[MiscBrah]

I have been reading into sleep paralysis lately and find it very interesting. I've never experienced it myself but was curious if anyone here has. I trust the accounts here more than I would elsewhere and apparently it is a relatively common occurrence. Does anyone here have any sleep paralysis stories they'd like to share?

[vinman]

It's never happened when I've gone to bed for the night. I experienced it last summer almost daily during naps. I was partially awake, experiencing dreams, while trying to wake up.

[GlobalMan]

I've experienced sleep paralysis.

You're completely awake, but you can't move your body, it's like you're completely paralyzed. It was a terrifying feeling.

[MiscBrah]

Did you guys see anything during that state? Some seem to see postive images but most people see terrifying shit.



That was painted in 1915.

[Neo]

^

Yes. Several times.

I wanted to write about the experience in my synchronicity thread, but it didn't quite make sense.

It happens every 5 years or so at random intervals. I would wake up and be completely paralyzed. There would be a hooded figure standing right next to my bed. It looked like a woman in a hood with a halo of light surrounding them, just standing there observing me. I could not move whatsoever and just had to wait it out. It was terrifying. The hallucination didn't seem malevolent. While it's happening it feels completely real.

I've had experiences like this since being a child, seeing weird things fly around my room in a half dream state.

[GlobalMan]

I didn't see any images, for me it was being completely aware/awake mentally, yet unable to move at all. A feeling of helplessness, dread. From my reading, you can have hallucinations but you don't always.

[gabusan]

There was a presence on the room. It was not the first time this had happened, so I knew it was a case of sleep paralysis. I tried my best to wake up, but I could not. It was like being trapped somewhere in between the dream world and the awake world. That is when the presence started to manifest itself in ways I would rather forget. The only way I can describe it is as demonic and evil, and it seemed to feed or thrive on my terror. As I desperately tried to wake up, I started screaming and my wife came running and woke me up from the terrifying experience.

[Days of Broken Arrows]

I've dealt with this almost all my life. I think it runs in my family because my mother had it. Here is what it is and how to beat it.

Sleep paralysis means your brain awakens and your body doesn't. For most people, when the times comes to awaken, the brain sends out signals to the muscles saying "We're ready to wake up!" For the muscles to spring into action, they have to get a signal from the brain which (I think) involved sending out an enzyme.

But when you have sleep paralysis, the brain doesn't send out those signals. It just pops into action while the muscles lie dormant.

As such, you end up with "locked-in" syndrome. You're awake but can't move. As GlobalMan said, it can be terrifying.

Since I am aware of all this (and now you all are), it's less terrifying. When you find yourself in this state and you can at least think "It's my brain being awake but not my muscles," that's the first step in beating it.

What's the next step?

I've found there is a way to force signals to the muscles to get them moving. What I learned I can do I bite my tongue and/or wiggle my toes. This, in turn, starts a chain reaction that gradually awakens my muscles, little by little. It feels like emerging from deep water. Once you feel you can move your legs or your arms, you're out of it.

All that said, I'd love to know if the reason that people's brains and muscles are not in sync could be due to an enzyme (or something) being lacking in their bodies. Maybe there's a nutritional fix for this.

[poutsara]

Never experienced sleep paralysis.

But, I've had lucid dreams frequently since I was a teenager, which are awesome if you've never experienced them.

[Penta Sahi]

I used to get sleep paralysis fairly often. At first it terrified me, but after reading about it, and realizing what was actually going on, I'm not so freaked out anymore about it.

It occurs because when you're asleep, your brain "paralyzes" you so that you don't move around when you're dreaming. Something that causes you to be half-wake at night could trigger it (having to use the bathroom, noise, etc.)

In many ways sleepwalking is the opposite of sleep paralysis (asleep but moving VS awake but not moving).

Whenever it would occur I would just remain calm and try to get back into sleep. I have this irrational fear that if I try and wake up fully while I'm still "paralyzed", I'll be in a "locked-in" state forever.

[aeroektar]

(12-18-2015 03:58 PM)GlobalMan Wrote:  

I've experienced sleep paralysis.

You're completely awake, but you can't move your body, it's like you're completely paralyzed. It was a terrifying feeling.

This sums it up. I've had periods where its happened a couple times a week, sometimes even a couple times a night, and then stretches where it doesn't happen for years.

The best way I could describe it is this; imagine your family stuck in a car across railroad tracks as a train approaches, its dark and you cant see the train but you can hear it, and the E-brake is stuck. As hard as you try to push the car its going nowhere, you don't know what to do, your growing anxious by the second, and then all of a sudden it releases and the car starts moving.

[Repo]

I've had it. Similar to what Globalman described. Happened most when I was either stressed out alot or depressed. Also, not sure if placebo effect or not, but drinking alot of water and staying very hydrated seemed to help.

[HushedAssassin]

Sleep paralysis is a good method for inducing a lucid dream if you're into that. It involves tricking your mind into thinking your body is asleep but keeping your mind focused/alert.

My first experience of sleep paralysis was lying on the sofa a few summers ago. I thought I had fallen asleep at the time but I was still in my living room. I then tried to sit up but found I was completely paralyzed. Then the room started getting dark and I could feel something in the room with me. I couldn't see anything but I could feel it moving closer. I managed to wake up soon after by wriggling my toes but that was the most terrifying moment of my life.

After a few more encounters it started to become a positive experience. Almost like an Out-of-body experience.

[TheKantian]

I've had sleep paralysis once. I remember I woke up on my stomach and tried to roll over but I couldn't and then I panicked and came out of it.

I've had exploding head syndrome too. That's weird it's like hearing gun shots or a door slamming or even a scream or a giant boom when you just wake up. Most of the time I'm still semi-asleep when it happens so it doesn't really register.

[Courage Reborn]

I've had it. I think most people have at some point.

It's just input lag on the brain. Like when you reboot your computer. It takes times from when you hit the reset button to come back online.

Same thing with strong emotions. For example, hearing extremely sad or extremely fortunate news. It take the brain neurons a few moments from registering the information, to producing the associated feelings of dispair, or joy.

[tarquin]

I had it maybe 3 or 4 times growing up. I never saw anything, but for me the scariest thing was that I couldn't control my breathing. I probably breath 4 times a minute or less while sleeping, so I was going crazy thinking that I would suffocate to death.

I think it has also been described as the devil sitting on your chest.

[Paracelsus]

(12-18-2015 04:57 PM)Days of Broken Arrows Wrote:  

I've found there is a way to force signals to the muscles to get them moving. What I learned I can do I bite my tongue and/or wiggle my toes. This, in turn, starts a chain reaction that gradually awakens my muscles, little by little. It feels like emerging from deep water. Once you feel you can move your legs or your arms, you're out of it.

Sorry, had to post it. I realise she's as ugly as fuck without makeup.

[Sonoma]

I get sleep paralysis quite often, though I'm starting to consider if it's just a nightmare where I percieve myself to be truly aware. Usually I am aware that I was asleep and cannot move, but I'm not truly truly awake and am not truly truly asleep.

I can sometimes whisper and I whisper "help" and my girlfriend wakes me up by shaking me. It's become quite common now. I don't dream often though

[Nascimento]

The only time I can clearly recall it when it happened to me was when I was reading up on sleep paralysis.

Take this as a warning if you are particularly frightened by this type of thing.

My eyes opened in the middle of the night and I couldn't move my body. I saw some dark shadows moving in the corner of my room. I felt scared because I thought next thing to happen would be some figure coming up to me, trying to kill me.

But then I relaxed because I also remembered reading that nothing really happens, and I told myself it's just my brain having some fun with me.

[thisisright]

I experienced it a single time. I was laying beneath my sheet trying to get asleep. I think at some point (fraction of second), I got a sleep but kind of not fully asleep. Basically, I was not able to move (not sure about my tongue though). It lasted for a few seconds (of terror) before I got awake again.

[vinman]

(12-18-2015 04:17 PM)MiscBrah Wrote:  

Did you guys see anything during that state? Some seem to see postive images but most people see terrifying shit.



That was painted in 1915.

I had situations that seemed real, but I knew were dreams. I would be walking in a location that I didn't recognize and I would always end up in the same place. And there was one time I felt like there was someone in bed with me. I didn't freak out because I'm confident that the average Joe can't enter my home without me knowing. I stayed calm and forced myself to open y eyes, and eventually start moving.

[BillyTalented]

It usually happens to me when I am really tired laying in my bed in that half-sleeping state, probably has happened 10 times or so. The first 2 times it happened though were horrifying. Something feels evil about it. Now I know how to beat it though. When I see shadows moving I turn my fear into anger. Once I could have sworn I saw a witch in the corner of my room. I looked at it and for a few seconds was completely horrified. Then I turned rage mode and yelled at it and jumped out of bed about to take a swing and realized mid punch it was my lamp...

[RichieP]

Had it a few times. I heard it happens when you're sleep-deprived. Once you know what it is, you can chill. Like a migraine (e.g. going partially blind for 20 mins lol now *that* shit is terrifiying the first time).

I also find that once you can will a small muscle to move, the rest quickly get going. Nothing to worry about.

[h3ltrsk3ltr]

And I just HAD to check this thread before bed...

I now have a choice: give up on sleeping for now (and possibly ever) or quickly develop a fetish for creepy bird-women.

[MiscBrah]

I just found a documentary on Netflix about sleep paralysis. Its called The Nightmare if anyones interested.