Sleep Paralysis. I Get It. You Get It. We All Get It. Let's Talk About It.

Well since none of you seem to be dead, if it happens tonight I going to let it flow instead of fighting to get back.

Should be a trip either way. I'll let you guys know what happens since Iam pretty shure Iam comming back now.

Thanks for sharing it has made me feel a little better. See you on the other side tonight.

reply to post by lunchmanstan


If you don't want to experience SP, try sleeping in any position other than on your back. You'd be surprised at how well it works.

reply to post by Rising Against


I always sleep on my side....Every night but maybe its different for everyone.

reply to post by ObvTruth


One of the main "cures" of SP is to avoid sleeping on your back. Presumably some are more or less prone to experiencing it still but this helps most from what I've seen. This being so, here's a quick list of some other stuff you can do:

1.)Avoid irregular sleep patterns and get plenty of sleep. People who are sleep deprived or who have unusual sleep patterns (like shift-workers) can have disturbed REM sleep. Because sleep paralysis is a ‘malfunction’ of REM, disturbed REM sleep probably makes people vulnerable to sleep paralysis.

2.) Don’t sleep on your back. Data that Al Cheyne, Steve Rueffer, and I collected indicate that people who sleep on their back experience sleep paralysis more often. Of course, maybe people who sleep on their back are the kind of people who experience sleep paralysis. But, might as well give it a shot.

3.) I’ve also seen it suggested that you should try to move your facial muscles.

4.) Someone else touching you might bring you out of it, but this has yet to be confirmed.

The number one thing to remember is that there is nothing truly wrong. If you find yourself experiencing sleep paralysis, you might try relaxing and taking in the experience. Remind yourself that sleep paralysis is nothing more than a ‘waking dream.’ You’ll be truly awake soon enough.

(Source)

Things like your behavior before you go to sleep can have a huge impact as well. Trying to relax as opposed to watching an action film for example would help a great deal I'd assume.

EDIT: SP is not, and shouldn't ever be considered a paranormal phenomenon (I'm citing a fear-mongering post below). It can be perfectly explained via science and rational thinking. So these measures certainly can help you if you don't wish to experience SP. I know because I've stopped it from occurring myself and with relative ease.

reply to post by Frater210


Gouging from my personal experiences and research, I would say that Sleep Paralysis is demon entities.

These creatures are always there to cause you trouble- negative influencing-they're just waiting for you to die, so they can drag you to hell.

I think it's good advice for anybody experiencing sleep paralysis to ask themselves if they are creating loopholes for these entities to come into their lives, such as drugs, booze, sexual immorality, guilt inducing behavior- almost any selfish behavior that does not exude anything but agape for mankind is a sign that you are serving the dark prince of this world and that you will be thrown into the abyss that was made, not for humankind, but for the Lucifer and his angels for when their time comes, but because of sin, mankind ends up there, claimed by the demons that won you over for Satan-


Anyway,

I just had an experience with this last night! I don't know if I was just over tired, or what, but there doesn't seem to be any trigger for the times I have experienced sleep paralysis.
Last night's episode I was in bed sleeping and I could hear my t.v. and I knew I wanted to turn it off, but my body wouldn't move. I almost always try to shake off the feeling (or not feeling), but it rarely works. Nothing to do but lay there and wait for it to pass. Sometimes it is actually really annoying because I want to wake up!!
I had actually forgot all about last night until I saw this thread.. Only on one occasion have I seen the shadow people and that was after reading the thread on here about astral projection. Scared the crap out of me.. Also, once in high school I experienced an OBE after reading a Time Life book that gave instructions on how to do it. That was a really neat experience. I felt myself being thrown out of my body and landing really softly on my floor, like falling on cotton balls, and when I looked up I could see myself sleeping in bed. That scared me straight back to my body, but it was a very real experience. I don't think it was a dream.
I'm almost 35 and haven't grown out of them yet, so I don't think age is a factor.

Thank you all for your fine comments. I thought that there might be a lot of us out there.

I would like to share some of my experiences.

over the many years that SP has been with me I have had all types of variations on the experience. My earliest experiences as a young teen were classic, very powerful SP events. As I said, the first experience involved the sudden onset of the phenomenon; I awoke suddenly in my body which was already locked up in a frightening state of paralysis, unable to call out for help or control my body. This happened once or twice a week and I was afraid to tell my mother and her husband about it because I was just so confused about it. I thought I would get in to trouble somehow.

One of those experiences as a teen was very dramatic and I will share it later. But for now I would like to share this story...

I was in my late twenties and had returned to school. I was on a very regimented schedule. I had laid down to go to sleep at 9 or so. As I lay there on my back (yes my back, but I have also experienced it while sleeping on my front; but I will get to that later) trying to sleep I felt the 'aura' coming on that announced a bout of SP.

I should digress a moment ...

Most people who have SP experience a 'feeling' of some sort that tells them that the SP is coming on. When I looked in to epilepsy I learned that epileptics have what is called an 'aura' before the epileptic fit takes over. This can be characterized by hearing sounds or seeing lights. I get that too, before SP hits, which is why I thought that I might have epilepsy before I did some research.

Anyway, so I am lying there and the SP hits. Now at this point in my career as an SP experiencer I had grown rather morbidly fond of the events and looked forward to them in a way.

Weird stuff happens during SP, and over the years I had become interested, so I always saw SP events as an opportunity to learn more about myself and the phenomenon.

So I am laying there and the SP hits and I just try to 'relax' and let it take me to see where it might go.

Fear. I felt the most powerful Fear. Not like any other fear I have ever experienced. Pure Fear straight from the Fear tap of Hades. As I lay there it just got stronger and stronger. I had forgotten all about my electrified body and was just washed in pure fear.

I physically ripped myself out of the experience (you learn to do this after many years of SP) and went to the bathroom to splash my face with cold water. I remember distinctly realizing that my teeth were still clenched so tightly. I took a while to calm myself down; convinced myself that I did not need any of this kind of crap tonight, and went back to bed.

So I am lying down doing some progressive relaxation and the damn SP hits again like a freight train; body locks up and my head is being pulled back and someone turns on the Fear Firehose again.

So this time I figure I am going to see how long I can ride it out. So I am doing that and realizing there is a very limited amount of this I can take and that I will very soon have to rip myself out again when the ceiling (I have to look 'down' really hard to see it) over the closet breaks open in to this glaring blue light. And that is when the Fear becomes too much and I rip myself out again.

Back to the bathroom, more water, and another chat with myself. I got myself together and went back to bed and was not troubled again that night; but I would go on to have some of my strangest SP experiences in that condo.

What really blew me away was the fear. In my researches in to SP I have come to learn that many of us experience fear along with the SP. I can tell you that it has always been a component of the phenomenon for me. I have never experienced fear like that. Pure fear seemingly delivered FedEx straight to the brain. I have never felt anything like it anywhere else.

reply to post by Rising Against


Thank you so much, Rise Against, for being here to keep the ball rolling. I love that so much on ATS when others will come in and keep it going like that. Your posts have been wonderful. Really nice thread.

One of the main "cures" of SP is to avoid sleeping on your back. Presumably some are more or less prone to experiencing it still but this helps most from what I've seen.

This is so true. Although I have experienced SP in all sleeping positions laying on the back is when they happen most often.

I have even learned to 'induce' a state of 'SP Lite" by napping on my back.

I can't believe your writing at 18. By 30 you will be a 'god of the pen'.

I have a story that I was going to make a new thread for but realized it revolved around sleep paralysis, then I saw this thread so I'll post it here.

First of all, I've had sleep paralysis mbe 7 to 9 times in total?

I believe I first experienced it when I was 15 or 16. Now I've read about it before I experienced it. It was spoken about when I used to watch Sylvia Browne the "psychic" on Montel. Opinions about her aside, back then I was more inclined to believing her, and she suggested it occurs when your body wakes up while your spirit is in astral travel, your body freaks out and to rationalize your fear you hallucinate. She also says the "presence" you feel is yourself trying to get back into its own body.

Anyway when it happened to me I never felt a presence, I did panic but it was simply due to feeling paralyzed and restrained, not fear of the supernatural.

Never felt or saw anything. Then months later it happened again, for a week straight, every night. I had the same result, except for one time where I was fighting the paralysis to lift my bedsheets off me, I actually succeeded and as soon as I lifted the sheets off, I...best way I can explain it, I "woke" up, still paralyzed and the bedsheets still on top of me. The last time it happened that night, it went away easily, all I did was sense it was starting then not fight back and let the heavy sensation wash over my body.

Ok so that was background and my experience with sleep paralysis. However now I'm 21, I live in a new apartment and due to finances I unfortunately have to share this bedroom and our king sized bed with my older brother...(sigh). He sleeps with his right side to the wall, and I sleep on the other side of the bed, witgh my left side to the wall and my right side to the rest of the bedroom.

So about a month or 2 I had the sleep paralysis again. By this time I was on the fence on what sleep paralysis is, I was leaning between sylvia's theory and the scientific aspect. When it occured this year I actually freaked out more than I did when I was younger. Still didn't see or feel anything or anyone.

Then just a week ago, in mid-sleep, I heard my name called. It immediately woke me up, and if this makes sense, I didn't exactly "hear" my name called. It was more like I sensed it, like it was called out in my mind. However I was still able to "sense" it came from my right side. When I awoke it was in the middle of the night (didn't check the time) and no one was to my right and my brother was fast asleep. (So was our dog that sleeps between us, it this was supernatural its odd that she was sound asleep, its said that dogs can sense things. Maybe she was deep asleep?)

Realizing it wasn't anyone and that I sensed and not heard my name I FREAKED out. I immediately thought "I hope I don't get sleep paralysis!" ....and sure enough immediately the heavy sensation plopped on my chest and I was frozen. I recited a prayer but I felt an emotion of futility and stoppeed midway, it eventually stopped 5 to 10 seconds afterwards.

I woke my brother up after because I felt safer if he was. The next day I chalked it up to my imagination, I heard my name in a dream and that my fear manifested the sleep paralysis.

A week later (today) I was talking to my brother and I brought up that night. Apparently he didn't remember I woke him up. So I told him the story. In mid story telling he proceeds to tell me he doesn't remember what day it was but he was awakened to his own name being called out to him as well. He also told me how he heard his name called out in his mind not exactly by his ear, which btw I never told him that minor detail. He says he felt it coming from his left side, and considering how we sleep, that was my right side...

He said he didn't experience sleep paralysis that night, although he did a few months ago he said. If it wasn't for the fact that both our names were called I would have chalked it up to out of body exp. Or some scientific reasoning, but now I really don't know...

EDIT: It could also be a coincidence. Maybe the name calling was supernatural but the sleep paralysis was unrelated and coincidentally occured after the supernatural name call. Still too eerrie... I apologize for spelling or grammar errors, typing this on my phone.

S+F

Thanks for posting this, and allowing others to share their experiences I've read through all the thread so far, and can relate to much of what others have experienced. I've had quite a few SP's and found the only way I could avoid having them is by not sleeping on my back.

About 20 years ago, I'd been arguing with my girlfriend, whom I lived with at the time. She was sulking, and decided to punish me by sleeping downstairs. Later that night, I woke up in my bed unable to move and struggling to breathe; I was being choked to death. Somebody was on top of me with their hands around my throat. I could feel the weight of their body on my chest, with their knees on my forearms. I struggled with all my strength, and managed to free my arms to grab my attackers hands from my throat. It seemed much longer, but it probably took less than a minute for me to overpower "him". I ran to my bedroom door, and was about to reach for the door-handle, but there was somebody in front of me, grabbing my arms and shoulders, pushing me away from the door. But, I couldn't see anybody. Whoever or whatever it was, was invisible. I realized now, that my attacker was some kind of ghost or demon. After another struggle. I eventually threw it away from me, opened the door and ran downstairs to snuggle up to my GF, shivering and scared, but somehow knew I was safe now, at least until next time.

For years afterwards, I was convinced that this was a supernatural event, and it would be one of my "spooky tales" I'd tell to people sometimes when these things come up in conversation. I never knew about Sleep Paralysis, and it it took me a long time to accept that this was what I'd had. The experience is so real, it's so hard to believe that it has not really happened,

I have had other experiences afterwards but nothing as "physical" as that one. Usually, I wake up struggling to breathe with something on top of me, sucking the life out of me, but "it" goes away as soon as I've woken up.

I have lucid dreams too, though not many. The only one I remember vividly is when I was walking about in a market place, like you might imagine existed 1000's of years ago in an alternate reality. I suddenly realized that I was dreaming, and anything was possible... the next thing, I was flying in the sky... Unfortunately, this dream did not last long, it was as though the more lucid it became, the harder it was to stay asleep.

I would be interested if anybody has had another kind of dream experience like I have had since being very young. I can't say that it is SP or Lucid Dreaming, only very similar. I'll try to explain to you what it's like: I wake-up, pull the covers off myself, get out of bed and go down stairs. Before I get to the bottom of the stairs, I wake-up in bed again. I sit up, feeling really uneasy, like you do when you've just had a really bad dream. So, I get out of bed this time for real, open the bedroom door and go downstairs. I don't get to the bottom of the stairs though... I wake-up again in bed, sitting up with my eyes wide open in horror. I pull the covers off and get out of... TRY TO GET OUT OF BED... I CAN'T... I cannot get out of bed. I'm paralysed! This is the most terrifying experience you can imagine. I don't know if I am awake or asleep. It feels like I am awake, but it also feels like I am in the worst nightmare you can imagine. I have had this kind of recurring dream for a long time now, and I know the only way to get out of it, is to scream! so here goes: AAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!!!

I wake up, lying on my back. It's over. I know it's over. I know I am awake... cos I'm still shouting... really loudly.

reply to post by Rising Against


thats cool but I get the same thing either way
.
its not that i dont want to experince it i figure its there for a reason.

just not sure if i can get back and not sure i want to leave here yet.

yeah well what do i have too loose trying tonight.

reply to post by parksh


My personal opinion is learning to "control" sleep paralysis (by being aware that it is happening and struggling to successfully move a body part) leads to lucid dreaming. That leads to OBEs and then on to AP.

I believe this mechanism is due to seratonin and melatonin and the way that some people's brain process those chemicals.

I used to have SP when I was much younger but learned to control it. That opened up a whole new world for me. I'm no longer afraid of these things. I happen to like it when I go OBE because sometimes I see amazing things.

reply to post by sean_uk


Iam sorry tohear your experince is so horrific. I really cant imagine that type thing. I hope somehow this thread will give you so relief from whatever you are dealing with.

Peace

I have been experiencing SP since about 1999.The first time it happened to me I was laying on my bed,when I awoke,or thought I did,my shoulders and head were on the floor,my hips and legs still on the bed.My first thought was,what am I doing down here.I could see the room about me,but not clearly.It was like I had to strain to focus.After I realized it wasn't normal I tried to speak but was unable to.Felt like I had peanut butter in my mouth.As I lie their,my back to the door,from the corner of my view I saw a being the shape of a human,kinda transclucent,but reminded of the scooby doo cartoon with the electric shaped being during the opening segment.So after it passed by me I became fearful.I started to pray and it went away.Not to say that prayer helped,but on that occasion it seemed to.
I have had many other experiences involving SP,all seemed very real.I have heard voices,heard instruments playing,seen figures,and felt a negative energy.After awhile I learned that sleeping on my back helped,but after awhile it continued regardless of position.

Originally posted by Metaphysic
The demons and all kind of entities that come up when in paralysis or astral are just different forms of your ego. You should split with your ego and then you will experience only nice entities. The screaming, roaring and scary shadows are the projection of your ego to the mind. I hope I wrote this clearly.
Peace

I wholeheartedly agree with this. I never encounter anything evil when I have SP, LD, OBE, and AP. I'm mostly walking/wandering around by myself witnessing beautiful things.

Even with SP and when I started to AP, I was more afraid of the process than what actually happened. I can now separate from my body without too much difficulty and I'm no longer afraid to do so.

i have recently started to experience Sp. didn't know what it was until i read this thread! thanks.

the way it comes on with me, like you said frater, i can feel that it's gonna happen. at first, i thought it was some kinda alien abduction trying to start. i kept thinking "no...i don't wanna leave hermes (my dog, who was cuddled with me at the time)". i do sleep on my back but i've had this happen on my side frequently, too. started about 2 months ago.

i can feel it about to happen. hear a faint ringing, that grows in intensity, as though i'm walking towards it. then...the ringing takes over all thought and i feel INTENSE vibrations! like someone is shooting a vibration wave gun directly at me.

and like you frater, i have grown kinda fond of it. it's not scary so much now. only was the first time or two. thought i was gonna die. even before i knew it was SP, i looked forward to it. i like experiences. trips. journeys. so this one is kinda cool. all i have to do is go to sleep and some crazy jazz happens couple times a week! this is awesome.

now that i know it's SP...i imagine that i'll be able to have even more fun. i already got to the point of accepting and embracing the experience. i've learned to hold onto consciousness for quite some time through it...seeing what all i can experience. now that i know it's kinda normal...i think i'd like to really play around with it.

I've been experiencing sleep paralysis for as long as I can remember - when I was much younger, between the ages of 4 and 10, I also used to astral travel almost nightly and completely unwillingly. Not anymore, however the sleep paralysis is a fairly regular thing for me still.

I've never experienced any of the visual hallucinations a lot of people report accompany it, but certainly the fear is overwhelming. I've had a lot of aural hallucinations during these episodes, and it's enough to make me panic myself out of this state. As others have mentioned, I notice it most when I've fallen asleep on my back. I became aware of that, started sleeping on my sides instead, but it didn't take care of the problem.

I notice it's always started by a heavy vibrating sensation throughout my entire body, and high pitched ringing in my head. I recall those sensations from back when I experienced astral projection, and I've been told by a few that sleep paralysis is a perfect time to try and get out of your body. I've never been able to calm myself long enough to try and do so, though.

I also had a friend recently tell me about energies in the astral world who will try and push others out of their bodies, and to be aware of how often this happens and when it does to think only of love and kindness. For my own peace of mind I try to disregard that little bit of info The experience is truly terrifying and to think something might be bringing it on would send me over the edge.

Thank you for the thread! This is something that's always fascinated me as it happens so often.

Yep, suffered heavily from night terrors when I was younger (8-13). Used to run out into the living room, talking to my parents about monsters chasing me, things under the bed et cetera. Woke up with no memory of the events...was eventually treated with laser acupuncture--although looking back with a conspiratorial mind I wonder what the laser was actually targetting.

Had sleep paralysis a few times. Thought I was awake (could hear mother in the shower down the hall), but could not/did not want to move. Suddenly felt like something was sitting on my back, and then immediately my entire upper body began lifting off and slamming back onto the bed. Uncontrollable. Was terrified. Went on for thirty seconds before it quit and I could move again.

Had a recurring dream during that period of my life...although it was/is difficult to tell if it were a dream. I would be "dreaming" of lying in my bed, face to the wall. Had the overwhelming--CERTAIN--feeling that something/someone was coming down the hall toward me. I could not/did not want to move...absolutely terrified of whatever or whoever it was. I could feel it coming closer and closer, and then at the moment when I thought hands were going to close around my neck, my entire body would rise and float toward the ceiling...literally as though I was heading right out through the roof of the house.

I would then wake up with a strange sound in my ears...like a huffing sound of panting breath, or a husky laughter. Still don't know what that was all about.

EDIT: would really apreciate some ideas actually. Its been a huge mystery in my life

reply to post by Frater210


I get it often. But only just recently (within the past 2 years). I don't remember ever having it as a child, although I did have recurring nightmares, several days each September, for about 4 years.

This SP has actually almost made me fearful of falling asleep. One night I had false awakenings, roughly 5 on top of one another, and that was terrifying. Each time I awoke to thinking someone was in my room, and after the last one, I woke up in sleep paralysis. It was a terrible night, to say the least.

I've been having them with more frequency, and what's stranger is I often know the day before that I'm going to have it at night when I fall asleep. I believe it's likely that I'm simply setting myself up for it, by dwelling on it for several hours before I go to sleep. Still unnerving though.

I've also recently started experiencing restless legs at night. I don't know if those two things are related in anyway, but thought I'd toss it in there.

In the month of June alone I had probably 5 or more episodes. The most recent times I've actually had my eyes open during the episode. Let me tell you now, if you've only had it with your eyes closed, consider yourself lucky. The things I've seen (which I do believe are simply things I'm imagining imposed on the walls of my apartment, or wherever it is I fell asleep) are pretty spooky.

Also, and if this is something someone else has experienced, I'd love to know, my face feels...distorted during these sp episodes. It's the only way I can describe it. I don't think it actually is, but I've had it so often, I've noticed it. I feel like my mouth is wide open almost to the point of unhinging, and my entire face has been twisted. Of course, it never is when I am able to move, but it feels that way.

I've seriously been contemplating doing a sleep study, to see if they can tell me anything.

Originally posted by Milleresque
Yep, suffered heavily from night terrors when I was younger (8-13). Used to run out into the living room, talking to my parents about monsters chasing me, things under the bed et cetera. Woke up with no memory of the events...was eventually treated with laser acupuncture--although looking back with a conspiratorial mind I wonder what the laser was actually targetting.

Had sleep paralysis a few times. Thought I was awake (could hear mother in the shower down the hall), but could not/did not want to move. Suddenly felt like something was sitting on my back, and then immediately my entire upper body began lifting off and slamming back onto the bed. Uncontrollable. Was terrified. Went on for thirty seconds before it quit and I could move again.

Had a recurring dream during that period of my life...although it was/is difficult to tell if it were a dream. I would be "dreaming" of lying in my bed, face to the wall. Had the overwhelming--CERTAIN--feeling that something/someone was coming down the hall toward me. I could not/did not want to move...absolutely terrified of whatever or whoever it was. I could feel it coming closer and closer, and then at the moment when I thought hands were going to close around my neck, my entire body would rise and float toward the ceiling...literally as though I was heading right out through the roof of the house.

I would then wake up with a strange sound in my ears...like a huffing sound of panting breath, or a husky laughter. Still don't know what that was all about.

EDIT: would really apreciate some ideas actually. Its been a huge mystery in my life

edit on 6-7-2011 by Milleresque because: application for further assistance from other posters.

The 'husky' laughing/breathing could be an aural hallucination [hearing sounds that aren't there]. A number of times I've heard a mechanical almost 'whooshing' noise that is near deafening. Other times I've heard people talking, holding complete conversations, although nothing really making sense. I've heard people screaming my name repeatedly. I've felt pressure on certain parts of my body, almost as if someone's touching or grabbing me but I've never seen anything. I've also felt weight being lowered into my bed like someone's getting in next to me but again, never saw anything with my own eyes. I think what you've described could be related to the sleep paralysis - your mind creates all sorts of things during and it can truly be terrifying and certainly very realistic. It's like you're having a nightmare while you're awake but you can't move or cry out for help.