[Lostie!]

Sleep paralysis is a phenomenon in which a person either during falling asleep (Hypnagogia) or awakening (Hypnopompia), temporarily experiences an inability to move, speak, or react. It is a transitional state between wakefulness and sleep, characterized by muscle atonia (muscle weakness). It is often accompanied by terrifying hallucinations (such as an intruder in the room) to which one is unable to react due to paralysis, and physical experiences (such as strong current running through the upper body).

It's happened to me a few times, it's really weird. Thankfully I never had hallucinations of an intruder, but I do recall thinking a member of my family was trying to wake me during my experiences of it (and when it subsided nobody was there).

[Firewire]

Yeah I get it a lot, mainly if I fall asleep on my back. I hate it.

[Ashley.]

I don't think so. Sounds scary though.

[Jessica.]

Nope, never.

[Crimson Dynamo]

yes i have had this several times and it pretty unpleasant but over quickly. Its like your buried alive

[lostalex]

I thought i was being abducted by aliens when i was a kid. i definitely had it. I had it at least 100 times while i was growing up. it was mostly when i was very young, like 5-8.... and then again mostly when i was like 11-15.

It's never happened to me as an adult though, just when i was young.

It only stopped after i tried to kill myself when i was 15.

[JoshBB]

I've heard of this and it sounds terrifying.

Apparently you can break out of it by frantically moving your tongue and anything you can, that's what wakes you up from it. You should start to be able to move more gradually until you wake up properly.

[Withano]

Yeh about 10 times now, most recent being like 2 days ago.. Its weird and horrible but I've kind of got used to it. Thought I narrowly escaped death the first time!

[Ashley.]

Originally Posted by Withano

Yeh about 10 times now, most recent being like 2 days ago.. Its weird and horrible but I've kind of got used to it. Thought I narrowly escaped death the first time!

I can imagine the first time being very scary because you have no idea what's happened. Thank god for psychology though for creating a name for these things to make people more aware.

[Josy]

Yeah it's dreadful

[Samuel.]

I'm very glad I don't have this, would make me nervous about sleeping.

[AProducer'sWetDream]

I've never had it personally- it sounds terrifying

[Shaun]

I haven't had it in years but I remember the feeling vividly. As a kid I'd always try and shout for mum but wasn't able to.

[Ramsay]

It's absolutely terrifying

[Jack_]

Yes and it's absolutely awful, I used to experience it loads as a teenager but thankfully maybe once or twice a year these days

I still remember the first few occasions that it happened when you're so confused as to what's going on and it's so difficult to break out of and you struggle to breathe more and more. Thankfully I'm better at dealing with it now and wriggling your toes and fingers will bring you out of it, it takes a lot of will power though...so strange

Also glad I've never hallucinated during it, that'd be the worst

[Pete.]

Yes loads

[Jake.]

Yeah I used to get this now and again as a kid, just without the hallucinations I think. It was terrifying, couldn't do anything apart from lay there.

[Pete.]

The trick is to concentrate on trying to move your legs, and you get out of it quicker

[Firewire]

Originally Posted by Pete.

The trick is to concentrate on trying to move your legs, and you get out of it quicker

Yeah I try to move my fingers or toes

[Crimson Dynamo]

i have slept with a few girls who seemed to have this a lot

[arista]

Originally Posted by Lostie!

It's happened to me a few times, it's really weird. Thankfully I never had hallucinations of an intruder, but I do recall thinking a member of my family was trying to wake me during my experiences of it (and when it subsided nobody was there).

I think there is a reason it happens.

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Jack_

Yes and it's absolutely awful, I used to experience it loads as a teenager but thankfully maybe once or twice a year these days

I still remember the first few occasions that it happened when you're so confused as to what's going on and it's so difficult to break out of and you struggle to breathe more and more. Thankfully I'm better at dealing with it now and wriggling your toes and fingers will bring you out of it, it takes a lot of will power though...so strange

Also glad I've never hallucinated during it, that'd be the worst

Originally Posted by Pete.

The trick is to concentrate on trying to move your legs, and you get out of it quicker

..yeah, like you Jack..I mainly experienced it through my teenage years although I do still get it from time to time now and strangely it's mostly now if I fall asleep during the daytime...like Shaun, I also would try to cry out but I had no voice, nothing would come ...I always thought that it happened because of something that happened when I was younger, which was that my best friend died when she was 16yrs old and I had a huge amount of sleep paralysis dreams after that and for several years on...that maybe that 'helplessness' I had felt was being released in my dreams../I don't know though if it had any bearing but one of the associations I think are migraines and I'm a huge migraine sufferer..although I don't get the dreams much anymore and I still have migraines...


..Pete, I try to throw my whole body onto the floor to wake myself up...sometimes I can and sometimes I can't, it just won't move...

[rubymoo]

Yes i've had this, the worst time was when i was about 17, my eyes were open and i could see my room, and my radio was playing in the background, i even remember the song being played, i was very aware i was awake but i couldn't move, and then i felt a lifting sensation in my body as if i was beginning to come out of my body, lets say my 'soul' felt like it was twisting as if to start to face myself if that makes sense, and it definitely felt like i'd lifted a couple of inches, it was then that i looked towards the bottom of my bed and saw the shadow of something evil, i tried to scream but i couldn't, i tried to move but i couldn't, my 'soul' didn't feel properly aligned with my body, like it just wouldn't click back into place, i thought 'this is it, i'm going to be taken by the devil!' I then concentrated very hard on making myself jump, like when you're just dropping off to sleep and your whole body jumps.

Safe to say, it scared the life out of me, it's happened many times to me since, the key is not to panic, just relax and let it pass, your body will wake up

I've also been asleep and awoken to see things that aren't there, then go on to argue with my husband that it is there, before the item then mysteriously disappears into a puff of smoke

[Kizzy]

My advice? smudge the room.