars, Jesus on their burnt bread.

We look at these things and if we see something which resembles a face or human form then our brain sees it that way. As Enternow said, it's a primal thing.

It literally is 'just our brain doing crazy things'.

Unless you're saying that every person who has sleep paralysis sees something as specific as a man called Brian with black moustache and a long mac playing a banjo.

But it's not, it's just dark 'shapes' and vague forms. The mind playing tricks.

shanered · 24-09-2012 9:17pm

Ah yeah, I've heard that the face recognition is a primal thing similar to sheep even having a similar trait. It is a lil freaky that many people I've heard from have seen black and I do admit "vague" figures standing over the side of their bed.
I'm not actually arguing thats its anything other then the brain, but the similarity of the black figures standing over the bed is quite scarey.
I've had it and it really got me up, I remember being particularly irk'd about it and it always just niggles me that many other people see very similar black figures over the side of the bed. Vague as they are.
Nothing more really.....

Star Lord · 24-09-2012 10:05pm

shanered wrote: »

Ah yeah, I've heard that the face recognition is a primal thing similar to sheep even having a similar trait. It is a lil freaky that many people I've heard from have seen black and I do admit "vague" figures standing over the side of their bed.
I'm not actually arguing thats its anything other then the brain, but the similarity of the black figures standing over the bed is quite scarey.
I've had it and it really got me up, I remember being particularly irk'd about it and it always just niggles me that many other people see very similar black figures over the side of the bed. Vague as they are.
Nothing more really.....

It's the same reason that people are afraid of the dark, the same reason that "Death" and the "Nazgûl" from Lord of the Rings and the "Dementors" from Harry Potter and many many other fictional characters are still scary, even though they're just vaguely humanoid, black/dark shrouded figures. It's what we think we see, but can't quite make out that scares people the most.

o1s1n · 24-09-2012 10:24pm

I had a terrifying sleep paralysis one time where I thought there was a black figure over me, pinning me down. So I do know the feeling!

I probably just made out a shadow somewhere and that combined with me being unable to move due to the sleep paralysis had my brain trying to make sense of it and that's what it came up with.

It is a really awful thing though.

My girlfriend gets night terrors. Really bad ones. She'll just sit up in the bed at night, eyes wide open and start mumbling jibberish. Sometime she'll run across the room to swipe at things. Throws pillows at stuff. A few times I've even been flung in a bid to save me from falling spikes/knives/spiders/bats etc.

If it were medieval times, I'd probably think she was possessed and have her burned alive!

24-09-2012 11:09pm

I saw a figure beside the bed while completely paralysed and it was a vague black shape, alright, but I thought it was my ex, who had gone into the kitchen. The figure is the same because to be fair there aren't very many forms a human shape can be..... and others have explained why we are inclined to find human forms in the shadows.

selenawolf · 03-10-2012 7:49pm

i know people who experienced it. they felt like someone is sitting on top of their chest so they couldn't breath!:eek: Freaky

jamie72 · 05-10-2012 4:58am

Something you guys might find interesting (on the topic of primal recognition of basic shapes and details).

Does this guy look familiar?

http://www.thisman.org/

Star Lord · 05-10-2012 12:17pm

jamie72 wrote: »

Something you guys might find interesting (on the topic of primal recognition of basic shapes and details).

Does this guy look familiar?

http://www.thisman.org/

Nope. Interesting link though!

sleep paralysis

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