Well, I had my first experince with sleep paralysis. Fortunately, I had read a lot about the subject so I didn't panic or anything.

It started when I was waking up. I remembering opening my eyes a little when suddenly I heard a voice in my head. It said "You wait for the sign all night, but only see it in the morning in the corner of your eye".

My eyes closed involuntarily and then I noticed I couldn't open the, it was like something was holding them down. Then I tried to my move my arm, still nothing. At this point I realized that I was experiencing sleep paralysis and I started to relax. Right the, I felt a sudden thump next to my shoulder, as if something had fallen next to me. It finally passed after something like 10-15 seconds.

To be honest, it wasn't as bad as I excpected. That's probably due to the fact that I knew what was happening to me and kept my mind clear.

Well, some experiences would be worse than others I'd assume. See if it happens again and if it does post the experience.

your lucky you knew all about it!

when i had sleep paralysis i had never heard of it before
and it scared the hell out of me...

I was laying and woke up to hear my younger sister screaming like she was being killed, i went to jump up and could not move,
so i went to scream and nothing came out, i started to panic...i thought i was going in to a coma or something
i closed my eyes to try and fight it...
then all of a sudden i could move, my little sister was still fast a sleep in bed,
i was like what the hell just happened to me!!!!
so i went to the doc the next day where he explained to me all about sleep paralysis...

something i hope i never experience again

i think i had it once im not sure. i was just lying down and i couldnt move at all and i felt like i was flying and no i hadnt been drinking or smoking any drugs. lol

You are lucky to only have had it once. For the past 8 years I have had sleep paralysis about once a month. Even though I know what it is, its still the scariest thing somebody can experience. Sometimes after I would come out of it I would force myself to stay awake for an hour or so or it would happen again if I went right back to sleep. I havent experienced it for about a year but I know it could happen at any time. For the 8 years I had sleep paralysis I also had extremely lucid dreams to the point where I could manipulate my dreams. Sometimes I would be having a lucid dream and wake up get a drink and go to the bathroom then go back to bed and pick up right where I left off in my dream. Pretty strange! I wonder if the two are related some how? Anyways I thought I would post my experiences. sleep tight and dont let the bed bugs bite!

[Edited on 3-11-2003 by Martinez]

Ah man, that would suck. I'm clausterphobic. Now I don't know much about my 'condition,' but from what little I have heard it is the fear of small spaces. For me, however, it is the fear of not being about to move, which is tied in with being tied down or, (this is where I make the connection, so pay attention) being in a small box or something of the sort. If I can move, I'm fine, but if I can't, I'm freaking out. So thanks, lets see if I go to sleep or not tonight

Originally posted by Martinez
You are lucky to only have had it once. For the past 8 years I have had sleep paralysis about once a month. Even though I know what it is, its still the scariest thing somebody can experience. Sometimes after I would come out of it I would force myself to stay awake for an hour or so or it would happen again if I went right back to sleep. I havent experienced it for about a year but I know it could happen at any time. For the 8 years I had sleep paralysis I also had extremely lucid dreams to the point where I could manipulate my dreams. Sometimes I would be having a lucid dream and wake up get a drink and go to the bathroom then go back to bed and pick up right where I left off in my dream. Pretty strange! I wonder if the two are related some how? Anyways I thought I would post my experiences. sleep tight and dont let the bed bugs bite!

[Edited on 3-11-2003 by Martinez]

I don't think there's any connection between Lucid Dreams and sleep paralysis. Lucid dream are way more fun than sleep paralysis, eh?

I've read some pretty scary stuff about sleep paralysis and their effects on a person who don't have any idea what they're going through. Some people have even become suicidal because of the sheer terror that sleep paralysis can cause.

Quite alot of those stories that read included visual and aural hallucinations of the worst kind. For example, one guy saw a dark hooded figure with baby in it's arms floating besides his bed. The creature spoke in some incomprehensible language and touched the guy.

It gives me shivers even when I think about that.


[Edited on 3-11-2003 by Paradigm]

Edited to correct the spelling of "???" incase you wanted to do a search on it. Unfortunatley I can't find it. It's
"My(something)" - I'll have to search through the psych books (that could take forever. I'll check my old college notebooks a bit later.


Great job not getting scarred and relaxing. That's exactly what you need to do. Not be afraid, relax and pic a focus. Just a finger maybe. And as you said, it will pass shortly.
Have there been more since? If it's not just the normal part of the REM stage of sleep and it is truely a visiter of sorts, it will continue to happen. It's not often it happens only once.
If you do start having this often and find yourself becomming dienchanted with the experience and wish it would go away let me know. But e-mail me directly. I check e-mail almost every day, there are times I don't get back here for a week or two at a time.
guitarsandpics@hotmail.com

Originally posted by Paradigm
Well, I had my first experince with sleep paralysis. Fortunately, I had read a lot about the subject so I didn't panic or anything.

It started when I was waking up. I remembering opening my eyes a little when suddenly I heard a voice in my head. It said "You wait for the sign all night, but only see it in the morning in the corner of your eye".

My eyes closed involuntarily and then I noticed I couldn't open the, it was like something was holding them down. Then I tried to my move my arm, still nothing. At this point I realized that I was experiencing sleep paralysis and I started to relax. Right the, I felt a sudden thump next to my shoulder, as if something had fallen next to me. It finally passed after something like 10-15 seconds.

To be honest, it wasn't as bad as I excpected. That's probably due to the fact that I knew what was happening to me and kept my mind clear.

[Edited on 11-4-2003 by AngelaLadyS]

Originally posted by AngelaLadyS
Edited to correct the spelling of "???" incase you wanted to do a search on it. Unfortunatley I can't find it. It's
"My(something)" - I'll have to search through the psych books (that could take forever. I'll check my old college notebooks a bit later.


Great job not getting scarred and relaxing. That's exactly what you need to do. Not be afraid, relax and pic a focus. Just a finger maybe. And as you said, it will pass shortly.
Have there been more since? If it's not just the normal part of the REM stage of sleep and it is truely a visiter of sorts, it will continue to happen. It's not often it happens only once.
If you do start having this often and find yourself becomming dienchanted with the experience and wish it would go away let me know. But e-mail me directly. I check e-mail almost every day, there are times I don't get back here for a week or two at a time.
guitarsandpics@hotmail.com
[Edited on 11-4-2003 by AngelaLadyS]

I haven't had any experiences since. And I hope that it stays that way. But if they continue, I'll e-mail you

I believe I know what you are talking about. I have had times where Iam trying to wake up and I cant and no matter how hard I try I cannot lift my arm or move, sometimes it feels like Iam not breathing. It used to scare the hell out of me, but now I have myself conditioned that when it happens, I say to myself in my sleep, relax, go deeper into sleep, let it go, no need to wake up. And it always works. Its amazing what you can train yourself to do in your sleep. My mother used to write her dreams down as they were happening.

I had this once before as well, i woke up and seen dark figures walking around my room, making really wierd noises...

I thought OH MY GOD!!! Aliens are real
I tryed to move and i was paralized,
then i thought OH MY GOD!! There using there powers on me....

but less than a min later... they went away and i realized what had happened,
I thought i was going crazy

i have been told sleep parralysis is very rare yet my dad suffers sometimes from something that could be SP..

i have never had what could be called SP but i have an amazing ablity with dreams i can allmost lucid dream at will, i can certainly start my dream off by thinking about something, and 99.9% of the time the dreams starts from that thought... its strange.. i also have had dreams where i am dreaming, and dreams where i have suddenly been aware of being alseap so i am able to wake or control the dream, but at this state its like a fine line because its very easy to wake up as you start altering aspects of your dream..

i ussually get about what seams 10-30 secconds of control and then i wake.....

i have had reoccouring dreams but not for a long time, i can also wake up and get a drink or go to the toilet and go back to sleep and pretty much jump back into the dream i was having..

i have no idea if this is normal.. i have not had a nightmare for about 8 years..

one thing i can say about when i lucid dream is its very very vibrant and allthough i can control some aspects of the dream others sort of work on there own.. like once i wanted to fly so i did.... but when i was flying in the sky the sky was bright blue but surrounding me 360deg untill i went back to the street and it was normal..

The last I time I had a lucid dream was something like 2 months ago. It wasn't that good, I realised that I was in a dream, started running and lost control.

The best lucid dream I had was kinda short but it was so vivid I'll never forget it. I was standing in the middle of this huge ocean, and I saw the most beautiful sunrise. It was something nature (unfortunately) can never create. I also felt a warm breeze and the waves beneath my feet. I could even smell the ocean. I just stood there amazed at what my mind could create. The whole dream lasted something like 30 seconds.

During the whole time I rubbed my hands together. Why? I've noticed that it's a good way to keep your concentration and the dream is much more vivid.

The Blade Runner: Sleep paralysis could be much more common than previously thought. One research claims that up to 62% of the population could suffer from random sleep paralysis. On the other hand, some sources claim that only 4-5% suffer from it.

My guess is, that most people have suffered have gone through some kind of sleep paralysis. It just isn't talked about that much. People could be worrying about the social stigma, for example.

SP, there are worst things than SP, stuck in a a triple SP dream while thinking your awake, then felling like bolts of electricity are going through you, now that is SP at its worst.

you lucky bastard
Fox

I've also experienced sleep paralysis. The first time was two or three years ago. I'd wake up and couldn't move, couldn't do anything. Pretty scary. It happened a couple of times more and just when I was getting to the "oh, this again" point, they've since stopped happening.

The psychological opinion is that it's simply the switch in your brain that prevents you from thrashing around and injuring yourself in your sleep, being slightly lazy and not turning off when you wake up.

Interesting and plausible theory, but not one which I adhere to. The switch limits voluntary movement, it doesn't render you completely paralysed. People still move in their sleep. Not being able to open your eyelids and yet receive sensory info to me sounds like something else.

Paralysis is caused when the spine is deactivated significantly. This can be caused by relaxing or sleeping in a position where the spine is not perfectly straight, or when the person's legs are crossed. Lying on your side can create sleep paralysis more easily than any other position.

In most cases to avoid sleep paralysis the person needs to lie flat on their back with their feet slightly apart.




[Edited on 03-11-2003 by Aztec]

I dont know if this is relevant. I have had a few experiences in my sleep. Where I thought that I was awake. It seemed totally real. But I was unable to move or open my eyes. I would try as hard as possible, but would never end up able to open them. Until I woke up and realized it was a dream. It is a freeky type of nightmare I guess. I usually get them when I fall asleep during the day. Especially if there is a reason I need to be up or something. So is that sleep paralysis? Just curious.

Paradigm,

sorry but you did not explain what happened next in your story?

did you come out of the SP? did you fall back to sleep?

did you figure out what the bump' was?

your story is not complete.

I've only had sleep paralysis once. I woke up and needed to go to the bathroom, and discovered that I couldn't move or even breathe! Immediately I went back to sleep. Weird.