# Have you experienced Sleep Paralysis?



## Deleted_171835 (Jul 4, 2010)

Have you experienced Sleep Paralysis? 



			
				QUOTE said:
			
		

> Physiologically, sleep paralysis is closely related to REM atonia, the paralysis that occurs as a natural part of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain awakes from a REM state, but the body paralysis persists. This leaves the person fully conscious but unable to move. The paralysis can last from several seconds to several minutes "by which the individual may experience panic symptoms and the realization that the distorted perceptions were false". As the correlation with REM sleep suggests, the paralysis is not entirely complete; use of EOG traces shows that eye movement can be instigated during such episodes. When there is an absence of narcolepsy, sleep paralysis is referred to as isolated sleep paralysis (ISP).
> 
> In addition, the paralysis may be accompanied by terrifying hallucinations (hypnopompic or hypnagogic) and an acute sense of danger. Sleep paralysis is particularly frightening to the individual because of the vividness of such hallucinations. The hallucinatory element to sleep paralysis makes it even more likely that someone will interpret the experience as a dream, since completely fanciful or dream-like objects may appear in the room alongside one's normal vision. Some scientists have proposed this condition as an explanation for alien abductions and ghostly encounters. A study by Susan Blackmore and Marcus Cox (the Blackmore-Cox study) of the University of the West of England supports the suggestion that reports of alien abductions are related to sleep paralysis rather than to temporal lobe lability.


I have experienced it quite a bit of times when I was younger. Scary stuff.


----------



## nugundam0079 (Jul 4, 2010)

Yea so have I...


----------



## tanvm07 (Jul 4, 2010)

I want to see what its like


----------



## Crimsonclaw111 (Jul 4, 2010)

I experience sleep paralysis very often...
It's horrifying.


----------



## _Chaz_ (Jul 4, 2010)

Yeah, I've had it. Though I thought it was quite amusing.


----------



## scrtmstr (Jul 4, 2010)

luckely never
Occasionally, when I wake up, I can't feel or move my arm, but that's because the blood vessels got blocked or something. Usually after a minute or so it's normal.


----------



## Quanno (Jul 4, 2010)

It's not that i can't, i'm just too lazy to move myself...


----------



## ykhan (Jul 4, 2010)

tbh when i wake up i just stay for about 10 mins then get up,i wake up in stages.


----------



## Psyfira (Jul 4, 2010)

I've only had it once, it was really weird but lasted less than a minute so I didn't have time to panic. I spent the time trying to move and wake myself up, I was trying to convince my arm to slap myself around the face when I finally woke up. Kinda scary afterwards, I'd never heard of it before so I felt better after I'd googled it.


----------



## Phoenix Goddess (Jul 4, 2010)

I've had this possibly once or twice. My main issue is insomnia and when I finally do get to sleep, I can't breath half of the time aka Sleep Apnea.


----------



## Raika (Jul 4, 2010)

I've never experienced it... And I wouldn't know if I have anyway, cos immediately after I wake up from my sleep I just stay in that position and laze around like a sloth.


----------



## tijntje_7 (Jul 4, 2010)

Nope... 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	








+

But once I woke up in the middle of the night (err... about 3:00 iirc) (oh and lucky me, because if I didn't wake up. This post would be a lot harder for me to write o.o)
And I couldn't feel/move my right arm...
Most people would probably kinda freak out 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



But I laughed xD
I moved my arm with my other arm and didn't feel anything...
I thought it was funny lol
But then feeling came back.
I slept on my arm which probably caused the 'paralyse' Or whatever it was 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Yeah, I'm a sicko.
I would laugh in situations were most people would be terrified :/


----------



## Ritsuki (Jul 4, 2010)

Yeah, but without the hallucinations. Still, it was scary, I could not control my breathing so I thought that I was suffocating... So I just decided to... sleep. I've experienced another SP 20 minutes after but it was funnier 'cause South Park was on TV. It's was a bit difficult to laugh during the paralysis


----------



## spotanjo3 (Jul 4, 2010)

I haven't had that experienced ever since I was young into an adult now. None. Scary, I bet.


----------



## rockstar99 (Jul 4, 2010)

Yes ive had it 15+ times and still have it today, trying to give your entire body a hard shake fixes it though but still scary as hell


----------



## shaunj66 (Jul 4, 2010)

Yes I had it many times as a kid, lasted over a minute, sometimes 2 or 3. Was scary as shit as kid. I had no idea what was going on. I could kind of move my eyes, but it was a huge struggle. I was awake but unable to move. 

What's even weirder is that I felt a strange burning/scratching sensation on my legs during the paralysis, which areas were later affected by psoriasis. Very creepy.

When I suddenly jolted awake it was such a relief but a very odd sensation, it felt like someone was electrocuting you awake.

And it's not sleep paralysis, but I quite often wake up to find myself sleeping on my arm which is completely dead. Takes a good 30-40 seconds for the blood to return to my arm and I'm able to move it.


----------



## Ritsuki (Jul 4, 2010)

tijntje_7 said:
			
		

> Nope...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



It happens when you sleep on your arm and block your blood circulation. It feels really funny. I always try to hit my arm at these moments 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I remember one time I moved my paralyzed arm and it fell from the bed, almost making me to fall


----------



## omgpwn666 (Jul 4, 2010)

Never had it before but now I know what's happening if it does happen.


----------



## The Pi (Jul 4, 2010)

It's like extreme bondage.


----------



## Hachibei (Jul 4, 2010)

I've never experienced it, although it does sound like it'd be pretty interesting.


----------



## Arm73 (Jul 4, 2010)

A lot of people seem to be confused.
Being unable to move your arm ( because you slept on it and it's numb ) has nothing to do with Sleep Paralysis.
If you never experienced Sleep Paralysis, then you don't know what it's like and what it's all about.

I had it several times, I think the first time was when I was 13- 14 yo.
Trough the years, I had it maybe 15 times( last time it happened about 8 months ago ), and strangely enough I didn't know what it really was, I thought it was just a bad dream, but a little research led me to the understanding of the Sleep Paralysis.

Basically, in my case, it happens that I'm asleep, and everything is fine.
Then I feel some sense of danger, like somebody is trying to break up into my house trough the door or windows.
I think I'm awake, I know I'm in my bed, alone, that I am sleeping and probably dreaming, so I try to wake up and move, but I can't !
I really push myself hard out of the bed, I even try to twist my body and fall out of the bed, with all my strength, or even try to scream, but there's nothing I can do about it !
Then all of the sadden ( after a couple of minutes struggling ) , I manage to snap out of it, and I wake up, all sweat, and I realize it was just a dream.
I have no idea why it happens, and then again it only happens every once in a few years, but it surely it's scary.
I'm glad I found this topic , because I actually never spoke to anybody about it, so this is a first !


----------



## tijntje_7 (Jul 4, 2010)

Arm73 said:
			
		

> A lot of people seem to be confused.
> Being unable to move your arm ( because you slept on it and it's numb ) has nothing to do with Sleep Paralysis.
> If you never experienced Sleep Paralysis, then you don't know what it's like and what it's all about.
> 
> ...



Wowowowowow wait a sec, after I read that post...
I remember I had LOTS! and LOTS!!! Of those attacks when I was younger o.o
It was always when I had a nightmare.
You half-wake up... Or whatever.
It's like you're in real life, but with the stuff from your dreams.
(read, pedobear in your real life bedroom)
I always wanted to scream extremely hard. Which epically failed xD Not even a little bit of noise :/
When I was a kid I had lots of nightmares 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




And thus, lots of those weird paralyse attacks...
But when I think about it, it's pretty funny seeing murderers coming at you while you being unable to move...
Ah well, is there a way to change your poll entry?


----------



## Maz7006 (Jul 4, 2010)

what do you guys eat or do for this to happen to you? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




never had this, sounds really terrifying.


----------



## ProtoKun7 (Jul 4, 2010)

I've had it several times; probably more than 10 but I wouldn't know exactly how many.
It's kind of frightening but nice at the same time. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Sometimes I'm having a dream or I'm at the stage when I'm partly awake, so I'm still dreaming but I (should be) in at least some conscious control. Some of the earlier times I've been paralysed when I've been dreaming that I'm laying down and that there's something behind me that I need to turn towards otherwise something could happen, but I'm powerless to do so.

When I'm not dreaming about it though, and I just can't move it can be amusing and yet frustrating to try and get myself to move. Sometimes I just give up and try later.



And just reading through some of the other posts, I've slept on my arm before until it's gone completely numb. I love it when that happens. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



The most recent time it happened (a few weeks ago, I think) I moved it around with my other arm a bit to get the feeling back, but either because I had no autonomous control over it or my proprioception for it wasn't working properly I ended up hitting myself in the mouth.


----------



## ByteMunch (Jul 4, 2010)

Yeah... Accompanied by "The Infected" from 28 days later 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



Really scary, but didn't last very long...


----------



## sparky28000 (Jul 4, 2010)

Yes, I didn't like it. I didn't like it one bit.


----------



## Infinite Zero (Jul 4, 2010)

Um no I never experienced it


----------



## gameboy13 (Jul 4, 2010)

Nope. Never have.


----------



## monkat (Jul 4, 2010)

Nope! But I've experienced quite the opposite.

I was dreaming and it led to me trying to push myself off of the ground (cliché comeback animé style), and I woke up with my fist in the bed. I thought we became paralyzed in our sleeps?


----------



## ProtoKun7 (Jul 5, 2010)

monkat said:
			
		

> Nope! But I've experienced quite the opposite.
> 
> I was dreaming and it led to me trying to push myself off of the ground (cliché comeback animé style), and I woke up with my fist in the bed. I thought we became paralyzed in our sleeps?


We're usually paralysed, but it doesn't always work for some people (hence sleepwalking).


----------



## Goli (Jul 5, 2010)

Never happened to me... But I don't know what I would if I had it... Scary.


----------



## KingVamp (Jul 5, 2010)

Happen to me like 2-3 times. The first one was like (I think I wasn't panicking) more like meh it a dream.


----------



## moon_wolf (Jul 5, 2010)

yes i had happened to me several times and my county people say than it happen when a gost is close to a person than are susceptible to them causing this  and i think it is true because when it happen i begin to pray holly father and exactly when i finish i fell can move again and i am like wtf?? xD


----------



## Uiaad (Jul 5, 2010)

It's happend to me quite a few times. It only really started when some one at a previous job, left leaving me as the IT engineer for the whole building. When I left 2 years later it pretty much stopped and only reoccurs for me during time of high stress. 

The first time it happend to me tho was when I was about 13 and i remember waking up and not been able to move. I could look around the room fine but I could not for the life of me move a muscle. After about 30 second a huge green blob flew towards me which, to this day I can only discribe as Slimer from the ghostbusters. Well that prompted me to try and roll out of the way and I moved ( yay ) sadly I was quite close to the edge and rolled right out of my bed hitting my head on my night stand and adding a second scar to my forehead.


----------



## fgghjjkll (Jul 5, 2010)

Woah... Sounds something really cool to experience!
I've always wanted to hallucinate without the need of taking illicit drugs


----------



## h0ser81 (Jul 5, 2010)

I suffer from SP constantly. It started in my teens and continues to this day. I used to work in a call center on the graveyard shift and fell asleep in my chair there. I actually had a SP episode in my chair when my phone started to ring. I couldn't move or tell my coworkers what was going on so I missed the call. I also have more episodes when laying on my back rather than on my stomach too. I really need to go get a sleep study done but I keep putting it off. Five plus episodes per sleep cycle isn't unusual for me if I'm sleeping on my back.


----------



## DeMoN (Jul 5, 2010)

I experienced it so many times, that I stopped panicking or caring when it happens.  It's more like: Oh great, sleep paralysis again, just got to wait it out.  
I remember reading somewhere that trying to wiggle your toe helps break out of it, but I tried it many times (sometimes I forget, sometimes I remember; weird isn't it?) and it never works.

Sleep paralysis is actually a bit scary, because there's always the chance that you can't breathe and just die.  In fact, I believe many cases of people dying in their sleep were actually caused by sleep paralysis.  Of course, it never lasts longer than 15 seconds for me.  



			
				Quanno said:
			
		

> It's not that i can't, i'm just too lazy to move myself...


My thoughts exactly.


----------



## gameboy13 (Jul 5, 2010)

fgghjjkll said:
			
		

> Woah... Sounds something really cool to experience!
> I've always wanted to hallucinate without the need of taking illicit drugs


Try hypnotism.


----------



## EpicJungle (Jul 6, 2010)

I kinda had it, I was fully conscious but couldn't move a bit.

If I had the hallucinations part, I'd die


----------



## Danny600kill (Jul 6, 2010)

I've never experienced it but it sounds interesting


----------



## Some1CP (Jul 6, 2010)

It's pretty weird. It happened to me 2-4 times. The 2nd time it happened, I kinda could control my dreams, the way I like. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




EDIT: I think the hallucinations never happened to me. I only had hallucinations once in my life. It was caused by that stupid eye exam eye drop. I was feeling like I was dreaming, and I couldnt remember things very well. the hallucination last one week.


----------



## DeadLocked (Jul 6, 2010)

No I haven't but I have been waken by loud bangs in the night and not wanted to move out of terror O_O
I'm glad I haven't had hallucinations because after watching paranormal activity my mind always imagines that kind of thing before I go to sleep so I hate to imagine what it would be like if it felt real and I couldn't move.


----------



## imshortandrad (Jul 6, 2010)

Yeah that happens to me sometimes. I had it a lot more frequently when I was younger, though.


----------



## Depravo (Jul 6, 2010)

I get it most nights. Hypnagogic (while falling asleep) rather than hypnopompic (while waking up). It's a pain in the arse.

@h0ser81 I've also noticed I'm more prone to it while sleeping on my back. If it happens I roll onto my side and it become less frequent.


----------



## iFish (Jul 6, 2010)

Nope. i have never. 

But sometimes i am to tierd to move but i don't try :/


----------



## ChuckBartowski (Jul 10, 2010)

Yes i have. and its one of the most frighting things a person could experience. Especially when i didn't know what it was. It has been a long time since ive ever had it happen again, but when i did i was afraid of sleeping after that for a few days...

EDIT: Also, didnt experience halucinations. So i felt completely awake for a few minutes... just not being able to move. One theory i had about why it happened it that the pain medicines i was on in the hospital were causing it. Because it never happened again when i got out.


----------



## xalphax (Jul 10, 2010)

No, luckily never experienced it.


----------



## Rayder (Jul 10, 2010)

I experienced this a few times.   I didn't hallucinate any weird stuff though, just couldn't move for a minute.


----------



## Thoob (Jul 10, 2010)

Luckily not, as it sounds pretty scary!


----------



## Rhubarb on Fire (Jul 12, 2010)

Nope, I'd never even heard of it until I found this topic... but now I'm curious if I'll experience it someday. Something this nerve wracking actually sounds pretty interesting to me. I wonder what it's like to hallucinate? (I'm setting myself up for disaster, aren't I? XD )


----------



## mAlvarado (Jul 12, 2010)

Yes, and it was very very frighting awake in the midnight and cannot move, say anything or scream  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 . I had them about 12 years ago. In that time my bed was in front of the window. 

The most frighting was when I woke up one night, I was sit on my bed, and saw a white light outside and the silouethe of an allien in the window @[email protected] I only closed my eyes since after one hour I calm down my self, since then when I woke up and I couldn't move only closed my eyes and try to sleep again

In that time I was under great stress so I guess that was the reason for my sleep paralysis, more than an alien abduction. 

But it has been a long long time since I don't have one


----------



## harg (Jul 18, 2010)

I wish!!!


----------



## qlum (Jul 21, 2010)

never had it maybe because my body is never paralyzed when sleeping for example I can go to the toilette without waking up or shut down my alarm on the other side of the room I also can answer simple question with an automatic yes without waking up or so I am told since I don't remember anything about it


----------



## SilentRevolt (Jul 21, 2010)

nope,never have one,imagine that someone does a moonwalk infront of you


----------



## Scott-105 (Jul 21, 2010)

Hmm, I never knew it existed. That is quite interesting though.


----------



## camurso_ (Jul 21, 2010)

_Chaz_ said:
			
		

> Yeah, I've had it. Though I thought it was quite amusing.



Me too. Also I remebered thinking "this must be what a paraplegic person feels when he wants to move his arm/leg and can´t". What I mostly felt was curiosity when I was on that state...


----------



## raulpica (Jul 21, 2010)

Too often (one or two every few months) for my likings. It FREAKING sucks.

Even if I now know how to snap from it pretty quickly, it's still annoying.


----------



## ProtoKun7 (Jul 21, 2010)

SilentRevolt said:
			
		

> nope,never have one,imagine that someone does a moonwalk infront of you


Either you mean imagine being paralysed while someone else moonwalks in front of you or you're not getting it the right way round.


----------



## DunkrWunkah (Jul 22, 2010)

I actually induced it upon myself. All you do is hold really still for about thirty minutes. This tricks your body into thinking you're asleep, causing paralysis. You have to hold your breath to "Wake up."


----------



## ball2012003 (Jul 22, 2010)

my friend had this and he said he had an hallucination of two shadowy people whispering in front of him
and he said he was scared as fuck


----------



## Overlord Nadrian (Jul 28, 2010)

I have only experienced it once, but I can assure you, it give you one hell of a weird feeling. Usually, you wake up, still being a tad sleepy, but at that time, I woke up and felt very energetic, though I couldn't move. It was definitely scary, because no matter what I tried, I couldn't do anything but spin my eyes around, and because I had never experienced something like that before, I thought I got fully paralysed one way or another... Luckily all feelings returned after a couple of minutes (5 or so). I'd want to experience it another time though, so I wouldn't be scared and I would see what I am able to do while being paralysed (as in, which movements can I still make?).


----------



## BobTheJoeBob (Jul 28, 2010)

Nope never experienced it luckily, though I have sleep walked down the stairs before. This sounds as scary as shit though, especially since I used to get nightmares quite frequently.


----------

