Lost your password?

Imagine, if you will, this scenario.

It is the middle of the night, and you are sleeping. Suddenly, you awaken, but you cannot move. Your eyelids will not open, and you cannot move your arms and legs. You cannot even move your fingers and toes.

Breathing is difficult. If feels like there is something sitting on your chest and you are certain there is a being sitting on you and making you feel this way. This horror lasts for minutes, but it seems like hours. Sleeping is restful anymore. It’s horrifying.

This may seem like a scene from a horror book, but it is actually a real-life issue for a bunch of people. That is right. Tonight, there will be people who wake up to the previous scenario. They will have no clue what is going on, and they will not be able to move.

It is time to learn more about this phenomenon.

These symptoms stem from a strange sleep phenomenon called sleep paralysis. While various social and psychological factors can influence the prevalence of sleep paralysis, a 2011 paper combined 35 studies with more than 36,000 participants total. The authors found that 7.6% of the general population experiences sleep paralysis, rising to 28.3% in high-risk groups, like students who have a disrupted sleep pattern. And in people with mental disorders, like anxiety and depression, 31.9% experienced episodes. (Business Insider)

Daniel Denis, a PhD candidate in cognitive neuroscience and researcher at the Sleep Paralysis Project, explains the whole situation perfectly:

“When you’re experiencing sleep paralysis, you become conscious. The idea is that your mind wakes up but your body doesn’t.” (Business Insider)

But, if the brain is awake, why can’t the body move?

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It all has to do with the three or four stages of non-REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and one specific REM state. It is possible to dream in all stages of sleep, but the dreams experienced in REM sleep appear to be more vivid and real.

The brain is extremely active during REM sleep, and people become paralyzed during REM. Although researchers are unsure of the reason, many believe it is so the body does not act out the dream. This is called REM atonia.

Most people who wake up suddenly can move easily. However, those who cannot move after waking experience sleep paralysis. It is REM atonia continuing after waking. Most of the time, this experience lasts a few seconds to a minute (I am sure it feels much longer). However, in rare cases, some people need 10 to 15 minutes to regain motion.

Many people feel a presence when they are in the clutches of sleep paralysis. Researchers are not sure what causes this, but they do have some ideas. One is that the figure is the mind’s attempt to create the movement it can’t actually do. Basically, the brain is saying, “I can’t move your arms, but here is a nice hallucination of your arms moving.”

Another guess is that amygdala is to blame. The amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for fear, becomes overactive and Denis explains the result:

“You wake up with your amygdala screaming, ‘There’s a threat! So your brain has to invent something to fix the paradox of the amygdala being active for no reason.” (Business Insider)

The amygdala does remain active during sleep, but sleep paralysis sends it into overdrive. This makes sense because the whole scenario sounds terrifying.

Different Types of Sleep Paralysis

According to an in-depth study performed in 1999, there are three types of hallucinations that can occur during sleep paralysis: “incubus”, “intruder”, and “unusual bodily experiences”.

Incubus

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People feel intense pressure on their chests and they feel they cannot breath. However, this is only a mental game. It feels like they can’t breath because they are afraid. Also, the body is still in REM breathing mode which is very shallow. It would seem strange to anyone.

Intruder

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People who experience the intruder experience the feeling of a presence, fear, and visual and auditory hallucinations. The authors describe it as a “hypervigilant state of the midbrain,” which can make people highly aware of even the smallest stimuli and “biased toward cues for threat or danger.” That’s why a small sound can seem horrifying to someone experiencing sleep paralysis. (Business Insider)

Unusual Bodily Experiences

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These people feel they are having an out-of-body experience. They feel like they are levitating or flying around the room. This type of sleep paralysis is so different because different areas of the brain are active at the time the person awoke.

Prevention

Prevention is difficult with sleep paralysis. That is because it can be hereditary and because it is linked to the whole bunch of other sleeping and health issues. However, there are some things a person can do to help with the problem.

No Back Sleeping

Researchers have found that sleeping on the side can reduce the event of sleep paralysis. Some sufferers even wear special clothing so that it is uncomfortable for the body to position naturally onto the back during sleep.

Focus

If a person does wake up and find they cannot move, they need to concentrate on moving a digit. Try to move a finger or a toe and focus on that. Once a muscle moves, the paralysis is broken.

What are your experiences with sleep paralysis?

Source:
Business Insider

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katherinecrofton

Katherine Crofton is a mother and lead writer for the David Wolfe website. Her interests include overall family health, nature & animals, environmental issues, and culture. She worked as an English teacher in South Korea for four years and has spent time in Tanzania, South Africa, and Mexico.

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80 Responses

  1. Julia Harbeck

    I have suffered from night terrors for my entire life off and on. They are that, terrorizing. I am amazing that this year the 2 times I have had them my new dog seems to know and starts licking my face helping me to break free. I don’t know how she knows, maybe by my breathing getting fast since I can’t move but I wish I had had her around for my entire life.

    • disqus_xxtFE602D6

      I have experienced this my entire life too, but it makes me sad to have someone explain this away as being NOT what I have experienced with it. Sure, I have awakened to the feeling of “someone/something” on my chest, but I have always thought it was just the weight of my physical body that I felt after the lighter higher vibration I was feeling while out of body. My spirit becomes so aware of how heavy my physical body is and that is what the weight feels like to me. I become aware of “sounds” like the article describes, but for me this usually happens before I “leave” my body and go exploring while it sleeps peacefully in the bed. If I have a soul/spirit and I believe that I do, then it does not need to sleep, just my physical body does, then I must ask….what the heck does my non-sleeping soul do during all the hours of my physical sleeping? I would hate to think it just lays there twiddling it’s thumbs. Just before what I call “takeoff” I experience a vibration that travels up and down my entire body signaling that I am becoming more aware of my spirit self and less aware/attached to the physical parts…..it is the BEST feeling ever! After that has gone on for a few seconds/minutes (?) I am ready to slip out of the physical and shift my awareness entirely to my spiritual awareness. It can be difficult to stay in this awareness without concentrated intention to do so, but when I do, I feel this higher vibration for hours and even days after I wake up or fully reintegrate back into the physical. It is lovely to say the least. Because of these experiences in my life, I have learned that I am so much more than my physical body alone and have developed the ability to “shift” out of my physical om a certain level even when awake…..I can “shift” during high stress or painful times i.e. during a visit to the dentist for what most people might consider painful work……I can allow physical self to have the experience (always without Novocain) while I “observe” from a non-attached perspective thereby allowing myself to NOT feel what might as I said others might experience as pain. Because I have had and accepted this ability as far back in life as I can remember, I have never had the fear some have expressed to me of this happening in their lives even when I have felt the paralysis and have always thought it was a build in mechanism for protection on some level…..I was relieved to have; what I had always felt was true; confirmed when in the past few years I was directed to a book called Soul Traveler by Dr. Albert Taylor which has the best explanation of the paralysis state that I have ever read. I am proud of this ability and love the effects it has had on my personal spiritual development throughout my life, and feel that once you know why you become paralyzed, then you no longer need to fear what you are feeling and can go and explore freely. I work for our local Hospice and my experiences have been very helpful in my work of witnessing and supporting the dying as many of them have related similar experiences of separating from their physical bodies the closer they draw to actually doing so, and my information and the sharing of my experience has brought comfort to many of my patients. Thank you for writing and posting this very informative article.

    • Haze Evolved Constructs Nichol

      The heavy breathing used to be my go to method! I would consciously do it to get somebody to wake me up.
      I had a mean ex who knew I needed help and let me sleep through it. That was frustrating. But all is well now. I use my dreams as a platform for answers. We are really the dream I think, (this reality)

    • Barbara Farley

      I use to have night terrors until I realized when I woke up my feet were freezing. So I wear socks to bed & don’t suffer from them. But there are times where I forget to wear socks and I wake up screaming

  2. Steve Finch

    What you resist persist, with that in mind I’ve found that rather then trying to move, if I invite ‘what is’ to do as it will there isn’t much that can happen that warrants terror. Yes there is fear but only initially becasue once it’s allowed to run it’s course it’s seen that awareness is doing as it always does, just without the self, aka the controller, which is illusion anyway. What sleep paralysis is is a perceiving from the point of view of root level awareness, and from the mind made self at the same time. The you that is created via thought has come face to face with pure perception, this is why there is a presence felt. This is what I’ve found to be true for me, give it a try and see if it helps. What’s the worse that could happen?

  3. Meg Gabrielle Kalaw

    I have experience this for 3 months on and off. I was 17 yrs old that
    time. In the middle of the night, I would wake up in a snap then that
    was when the terrifying minutes would start. The first time I
    experienced it, I was falling into darkness with no end it was like a
    dream but at the same time you could feel your own body, the real
    surroundings. Then many more came. There was this experience that I was
    in a pool and something was pulling me down, and my breath really came
    to stop, it was really terrifying!!! and as I experienced it every
    night, I was too afraid to even sleep thinking that when I experienced
    it again, I wouldn’t able to wake up..But as I experienced it many
    times, I was able to make things easier and cope up with this and I
    wanted to share some tips (this is my only opinion):
    * Try to control your breathing. I know it is hard for the first timer but try to control your breath.
    * Relax and think that you can able to snap out of this. (I kept saying “Relax, it’ll end soon.”)
    *
    And don’t ever force to move or scream. (When I tried to scream, I felt
    that my veins in head would explode, just thought it would make matter
    worse.
    * And little by little try to move your finger, if you can.
    * It is true that sleeping on your side prevent this.
    * Drink a glass of water before sleeping.
    *
    If you’re too afraid, like me, make someone sleep beside you. I tried
    this before with my aunt. I would lay my hand on her arm/stomach and
    asked her to wake me up the moment I scratched her with my fingers.

  4. Terri Beernink

    I started experiencing this about 12 years ago. I work rotating 12 hour shifts. I was diagnosed with narcolepsy soon after and it was at this time the sleep paralysis started. I was embarrassed to bring it up to anyone.I finally told my doctor and he said he had no idea what it was and looked at me like I was crazy. I learned what it was by researching on the web years ago.

    • sunday adebowale

      Brothers and sisters, don’t let nobody fool you with their scientific jibberish. These occurrences have led to many deaths. This is a spiritual thing not a scientific thing. You need to pray using Psalms 127 vs 2: God give me sleep and give your angels charge over me. That’s all you need to do. Simple right? Yes it is that simple!

  5. Lean Reyes

    I have been experiencing this for several years. And I believe it’s because of stress and my crazy sleep pattern. When I sleep, it sometimes starts with good things, and when I know it’s a sleep paralysis already, despite the presence—I relax. I’m not sure how fast I wake, but compared to the first year I had it, it’s shorter.
    Relaxing really helped in preventing my imagination go beyond the scares I already felt and seen.
    But yes, I can’t help but wonder why the presence is always demonic.

  6. Jeanine Bashin

    My experience was very life changing for me. I experienced levitation and at one point, I looked at the clock noticed the time at 403 but realized that I was in a different state. I could feel both the paralysis and the floating around. Then when it was all over and I finally woke up, I looked at the clock and it was 413. I realized that what ever it is that happened was real.

  7. Grace F. Whitehouse

    I have had this for years on and off. Mainly it’s when I’m in a phase of anxiety or depression. I think mine would be classed as intruder, but sometimes the presence is someone I recognise. I always find my self getting so frustrated. It is often worse if I have a nap in the day. I dream I have woken and then get angry and frustrated because I have not woken. It then goes in a circle.

    • Sangam Tiwary

      Found your experience most related to mine. I even have this in a nap of 10mins, and sometimes twice during the sleep.

      • Grace F. Whitehouse

        Mine can happen during the shortest nap. Do you know if it makes a difference if you’re sleeping alone? I know naps tend to be a solo mission.

  8. pradeep

    I experience it so many time when I try to sleep since long and when I just entering in sleep sudden something goes wrong like some one control on my mind and body , I feel my hand is in air , I heard voice like run run or so many people voice togathrt. I try too much to move my body but I can’t do anything siden after some min it’s stare decrease and I can feel my self but during this dreaming I feel my body at different direction and in real I am in diffeent, so far I alaways thing some bad spirit control me every time, I experienced this thing so many time some time 10 time in month some time once in month , does it effect bad our mind if it’s occurs so many time with us ????

  9. jp callender

    I’ve had my first S.P. experience when I was 7 yrs old and had several since and I’m 36 now. Every time it happened it was some demonic figure. The room full of shadow figure walking around. I recently looked into It and ever case I saw had to do with evil and spiritual figures. Science can try to explain it away but science deals with the natural realm and not the spiritual… call out “Jesus!”

    • Dodie Cantrell

      Thank you so much I was trying to rationalize this article with my experiences. I know mine were demonic. My step dad was a devil worshipper no one believed me. My mom found me during one of these episodes I was trying to cry out to her but she couldn’t hear me. Finaly I cried out to God to help me and at that moment I was up straight up as in standing but my feet where not on the ground. I thought I was awake but my mom said I didn’t wake up till my feet touched the floor. I confronted my step dad my mom got a divorce and my episodes stoped.

      • Monique L. Roberts

        I had an instance once where I spent the night at my Dad’s apartment. His father (my grandpa) had recently passed away and I wanted to be around to support my Dad. Anyways I slept on his couch and that night the demons came and tried to drag me literally through the ground. I felt like I was fighting for my life when I felt this familiar energy and all of a sudden, the demons let go of me and I woke up… on the floor. The next morning the first thing my Dad said to me was, “I had this dream and it felt like yur grandpa was here last night.” I started bawling. It was such an intense moment of realizing that spirits (both good and bad) exist among us.

        • jp callender

          I believe when a person dies there soul goes to eternity and has no contact with the world… However I do believe that there is angels and demons here… I’ve had experiences with both. One night around 1am after a death metal concert my friend Joe and I were held up at gun point. After getting punched in the side of the head and a gun shoved in my face and my friend getting pumbled… 2 people (a man and a woman) I believe to be angels cased these guys back to there car and sped off. Joe and I turned to get the attention of the worker inside where we were turned back around to talk to the ones who helped and they were no where to be found… It wasn’t are day to die… God had bigger plans!
          I left myself open for attack listening to that trash

      • Sammie Williams

        I have had this condition every since I was a child and couldn’t explain my condition so my parents could understand so I suffered alone. As I got older and got married I explained it to my wife who could tell when this happened and would shake me awake, but at times it became harder to wake me. And I would pray to myself that she wouldn’t stop. I finally went to a doctor and was told I was between sleep and being awake. When it begins now I just relax and give one great effort to move until it happens.

    • Shell H.

      Wow that’s the same I’ve had!! And like in my story I’ve prayed and called Jesus and I feel it worsen like they’ve (demons) gotten mad and I keep saying it and it finally goes away and I wake up. But it is scary.

      • jp callender

        They will get mad, but they have no power under the name of Jesus… I’ve seen other testimonies that were similar… read “Acts 19:13-16” I think in the others testimonies they were trying to rebuke the demon…. if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you’re cover by His blood we have the ability to rebuke… but He’s always willing to help… You wonder as a believer why would we come under attack… God works all things for are good… using our stories to help others or strengthen our faith what ever it my be….

    • Monique L. Roberts

      Exactly what happened to me since I was a child. Demons and shadow figures attacking me, trying to pull me off of my bed and drag me away. Absolutely terrifying. I had a big breakthrough in therapy a few years ago and they stopped. But very recently a friend of mine going through a stressful time stayed with me and through the night he was tossing and turning. The next morning he told me he didn’t sleep well and had a crazy dream that some tall shadow figures were standing outside my apartment windows watching us. I got scared, saged my place, and said many prayers. I’m wondering if severe stress and depression creates an energy that allows these negative entities to manifest when we are mentally “off guard,” like when we’re asleep.

      • jp callender

        if you google “disturbed artwork” that’s what I saw, a couple times, in different houses. The glowing eyes and teeth…. scary… I believe that some artist when they have visions on what they want to draw I think some see demons. H.R. Giger is one of those artists.

    • Erika

      I had a experience when I was 16 it was the worst feeling ever I was facing down in my bed feeling as I was being pushed into my bed then a creepy voice above me says your a liar and my mom had been through some spiritual confliction during my younger years she always told me to say in Jesus name I rebuke you I did that several times and it finally went away scared the heckler out of me .

  10. Deborah Magone

    No terrors for me , I just see lost souls looking for help.I.e. sometimes those who’ve passed quickly and don’t know it. I’ve learned to relax in to it and communicate telepathically vs trying to speak and nothing comes out.

  12. Patzie

    It’s interesting. I experienced my first sleep paralysis as a teenager but it actually happens more often to me when I’m falling asleep. But I’ve learned how to control it in some way, I know when it’s coming so I wake up before it catches me. However, it sometimes does (normally when I’m very tired) so I breathe deeply. This is the only thing I can do. The feeling is as if I was under the water, trying to break the surface fighting with the waves. And it’s always terrifying. It’s like you wake up from the nightmare, you are again in your bed, you are perfectly aware of your body but the nightmare continues and it seems so real. Do you know those exagereted scenes from the movies when people wake up screaming? This is almost how I wake up from sleep paralysis.

    • Shell H.

      Same here. My husband always has to calm me down. I wake up so delirious and weak. And like someone has been choking me but I finally wake up trying to get all my air back. And the worst headache follows. Ive had this for years. Sometimes I can’t stop it from happening. I feel it coming but I feel like I’ve been drugged and there’s no stopping it.

      • Monique L. Roberts

        I wake up screaming and in tears sometimes. I also know the feeling of it coming on but not being able to stop it.

  13. Shell H.

    I’ve had this since I was like 5 years old and I’m now 35. My great aunt used to experience it and called it the devil riding your back. I’ve been experiencing it more lately and my oldest son who is 16 has also. But with my experiences I have had weird sensations down my spine from the lower back part of my head. Like someone is scratching me but not with their nails. Its weird. Its scary all the time. I try to pray in the middle of it and occasionally it worsens and then subsides and I’m waking up trying to catch my breath. Definitely checking into seeing someone for another sleep study.

  14. Laurie N

    What we have just read is the scientific explanation for sleep paralysis. As a shaman and someone acutely attuned to energy and who teaches about what exists in the unseen light spectrum, I can tell you that this phenomena is more about a person’s energy field being compromised and becoming somewhat conscious of the interaction during sleep time. Entities or, sentient energies or beings in other dimensions, are a real thing for those who are psychic, have extra sensory vision, or are shamans. Most mental conditions are the result of a person’s energy field sharing space with entities. You noticed the 31% of people with mental disorders experience sleep paralysis. Once you address the entities and then the weaknesses in the energy field, which are often brought on anything from low vibration thought forms to trauma of any kind, then you’ll see the mental conditions go away as well as the sleep paralysis too. What to do about it? Since sleep time is a very vulnerable state energetically, do some sort of protective measures or say a prayer before bedtime and ask for shielding and protection. Is the very short version of it all which I’m writing a book about currently. But I just wanted to share that. If people are feeling a presence or being with them or on them, it’s probably true. It’s not a figment of imagination, it’s psychic phenomena and energy and other dimensions that can be dealt with and remedied. But science hasn’t gotten that far to agree with the energetic wisdom known by Shamans and medicine men/women of the ages quite yet.

    • Haze Evolved Constructs Nichol

      I have had the intruder phase over 100 times in my life and the other 2 a few times.
      This article made me feel better but I knew it was not all the way right.
      The “intruders” many come in R.E.M. Sleep but mostly during the hypnagogic stage, upon initial submersion.
      They are trying to block me. I know it’s a portal to truth. I broke through and get answers. But this reality has me lost as the dreams do for most people.,
      I read a quote maybe from Tesla, recently that said, the first decade scientist start to experiment with non material, we will discover more than we have in centuries.
      Thank you so much for your breakdown. I see levels of correspondence in everything in the universe, all from a dream.
      I have the executives cognitions of a 2 year old, but I see other things. Patterns.

    • Elvin

      A david star above the bed, and the attacks (or paralysis as presented in the article) stopped, for my case. This article indeed only present us the scientific approach, wich is only the “consequence”, not the “cause”.

    • veggiemystic

      As an energy healer, I agree with you. If the experience persists, I would consider a session with an energy healer to rid ones self of entities… Everyone shares space with other beings until they start learning to clear … Science just hasn’t caught up yet with intuitive knowledge… ;-) Blessings…

      • kiwi sara

        Yeah I my teens it used to happen to me during the night and I could fall back asleep to have it repeat but I found if after the first time I got out of it I went for a walk to the bathroom or kitchen it wouldn’t happen again. Turned out I was slowly getting sick of myasthenia Gravis the sicker I got the more frequent it happened it was annoying but I got used to it. Once I got diagnosed and started treatment and began to recover it happen less and less then I just grew out of it which is great. On the odd occasion over the years I think it happen now and then. I think your right about the energy I’m doing crystal healing now and Reiki level one and I’m better now than I was when I was young. I think when your sick and your energy is low entities will take advantage of this for whatever purpose maybe some sort of spirit feeding or something …

    • Karen Honaker

      I am interested in reading your book! I have had this happening to me off and on now for 12 years. The 1st experience was so terrifying I couldn’t sleep for weeks! Last year I researched everything and even though I have a medical background and I do understand what they are saying,I truly believe it is an evil presence holding me down! I’m awake,my eyes are open,I’m looking around the room, I’m speaking but my words will not cone out. As many times as its happened I’ve finally learned that if I say “in Jesus name no evil spirits are welcome in my home over and over, and help jesus” I’m let go…I immediately jump up and get out of the room. So,the entire time I’m focusing on my bedroom door waiting to be let free,eyes open. At first I tend to try to talk or scream but now I quickly go into saying Jesus and it doesn’t last as long. So, for me I don’t believe it’s medical. My 19 yr old son has started having it happen to him and last year one of the worst nights ever for me was the 1st for him. Right after it happened to me within 30min he came flying down the steps! So,explain that medically. It left my room and went to his I believe. I recently found out that my dad would wake saying he felt the same thing..he has passed away but my steon other told me this and had no clue I have this happen to me. We all have similar souls,we are very spiritual people,told often how animals take to us when they normally don’t like strangers,we all too suffer from anxiety that we tend to hold in., I really want to learn more about this and can’t wait to read your book! Thanks for your input!

    • Kaylene

      I have experienced both intruder and out-of body over the last 6 or 7 years.. I currently have not had any experience in over a year. But I have tried praying numerous times.. I don’t think of my self religious or spiritual.. But have some back ground growing up in a non denominational Christian church, at the peak of my fear even spoke tongues which I would do as a kid.. I will say I am a very sensitive person and pick up on people energies more than social cues.. And I have met a lot of people recently that do the same and it’s been nice to have similar positive energy.. Some days I’m more aware of something negative and it triggers some unknown anxiety. Those days I sometime worry about sleeping.. Two things that have helped me, having my two dogs sleep in the room with me and I have an agate rock I will charge and sleep with in my hand.. Some people don’t get it.. But it gives me a peace of mind to where I push away the negative energy and seem to now have not as many instances anymore.. Its weird I see these articles all the time and believe things happen for a reason because latley the fear has been in the back of my mind more often latley..

  15. Josron

    In my late 20s, I learn to retain full control when I am in the state of sleep paralysis. Not only that, during that state my mind does wonders…as if my creativity is active at 100%. I would be able to create new music, hearing all the notes playing like crazy. I could also dream whatever I wish. Sadly, the more I want to be in that state, the more quickly my body wakes up. I have also been finding ways to have sleep paralysis but nothing works.

  16. vikash mishra

    i think this all will happen ,because we think much more about onething that gone distrub us like nightmare or lazy ness ,if u want fend this all problem then stop thinking about a history and future

  17. Beverley Carolyn

    I suffer from Depression and anxiety, PTSD. I have a nightmare blocker I take every night. My dreams/nightmares are too real. It was a couple of years ago I started to have this sleep paralysis. For me it feels like an evil presence in my room, sometimes I can feel it moving from my feet to my body, as if it is crawling on my bed. I can feel the pressure of it, very real! Because I cant move, I have a full blown panic attack! I’ve learned to yell at the entity, that seems to help. But I have also screamed so loud, I’m sure my neighbors can hear.
    The last time I had this was a couple of weeks ago. I felt the presence again, I was screaming and crying. But this time I felt a reassuring hand on my had. I looked over and I saw and outline of an energy of a person. It was orange. My mum past away 2 and a half years ago, I took it that this was my mum. I was sobbing, but the hand was hers on mine telling me that it was going to be ok. I turned over, still feeling the pressure on my hand, and I placed my other hand on top of her hand. My sobbing stopped, and I finally went back to sleep. I still cant stop thinking about what happened that night. I miss my mum so much.

  18. Fox Emerson

    “You wake up with your amygdala screaming, ‘There’s a threat! So your brain has to invent something to fix the paradox of the amygdala being active for no reason.”
    No. I blogged about this recently. I’ve been a sleep paralysis sufferer since I was a boy and I can assure you that what I see, my brain is not inventing.
    Otherwise, a good article.

  19. Ganesh Reddy

    sleeping paralysis is the 1st step to lucid dream … if u face it u can experince a lucid dream , while u wake up… its ur own dream.. u can create destroy.. fly high.. kill.. die.. anything u can… it would be awesome… and any one intrested in lucid dream.. =D

  20. Sara Reindel

    I have had sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming my whole life. It’s so strange that at any given time during a dream I know I’m dreaming and can change it as I want. It’s actually quite fun but exhausting as it interferes with my sleep. The only time I cannot change my dream (I’m lucid dreaming but absolutely cannot change it) is when I dream I’m possessed by Satan himself. I wish I was joking. It’s horrifying. It’s the same dream, recurring since I was very very young (8 years old/ish). The scenes may change or surroundings but the events are the same. I even think to myself in the dream “Here we go again, wake up now Sara. Wake up. Wake up. He’s coming. Wake up” As soon as Satan rushes at me, spins me around and I cannot breath then cough in my dream and, I wake up paralyzed. It is so scary because I still have the lingering fear from the dream so I’m convinced if I move he will get me. Sounds retarded I know lol I find it interesting in this article it says people with mental disorders have a higher risk of having sleep paralysis. I have bipolar. Symptoms started when I was 8. Coincidence?!

  21. Jad Emerald

    I have had this kind of sleep paralysis when I was a child 3 times till 18 years old, and when I have this is dream that I fell down into a hole dark hole a day I try to wake up but I was paralysed and then I try to move , for seconds and then I wake up but many times I was seeing shadow a man or a woman shadow standing in my room waching me. Thru the years I see them but they just watch me. Now I don’t. See them anymore . In the past I have had many dreams were people with red eyes spoke to me and I always said to them that I am God in me. And always they go. I win in my dreams. Once I felt like I was out of my body and fly in my house. Now I don’t. Have those problems anymore. Hello from Romania. Now I see only sparkles of light and sometimes in many colours. I enjoy joy that I love to see them appearing next to me or in my room. I salute them.

  22. theD3VILhimS3LF

    Had that happen to me once in life. Woke up at exactly 3:00am and felt a truck lay on me, couldnt move at all besides my hands that were by my head. Drew a cross on my forehead and it stopped. Definetly evil whatever the heck it was.

    • Tay Diggs

      I’ve been having these problems since my adult years.I’m now 34 and I just encountered one last night..I usually gather every energy that I can and force my self up..sometimes it’s takes a couple of tries and some sometimes I fall back to sleep, which I prefer not to..

  24. FCBARCELONALATINOAMERICA

    This thing happens to me almost every 3 mornings a week, it feels fun sometimes at first but when theres breath problems, this shit turns into a fucking living nightmare, sometimes i cry after because The experiences its so scary that makes me feel like a kid watching steven king’s it movie…

  25. John Luciano

    I have experienced this event throughout my life. I have found that the best thing to do is to relax and go with the flow. If you fight it and try to move, you will become more terrified. Rather, accept it mentally and just give in. Soon after, I usually wake up completely and can move again, sometimes after a brief set of dreams.

  26. Dexter Jyd Patrick

    This happened to me lastnight twice the first one of the night was not bad but the second time it felt like something was trying to enter my body that’s what made me open my eyes but I couldn’t for a long time but I had flashbacks of old conversation about not being scared of evil just confront it and don’t show fear in my head while this was occurring so I kept praying saying I rebuke the devil and anything evil. When I was finally able to move I was scared to go back to sleep i stayed up acouple more hrs before I dozed off. I am scared to go to sleep now

  27. Mark Danger Lash

    I can actually slightly move and talk while i’m in the paralysis state. I had two episodes last night so it’s still fresh in my mind. I woke up to my body in the REM state. I could tell because the erratic brain wave impulses and eye movements woke me up, almost like small electric shocks that don’t hurt. It’s like your brain is visually stimulating your eyes to become erratic and there are flashes of light. I’m always in a severe state of fear as if there is an intruder in my house. While I can open my eyes and look around, I’m never able to see any figures and I don’t feel like I’m suffocating. So I started trying to yell “help” to my wife but my mouth couldn’t move, only my tongue so it was like a very muffled help and I couldn’t pronounce the “p” because I couldn’t move my mouth or lips. I could barely move my arm to try and touch her to get her attention but it was very hard. When she heard me, she shook my body so I could wake up.

  28. kakumba adnan

    something similar happened to me last night. been taking it for granted byt last night was something else woke up from a normal dream only to see a blury floating being look at me and rush down into my body(thats what i recall) and i couldnt scream or move however much i tried for about 10-15 seconds. still not finding this blog 100% helpful sofar because i know what i saw

    • disqus_ZNsm4LCLnM

      I had a very similar experience a few months ago. Nothing to worry. You saw your own astral body near you before it “jumped back” into your physical body right before you fully woke up. Our astral bodies usually leave our physical bodies during sleep and then return. I was also quite terrified during my experience. My husband was sleeping right next to me and I was shouting “help” while desperately trying to move, but no audible sound was coming… This lasted for maybe a few seconds but felt like ages. Then the floating being “jumped” in me and I felt a strong vibration shaking me body and woke up. After discussing the experience with my spiritual teacher, who is also a psychic and energy healer monk, I know exactly what happened. Though it feels horrific at the time of happening, this is actually a really nice experience, letting us get acquainted with the deeper layers of our beings. :)

      • kakumba adnan

        This actually makes more sense than the whole sleep paralysis thing because i 100% know that i actually saw something. so did you see your astral body too staring at you just before you couldnt move

  29. Suzy

    When this happens, whatever stage it is…. can anyone hear like an extremely loud buzzing sound in their ears when it’s about to happen???

  30. crosseyed

    I had these for 3 years. I bought the “sleep paralysis” explanation for a while. But it fails to explain how my sister could hear the “auditory hallucinations”. Therefore the sleep paralysis explanation is insufficient. It is not in your head there is some kind of external source.
    When an atheist finally cries out to Jesus and the hands holding you down are swept away it is a life changing moment. (15 years of cognitive dissonance later) I became a Christian. When you walk with Jesus these things cannot touch you.

  31. Lauro Ella

    I also had an experience regarding the issue, when my mind was awake but I cannot move any part of my body, and even trying to shout at others whom I saw just walking at the corridor near my room’s door just to wake me or shake me up to elicit some movement to break the said paralysis. My mine was racing and I could feel my heartbeat faster and louder but still I cannot move. I managed to create small spaces in my eyelids to see people walking and tried to concentrate moving any part of my body. It was only after I have focused on moving my limbs or fingers that slowly I was able to accumulate enough strength for me to break the paralysis spread over me until I had my eyes open and awoke, but to my dismay, too weak and too groggy and too sleepy to again fall back to sleep, but fear provided me enough prodding not to sleep again that time.

  32. Debby Timm

    I only ever suffered with sleep paralysis for the few weeks after surgical procedures involving anaesthetic. It was quite terrifying!
    However, I have a grandchild who suffers “night terrors” – that is horrible for us to watch. No awake, not asleep, just crying and flailing around. We have now found ways of bringing her out of it quickly, but nonetheless, it is horrendous to see.

  33. Yaz Mohd

    The article aptly describes my experiences. Often, I feel like giving up struggling but worried I might not wake up at all. I don’t suppose people die from not getting up from sleep paralysis, do they?

  34. Jonathan Droge

    This has happened to me several times at a place I used to live sometimes before I fell asleep simutaneously it was happening to my brother in law I am sorry but this has nothing to do with a sleep disorder watch the entity and learn

  35. Guy

    I’ve had this problem for a long time. It happens when I’m very exhausted and haven’t slept in a while and it only happens if I’m sleeping on my back. I did figure out a way to break out of the paralysis that works every time. I just hold my breath and my body jolts awake to get a breath.

  36. Deepak Jain

    I have experienced all the 3 types mentioned above and they occur frequently to me, but strange thing is all of them have happened at exact 3 a.m .. i can see around and also i can think but i cant even move a single muscle, and it lasts for nearly 30 to 60 seconds.. and thank u for posting.

  37. Danielle Wadman

    The first time it happend i was 15 .my eyes were slightly barely open and I could see the sunshine filling the room Earlie in the morning and the ceilings fan spinning. Was fully conscious but couldn’t move a muscle. The worst part was the was a black figure on top of me and I couldn’t breath or speak to have my friend wake me. I remember the dark figure seemed to be a woman because I could see the black scraggely hair. Scariest shit to ever happen!!! It was such an odd time and place because I was staying in a beautiful bed in a big brand georgous house. Never slept there again. Come to think of it I had just reciently been messing with the talking board. Haven’t done that in over eight years.

  39. Wendy Jane

    I wake up and I can not move. I can not even open my eyes and struggle to scream for help. It is like being paralyzed from the top of your head to your feet and unable to move. I can’t even open my mouth to ask for help and yet I am aware and can hear everything around me. It is a very scary even when it happens. It usually is a 30 second to 3 minute episode when it does occur.

  40. Amy King

    This has been happening to me a lot lately, it has also happened when i was younger, a strange feeling, i found that my brain invents that i can move, when i move in my mind, the bed is correct but as soon as i move the room is wrong, it’s not my room i tried this three time tonight, my brain repeated this as soon as something was off i kept “waking” up in my bed until i thought, wait, focus on my arms and shake my body. i woke up, next time i will try this first.

  41. sheavs77

    I’ve suffered with sleep paralysis for 20 years on and off the worst time for me where i suffered the most was when i was 24 and heavily pregnant with my son it happened every week 3 times or more during the last 2 months even if i dozed off during the day for just 10 minutes it was awful. When they first started i would of been paralyzed with fear if i wasn’t already paralyzed that is. I thought it was a demon spirit thing cos i have psychic abilities which i’ve had from a young age i choose to ignore them thought it would draw in bad spirits which i learned could happened when growing up watching TV and the rare horror movie Exorcist being the worst ever, while at the time realising i had something that was psychic in me, i thought that was why it was happening to me. Over the years i got used to it, it did scare me still but not as bad think it was the belief it could be demonic that scared me. What i came to realise myself by searching the web for answers after i had my son was that fear was the main trigger of my sleep paralysis once i read up on it and knew it wasn’t necessarily a spirit or dark force and it was hard to prove this it hardly ever happened cos my fear had gone it happened less and less now a days it’s rare occasion happens once in a blue moon sometimes it can happen if i watch bad horror anything demonic if i let it get to in my head. Hope this helps someone.

  42. Waylen

    Last night I got sleep paralysis. I did it on purpose though because I’m conducting some personal experiments. I wanted to see the extent of the paralysis. With EXTREME effort and lots of tingling numbness I was able to roll around slowly and slide my arms around but I was unable to lift them aside from being able to lift my hands to my face with even greater effort, almost so much that I cried. However breathing became more difficult when I moved my head back. I think it may have been my tongue sliding back. I was also very disoriented because I couldn’t feel my body so I ended up in some odd positions when I wasn’t looking at my body. The tingling in my chest also became more intense if I looked elsewhere but my body. I think I may hijack this post occasionally to update on my experiments if alright.

  43. MONGOLKHUU Galaarai

    Just had it last night. That`s why I am here reading about it. I`ve had it for the past 10 years or so. Last night was a little different though. First it was as usual, I could not scream, nor move, but after a while I felt my self floating up in the air and looking down at my bed. Wow, I thought it was the end for me. But hey I am fine. I guess it was part hallucination. Felt kinda mmm, can`t describe it.

  44. brownp51

    This used to happen to me periodically. I would do as the author says, and concentrate on moving a single digit. I sometimes feared I had experienced a stroke and that was scary. Have not had an episode in about 10 years.

  46. Fox Emerson

    I’ve re-read this article because last night, it happened again.
    After having read it the first time, I was fairly certain that science is grappling to put an explanation to this, which I think is nice. But it’s wrong.
    I’ve probably had it happen over a hundred times in my life, sometimes I can get out of it quickly and other times, it’s a terrifyingly long process. God help me if it happens when I’m alone because there’s noone there to hear me scream for help and to wake me. Luckily, that’s not often.
    Last night, I was dreaming about something. I was outside and there were a bunch of people doing dream-related stuff (who knows what, it’s a dream…right?) and as I was moving away, I saw a man watching me from near a tree. Immediately I knew who he was and I panicked and turned. My mind knew that he had entered my dream and suddenly I was in my body trying to wake my body up. It felt like my body didn’t have the time to catch up, as I tried to get up and was almost successful for a second then bang! I was completely paralyzed and he had followed me out of my dream. I spent what felt like ten minutes trying to shake him off. Finally, I was able to start calling out. I was able to do it louder and louder (which means my muscles were moving) but I still was paralyzed.
    My partner woke me and said that I’d been screaming for a couple of minutes.
    Whatever this is, it jumps into my dreams and follows me out of it to my bed.
    I fear the day I’m alone and I can’t wake myself up. I don’t even want to know what he wants. Whatever it is, it isn’t good.
    I feel for everyone else who’s had this.

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