Anybody else experience Sleep Paralysis?

eskimo

One night last winter while I was asleep I opened my eyes in the middle of the night to find I could not move. I had lost all feeling in my body and couldn't do anything about it, yet I was fully aware; absolutely terrified (!!) I just lay there helpless, not even able to talk.

It happened three more times in the coming weeks and then didn't happen for ages, until last night. I was fast asleep when all of a sudden I opened my eyes and thought to myself "Okay I'm awake now, but hold on - I feel just like I feel when I'm asleep!". It was such a weird sensation. And then I realised, "Shi.t, it's about to happen again". So, helpless, I then fell unconscious again and within a minute I regained consciousness but could not move a muscle, and again couldn't feel anything. I was lying in the pitch dark fully aware but completely paralysed. I was terrified and trying my best to make noise - all I could manage was a little whimper!

I don't know how much time passed before I regained the feeling in my body but as soon as I did I turned on the light straight away and left it on!!

Sometimes it's genuinely hard to distinguish between a dream and reality but with this you can tell it wasn't a dream.

The more it happens the more used to it I've become and the less frightening it is. But I really wish it would stop happening coz it's really really unpleasant!

I can only compare it to what I imagine it would feel like to be paralysed from the neck down while being mentally healthy. Or, the more frightening analogy, being actually awake on an operating table while under an anaesthetic!

Eugh, it's sh.itty. Does anyone else ever experience sleep paralysis and what have your experiences been like?!

(I found info on it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis)

Static M.e.

First off ifs its real it would scare the bejesus out of me. I would consult some sort of therapist straight away!!

Second. How can you be certain you were awake?

xzanti

I get it... It is very scary when it happens.. usually happens to me if I'm over tired for one reason or another.. Hasn't happened to me in a while though it comes and goes.. I often feel a presence in the room with me when it happens too.. Like I'm being restrained by someone.. Feckin horrible

LegacyUser

ya its def not the best experience, your body is still in sleep mode but your mind is awake, i get this a bit usually when im stressed out about something,
very scary indeed the first time it happened, i even find it hard to breath,
usually i manage to give my self a bit of a jolt and manage to move.

Have you any idea why this happens to you, cause i dont know what causes it , stress is the only thing i can think of, and im not that stressed ?

xzanti

sleepy sleepy wrote:

ya its def not the best experience, your body is still in sleep mode but your mind is awake, i get this a bit usually when im stressed out about something,
very scary indeed the first time it happened, i even find it hard to breath,
usually i manage to give my self a bit of a jolt and manage to move.

Have you any idea why this happens to you, cause i dont know what causes it , stress is the only thing i can think of, and im not that stressed ?

I can never jolt myself out of it.. Much as I try.. I always just have to slip back into normal sleep and wake up properly.. I'd love to know what causes it..

TheBlock

Get this quite frequently...I've put it down to over tirdness. The really freaky thing is I always feel like there is someone else (Intruder) in the room.

Trying to speak or shout usually ends up a murmur. The Wife has woken to me murmuring with my eyes open in the middle of the night. Not a pleasent experience for her either.

xzanti

TheBlock wrote:

Get this quite frequently...I've put it down to over tirdness. The really freaky thing is I always feel like there is someone else (Intruder) in the room

Yep thats exactly what I get... sometimes I feel like someones lying on top of me... Like a weight weighing me down..

Chinafoot

TheBlock wrote:

Get this quite frequently...I've put it down to over tirdness. The really freaky thing is I always feel like there is someone else (Intruder) in the room.

Yep, this is one part of it that *really* freaks me out. Sometimes I can even spot a blurred outline of a man in the corner of my room.

One of the worst episodes I had was about 2 years ago when the man wasn't in the corner. Instead I had a dead weight lying flat out on top of me. My chest felt like it was about to collapse. I was freaking out and trying to make myself scream but there was no movement and no sound coming out. Then all of a sudden the weight shifted off me and moved to the edge of the bed (you know the way the mattress goes down when someone sits there)....then the weight lifted off the mattress as if the person got up and I was able to move again.

I get this quite often, usually when I'm stressed or over tired. I usually just have to try and remember that I am awake and I just need to give my body time to wake up too.

Only advice would be to try and make sure you have a proper sleeping pattern and don't let yourself get too over tired.

xzanti

peachypants wrote:

Yep, this is one part of it that *really* freaks me out. Sometimes I can even spot a blurred outline of a man in the corner of my room.

One of the worst episodes I had was about 2 years ago when the man wasn't in the corner. Instead I had a dead weight lying flat out on top of me. My chest felt like it was about to collapse. I was freaking out and trying to make myself scream but there was no movement and no sound coming out. Then all of a sudden the weight shifted off me and moved to the edge of the bed (you know the way the mattress goes down when someone sits there)....then the weight lifted off the mattress as if the person got up and I was able to move again.

I get this quite often, usually when I'm stressed or over tired. I usually just have to try and remember that I am awake and I just need to give my body time to wake up too.

Only advice would be to try and make sure you have a proper sleeping pattern and don't let yourself get too over tired.

Once when the "person in the room" thing happened I could have sworn it was my dead grandmother on the bed.. and I felt that sinking matress thing too... Thought she was sitting on the side of my bed.. Obviously just my imagination but strange all the same.. I think you can convince yourself of anything when you're like that

LegacyUser

Sounds interesting, got it once or twice that I couldnt make sound but never not being able to move, wouldnt mind experincing it. Sounds interesting

Chinafoot

xzanti wrote:

Once when the "person in the room" thing happened I could have sworn it was my dead grandmother on the bed.. and I felt that sinking matress thing too... Thought she was sitting on the side of my bed.. Obviously just my imagination but strange all the same.. I think you can convince yourself of anything when you're like that

Yea, it all seems so real. The sinking mattress part really freaked me out. Hard to tell myself that it wasn't real.

galah

It's freaky allright. I first got it when I was 14 or so, and I always started to hyperventilate as well. Very, very creepy experience, frequently thought I was going to die.

I can now manage to avoid the situation by consciously thinking about what's happening to me and my body (you can feel it coming on, this weird state of semi-consciousness), and I can usually force myself to either wake up or to acknowledge the situation, basically reasoning with myself, talking myself out of this state of "shock" - but it took years of trainining!

TheTruthFairy

Static M.e. wrote:

First off ifs its real it would scare the bejesus out of me. I would consult some sort of therapist straight away!!

Second. How can you be certain you were awake?

:rolleyes: It is real.

Unlike the majority of problems here a therapist would do not good. It is a physical rather than a mental problem.

Miss Fluff

I really feel for you. It's happened to be only a couple of times thankfully but it's truly terrifying - very unsettling and very hard to get back to sleep after!!! Luckily there IS a scientific explanation for it so it's not you going mad/imagining things/being possessed etc etc. Read this, hope it helps and hope it doesn't happen to you again, it's horrid!!!!

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20050709/bob9.asp

Rantorama

galah wrote:

I can now manage to avoid the situation by consciously thinking about what's happening to me and my body (you can feel it coming on, this weird state of semi-consciousness), and I can usually force myself to either wake up or to acknowledge the situation, basically reasoning with myself, talking myself out of this state of "shock" - but it took years of trainining!

Yep,same here,I just accept it's going to happen and it will be over soon enough.This takes the edge off it.

The odd time I will try to wiggle my left foot, to get the whole body moving again.

galah

It's just weird when you "move up" in your so-called sleep disorders, and experience false awakenings, and lucid dreaming - it takes a bit of practice, but it can be fun once you're in control!

In my case (and yes, I'm weird like that), I have been known to sleep walk to a crazy extend, moving furniture, performing strange actions - all the while I was dreaming, and they made an awful lot of sense at the time - that is, when my boyfriend asks me what I'm doing (while I'm sleepwalking) I can reason with him, and usually have an explanation why I'm doing certain things in my sleep (in the "real" world" they might not make much sense, but at least I am aware of what's going on). Funnily enough, I can always remember my sleep walking and my dreams, and I can always explain the next morning WHY I was sleepwalking, and what exactly triggered it..

Black Swan

If this is not a nightmare, then I would seek professional help to sort it out.

GrumPy

Iv'e gotten sleep paralysis at least 6-7 times so far in my life. First time I remember getting it was on holiday when I was about 12. Most recent was around Christmas time last year. It is a very scary experience.

Rantorama

galah wrote:

It's just weird when you "move up" in your so-called sleep disorders, and experience false awakenings, and lucid dreaming - it takes a bit of practice, but it can be fun once you're in control!

The false awakening thing is definitely bizarro world.
I will have I will have gotten up, had a shower, put the kettle on and be getting ready to go to work, only to wake up and find myself still in bed.

OP, I found that diet had a lot to do with my sleep disorders, I cut out alcohol.Also cutting out caffeine might help, although as others have said sometimes it's just down to over-tiredness/stress.

Lux23

Yes it has happened to me between 10-20 times in my life and it is exactly like the original poster described. The last time I felt like there was someone standing over me but that can also be a symptom. As far as I know it isn't something to worry about but it is terrifying when it happens.

It does seem to happen a couple of days after I have had a feed of drink and lost alot of sleep.

zag

Wow. I can't believe so many people get this.

It used to happen to me. It started when I was a child, and it happened every now and again. I know this sounds straight out of kill bill, but if I could wiggle my big toe, or my finger(which was nigh on impossible!) It would "wake up" the part of my brain that controlled movement.

It used to terrify me, although I can't say that I ever saw someone in the room or felt any presence.

If it helps, I was prone to having a lack of iron when I was younger.

Sev

Believe it or not.. this happened to me last night too!

And I'd have to go with the previous posters about it being due to "overtiredness", because I was seriously tired and just mentally drained yesterday, and this has only ever happened to me twice, the first time it happened it was also because I was completely knackered after having come back from some all nighter or long haul flight or something.

The first time this happened to me, I was paralyzed waking up, sitting in the chair I was sleeping on but slowly tilting fowards out of my seat towards the ground. I could tell this was a dream, cos I was able to pull myself out of it with a little 'effort', to find that I was actually still sitting upright on the chair.

Anyway.. the same thing happened last night. Although.. this was kinda freaky because it also seemed to accompany the sound of a shrill screaming noise, and the sensation of being smacked in the face with something invisible but definitely quite square.. again, this was short lived, because I somehow consciously knew what was going on.. and could feel i was only paralyazed because I was actually asleep but in some sense waking up.. and could wake myself up with a little bit of 'effort'.. if that makes any sense.

When I fell asleep again, I drifted into it again.. but knowing exactly what it was.. still a dreamworld, and could again manage to wake myself up out of it. However while awake.. I still had the notion.. that if I was to fall asleep again.. it was going to happen again, unless I found some way to change the subject on my mind, or put myself into a different mindset.

Also.. as one of the previous posters mentioned, this also seemed to accompany a shortness of breath, which I couldnt quite understand. The only other time that Ive felt such shortness of breath while sleeping was when trying to sleep at extremely high altitude on the bolivian altiplano in the thin air.

Sev

zag wrote:

If it helps, I was prone to having a lack of iron when I was younger.

Well.. it would add to my thin air/lack of oxygen in the blood theory or something like that.

trishw78

I know this is slightly OT but there was an X-Files episode on something like this can't think what it was called.

I get this everynow and again. It's like some(one)thing has me pinned to the bed. The last time it felt like something was trying to pull me through the matress (like in Freddie kruger) Like something was trying to drain the life outta me and I was trying to scream as load as I could but nothing. not even a wimper, and I got the feeling of a presence in the room just outside my perferal eyesight. Then suddenly it was gone and I could move. I remember getting outta bed and walking around the house to make sure there wasn't anyone there

Sev

Well.. with a little help from wikipedia, I can tell you then that last night I experienced hallucinatory sleep paralysis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

keithclancy

At least you didn't move, i have a wierd form of sleep walking, At first i thought i just had massive gaps in my memory but turns out i'm actually asleep.... I've had whole conversations with people, cooked dinner, driven the car WHILE ASLEEP.

trishw78

http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa112000a.htm - The "Old Hag" Syndrome

This should really be in the paranormal forum

GuanYin

Oh we get tons of discussion on paranormal about this. Its probably implicated in a large proportion of succubus, incubbus and alien Abduction claims.

Frankly, I'm surprised there aren't more posts on PI or biology/med about it.

jebuz

Yeah I've gotten it too, happened to me in college for about a 6 month period and then just stopped happening, I think it was because I started getting a regular sleep pattern. It's not the nicest feeling at all, but then as you said I got used to it.

I remember at the start I was scared sh!tless because I didn't know what was going on I actually thought I was paralyzed. But then once you realise whats going on you just lie there and wait it out, usually lasted 10-15 seconds for me. Do you encounter any audio or visual when you get paralysis? I used to hear a lot of crackling sounds, pretty scary stuff! never seen any objects or people as some people get sometimes.

ikol

This happened to me too last night i was dreaming and thought i could hear someone coming in my front door. then i could feel pressure on my head like some one was pushing down on it.i couldnt move a muscle managed to open my eyes and see the room spinning around but no one holdign a pillow over my head or anything like that thank god.

this has been about the 4th or 5th time its happened never really get use to it

LegacyUser

This happened to me twice in one morning when I was abroad on holidays earlier this year. it totally freaked me out, i was lying awake in bed one morning and I felt what I thought must be my room mate sitting down on the side of my bed but as I turned around the person/thing crawled ontop of me, and I was totally paralysed and could not open my mouth.

I tried to bring myself round by thinking - this cant be real, I was released for a moment and then pressed down upon again.

I had to sleep with the lights on and my door open for the rest of the holiday and I was afraid to go to sleep in case it happened again.

mysterious

It's not uncommon at all and it's a widely known medical condition as in all doctors etc describe it as the body a sleep but the concious is awake or still awaking from REM (dream state). It normally happens when you are in a deep sleep or sleeping on your back. Fear is almost spontaneously occurring since your feeling paralysed. since you can't move your mind will hallucinate etc.

Nothing unusual about it. btw if someone brings up UFOs your mother deserves to give you a red arse:rolleyes:

blorg

Has happened to me twice in my lifetime, both times sleeping on my back. Very scary, after a few minutes was able to move again and fully awake.

GrumPy

blorg wrote:

Has happened to me twice in my lifetime, both times sleeping on my back. Very scary, after a few minutes was able to move again and fully awake.

I noticed that myself actually, most times it's happened me I have been lying on my back.

Susannahmia

Yep has happened to me a few times scared the crap out of me!! Once it felt like there were people in the room whispering but I couldnt turn my head or open my eyes to see. Something to do with the hormone that paralyses you when dreaming (so you don’t act out your dreams) not wearing off in time. Ive always been on my back when it happens. Id definatly put down the majority of abduction stories circling to this. I also get night terrors. Sometimes I kind of half wake up extremly confused and angry or terrified for no reason at all and start going beserk!!!! I even started hitting and kicking my poor boyfriend once! He ended up with a shiner!

GenericName

So I'm not just dreaming then!

Thanks, now I know what it is. I get this a lot. Once every two weeks about. It's a horrible horrible experience. You're awake enough to contemplate never being in control of your body again. Though sometimes I can push hard enough to move an arm and that settles me down.

But I've never had the 'presence in my room' feeling a lot of people are describing. So I guess it could be worse.

As others have mentioned it happens when I'm particuarly tired and almost always when I'm sleeping on my back.

Cutie18Ireland

programme on now on channel 4 sounds exactly like this...

hmm... according to the rte summary it did, doesnt really seem like it now... sorry

The_Conductor

There are 5 stages of sleep- stages 3 and 4 are deep night sleep (known as N-REM). In normal people the body is paralysed at this stage. Occasionally if your sleep is disturbed for a particular reason (stress/night terror/fear for example) your sleep can be disturbed and you can awaken without your brain fully awakening- which may result in being totally awake but unable to move, or indeed classical sleep walking- where your brain partially awakens, often reacting to an instinct to flee from a perceived terror, and you sleep walk or do things in your sleep. Most normally because your brain is not fully awake, you do not remember what you do.

Awakening in a state of paralysis, or other unusual sleep patterns are very common. Most normally, because our brains are not fully conscious, we do not remember awakening (or other nocturnal activities).

UCC did a study on this some time ago- related to the ingestion of certain types of foods. Think it was in the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre? (Forgive my spelling)

The_Conductor

Ps- Just switched onto Channel 4- there is a programme covering some of this on now (its about people who do weird things in their sleep- someone tried to fly a helicopter, couples who have sex in their sleep (sexonomia), people who drive in their sleep etc.) Lots of weird stories.

ninebeanrows

Oh my god this happens me all the time:eek:

It happened me last nite, its not something i ever think about though
until now! What happens to me is i half wake up and im lying there
for what seems like a minute just unable to move, i get scared
crapless!! but then it kind of slowly wears of and im able to move my
limbs:D

What also happens me in bed and really sucks is when i lie on my arm and
wake up and cant move it and it really really really hurts!!

But nothings worse then this but best is not to think about it because
you'll probably be scared of it happening agen!!

Stompbox

I remember this happened me once,absolutely terrifying.The worst thing was unbelievably dramatic music played in my head as if it was building up to some sort of event.Horrifying!

eskimo

It's kinda comforting to know lots of you go through it as well! I mean it can be so terrifying. But I think it helps if, when it does happen to you, just remember that it'll do you no real harm and that you'll soon be absolutely fine again - this lessens the shock and makes it less frightening.

It's hard to believe something that frightening is so common though!

Crash

I suffer from it quite regularly - usually during periods of utter exhaustion that it triggers the worst. I'v egenerally learnt how to control it - unfrtounately its become near involtuntary in how i control it, so if i suffer from the pre sleep version of sleep paralysis (which is also a pain) sometimes i cause myself to wake up by naturally jerking.

Strokesfan

I suffered this too recurringly and it ONLY happens when you sleep flat on your back so now if I'm afraid it'l happen I always sleep on my side or with my back against a pillow - it works and stops it. It's unpleasant

Amazotheamazing

I get this too, the whole thing, like someone's holding me down. I usually manage to lift one arm and if I bless myself (guess some deep hidden religious thing going on) and it literally vanishes, weird eh?

solas

reading some of the posts some people think it a dream state or hallucinatory experience. It's not and thats the part which probably freaks most people out, the fact that your very conscious your awake and you just can't move a muscle and all the trying in the world won't do a thing. Like the op says its akin to how it must be to be paralyzed from the neck down.

I think the moment you stop fighting against it, it begins to ease off. just relax and stay calm and you'll soon be moving again.

so if i suffer from the pre sleep version of sleep paralysis (which is also a pain) sometimes i cause myself to wake up by naturally jerking.

I've a tendency to this too although it got to the stage where I looked forward to the sensation. It was always accompanied by waves of extremely intense vibrations, like a very loud humming sound that would pulse about me. The first time it happened it got so loud I thought my head would explode but as I relaxed it became almost soothing at which point its easier to let go. funny really.

I'm not sure what causes it, I understand the scientific explanation defines it as a protective mechanism which prevents us from hurting ourselves when we sleep but anyone who has slept with another individual will tell you that most people are not "paralyzed" during sleep. It's possibly anxiety or stress related.

[p.s., i read somewhere that it most often occurs when people sleep on their back, try sleeping on your side or front in a recovery type position)

This happens to me also and its really scary happened before when my mam and sister were in the room and i was trying to scream and I couldn't!!

5starpool

It has happened me a few times as well over the last 12 years or so (never happened until then). The first couple of times it was very weird and a little bit scary I must say, but then I thought about it and figured out what it must be (sort of waking while still in dream paralysis). Whenever this happens to me I just try to concentrate of wiggling my toes and it goes away after around 10 seconds usually.

No feelings of other people or other sounds for me thankfully. I'd say it has only happened about 4 or 5 times ever for me, and I don't really mind it now, I find it kinda cool actually.

From the article that was linked earlier in this thread it mentions that people who get this also sometimes report other sleep related things like floating or falling. Has this happened others here? Years ago, until I was about 18 or so I think I used to get a floating sensation all the time when asleep, like I was up against a roof in a really high building, and after a while I could control where I went and so on. I can still feel the sensations of this even now when I think of it, but I don't get it asleep anymore.

Edit: Should also have mentioned that whenever I wake paralysed I am always on my back too, obviously some correlation there.

Sleep is the coolest thing