[Manyhx3]

Whenever I was small I would feel like some big foot step on me and I couldn't or anything. It was creepy!

[WONTONSOUPx]

Wow, who knew it was this common?
I had it once & the same day I slept at my friend's house earlier & she said I was sleepwalking o__o;
Then the night I saw this figure coming closer & closer to me & then it was on top of me & I couldn't
move at all. I thought I was just being weird, but telling from everyone, wow. Pretty common.

[Eijiro]

I had it just once. I fell asleep on my side on a Summer's afternoon. It was light outside and my airconditioner was humming lightly. I woke up in a strange position and couldn't move at all. There was a dark, shadow-like human figure standing by my door and the sound of the aircon sounded like someone calling out my name. The figure moved to my bedside and sat down next to my head, putting it's hand heavily on my chest. I could feel the hand exactly as if it were a real person. I just closed my eyes and slept again, then woke up normally shortly after.

[bitterx]

I just had it last night and it freaked me out completely. It felt as if someone was squeezing both my hands and then I couldn't move at all. I tried to yell out but my mouth wouldn't open. And then I was hearing things....really ghostly-sounding things. It stopped then about 2 seconds later the same thing happened again. Freaked me out like crazy....especially the noises I was hearing ><

[060995246]

i've heard that when tat happens a ghost is sitting on you
and wont let you move O_O

maybe you shoild move to a different room or sleep over at a friends house to see if tat happens
and if you dont than i thknk somthing is up wit the place where your living....MOVE???

[Paegun]

I'm interested in this because it never happened to me, I think. The other morning I woke up at 5 and I started freaking out but I wasn't stuck or anything, I just got scared for no reason. Every time I fall asleep on my back I end up waking up on my side cuz I move around a lot in my sleep. I'm kinda interested in making this happen to me, if I had a video camera then I'd videotape the whole night to see what happened.

Edit: If it happens to me I'll probably get freaked out, but I haven't been stressing recently and when I was it never happened. Is there a way to make this happen purposely?

[seeseeii]

happens to me all the time, I just wait till it's over lol never knew theere was a term for it lol

[CorruptedSilence__nomore]

I've never gotten it *knocks on wood*
But through superstitions, when you experience this, a ghost is sitting on you.
Basically during this time you cannot move and have a hard time breathing.
I heard that sleeping with a knife helps and there are other ways to ward off the ghost.
But I've heard so many stories about this and it scares me T___T
Chaaahhh superstitions T__T

[Yoshi.]

There's two possible answer for sleep paralysis: Sleep cycle stage or Sleep disorder. It's normal to get sleep paralysis because sleep paralysis happens during sleep stage four.

It also can be sleep disorder since you said that it has been happening on and off for four years. Sleep paralysis is characterized by temporary paralysis of the body shortly before or after sleep. The parts that I italize, does it occurs shortly before and after? Because if it does then it can be a sleep disorder. Sleep paralysis is an symptom of sleep disorder.

[hbjai]

i have never experienced it but i heard it caused by stress. And the black shadow thingy that people saw was like the towel on the neck thingy....Optical illusion i believe

You put a towel on your neck and try to suffercate yourself, for a short period of time(10 sec??), and afterward you will so somekind of white blurry shadow on you top right or left corner of your first sight....
Never tried it tho... heard it from some supernatural forum.... and a myth if you haven't experience sleep paralysis by the age of 20, you might never experience one.

woot 2 more year to go

[Dess]

well it's been happening on and off for 4 years. basically it's when your mind awakes before your body does.. so you are stuck and paralyzed. your body cant move.. it kind of feels like suffocation and it takes a while to loosen up and "awake" or become free to move. these days ive been getting it almost everyday and its creeping me out, but at the same time im use to is. korean people usually call this gahwee (scissorlock).. well different cultures have different names for it.. so iono. usually one would panic when getting this but then its become so routine that i just wait until it's over. i can control my thoughts too... like although im dreaming/or not dreaming... my thoughts are alert. a few days ago.. to make sure that this was ACTUALLY real.. and not make believe dream, i told myself to think of an object next time i get that sleep paralysis thing. to my suprise i was able to think of it when i got paralyzed so IT's REAL! ok i duno if that made sense, but im kind of freakin out here bc i want to kno the cure. nobody knows how to treat it... i mean besides sleeping early and not stressing out. i duno whether this is a psycological illness <- ok maybe not that extreme, but i need to seek help. i just dont know who though.. bc everyone else thinks im crazy. and trust me, im just a normal grl... i dont experience stress that much.. my life is content. i just dont kno whats happening to me everytime im sleeping and why this happens to me.
does anyone have the same experience or can give me any answers as to why this is happening? ive done my research... but nothing is helping me

The human brain automatically "paralyzes" the body during REM sleep. When a person wakes all of a sudden without warning, sometimes the brain is slow to catch up and the paralysis continues even though the person is completely conscious. A lot of the time people are still in a dream-like state, so they may experience hallucinations (which probably helped lead to the belief that sleep paralysis is caused by something paranormal).

Sleep paralysis usually doesn't last all that long - a few minutes at the longest - because eventually the person experiencing the paralysis will realize what is happening (in the case of hallucinations for the most part) and usually that realization leads to a state of panic. The state of panic may result from fear of suffocation (because it is extremely hard to breathe during the paralysis), or it may come from the hallucinations, which could be anything from the feeling of a weight on your chest to auditory or visual hallucinations. Usually the sleep paralysis will subside directly after panic sets in because it "wakes up" the brain.

Apparently there are some pretty common things that might cause sleep paralysis in individuals without sleeping disorders:
* Sleeping in a face up position/sleeping on the back
* Irregular sleeping schedules; naps, sleeping in, sleep deprivation
* Increased stress
* Sudden environmental/lifestyle changes
* A lucid dream that immediately precedes the episode.

Also for those who don't know:
Lucid Dream - A dream in which the person is aware of the fact that they are dreaming. In other words, they still have conscious thought during the dream, which usually leads to the dream being vivid enough to make the person experiencing it believe that it is actually happening.

I've read up on this, too, and there are two ways lucid dreaming occurs:

The most common one is that people realize they are dreaming in the middle of a dream without waking. In my experience, usually this happens because you notice an inconsistency with reality in the dream that alerts you to the fact that you are dreaming. For example, if you're dreaming and you look at a digital clock and it says 6:45, then look away and back a second later and it says a completely different time, like say 12:04 or something for example, your mind will come to the realization that this is impossible and you'll become aware of the fact that you are dreaming.

The second way is pretty uncommon, and I've only experienced it once before myself. Sometimes people experience lucid dreaming because they skip over a stage of the sleep cycle. Usually the sleep cycle is as follows: Waking state > Transition State > SWS > REM > Transition State > Waking State. The second way lucid dreaming is induced is by the body completely bypassing the second stage of sleep, Transition, which is where conscious thought and awareness eventually is eliminated as Deep sleep begins. This means that the person goes directly from the Waking State, where they are aware and unconscious, to the SWS state, which, along with REM sleep, is the deepest form of sleep. Because of this bypass, the person remains aware even as they enter deep sleep.

The second way is extremely uncommon in most people because the skipping of the Transition state can be alarming and frightening to individuals as it is happening. At least in my experience and from what I've read, going from the Waking state directly to SWS can cause panic. It because of this that people often believe that it is an out-of-body or near-death experience because there are a lot of unexpected sensory perceptions that are felt in the transition between the two states; such as loud noises, vibrations, the feeling of drifting off to another state of awareness (which is alarming on its own because it feels as though your mind is simply slipping away), and of course, Sleep Paralysis. Because of this, a lot of the time even those who are purposely attempting to go into a state of lucid dreaming enter a state of panic and are jerked back into the Waking state.

I've only had Sleep Paralysis happen to me a few times before, and the way I dealt with it was to try my hardest to move my body in any small way that would allow the feeling to disappear. It's easiest if you focus on moving your fingers or your head. I personally just tried to move my fingers. It helped until the point where I could move, even though it was extremely taxing, but it didn't do anything for the feeling of suffocation. The only thing that seems to cancel that out is the onset of panic. :/

[DarkAngelInLove]

^dang that's such good information

i have had this many times. i have panic because i thought my "fight or flight instincts" were on and something bad was about to happen. this happened before i go to sleep and in the middle of the night, which scares me. when i happens to me i close my eyes to calm down. when i panic blood is rushing and i can't go to sleep. after this happens i just move on and forget about it.

[W0nderB0yUlzzang:]]

Holy Fuuuck. I Didn't Know There Was An Actual Term For It...I've Had That Happen To Me At Least 2 Or 3 Times For About 5 Months Last Year.
It Really Freaked Me Out...I Wanted To Tell Someone But I Was Afraid They Would Think I'm Crazy And Just Say I'm Overexaggerating, When In Fact, I Wasn't.

The second way is pretty uncommon, and I've only experienced it once before myself. Sometimes people experience lucid dreaming because they skip over a stage of the sleep cycle. Usually the sleep cycle is as follows: Waking state > Transition State > SWS > REM > Transition State > Waking State. The second way lucid dreaming is induced is by the body completely bypassing the second stage of sleep, Transition, which is where conscious thought and awareness eventually is eliminated as Deep sleep begins. This means that the person goes directly from the Waking State, where they are aware and unconscious, to the SWS state, which, along with REM sleep, is the deepest form of sleep. Because of this bypass, the person remains aware even as they enter deep sleep.

The second way is extremely uncommon in most people because the skipping of the Transition state can be alarming and frightening to individuals as it is happening. At least in my experience and from what I've read, going from the Waking state directly to SWS can cause panic. It because of this that people often believe that it is an out-of-body or near-death experience because there are a lot of unexpected sensory perceptions that are felt in the transition between the two states; such as loud noises, vibrations, the feeling of drifting off to another state of awareness (which is alarming on its own because it feels as though your mind is simply slipping away), and of course, Sleep Paralysis. Because of this, a lot of the time even those who are purposely attempting to go into a state of lucid dreaming enter a state of panic and are jerked back into the Waking state.

And I Do Believe I Had The Uncommon One All Those Times... -.-' Of Course.
There Would Be This Extremely Heavy Force Choking Me Around The Neck And Heavyweight Pressing Against My Chest, Having Extreme Difficulty Breathing Almost As If SOMEONE Was Suffocating Me To Death.
But Noone Was There. In My Dream I Assumed It Was A Ghost And Start Panicking, Trying With All My Strength To Rip The Force Off My Neck. I Would Try To Yell But Nothing Came Out. Too Lazy To Type More... XD
And Then I Would Wake Up In A Sudden Jult From My Pillow Breathing Very Heavily(Almost As If I Had Been Holding My Breath For A Long Time) With My Eyes As Huge As Saucers As I Would Look Around My Room And Realize It Didn't Really Happen.
But It Would Take Me Several Hours To Fall Asleep Again XD

So Glad It Doesn't Happen Anymore...And I Hope It Won't Come Back.

[W0nderB0yUlzzang:]]

Holy Fuuuck. I Didn't Know There Was An Actual Term For It...I've Had That Happen To Me At Least 2 Or 3 Times For About 5 Months Last Year.
It Really Freaked Me Out...I Wanted To Tell Someone But I Was Afraid They Would Think I'm Crazy And Just Say I'm Overexaggerating, When In Fact, I Wasn't.



And I Do Believe I Had The Uncommon One All Those Times... -.-' Of Course.
There Would Be This Extremely Heavy Force Choking Me Around The Neck And Heavyweight Pressing Against My Chest, Having Extreme Difficulty Breathing Almost As If SOMEONE Was Suffocating Me To Death.
But Noone Was There. In My Dream I Assumed It Was A Ghost And Start Panicking, Trying With All My Strength To Rip The Force Off My Neck. I Would Try To Yell But Nothing Came Out. Too Lazy To Type More... XD
And Then I Would Wake Up In A Sudden Jult From My Pillow Breathing Very Heavily(Almost As If I Had Been Holding My Breath For A Long Time) With My Eyes As Huge As Saucers As I Would Look Around My Room And Realize It Didn't Really Happen.
But It Would Take Me Several Hours To Fall Asleep Again XD

So Glad It Doesn't Happen Anymore...And I Hope It Won't Come Back.

Shiet. I Got It Again On Weds. Guess I Spoke Too Soon... It Was Really Difficult To Fall Alseep After That.
It Felt Like Someone Was Sitting On My Chest Forcing Pressure Onto My Lungs... Woke Up In A Start Again
TTATT

[oOsushiOo]

ya happens too me all the time, funny thing is i'm still awake when it happens to me, i'm fully aware of my surounding but i cant move. also, i could feel it happening before it happens, my head gets heavy, my eardrums start making funnynoises, and then i start hearing people scream, laugh and whisper, itsl ike fastforwarding 6 movies all at once. and then i cant move. sometimes i can get outta of it right away. but i cant stop it from happening. ><, used to it tho, happens ALL the time,ever since i can remember, almost every 2days. but lately it stopped for 3 weeks, i dont know why.

ME TOO! when i first had it, it was so scary! and sadly my first thought was i was being possesed.(it didn't help at the time because when i first experienced it, my friend told us about how her cousin would swing a knife in front of him when he gets a weid feeling when trying to sleep).. because not only was my mind awake, my eyes were open. so i did see the surroundings in my room, i just couldn't move. but the scary part of it was that i would hear loud noises, ranging from just noises to people's voices screaming in my ears. but i had this happened to me like 3 years ago wen i was balancing with my ap classes so i went from sleeping at like 12 to 3-4 in the morning. and i would get this almost every night, and at times consecutively, as in i wake from it, fall asleep and had it happen to me again. but now i don't get it as ofte, so i think the only cure is to sleep earlier. and let your body adapt to ur sleeping patterns

ahh i thought i was so weird, until i found that my friend had it too, and it wasn't until i took psychology one year when i found that it happens wen the REM is messed up.

[polabola]

I experienced this a lot too. I thought it was pretty uncommon but now I feel much safer that a lot of people experience this too. Now, I pray everytime I go to bed, and it seems like it's working *crosses fingers*

Now I know...REM is working...I should've listened to my brother, studying pre-med haha

[mika-chan]

I used to have this, and I always got scared every time it happened. What I did to get out of it was to try to move my finger, and after I successfully moved my finger, I was able to regain control of my body (sorta like in Kill Bill xD). I also no longer sleep on my back, because when I sleep on my back, I tend to get this sleep paralysis (it's probably just all in my mind).

I had it just once. I fell asleep on my side on a Summer's afternoon. It was light outside and my airconditioner was humming lightly. I woke up in a strange position and couldn't move at all. There was a dark, shadow-like human figure standing by my door and the sound of the aircon sounded like someone calling out my name. The figure moved to my bedside and sat down next to my head, putting it's hand heavily on my chest. I could feel the hand exactly as if it were a real person. I just closed my eyes and slept again, then woke up normally shortly after.

THIS IS SO FREAKY! Oh man, did this really happen? I'm not going to be able to go to bed comfortably for a few days, or weeks, because of this .

[bluebbear549]

I've read from somewhere that it was because a ghost/spirit was sitting on top of you? ehh idk

[nateda]

Well, I have it too sometimes. There are lots of supernatural causes to explain this, but scientifically, there might be an explanation, I think it might be because of a condition called 'apnea', in which you stop breathing for a period of time while you're asleep. I'm not sure if it's related, I never ask professors about it, but my dad said so, cause I have a weird position when I sleep (I tend to bury my face into my pillow ),and I'm kinda at risk of having an apnea myself, so......

[canityo]

I just had it this morning twice! And there was this constant loud ringing in my ears, it was terrible. I could only slightly move my hand and I found that if I thought of something, the ringing in the ears would be less prominent.
Well it's been happening a lot lately because of my exams and etc.