Sleep Paralysis has anyone had it?

I have had a few experiences of sleep paralysis, mostly in my teens/early twenties. None of them involved anything remotely paranormal. I'll get back to you with answers to the specific questions when I get time, but I just wanted to mention one thing (and I'm sorry if someone else already mentioned it...I didn't take the time to read the whole thread, since it's late and I'm tired). Sleep paralysis is one of the markers for narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia (which I have). The last bad episode I recall was in my 3rd year of college. I was trying to take a nap during the day. Everything was going fine until I decided it was time to get up. I just remember trying to wake up for a while, getting REALLY frustrated that I couldn't, and then finally resigning myself to going back to sleep. I could sort-of look around. It was like looking through frosted glass. I thought I could talk (tried to scream), but i really couldn't. No one heard me make a sound. I fell back to "real sleep" and woke up about a half hour later feeling exhausted. So much for that nap!

Yes, I have had sleep paralysis.

1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?
~22-25. Northern coastal California.
2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?
Isolated episodes. No episodes for several years.
3. What you saw (if anything).
I saw and heard figures walking around the room. Heard doors and gates open. Saw a plant get up out of its pot and dance around on top of a bookshelf. Noticed that light seemed slurred, as if I were seeing many frames of film stacked on top of each other.
4. What happened?
Woke up, could move my eyes and look around, but couldn't move any other part of my body. It felt like I was moving my arms and legs, but looking down at my body, I saw that I was not. I then started hallucinating that people or other animated objects were passing through the room.
5. How long did it last?
10 to 30 minutes. Several consecutive occurrences within that time. I was able to remember exactly what it felt like just before I woke up into paralysis, and was able to trigger further occurrences by putting myself back into a state that felt similar to how I felt just before waking the first time. Very hard to explain. It was like having a new sense that there are no existing words for (or none that I know).
6. Were you able to do anything to stop it?
Yes. I imagined I lunging forward violently, and that jarring sensation tore me out of the paralysis. I use this same technique to wake from nightmares. The process of jarring myself awake though is pretty uncomfortable.
7. Are you a religious person? (elaborate)
Not in any way that I'm aware of.
8. Were you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?
I saw and heard phantoms. I thought they were members of my family. They may have coincided with voices, but I don't remember.
9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.
I felt a feeling of fear slowly rise over me until it became quite intense. There appeared to be no cause for the fear, it just seemed to creep up out of nowhere. I tried to scream, but couldn't, although it did kind of feel in a way like I was screaming. I could almost hear the scream, but at the same time I knew I wasn't making any noise. Also, I was a bit scared that I would get stuck in that state and be a vegetable for life.
10. Were you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)
No.

1.When it first happened I was in middle school around the age of 11 I think, and it happens occasionally now.
2. The last time it happened was about 2 weeks ago.
3. There was multiple times where I was sleeping on my side and I would wake up unable to move and there was certainly a presence in my room. One time I was in fetal position and I opened my eyes and there was a lady in front of me on my bed with me and I was holding both of her hands and in my head I screamed but nothing came out, I couldn't speak either. Another time I had just finished watching Ancient Aliens on the History Channel and I fell asleep and I was dreaming something I cannot remember but then I had the sleep paralysis once again and this time it was the most eerie one I ever had. I felt like I was floating from my bed and I heard something spinning and I felt as though the bed next to me was moving closer. I felt as though I was getting abducted but I knew it was only because I was watching Ancient Aliens before I fell asleep that I imagined that perhaps.
4. After I screamed for help but nothing came out of my mouth I just struggled to wake up, again, I tried to move and scream but nothing worked, it was as though I was pinned to my bed, I couldn't move any part of my body.I remember saying to myself in my head that I didn't want to be taken away and eventually I woke up a few seconds later and I was breathing heavily and I was freaked out. I was freaked out so much that I had to have someone with me because I was scared to be alone so I called my mom in the room and she was had a concerned look on her face asking what happened and I told her.
5.It lasted a couple of seconds but it felt like an eternity.
6. No, I wasn't able to do nothing but try to move around and speak but nothing happened and I just panicked a little more and kept talking myself out of it in my head and would eventually wake up.
7. Hmm, I wouldn't say religious but I am a believer in God.
8. Well, the one time I mentioned I was contacted by the woman who was holding my hands and then the second time I felt as though they were other wordly beings but I know that that was just my imagination because while you're in sleep paralysis you could hallucinate, so that explains that.
9.The experience certainly felt negative.
10. The after effect was simply being panicked and heavy breathing, and fear.

I'm familar with SP since i was a child , in a SP case i wake up aware but the body doesn't respond , it's mind awake body asleep situation with an extreme discomfort , the only thing that can be done is starting attempts to move , there is no effect after the SP state is over .

reply to post by RevelationGeneration


This is from one of my earlier threads, here! It's the 7th of my posts on the above linked thread down.
" I remember one time, I was in bed with this one girl, and in the middle of the night I woke up in a fright! The girl was fast asleep and no one/thing (that I can see) else was in the room! I tried to sit up, but couldn't! Felt like something was sitting on my chest! I tried to lift my arm, and nothing! My heart started racing like mad! I tried to wake the girl next to me by saying her name, and nothing but a short soft grunt! All I could do was move my head a bit and look around! About 30 - 45 seconds later all was normal! I just put it off as sleep paralysis, but you just never know!"

And the OP's requested questions -

1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?

I was 24 years old, and I was in my apartment bedroom, on the bed.

2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?

Only happened the one time that I can remember.

3. What you saw (if anything).

Nothing, kind of felt like something was on my chest. Watching me.

4. What happened?

Couldn't move body or talk.

5. How long did it last?

About 30 - 45 seconds

6. Were you able to do anything to stop it?

Nope.

7. Are you a religious person? (elaborate)

Not really, became more spiritual because of this and other events.

8. Were you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?

No contact.

9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.

Felt more negative than anything.

10. Were you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)

Not sick, just astonished from the whole ordeal. Curious, anxious.
Hope this helps!

reply to post by RevelationGeneration


reply to post by RevelationGeneration


1)I was around 18 when it first happened. I was half asleep in my bed and I heard what sounded like a menacing voice whispering in my ear.

2) After the first time it did not happen again for about 7 years.

3,4) I usually don't see anything, but I have felt a cold stream of air wrap around my neck and choke me, I have also felt the covers being pulled off my bed and felt a heavy, cause breath in my ear and breathing on my face.
I also get the feeling there is something nasty present when it happens. Sometimes I can move my body when it happens, but i'm unable to speak.

5) It usually lasts for about 30 seconds, but sometimes shorter or longer.

6) I remain calm, and try to speak or move. I tell myself I am not afraid and try to say that out loud, or curse, like say "f*** off!" or something but I can usually only murmur. Most of the time I can snap out of it fairly quickly.

7) I read and study the Bible.

8) nope.

9) It's always been a negative feeling for me.

10) The first couple of times it scared me a bit, but now I am pretty much used to it.

Yay! I can actually help with this.
I was about 13 and my uncle Tony approached me saying I was close to the age where I should start getting sleep paralysis. Apparently nearly everyone in my family gets it.
I can't say for sure, I know I get night terrors and something else that means I don't know I'm awake for the first few minutes that I'm awake.
I can remember having sleep paralysis once definitely but my terrible memory and already weird sleeping habits mean I really can't be sure when it' happened at other times.
Anyway, babbling over haha.
1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?
Approximately 15. I was in my old home in Coul, Scotland.
2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?
On going night terrors etc mean I can't be certain if it still happens but I still get the same odd feeling some nights but it's relatively rare.
3. What you saw (if anything).
I hallucinate frequently I'm afraid so it wouldn't be fair to state.
4. What happened?
I thought my leg had gone dead (left) and then realized my right was the same. It felt like cool water or gel slowly traveling up me. Where it hit I felt almost like static and then I just lost feeling.
5. How long did it last?
Time is a bit weird haha, It felt like about 30minutes but I never thought to check.
6. Were you able to do anything to stop it?
I never tried. I was a little shocked by what was going on but felt oddly relaxed. A bit weird now that I think back properly.
7. Are you a religious person? (elaborate)
Well... My mothers family are pretty much all spiritualists and my father was in a satanic cult. I don't really have any beliefs.
8. Were you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?
Not as far as I can remember no. I hear and see things so sometimes when it gets aggressive what I see might make sounds (or in very rare cases speak) so once again I couldn't say for sure.
9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.
Fuzzy haha. A little spaced out. I had no idea what had happened and still felt oddly relaxed so ended up falling asleep again quite quickly.
10. Were you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)
Just strangely relaxed. That's all I can really remember.

Originally posted by RevelationGeneration
Has anyone on ATS actually experienced the phenomenon known as "Sleep Paralysis" ?

The reason i ask it here is because its usually accompanied by some sort of alien encounter...

Since the start of my junior year in high school, eighteen years ago, I have been continuously experiencing sleep paralysis. If I had to explain the sensation to anyone, I would compare it to being buried alive in a coffin. Even though you can still hear the noises in the environment, you cannot scream out for help, move your legs and arms, open your eyes, nor can you twitch a muscle. You are helpless. Sometimes I felt the sensation of spinning and weightlessness.

During all of my sleep paralysis experiences, I panic from an inability to control my bodily functions. Imagine screaming at the top of your lungs, and no one can hear a single word you are saying. You plead, cry, and beg someone for help. Regardless about how much you try, the words are as trapped as your conscious self.

Now, here is the scarier part...
I call it the alien abduction moment. Even though you are not actually being abducted, you are feeling a sense of being dragged. As you fight to regain full bodily control, your body drags you back into a dream state. All the fear built up from the paralysis breaks into a nightmare. Every noise you heard in the environment, during the height of paralysis, gets reinterpreted into a hellish dream. Imagine being dragged across the floor, and your fingernails cannot dig into the ground deep enough. Each step of the process is a fight for one's life. You struggle, scrap, pull, and scream the entire time.

Once your body has finally rendered you back under, the dream you experience is just as hellish as the events that lead to this point. Something is in the dream with you. Regardless about how you try to gain an upper hand, the thing that is in your dream now owns you. As a result of the actual paralysis being reinterpreted, the unknown entity is responsible for rendering you helpless. Technically, your subconscious has made an obstacle, so it can keep you asleep long enough to recharge. Depending on the noises you hear, during the paralysis, the nightmare will reshape itself to interpret what you heard. My paralysis nightmares brought me to oblivion, hell, empty cities, aliens, doctors, and demons.

...and, that is why I do not believe in the alien abduction phenomenon.

Added Note...
After I started to experience sleep paralysis, I sought out the immediate attention of a doctor. Since I had gained insight into how the body functions, I did not get caught up in the whole alien abduction phenomenon.

Knowledge will set you free.

1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?

23 years.
Europe, Netherlands


2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?

3 years, sometimes months non-stop every night.

3. What you saw (if anything).

Saw nothing out of the ordinary


4. What happened?

Well, unlike everyone else here my sleep paralysis is reversed. I dont get it when i wake up. I get sleep paralysis before I sleep. My body goes auto-numb when i lie down and then I can't move, breathing becomes lower too. much like paralysis does. I can break it by focussing on either my toes or fingertips and then bring control over my leg/arm and move it up (with considerable effort) five centimeters eand then my brains snaps out of sleep mode.


5. How long did it last?
Depends. if I don't break it it won't be broken till I sleep. I break it usually since being awake yet breathing at the level when I sleep is a littlebit...breathtaking.


6. Were you able to do anything to stop it?
See question 4


7. Are you a religious person? (elaborate)
No. Primary I do not believe in any afterlife. But I do believe I can be wrong. So I deceided to make my own form of believe. I believe in afterlife we are all unconnected to prior deeds and we are all absolute equals. God or no god, that doesn't matter since a god is merely an equal chain in a chain of equals. If wanted I can eleborate about my viewpoints of power (I believe power is subjective, not factual)


8. Were you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?
No. I believe sleep paralysis is merely a state of mind dependable on the way you mind regulates the sleep process.

9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.
It was annoying for the three years I had it regularly. But not overly negative of positive in any way.


10. Were you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)
Nope. I hardly ever am. I am never really sick, I never have bruises (I mean NEVER) never broke a bone, never had any kind of muscle related injury. Sleep paralysis never left me anything.
Completly different from everything else thou, I can't watch in direct sunlight and my skin may not become wet. I actually got doctors advice to not shower too much because water burn my skin like battery acid.

1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?

20 years old i believe / my bedroom... i live in California

2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?

i get it maybe 2-3 times a year.

3. What you saw (if anything).

shadows..lights on the ceiling (like a flash light)

4. What happened?

couldnt move anything except for my eyes

5. How long did it last?

5 minutes

6. Were you able to do anything to stop it?

towards the end i am able to move my toes...i keep wiggling them them untill my body snaps out of whatever paralysis it is in

7. Are you a religious person? (elaborate)

i believe in god...a creator..etc

8. Were you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?

its always silent through the whole experience

9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.

my heart races..the feeling of not being able to move is very terrifying to me

10. Were you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)

i feel weak..and i cant go back to sleep.

1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?
A - Early teens I think, living at home with my parents at the time, Humberside, UK

2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?
A - Nearly 30 years I guess, used to happen frequently when I was young but happens less now.

3. What you saw (if anything).
A - Never see anything usually, however one time I though I saw someone standing next to the bed; I though it was my son but it wasn't - not sure what happened or how that ended.

4. What happened?
A - Nothing really, just started to move again

5. How long did it last?
A - about 40 seconds, a minute perhaps.

6. Were you able to do anything to stop it?
A - Not usually when it occurs. I found that it happened more if I was sleeping on my back and I try never to do that now and, so far, this works. I've tried to shout and scream but apparently (according to my wife) I might just about manage a low moan - she's quite a heavy sleeper.

7. Are you a religious person? (elaborate)
A - No, although (strange as it might seem) I ware a crucifix that was bought by my mother-in-law (who is quite religious as is most of the family) just because she bought it for me.

8. Were you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?
A - No contact

9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.
A - I was scared when it happened, relieved when it was over..

10. Were you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)
A - No side effects

I friend of mine told me that if it happened again to try and hold my breath as this was (he'd read) something I could control and if I was to hold my breath my body would react by allowing me to move again.. Hope I never have to try it out...

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reply to post by RevelationGeneration

I have experienced sleep paralysis a handful of times. When I was a child I frequently had what I called Flying Dreams. In these dreams I was always flying, sometimes leisurely with blue sky and clouds. Other times it was like traveling at light speed on another plane. I could go on about the dreams but that is a different topic.

Not always but often enough that I recognized it upon waking I would feel like I thudded into my body in the bed and startle awake. Sometimes I could not move for a brief time, this was sometimes accompanied by a buzzing sound and sensation; but not always.

Over the yrs I came to recognize the feeling while falling asleep and know I was going to have a flying dream. Sometimes a buzzing feeling right as I drifted into sleep. Again, not always but I knew when I did feel it, what it ment.

The inability to move when I woke up never lasted long, but as a child it terrified me, by the time I was a teenager though I always knew it would pass and it didn't frighten me anymore.

I stopped remembering my dreams for the most part about 7-10 yrs ago so to remember a dream at all is unusual in that time I have only had 2 or 3 flying dreams but no sleep paralysis.

The first of two times it ever happened to me I was just finishing up grade ten, and I was super stressed because I knew I had failed one my classes and report cards were in a week or two. As I was dreading to break the news to my parents about my failed class I was having trouble sleeping one nigh(n and for the life of me I couldn't get to sleep, and I remember laying on the floor right infront of my tv, I had my eyes fixed on the tv when I could hear myself snoring. Startled, I tried get up when I realized I couldn't move, at that point I was completely concious but felt paralyzed. I remember the tv was all I could see but when I had finally woke up from it there was a different tv show on.
Freaked out, I decided to back into my bed to lay down, but once again after an hour or so of struggling to bed back to sleep I started to hear myself snore again. This time was a bit different though. I was face to face with my wall so I couldn't see anything behind me, but I could hear the sound of a woman screaming, but I couldn't do anything about it until I finally woke up cold in a pool of sweat.

Those were my only experiences of that sort, but I don't feel it was anything super natural or alien at all.

i've had sleep paralysis on and off for countless times since my 6th year of age. the very first one where i was 6 scared the hell out of me, it was accompanied by clear hallucinatory visions which were evil. there appeared a dim light in the room and the door began to squeak on and off where i heard evil laughter. i recall having watched a scary ghost scene in a psychothriller on tv a few days beforehand though. it must've triggered the sp.

i then had a few when i was 20-22. some of the episodes started off as a lucid dream and went full throttle afterwards. once i had one where i was *ahem* sexally assaulted heheh. other episodes were experienced where i moved house and in my 30's. the hypnopompic hallucinations were a gray like alien, a blonde, lestat de lioncourt lookalike guy hovering at the ceiling, and a heart shaped baloon with an "i love you" text hovering at my window.

the very latest ones were last month. had none since. btw, istanbul, TR here.

Reading through some posts i see that some\many can open their eyes. I remember not being able to open my eyes during any of the episodes.

reply to post by Malcher

I never had the inability to open my eyes once awake yet still paralyzed but part of what made my flying dreams so terrifying at times was the inability. Like flying blind at the speed of light...scary beyond words, however sometimes the things I saw with my eyes open were scarier

It happened again last night. It felt like I was paralyzed for about an hour though it may have only been a few moments. I kept trying to get up without success. I could open my eyes, but not move. I want to say I came out of it once only to go back into it. It was a rough one for sure. I think I had an anxiety attack during it as well. I finally recovered and eventually went back to sleep, but I never sleep well after one of these episodes so I'm definitely tired today lol.

1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?

I had itonce when i was 18, then had itmultiple times 3-4x during my 21-24 phase.

2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?

Started at 18 but uptodate i only had a total of maybe 5-6, had my last one yesterday after like a yr.

3. What you saw (if anything)

I usually "struggle" and wake up but once i actually had the courage to look back( i was face down sleeping), there was a dark figure looking straight down at me while sitting on my back.

4. What happened?

It was always been a nap, if i recall correctly 80% of the time it was a nap. i can usually hear my music from my computer, my monitor's brightness, like many mentioned the vision is blurry like you are underwater, also the soundis muffled like you are underwater.

5. How long did it last?

I can't really tell, but feels like 20sec-1min.

6. Were you able to do anything to stop it?

Yes, i think i started getting those on my years where i stay up till like 3-4am. It didnt happen after i got back into normal sleeping pattern. I definately support the idead that stress is heavily involved among other things.

7. Are you a religious person? (elaborate)
I'm not religious person, its been a 13-14 yrs since i been to a "holy place", i more toward science. I think these "figures" that appear in the dreams are not because of religious relations but images you seen before, like from books and movies, it manifested by your brains.

8. Were you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?

No contact, just silence and images.

9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.

Felt scared first time but got used to it afterwards, and when i got the hang of myself to force myself to wake up, i sometimes even try to "explore" during that phase, even tho im tied down.

10. Were you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)

Nope, its just mind manifestation, only effect it will leave behind would be something mind related/traumatic.

Humans always need to give a purpose for everything.

I had sleep paralysis for the first time last week.
I was having a normal dream and then my dream turned into a nightmare I woke up and felt that my body was twice teh size that it really was and that something was pinning me down.

I could move my eyes and in the mirror I could see a GIANT spider, about the size of an A3 piece of paper crawling towards me on the roof and stopped, I looked over to see where the spider should be and to my relief there was nothing there, I can remember thinking 'there is no way that that can be real' but as I look back at the mirror it was where it had stopped and started to move towards me again. It disappeared before my eyes and I could move again.

I think it was around 3:30am that this happened to me as I had a terrible feeling of foreboding and even called my boyfriend to make sure he was ok. It was very scary.

I think that sleep paralysis has something to do with your body not getting enough oxygen due to the way you are laying, or if you are overweight, like sleep apnea..It was pretty intense.

ugh. here's the latest one, that happened yesterday afternoon when i was having a nap. the cat was curled and sleeping at my feet. this time, hypnagogic sounds were involved with laughter at the end. they sounded like italian to me so i checked what i remembered;

"il contratto sia stato concluso con successo il momento per una celebrazione, venite a raccogliere illuminati hahhahahaha!"

translates like some dudes have signed a contract and want to pop the champaign gathering with the dudes from illuminati says google translate. the freaky part is i don't speak italian.

and the cat kept cool, went on sleeping.