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

[Jinru]

I've had sleeping problems ever since I was little. A lot of nights are a battle to stop myself from thinking about stuff and just trying to sleep. One sure way I've been able to tell if I'll fall asleep is when I actually black out for a couple seconds and then wake up with a extremely strong dizzy feeling, I have to open my eyes sometimes to let it fade away. Then I'll try to go back to bed and in 3-5mins I always fall a sleep.

 

[Thraxen]

I FVCKING HATE when that happens. I went through a period where it happened to me almost every night for several weeks. I'd wake up but could move my body. As someone mentioned earlier, I had to "jolt" my body into action... sort of like willing my body to spasm or something. Freaked me out. But it hasn't happened to me for a couple of years now.

 

[Chiropteran]

It almost always happens when I am taking medicine and trying to sleep through the day when i'm not really tired. Luckily I hardly ever get sick.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

Originally posted by: 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.

mornings and other times when i am falling asleep it ismost common for me.

 

[d3n]

It's happened to me a couple of times. I never really become lucid enough to think about it. Mainly I'm aware of a semi-dream state with a sense that I can't move my body. Usually I just picture myself as muscling through it. Like pulling a sled. I seem to come out of it pretty quick. If I just let it happen I think that I would lapse back into REM pretty quick.

 

[NogginBoink]

Another "me too."

Quite terrifying when it happens, actually. Hasn't happened to me in a few years.

 

[d3n]

Occasionally when falling asleep I will jolt myself back awake. I think a mild form is thinking that I've heard something loud just after passing out. Other times It seems I just jumped onto my bed face first.

Sleep is a strange thing.

 

[slpaulson]

I've had it happen several times when I take a nap on the couch.

 

[kevman]

this happened to me last night. I was trying to scream my way out of it and i wook up my wife. pretty creepy, my dream was manifesting itself as if there were a murderer or something chasing me and I couldn't move...

 

[radioouman]

Strange. Never had this happen. Never even heard of it!

 

[tfcmasta97]

it happened to me one week in first year university (last year)

I was exhausted from a heavy work load that week, and was sleeping on a sofa since my roommate was sick and snoring like a mad mofo. I woke up after like 3 hours of sleep, exhausted and realized I couldnt move my body. i remained calm trying to focus all my power on a single limb at a time, but couldnt move anything. My roommate was walking around near by, I could see everything going on and understand it clearly I just couldnt move anything, couldnt even change my breathing pattern. I said fvck it, i prolly will be able to move when i get some more sleep... so i just went back to sleep. got up just fine a few hours later, and hasnt happened to me again since.

However since i was really young ive pretty much always been able to control and interact with my dreams, when I do dream, i would realize it and start changing and controlling coming events.

 

[ThePresence]

I used to get it all the time, but thankfully I haven't had an episode in a few years. Freaking scary.

 

[ThePresence]

DP

 

[ThePresence]

http://www.spis.org.uk/

 

[xanis]

Originally posted by: 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.

It used to happen to me when I was younger. This description just about nails the feeling perfectly... it's extremely scary.

 

[mcveigh]

http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/paralysis.html

one of the symptoms of Narcolepsy.

I'm a sleep tech PM me if you want to talk.

 

[Dacalo]

It has happened to me once when I was back in college. It scared me because I didn't know what has happening. I couldn't yell or move, but my eyes and my mind were wide awake. I hope it never happens again.

 

[thirdlegstump]

I heard that this is due to being possessed by a ghost. Not sure if it's true but everyone says so.

 

[JLGatsby]

I get it very often. I described it in a previous thread.

Anyone else hallucinate when it happens? I've had some crazy and scary ones.

 

[Darthvoy]

it happens to me alot...i try to wake my g/f up when it happens to me because i get supper terrified and need my g/f to touch me or make a noice so that I can start moving again.