my body falls asleep but my mind is still awake- sleep paralysis

[evident]

Sometimes when I go lie down in bed and close my eyes, i kind of fall asleep, but not really... I lose control of most of body, like it's sleeping but i can still tell that i'm awake (e.g. i can hear the radio or tv if it's on.. this happens alot when i doze off while watching tv) and i get a very uncomfortable suffocating feeling. In order to get out of this state I have to 'jolt' myself somehow to wake up, ex i have very limited movement and can shake parts of my body and i do this sometimes when my gf is there to get her to wake me up lol.. it's a very uncomfortable sensation and i'm just wondering if anyone else out there gets this? or i'm just crazy.

 

[Indolent]

I get it kinda often in the mornings. I think it started when I would try and control my dreams. I eventually became aware of it and kind of woke up, yet I couldn't move my body. Like you, I've learned to shake myself to wake up.

 

[neutralizer]

I have no idea what you guys are talking about so I don't think I get this.

 

[Leros]

I have a similiar thing. I fall asleep completely, but sometimes instead of dreaming, my brain is fully conscious. I'm aware than I am asleep, but I can think about stuff all night long.

 

[Indolent]

Originally posted by: neutralizer
I have no idea what you guys are talking about so I don't think I get this.

This describes it. It's a weird feeling. I rarely, if ever, sleep on my back anymore since that's seems to be the only time it happens.

 

[aceO07]

It's the freakiest thing ever! I had it a few times when I was younger. Basically your mind is awake, but your body isn't. Just imagine going to sleep, waking up in the middle of the night and realizing you can't control/move your body no matter how hard you tried. You can hear and see, but can't move. Pretty bad if you're young and have an active imagination and the room is dark. To add to it, you also can't use your mouth to yell. There's an extreme feeling of helplessness if you're not used to it. You realize something is wrong, you can see and hear but you can't move and can't get help.

 

[CarlKillerMiller]

Yes, I have the same thing happen to me, albeit only during naps.

Btw, listen to the cd "El Cielo" by Dredg, it's about sleep paralysis.

 

[flexy]

yeah..."dream paralysis", "false awakening", "lucid" dreaming", "astral travels"...etc...it's all related.

Just dont be scared..instead read up a bit on that stuff and take advantage of it..eg. lucid dreaming is pretty cool

 

[tweakmm]

Originally posted by: flexy
yeah..."dream paralysis", "false awakening", "lucid" dreaming", "astral travels"...etc...it's all related.

Just dont be scared..instead read up a bit on that stuff and take advantage of it..eg. lucid dreaming is pretty cool

Lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis are very very different things.

And don't worry about the feeling, you're just being abducted by aliens.

 

[Chronoshock]

When you enter REM sleep, your mind essentially paralyzes your body so that you don't act our your actions in sleep. When you wake up, your mind will wake up, but the paralysis on your body might not. When this desyncs you experience sleep paralysis (I imagine the opposite can cause sleepwalking). The phenomenon has been found to be responsible for a number of alien abduction stories and superstitious stories (sleep paralysis is more discussed in some cultures, the japanese have a number of stories and a specific word for it). I experienced it a lot when I was younger, and it can make you feel pretty panicky. I find that focusing on moving one part of your body (like a toe) can sometimes help, either that or its just the time it takes for your brain to reawaken your body

 

[Rip the Jacker]

I made a thread about this, but I haven't got this in like.. 2 years.

It's a very scary feeling though... depending on where you are sleeping.

Very, scary... if you don't know what it is.

 

[DanTMWTMP]

hehe i get this sometimes. it's very surreal and, actually, very very pleasent. It feels like someone is next to you, and I always think it's some girl, or my housemates, lol.

 

[tcsenter]

like it's sleeping but i can still tell that i'm awake (e.g. i can hear the radio or tv if it's on.. this happens alot when i doze off while watching tv) and i get a very uncomfortable suffocating feeling. In order to get out of this state I have to 'jolt' myself somehow to wake up, ex i have very limited movement and can shake parts of my body and i do this sometimes when my gf is there to get her to wake me up lol.. it's a very uncomfortable sensation and i'm just wondering if anyone else out there gets this?

As someone mentioned, you are describing an experience extremely similar to sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis (with or without hallucination) is one of the four primary symptoms of classic narcolepsy, which I was diagnosed with in 2002 after having symptoms for over 10 years.

The funny thing is, you actually may be hallucinating that you are hearing the television or radio. This is how my hypnagogic hallucinations first began and I believed that I was just hearing the television or radio. Took me awhile to figure out I still heard them even though there was no television or radio on in my apartment. Then I thought for awhile it must be the neighbor's, but that was proven wrong, too. lol!

Sleep paralysis is not always associated with narcolepsy. Most people will report having an experience consistent with sleep paralysis once in a great while. The difference is in frequency; if its happening a few times per week and doesn't resolve on its own, then there may be an underlying cause that isn't 'normal', such as a sleep disorder.

 

[iamaelephant]

I read a lot about it when I was researching lucid dreaming, I've never experienced it but I'm told it can be extremely frightening the first time it happens. My sister gets it occasionally and she said it scared the crap out of her the first time it happened, she thought she had had a stroke or something because she had absolutely no movement.

 

[thedarkwolf]

I use to have that happen on and off for about a year while napping. While it was happening though I would never be sure if I was actually awake or not.

 

[RgrPark]

Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
hehe i get this sometimes. it's very surreal and, actually, very very pleasent. It feels like someone is next to you, and I always think it's some girl, or my housemates, lol.

just like the "alien abduction" stories, what you mentioned is where the succubus/incubus legends come from.

 

[EmperorIQ]

i get it about 3-5 times a week, is that normal? Sometimes i'll go upwards to about 5-10 times, where i'd get nights where it happens 2-3 times.

 

[Chrono]

I've had that happen to me a few times. I thought it was a ghost taking over my body. Man, it really freaked me out since I was awake and I couldn't do jack squat.

 

[RallyMaster]

yeah, it happens to me sometimes. body doesn't want to wake up so it doesn't move.

 

[imported_Devine]

Never had it happen to me, it would freak me out if it did though. Its happen to my dad a few times though. Any time I fall asleep the next thing I know Im waking up, I dream about 5 times a yr I would guess if that. It sucks cause I dont have any f'ed up dreams to think about during the day but then again I dont have any nightmares so oh wells I guess.

 

[FilmCamera]

Originally posted by: Chronoshock
When you enter REM sleep, your mind essentially paralyzes your body so that you don't act our your actions in sleep. When you wake up, your mind will wake up, but the paralysis on your body might not. When this desyncs you experience sleep paralysis (I imagine the opposite can cause sleepwalking). The phenomenon has been found to be responsible for a number of alien abduction stories and superstitious stories (sleep paralysis is more discussed in some cultures, the japanese have a number of stories and a specific word for it). I experienced it a lot when I was younger, and it can make you feel pretty panicky. I find that focusing on moving one part of your body (like a toe) can sometimes help, either that or its just the time it takes for your brain to reawaken your body

Tell that to the wall that I punched a hole in when I dreamed that I was hitting my brother.

 

[Chiropteran]

It happens to me. I remember it happening as a kid and still does happen as a 28 year old, although it seems to be rare. I can usually force myself to wake up after about a minute of it. It's very strange and not at all pleasant.

 

[novon]

Don't wake up from a long sleep, then go back to sleep, especially in the mornings, and don't take naps, and it will happen much less.

 

[EGGO]

I have hypnagogic paralysis. It's really freaky and scary.

 

[lyssword]

I've had it a couple times in my 20 yrs