Happened to me once... I remember it pretty vividly:

I woke up at 12:11 am, but couldn't open my eyes completely. Could not move. But, I was definately conscious. Heard some cursing along with evil sounding voices yelling. And then some loud random music. Like all the radio stations mixed together. Then my alarm clocking started blinking rapidly like a strobe light. I also saw shadows in my dorm room window (I was on 10th floor in Carroll Hall).

After like 10 mins of this I feel asleep again. Woke up again around 12:34 am with normal motor functions. But, didn't do anything. Just ducked under the sheets in a fetal position and went back to bed. Told my roommate about it. Then went online and figured out that it wasn't a demon possessing event, just a medical condition.

10/20/2006 1:28:37 PM

it's not night terrors at all

10/20/2006 1:38:18 PM

i looked up info on sleep paralysis years ago. i had no idea it was this common though.
i've experienced this myself, countless times. worst fear imaginable.

i've heard numerous stories from a few people about how they've seen things. snake jumping over them, figure of a body at foot of the bed, etc. of course, those are just figments of the imagination.

still makes you wonder though

10/20/2006 1:49:51 PM

happened again

12/17/2006 5:06:51 PM

off topic


I read about someone having to lock all his doors/put extra locks/things to wake him up because he would sleep walk and want to run outside down the road(even in the middle of winter). Unfortunately, one time he did this and got hit by a car....he is dead now..(true story!)

[Edited on December 17, 2006 at 5:21 PM. Reason : w]

12/17/2006 5:20:53 PM

geezzz

12/17/2006 5:53:43 PM

Quote :

"geezzz"

12/17/2006 10:04:19 PM

Quote :

"One time I fell into this condition in high school with my head on my desk."

Narcolepsy? Just curious


What's that condition called where people basically faint while they're still totally conscious and alive, but all life signs are indetectable? I saw that on discovery channel or something like it a while back ... I mean, fuck, I couldn't imagine what that poor woman went through being in the morgue cooler and almost buried alive

12/18/2006 8:31:23 AM

Quote :

"Narcolepsy? Just curious"

haha....no clue...but it happens to me about once every week or two at night

12/18/2006 8:40:03 AM

happens to me a lot (probably once a week), but I think usually when I am extremely tired

i usually either just ignore it and go back to sleep or I try really hard to wake myself up for a bit and I eventually wakeup

12/18/2006 11:34:27 AM

you guys must have been molested as small children...

12/18/2006 11:59:24 AM

Quote :

"I try really hard to wake myself up for a bit and I eventually wakeup "

Same for me....

12/18/2006 12:05:11 PM

^ditto

12/18/2006 12:09:42 PM

i've always wondered if other people expierence this.

i definitly have had a few times where i've waken up eyes are open but i can not move. probably one of the scariest things thats happened. i feel like it takes an overwhelmingly effort to even wiggle my toes. i know i was not dreaming either b.c it usually happens in the AM when the suns coming in my room and everything feels like real time.

i got back to sleep and i usually wake up again and everything is fine.

12/18/2006 12:12:43 PM

you people need to seek medical attention.

12/18/2006 1:16:14 PM

this is interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

Quote :

" Some report that various factors increase the likelihood of both paralysis and hallucinations. These include: [2] * Sleeping in a supine position (facing upwards) * Irregular sleeping schedules; naps, sleeping in, sleep deprivation * Increased stress * Sudden environmental/lifestyle changes * A lucid dream that immediately precedes the episode. Also conscious induction of sleep paralysis is a common technique to enter a state of lucid dreams. * Artificial sleeping aids or antihistamines "

Sleeping in supine position - check
Irregular sleep - check
Lucid dream - check

Also, the article about sleep hallucinations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogia) has some neat stuff.

12/18/2006 4:35:11 PM

Lucid dreaming is the bomb.

12/18/2006 5:30:42 PM

I'm used to this happening, even though it still freaks me out a few minutes after I wake up everytime. Lots of the time, I am sleeping on my back and dreaming that people are beating on me trying to wake me up, but I can't move my arms or legs.

Quote :

"* Sleeping in a supine position (facing upwards) * Irregular sleeping schedules; naps, sleeping in, sleep deprivation "

check,check,check,check,check

12/18/2006 8:56:48 PM

yes. and it scares the shit outta me every time. but atleast now i know im not crazy...there's an actual name for it..

12/18/2006 10:08:15 PM

this definitely happened to me in high school chemistry all the time. my eyes would stay partway open and i could hear what everyone was saying, but i couldn't move or talk or anything. freaky as shit.

12/18/2006 10:35:47 PM

It's funny I just saw a segment on Sleep Paralysis on CNN a few hours ago....
Irregular Sleep/Being Over Tired seemed to be the main causes

It usually happens to me when I'm either overtired, napping, or when I sleep facing upwards. But lately it's been happening no matter how I sleep. I think the stress of the LSAT/Applying to Law Schools has caused me to experience this more often. Luckily those stresses were needless...and I've had less sleep paralysis lately

12/18/2006 11:45:59 PM

happens to my brother and father semi regular. never happened to me. they say its awesome once youre used to it. can you guys get the feeling of levitation?

12/19/2006 12:04:11 AM

I hate this. I can hear stuff, but I can't move, or open my eyes. I have to try to make myself move to get out of this. I have a hard time breathing, and tend to gasp for breath after finally snapping out of it. It's almost a sense of drowning.

12/19/2006 12:18:22 AM

This is turning into a support group . But you're (^) right. I don't like it either. It still freaks me out, but I just try to tell myself that there's no real danger, and I'll snap out of it soon.

12/21/2006 11:54:20 AM

possibly the worst i've had yet.

it might have been more of a trip than anything else, but in my dream/trip i was fighting sleep paralysis, trying to get onto my bed which was now vertical and the entire room was at angles that i could not decipher.... i kept waking up and falling right back asleep without being able to stop it and then being right back in the mix.

i am almost positive it's because I took a klonopin earlier (i have a prescription, but almost never take them) and after a short nap this afternoon, couldnt sleep well. So I took a Lunesta to kick the sleep in. Bad combination i guess.

2/13/2007 1:08:16 AM

i am so tired of this shit

4/11/2007 6:29:29 AM

something strange happened to me once along the lines of sleep paralysis.

i suddenly woke up and sat at edge of bed in one fast movement (woke up 5 min before start of class) and realized i was late for class after looking at my watch. sat in bed for the next 5 minutes (maybe 10), along with the following:

- kept looking at watch on and off, every few seconds, accompanied by:
- kept telling myself in my head "i gotta hurry and get ready", "yeah ok i know i gotta get ready", "get up and go to class you are late", etc., for the whole 5-10 min
- but was unable to move from that sitting position the whole 5-10 min
- sweat a lot during those 5-10 min

what was that???!!!

p.s. i didn't try to, but i knew i couldn't speak or make a sound.


[Edited on April 11, 2007 at 7:42 AM. Reason : ]

4/11/2007 7:39:51 AM

Used to happen all the time when I was a kid. What is freaky is that you are already processing sensory data around you (i.e. you can look around and see the room), but you are still in a state of dreaming/hallucinating. Combine this with not being able to move or scream and it is very freaky. I used to open my eyes, see a figure in the doorway, and not be able to move or scream.

4/11/2007 9:34:41 AM

this has happened to me many times... usually when I fall asleep on my back ( I usually sleep on my side or stomach) it is freaky as hell trying to talk or move but not being able to. Usually it only last like 10-30 seconds, but one time it lasted 5 minutes and I was freaking the hell out, but you couldnt tell cause I couldnt move

4/11/2007 9:55:27 AM

if i sleep too much or try to take a nap when i really dont need one, this will happen



cant move anything but sometimes i can move my jaw. If i move it enough, i'll sometimes snap out of it

usually i breath real heavy though and just sit there trying to stay calm until i come out of it


it really sucks

4/11/2007 10:36:29 AM

dredg created an entire concept album (El Cielo) on the subject of sleep paralysis. I've always thought it was an interesting phenomenon even though I've never experienced it. I've read some on astral projection and supposedly you can learn to control your sleep enough that you can induce sleep paralysis which is the first step towards astral projection (which is why some people are able to see what is going on in the room even though they can't open their eyes).

4/11/2007 11:00:10 AM

this only happens to me when i take naps for some reason

4/11/2007 12:51:17 PM

I've had hypnopompic paralysis. Freaks me the hell out.

4/11/2007 1:05:52 PM

only happens if i sleep on my back, most often during naps

this morning i was in the passenger seat of my car with nobody in the drivers seat and it was flying down the road over curbs, crashing all around.

i kept trying to scream because i knew what was going on and finally when i somewhat snapped out of it my eyes were already open and i was making a muffled sound.

4/11/2007 1:08:28 PM

bttt

11/11/2007 10:04:23 AM

i guess it doesnt count when your left hand gets tucked under your pillow, and somehow when you wake up your left arm is a big limp mess and you cant move it unless you grab it with the other hand

thats the closest ive come to that in a long time.

[Edited on November 11, 2007 at 10:45 AM. Reason : i just have traditional nightmares, and lots of them ]

11/11/2007 10:45:19 AM

nah not the same

last night was the first time in forever that i had one

and the first time i felt like someone was trying to choke me ha

basically an extremely vivid nightmare while your mind is semi awake but your body is not

11/11/2007 12:01:38 PM

this happened to me when I was in high school.

I used to sleep "vampire-style" (on my back, hands folded over on my chest). I woke up very early one morning in the same position unable to breathe. I couldn't move for a few seconds (10), and then I had to sit up so I could breathe.

Haven't slept on my back since (about 13 years).

11/12/2007 7:47:10 PM

Quote :

"This just happened to me this morning... freaky stuff. I woke up unable to even open my eyes, but i could clearly see my room and had to fight hard as hell to open my eyes and snap out of it. Couldn't move my arms or legs or make a sound for about a minute. Anyone else experienced this? "

This has been happenning since I was little. I've always hated it. Probably happens to me like 15 times a year at least.

11/13/2007 11:25:01 AM

^^^I'd phrase it slightly differently. Your brain is gathering sensory input while you are still dreaming, and your brain has still disabled your muscles from moving because it thinks you are still asleep. What this means is you can see and hear everything around you, but you are also dreaming/hallucinating/possibly hearing things. Combine this with the fact you can't move, and it can be extremely freaky.

11/13/2007 2:05:11 PM

This happens to me ALL THE TIME.

Sometimes I wake up screaming.

One time it happened while I was in the lobby of a building taking a nap. Scary shit.

11/13/2007 5:19:34 PM

happens on the rare occasion. i have to breathe in deeply and very forcefully in order to jolt my limbs or head to start moving. its really weird.

11/14/2007 1:02:39 AM

The best thing to do is not to fight it and just go back to sleep to finish the REM cycle. You'll fair better that way.

11/14/2007 1:05:53 AM

i never go back to sleep after an "episode"

usually im too freaked out and literally fight to stay awake for an hour or two.

mine usually come when i have taken a sleeping pill or something of the sort, almost never under regular circumstance. I usually hear myself screaming in my head and willing myself to wake up.. then wake up to myself making a muffled sound.. like i was screaming with a pillow over my face.... very weird shit

[Edited on November 14, 2007 at 3:11 AM. Reason : ^um the second i go back to sleep i fall right back into it.. every time]

11/14/2007 3:10:03 AM

it happens to me occasionally. almost always when i'm taking naps. scares the absolute shit out of me.

11/14/2007 2:46:55 PM

yeah, this is something that has always kinda "scared" me

I can't get used to it

11/14/2007 2:54:10 PM

ive had that happen a lot of times. you think that if you can just make a noise, or move one limb, you will wake up and snap out of it. It usually happens to me after a nightmare...and its fucking horrifying.

11/14/2007 2:54:12 PM

You actually can't scream if this happens, which makes it even freakier. Your vocal chords are disabled along with your muscles, etc. It used to happen to me all the time as a kid, but never anymore (knock on wood).

11/14/2007 3:34:46 PM

AHHH that is exactly what happens to me. I hallucinate that there is somebody in the room and then somebody holding me down. I try to scream but no sound comes out. It's freeaakky.

I usually do it when I'm stressed I think they are called Night Terrors.

11/14/2007 5:14:20 PM

happens to me almost anytime i try to take a nap. sometimes it coincides with another problem i have, where i'll wake up cause i realize i wasnt breathing. odd, but i havent died yet so no worries.

11/14/2007 5:19:49 PM