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Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: julia2406 on 06/05/2005 14:44:24

Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: julia2406 on 06/05/2005 14:44:24
Hello,

I'm a PhD student in the Department of Psychology at Goldsmiths College, University of London. I'm researching various aspects of a commonly experienced sleep disorder called sleep paralysis. This is the feeling of not being able to move either as you are going to sleep or as you are waking up. It might feel as though you cannot move your arms or legs and cannot speak or cry out.

I am developing a new questionnaire to investigate sleep paralysis experiences and I need to analyse responses to an existing questionnaire before I start. I have this brief questionnaire on my webpages and I need people who have had sleep paralysis once or more to complete it.

It will take just a couple of minutes, it is anonymous and has been given full ethical approval by the departmental ethics committee. So, if you've had sleep paralysis once or more then please visit < http://homepages.gold.ac.uk/sleep/nei.php >.

If you fill in the questionnaire you are given the option of opting in to have the results of the study emailed to you (this will be in a few months). If anyone is interested I can post the results on this forum as well.

Thank you very much, Julia
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 15/05/2005 22:10:02
Done. Good luck with your PhD. Mine is also in Psychology
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: OldMan on 17/05/2005 04:23:42
From your description I thought I'd had this once but it turned out I was just dreaming. Perhaps this is the case with other people but they just don't realise they are dreaming.

Tim
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 17/05/2005 12:05:32
OldMan - I've suffered from sleep paralysis & I can assure you it's not a dream. I've filled in Julia's questionnaire & sent her an email relating some of the effects I suffered during those bouts.
I also think the fact that so many people experience exactly the same effects precludes the dream option.

It wasn't me - a big boy did it & ran away
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: neilep on 17/05/2005 12:48:12
Well, my answer to the survey was very brief, I answered NO...however, spending my entire life in and out of sleep orientated institutions I am very intersted in Julias conclusions and hope that she does post the results here. If she doesn't would you mind (Tim and Eth)posting the results when you receive them ?

cheers

neil


(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Finstagiber.net%2Fsmiliesdotcom%2Fcontrib%2Ficw%2F003.gif&hash=f326f525e3f6c60d4ea3ecbb24d1df2a)Men are the same as women.... just inside out !!(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Finstagiber.net%2Fsmiliesdotcom%2Fcontrib%2Ficw%2F003.gif&hash=f326f525e3f6c60d4ea3ecbb24d1df2a)
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 17/05/2005 14:53:19
Will do, Neil

It wasn't me - a big boy did it & ran away
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: julia2406 on 17/05/2005 14:56:27
Hello,

Thanks to all of you who filled in my questionnaire (and for the good luck). I will certainly post the results of my study here (if that’s OK with Chris) and this will be in a few months time.

In response to Tim’s message, I totally agree with Doctorbeaver. You would know if you had experienced sleep paralysis mainly because of the bodily paralysis and partly because of the commonly experienced accompanying hallucinations which are hallucinatory (!) in nature – that is you believe them to be reality. I don’t think that dreams have this level of vividness or clarity.

Perhaps if someone did experience very vivid dreams they might be confused as to whether they had experienced SP or not but if they did not experience bodily paralysis then it wasn’t SP. It is common for humans to experience hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations (hallucinations experienced at sleep onset and upon waking up) - this is often hearing someone call your name - but again, if there is no bodily paralysis then it is not SP.

I half hope that I will experience sleep paralysis one day so that I can understand it from a subjective perspective but it does sound pretty scary so maybe not.

Thanks again, Julia
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 17/05/2005 18:51:16
Julia, are you aware of the myth of the Old Hag? It goes back to medieval times. Many people experienced the sensation of pressure on their chest while they were asleep & allegedly awoke to find an old hag sitting astride them. It's a long time since I read about it & I can't remember the whole story. But that may be an indication that SP has been around for a very long while.

It wasn't me - a big boy did it & ran away
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: daveshorts on 17/05/2005 20:53:17
I may have once or twice woken up and not been able to move, but I think I was aware that it was sleep paralysis so not paniced, and within a few seconds I could move anyway...
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: OldMan on 18/05/2005 04:51:03
I'm certainly not saying it doesn't exist or any such thing, was just voicing something that briefly crossed my mind.

What Julia said about hallucinations as mine was one of those dreams where I was convinced it was real. In it I was in the exact position I was in my bed when I woke, the only difference was there wasn't some weird evil looking guy who had just climbed through my window standing over me. Even when I did wake I found it somewhat difficult to move.

My question now is do you think I just had a dream in which I couldn't speak or move that scared the hell out of me or do you think I experienced SP?
Where does hallucination start and dream end?

Tim
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: sp1982 on 18/05/2005 09:14:06
I'm glad I found this thread. All my life I thought only I suffered from this "thing" which is the most frightening experience ever

I had sleep paralisys very often as child - maybe weekly. in time the episodes have diminished in number but I was still experiencing it once every 6 months as a teenager

I'm 26 now and haven't had one for a long time - maybe 2 or 3 years

In all these occurences an evil presence was around me - and it was always a woman though I can't describe her figure. The feeling can be described as being burried alive and there was nothing I could do. couldn't move, couldn't speak and the most interesting thing was that I was awake - could see the room and the evil presence around me. I believe there is nothing more frightening in this world than sleep paralysis

as a teenager, even though I realized there are no ghosts, UFOs, poltergeist, etc I was still frightened while paralised as that presence was so real in the room and it wasn't a dream although it feels like one

in time I developed an escape method and become experienced in doing this: maybe someone who still suffers from sleep paralisys can apply it as well:

while paralysed try to contract and expand your butt muscles very fast - you will then be able to move other muscles untill you will be in control of your whole body and be able to "wake up"

I guess we all tried hard to escape these episodes but lately I wanted just to stay there in that state and see what happens without trying to escape........ it never happened again though...still waiting :)

Arun
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: DrN on 18/05/2005 11:19:02
I've heard of astral projection, which sounds all very supernatural, but is supposed to be projection of your mind outside your body. I guess that would mean you wouldn't be able to move your real body if your mind was kind of outside of it? i can see it wouldn't be a good thing if your body could move independently of your mind in this case, as it might not be there when you decided to go back 'home'!!
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 18/05/2005 12:31:13
Arun - I think you clenching your butt muscles worked the same way as me touching my leg. Once I'd managed to do it, all my other muscles began working too.
I also tried to stay in a couple of times to see what would happen but the buzzing in my head was so painful I had to free myself from it.
On the subject of dreams, I woke up 1 morning, got washed dressed, had breakfast & left for work only to... wake up! I'd dreamed that I'd woken up & done all those things. That was really freaky
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: julia2406 on 18/05/2005 16:24:44
Tim, that is a question that has perplexed me and is the focus of a few experiments in my PhD. Although I term the accompanying hallucinations 'hallucinations' I wonder whether they are truly that or more related to dream-like mentation or some other sort of mental imagery. I am conducted an experiment that tests the cognitive skill of reality  monitoring (this is the process by which we differentiate memories of events that happened in reality and memories of events that happened in our internal mind such as imaginings, dreams, etc.) and I am comparing the performance on this task between people who have experienced SP and people who haven't.

People who experience hallucinations (such as those with psychotic illnesses) typically perform less well on these tasks than people who do not hallucinate. If this is the case for people who experience SP then I think it will suggest that these are hallucinations rather than dreams.

There certainly doesn't have to be a 'presence' element to SP so I reckon what you experienced Tim sounds like SP - now go and fill in my questionnaire [:)]

This also ties in with what I wanted to reply to what Fishytails wrote. A researcher in Canada (Al Cheyne) suggests that there are 3 typical types of hallucinatory experience that accompany SP and one of these certainly is the sense of a presence, fear, etc., the other is pressure on the chest, breathing difficulites, etc. (Old Hag phenomenon - thanks Doctorbeaver) and finally unusual body experiences such as floating, turning, flying, etc. All of these can be accompanied by visual and auditory hallucinations and I think that OBEs are often this latter type of SP experience (I'm sure lots of people who believe in the paranormal would disagree with me though).

The questionnaire that is on my website is an extension of some work that my supervisor had already done - he thinks there might be a fourth type of hallucinatory experience that often accompanies SP but he didn't gather enough data to be confident in his factor analysis. I'm doing this now and hope to confirm his fourth factor and will then build a new SP questionnaire because I don't like his!

This post is a really long post - sorry.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: OldMan on 19/05/2005 03:55:04
Done! All filled out and hope it helps. Finding this all rather interesting.

Tim
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Corey Walker on 01/06/2005 07:34:36
I'm 35, and I still experience SP, although not like I did around age 9- recurring weekly and even nightly, very intense, identical experiences including paralysis, abstract imagery, pain, fear, multiple malevolent, non-human presences, and spinning so fast I could hardly take it.

Due to the intensity, collection and commonality of experiences, I theorize that SP explains the alien abduction experience.

Dig deep,
CW
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: chimera on 01/06/2005 09:39:53
I remember reading somewhere that it's a natural phenomenon that prevents you from hurting yourself (and possibly others) in your sleep, a self-induced temporary paralysis to prevent you from really 'acting it out' during very vivid dreaming. If you suddenly wake up, you'll find it takes some time for this to pass, and feelings of anxiety can result,  far worse than the original problem, since people think they are REALLY paralysed etc. etc. which can be like a claustrophobic attack, I take it.

I'll see if I can dig up that paper.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: IAmAI on 01/06/2005 14:18:26
I think I've possibly had SP on a very few occasions (2-3 times, possibly). I recall one dream where, completely unexpected and sudden, it felt like I had been hit very hard on the back of the head - as if someone had hit me with a baseball bat. At that point I couldn't see and it felt like I was floating or flying, as if from the impact (I think that was the thought in my mind). However, the flying feeling was exagerated, as if I was flying in slow motion, but I couldn't tell what was actually happening as I couldn't see. After which I recall being in my bed, but couldn't move for a period. How long for, I can't remember. It's possible that I dreamt being paralyses, considering I don't recall being fully awake at that point.

On another occasion, a strange dream, relating to what you have said, although I cannot remember if it was followed by SP. I remember becoming angry with a good friend, for a reason I can't recall. I started walking backwards and stumbled against something and fell backwards. Suddenly it felt like I was being attacked by a very fast and swift creature, as if I had fallen on it and angered it. I think I awoke at that point, but I cannot recall what followed.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: muhammet caner on 03/06/2005 06:42:31
i have these experiences since i was 7 or eight. Now i am 31.yesterday i had the worst one. I felt that somebody got my shoulder and shook it to wake me up. I woke up into what you call SP. it was terrible. the worst part of this thing is going back to sleep. If you go back to sleep you find yourself in the right middle of it.
   Once I tried to stay in it and see what happens. It gets worse and worse. No one can stand it. It was so horrible that I never tried it again.
  I hope somebody find a cure for it
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 03/06/2005 13:14:13
quote:
It gets worse and worse. No one can stand it

Muhammet - that point has been raised by a couple of us previously & it seems to be quite common. It's not like a dream where once you've woken you don't go back into the same dream when you resume sleeping (or, at least, rarely do you). I always found that I had to get out of bed & do something - maybe have a cup of tea - before going back to sleep. Whatever it is that causes it doesn't go away quickly when you wake. If it's a chemical it's certainly a much longer-acting 1 than most that our brain produces.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: memasa on 05/06/2005 22:04:04
quote:
"[...]floating, turning, flying, etc."


If I'm on the borderline of sleep and being awake, and something causes me to become fully awake, I always experience a fall back into my body.

The sense of falling is very REAL yet supernatural!
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 05/06/2005 22:08:19
memasa - that's not the same thing
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: memasa on 05/06/2005 22:45:00
I would have wanted to fill in the form, but I haven't had SP ever. [:(] On the other hand I guess I'm lucky, I've heard from my friends how horrifying it can be.

But I have had numerous "paranormal" experiences while in a dream state.

My scariest dream:

I was in a burning house. The house belonged to my mother's friend who was also the main character of my dream. I wasn't physically present in the dream but inside her mind and body, looking through her eyes. There was no escape, the house was already in full blaze! I heard her voice as she thought: "This is the end. I can't go anywhere." She died. End of dream.

Back in reality: and now the scary part starts...

Months went by and Christmas came. My mother's friend was alone in her big big house. It was Boxing Day. She lit a candle or candles and fell asleep. A fire started. It is not known if she tried to escape or not, but sadly she died -- for real.

The dream had come true! [:0]

----
Addendum: you must think I'm crazy. [?]
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: memasa on 05/06/2005 22:56:26
DoctorBeaver: No, it's not the same. My comment was more related to the astral projection brought up by fishytails.

And the my scariest dream is related to the questions in Julia's form.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: judyt on 07/06/2005 00:30:55
Glad I found this site.  I have suffered from SP as long as I can remember and didn't really talk about it because it was too crazy to explain.  I was at a party this weekend and ran into someone who has SP and told me to google sleep paralysis.  It has been great to see I am not alone.  I have had two episodes this week and even though I now see that there is a scientific reason for it, it still does not take away the intense fear!!!  I get so fearful when I wake up from it, that I cannot even get up to go to the bathroom. I am now 35 and with SP comes such irrational fears like someone is in the closet or bathroom.  I hope to learn more from others experiences.

Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Andrew K Fletcher on 07/06/2005 10:11:48
Sleep paralysis

I have had this problem all of my life, experiencing it far more frequently when I was younger, as a child. The most I have had it is 3 times in a single night. Usually every week, but sometimes I could avoid it for a few weeks, even a month. As a child, it was more terrifying because, I did not know what was happening to me.

Quite a few years ago when I had it I used to panic a lot, and the more you fight it, the less chance you have of coming out of it.

Noted:

1.   Eating before going to bed, particularly the wrong types of food, I.E. Cheese, chocolate, a Chinese meal, and funnily enough, now I come to think about it, it does happen around Christmas time, when all the food is far richer than our normal diet.

2.   A recurring dream will often result in a sleep paralysis episode, so I try to avoid dreaming, or anything that will make me dream. (Hard task)

3.   On occasions, I have managed to lash out and even hurt my husband, when I have resisted the paralysis. Grabbing him and squeezing his skin very hard, causing him to jump out of bed.

4.   Watching horror movies is not a good idea for me as this exacerbates the problem by adding new dimensions to it, including the hag hallucinations and even to the point where a dark figure has been pushing its way in between my husband and myself. I have tired so hard to fight this figure and to resist it. I can even feel the bed moving and pressure on my skin as it lies in between us. But I now know that it is only the sleep paralysis, and poses no real threat, and funnily enough it has not shown itself for a long long time.

5.   I have experienced sleep paralysis, while sleeping flat, in an armchair, and in an inclined bed, with the head end elevated by six inches or fifteen cm’s as a result of my husband’s research into circulation in the nervous system. But nowhere near as frequent or as deep or as severe when sleeping on the inclined bed. In fact, I feel I have more ability to bring myself out of it on the inclined bed. I am even able to communicate with my husband, while paralysed, although my shouts for help come out as a garbled mumbling sound, yet the words sound reasonably formed to myself.

6.   I used to fight the paralysis, but to no avail. But now I understand the problem I have learned to tell myself not to panic and to relax in order to bring myself out of it, or at least to enable me to get my husband to realise I am in trouble.

7.   If the weather is unusually humid, or misty then there is a definitive increase in the frequency of episodes. It should be easy to find a correlation with weather, by analysing the number of people reporting their problem with sleep paralysis in river valley areas, coastal areas, elevated areas. East Anglia, might report less people experiencing the problems, whereas people living in a river valley area might report more cases. Certainly worth looking into! Also, different countries, like desert areas compared to tropical regions. Again my husband was looking for a correlation in multiple sclerosis in river valley areas and coastal areas and found some amazing results with a simple questionnaire asking a large group of people on his study to give a description of where they live, and if they moved out of the area, what happened to their relapsing / remitting cycles.

8.   Fortunately, my husband is a light sleeper and is able to wake me up when he hears my muffled attempts to wake him. I really feel for people living alone who experience this problem.

9.   Even talking about it or worrying about it when I was younger, and sometimes, even now, used to almost always be followed by an event. I am convinced that, I could actually cause an event by worrying or even thinking about it before I go to bed.

Sleep paralysis to me is like having your body asleep while your mind is awake, you are fully aware of everything around you, and some. If you were to ask me questions while I am experiencing the paralysis, I would remember the questions, but could not answer you during the event.

My Brother and sister experience the same problem, and one of our son’s has experienced it once only about 3 years ago, which frightened him.  He is now 23, so there might also be a hereditary problem or at least an environmental link.

I am now able to go easily several months at a time without any sleep paralysis, and when I do get it, it is far less severe than it has been since the bed was raised. I believe the inclined bed has helped a huge amount.

Hope this helps.[:)]

Jude
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: coolgirl123 on 07/06/2005 19:21:14
I'm glad I found this post. I have had a few attacks of SP. It really freaks me out to such an extent that the next day my collegues/friends can say there is something wrong with me!

But lately I have been trying to fight it and i'm kind of successful a few times.

Here are some of the things I've noted about the occurence of SP

1) they happened a lot when i was studying for exams during college days -- makes me beleive its related to some mental stress
2) Happened when I used to take a day-time nap on a hot day.
3) One day I had a fight with my husband and was very stressed, i had 3 episodes of SP
4) Sometimes just before going to bed i think i may have the attack and i actually have it.
5) Sleeping alone worsens the attack or prolongs it where as if there is another person in the bed with you and you are aware of it the attacks are milder.




Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Minx on 11/06/2005 20:57:37
Hi everyone,

I too have just found this thread whilst 'googling' Sleep Paralysis. Its so nice talking to others with the problem as most people don't understand how frightening it can be. My father actually suffers from it too and has done since childhood, but being male doesn't like to talk about it too much in case its seen as complaining!
I remember having my first experience of SP aged about nine. I can remember waking up and not being able to move, and then wanting to shout for my parents only I found I couldn't speak either. It was probably a year before I had it again, but has become more frequent ever since. I've just turned 24 and I now have it at least once a week on average, sometimes with repeated attacks, maybe four or five times in a row. I find I have to actually get up and wake myself up properly in order to make it stop completely.

Usually I wake up but feel completely trapped, I can't move and I can't speak. Sometimes I feel really really panicked and that I can't breathe, I feel like I'm gasping for air and I'll be dead any minute. Other times I feel calmer and I just concentrate on moving my finger, I know that once I get some movement I'll be able to pull myself out of it. It feels like hard work though, I feel like I'm channelling all my energy into moving that one finger.

Sometimes I also imagine there's someone coming into the room or standing over me. I also have an intense fear of spiders and on quite a few occasions I've felt like theres hundreds of spiders crawling all over me. The lack of breath is definitely the most severe though. Lying there feeling like your gasping for air and each breath is going to be the last can be quite traumatic. My hearts actually racing when I do manage to move. I went through a phase of suffering with anxiety attacks and although these are much less frequent now, I do wonder if its possible that I'm having some sort of panic attack in my sleep?

My Dad and I also find that we're more open to an attack of SP after eating dairy products and when we're over tired. My Father believes he only gets it when lying on his back or left side, but never on his right. The only problem is he has an old injury on his right shoulder so finds it hard to sleep on that side! I myself have never nticed any connotations between the side I sleep and an attack.

Sorry to drone on, I've just never found anyone who actually knows anything about it before! If anyone has any thoughts or advice I'd be much appreciated [:)]
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Justicar333 on 13/06/2005 13:19:18
Hello everyone,

This post.. I've had what I now know is HSP ever since I was a little kid.  Once a night usuaully, sometimes more back then.  Now I'm 27, still getting the attacks, sometimes one in a couple of months, someimtes multiple attacks in a night.  I nicknamed them night terrors, and no one understood what was happening.  Digging through the real night terros on Google led me to a foot note about SP earlier tonight.  Just two nights ago I had an attack, was reaching the end of my rope, finially starting to believe it was a damn ghost or something that had been following me since childhood.    

I woke up, feeling a presence, to see a black shadowy person solidifying, walking into the room, appeared to walk right through my bedroom door.  Shortly after moving into my apt that figure has been the harbinger of an attack.  I started to try to move, suddenly my head was back flat on the bed, my body immobilized, like a great weight was crushing it.  My face was tingling, felt like I had the window rolled down in the car with my head hanging out at high speed.  My ears were filled with a roaring sound, almost like white noise, but different somehow.  Utter terror, something was in the room with me, something I didn't want in here, and didn't feel it liked me either.  I fought it, using something I learned as a kid, and finially broke out.  Room was empty, but I had to turn on the tabel lamp, and the tv, and wait up for a while.  I was terrifed.  

What I used was a survival technique from childhood.  After so many years, I learned the only thing I could do, was fight.  I take the terror, fuel it to strugle, trying to move my arms or my head.  Doesn't stop them, but cuts them down to a few minutes when I can manage it.  Usually my muscles are very sore afterwards.  The really bad ones, it doesn't work.  I've had the full run, from foot steps, voices, noises, shadowy figures, indistinct floating appartions, Alwasy that presence.  Sometimes an indistinct manevelont force, more often so finite I can feel it moving in the room, sometimes feel it touching me.  Some things I"ve learned.  

1.  I have them a lot less during the day.  One of the reasons I think I have them a lot less is now I normally stay up all night.  3 nights ago I tried going to back sleeping at night, 2 nights ago, an attack.  

2.  If I feel like I'm going to have one going to sleep, usually do.  

3.  Sleeping at night, leaving on the TV at low volume seems to help keep them from happening.  

4.  Stress seems to increase the chances of an attack as well as the severity.  I'd had a big fight with my girlfriend just the night before.  

5.  Being in a new enviroment tends to bring on attacks, and sometimes the enviroment shapes the hallucinations.  In my apt it's a shadow figure, at my friends house it was his grandfathers ghost.  Sometimes it's not visible at all, just felt.  

Good to know I'm not alone with this stuff.  And really glad to know I'm not nuts, well, anymore than I am naturally.  =)
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: bumskee on 20/06/2005 07:50:27
ahhh, fellow SPers. :) Not sure if that's a good thing, but I thought I chuck in my 2 cents worth of experiences.

I have had this SP since I was 16, clearly remember my first night, out of the blue. I shared my room with my brother, and this night I had 17 of this experiences, very short but frightening enough. Since this night SP just seemed to be like a nightly thing, more than often I lost count of how times I woke from this experience and right back to it. One of the thing I realised was I just couldn't be bothered standing up and doing something else. Always tried to force myself back to sleep, even though I knew I would get a good dose of SP.

Now I am 25, not as frequent as it used to be, but still quite often enough but I do not force myself to sleep anymore. Nor do I open my eyes. I used to.. but then saw things that weren't too pleasant. Now I just have my eyes tightly shut and struggle with everything..and when I am out I go straight to the bathroom and wash my face. Watch Tv or do something for few mintues. More recently I realised how dizzy I get when I snap out of it. Even being able to move and speak, my head still spins and the sight very wrong.

I have tried, all sorts of things.. TVs were the worst ever.. simply because it worked for few nights and then when it hit me it hit me hard. The TV was moving, the sound from it was all distorted and repetitive and the whole room was glowing. I can take the dark figure sitting on top of me or rushing out of the wall but can not take the repetitive ringing/bashing/laughing sounds. That's just Big no no. so, yeah Tv experiment ended quite shortly.

I also had my sister look at how I look when I have SP, it was daytime and I was taking a nap, she was just using my computer. I felt it was the time, as I get this pulling feel through the bed before it hits me full force. So I wake up from this one, tell my sis to wake me up if I get another one. So in few moments I am back right into it. all frozen up and staring at my sister, who happens to look and simply looks away. Now at this moment, I was furiously blinking my eyes at my sister moving every muscle in my face to inform her of my state. After I snapped out of it, screamed at ther for not waking me up, after all the winking I did!! She simply replied that I was staring blank at the ceiling and thought I wasn't sleeping..

I think last four posts pretty much sums up the experience, frightening and very disturbing. Can I ask do all of you guys how long you take some time before falling into sleep? normally, I take 20mins to one hour before I fall asleep, so I spend lot of time on my bed thinking and thinking. Especially if I take a nap, that was pretty much asking for it for me. Because I would not be able to fall asleep fast enough..

Haven't had the Out of body experience yet, and I certainly hope not. That will scare the daylights out of me.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 22/06/2005 11:54:21
quote:
and this night I had 17 of this experiences

I've never had that many in 1 night - probably 3 or 4 at most. I can't say I experienced any dizziness but I was certainly in a cold sweat or suffered disorientation on more than 1 occasion.
Justicar mentioned that maybe a change of environment can trigger it. My experience is exactly the opposite. I moved from London to the country 10 years ago & I haven't had an attack since I've been here. Even when I was still in London there was only ever 1 room in my house where it happened: & that was my bedroom. I never had it if I fell asleep downstairs.
Something else has just occurred to me. I used to have a lodger & he had the bedroom I later moved into. I remember his saying 1 morning that the previous night he'd felt as if someone was sitting on his chest trying to strangle him. I knew nothing about SP at the time & assumed he'd just had a nightmare. Now I'm not so sure. Pity there's not a parapsychology forum here!
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Andrew K Fletcher on 22/06/2005 16:50:44
And the clue here is your mentioning a cold sweat indicating humidity might be a factor. Certainly, London fits the river valley and low level coastal areas, and your moving to the country 10 years ago, presumably to a higher elevation, unafected by morning mist etc?

Andrew
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 23/06/2005 05:34:43
Andrew - I don't think humidity is a factor as I used to live in Uganda & never experienced it there. Besides, I used to get SP attacks all year round not just in hot weather. I now live in East Anglia: not exactly high elevation & we certainly get morning mist. I have the river Stour at the end of my garden & the house is only about 10' higher than that.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Ricardo on 04/07/2005 13:52:39
Julia ,
I clicked on the link , but was unable to access the questionaire as I'm too late or something . If you could send me a copy I'd be happy to fill out the questionaire as I suffer from SP most nights or once a week at the very least and think I will be able to give you some in depth detail .

My E-mail address is :

borgdestroyer@yahoo.com

Thank You

Such Heroic Nonsense
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Ricardo on 04/07/2005 13:53:17
Julia ,
I clicked on the link , but was unable to access the questionaire as I'm too late or something . If you could send me a copy I'd be happy to fill out the questionaire as I suffer from SP most nights or once a week at the very least and think I will be able to give you some in depth detail .

My E-mail address is :

borgdestroyer@yahoo.com

Thank You

Such Heroic Nonsense
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Ricardo on 04/07/2005 14:04:14
quote:
Originally posted by arunescu

I'm glad I found this thread. All my life I thought only I suffered from this "thing" which is the most frightening experience ever

I had sleep paralisys very often as child - maybe weekly. in time the episodes have diminished in number but I was still experiencing it once every 6 months as a teenager

I'm 26 now and haven't had one for a long time - maybe 2 or 3 years

In all these occurences an evil presence was around me - and it was always a woman though I can't describe her figure. The feeling can be described as being burried alive and there was nothing I could do. couldn't move, couldn't speak and the most interesting thing was that I was awake - could see the room and the evil presence around me. I believe there is nothing more frightening in this world than sleep paralysis

as a teenager, even though I realized there are no ghosts, UFOs, poltergeist, etc I was still frightened while paralised as that presence was so real in the room and it wasn't a dream although it feels like one

in time I developed an escape method and become experienced in doing this: maybe someone who still suffers from sleep paralisys can apply it as well:

while paralysed try to contract and expand your butt muscles very fast - you will then be able to move other muscles untill you will be in control of your whole body and be able to "wake up"

I guess we all tried hard to escape these episodes but lately I wanted just to stay there in that state and see what happens without trying to escape........ it never happened again though...still waiting :)

Arun




Arun
If you want to experiment with SP , the best way to bring it on is to wake up early and go to bed late for a couple of days running . I can almost garauntee you the night after you'll get an SP . The more tired you are at bedtime the more likely an SPer is to go under (as I refer to it) .
Also don't try to force it , when in bed ,the best way to make it happen is just to think about a particular theme that interests you , but not something that will keep you awake or turn you on , like just a general fantasy and as you nod off you should get a buzzing sensation in your head ... this is the SP kicking in , just ride with it .

Failing this , try the late night routine and set your alarm up to awaken you every hour (make sure your clock is next to you so you can just turn it off , keep your eyes shut , and try not to move out of bed) until your head goes buzzy and SP-prone (it make take a few attempts or it could happen the first time).

Such Heroic Nonsense
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: NakedScientist on 09/07/2005 10:46:31
Julia Santomauro has written a naked science article about sleep paralysis (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/articles/article/juliasantomaurocolumn1.htm), including a couple of case reports, for anyone that would like to read around this topic.

TNS
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Aimless22 on 19/07/2005 23:02:30
It is so good to read your messages. I am a new SP sufferer, no history of childhood SP experiences, i am 22 now. It started about a month ago and i had luckily dicussed it with my dolleague who occasionally suffers them before my experience.

I have 'googled' SP tonight as i had my worst experience of it last night and pretty much do not want to go to bed :(

My experiences are pretty similar to those listed however i got two different women over my bed last night shouting out names, they looked really normal modern people but i had never seen them before.

Ive found that like a few of you here the main trigger is having a nap when i get in from work. Bang goes falling asleep infront of Corrie!

Not that it is a really good idea, but i have found a night cap or indeed a couple can help. If i sleep with someone else in the room i find it helps, but being a Bridget Jones this can be difficult to find..."fancy a coffee back at mine and watching me try to wrestle paralysys???"

Anyhow - thanks for sharing, i might just get a better nights sleep having got this off my chest. If anyone has any remedys not drug related i would be dead interested as i have read the GP's suggest anti deppressants which i would refuse.

Take Care,
 Amy x

Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Andrew K Fletcher on 20/07/2005 09:17:41
Hi Amy

You could try putting blocks under the head of your bed base in order to raise the bed by six inches / 15 cm's to provide a level but tilted sleeping angle. The idea is that sleeping flat interferes / compromises the circulation in the central and peripheral nervous system. Whereas sleeping on the inclined bed with your head slightly higher than your feet, provides the stimulus from gravity that maintains the nervous system, affording a good nights sleep and significantly less nighttimes sleep problems.

You may think that the circulation in the spinal cord is well understood, and you may be surprised to learn that there is no clear explanation for the driving force behind the cerebrospinal fluid, other than it is posture related and does not rely on pressure from the heart. I asked Dr Wise Young (the Dr that initially cared for Christopher Reeve) how he believed cerebrospinal fluid circulates? I made it quite clear that I was asking about the driving force and not just the route it takes.

I had a long wait for an answer, and eventually, all I managed to squeeze out of him was the pathway in which the cerebrospinal fluid circulates. I.E. From A. to B.

Wise is a good man, and a brilliant spinal cord specialist. But he could not give even a vague explanation of the driving mechanism. Not surprising when one cannot find a clear explanation in any medical book!

So, to state that gravity may assist people with sleep paralysis, based upon an understanding that gravity can and does drive fluids in the body without the need for a pump, should not be taken lightly, and should at least be given the benefit of any doubts you may have about the efficacy of sleeping inclined as opposed to sleeping flat.

Please read Jude's post in same thread.

Andrew Fletcher

Good luck Amy.  


"The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is most likely to be correct."
K.I.S. "Keep it simple!"
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: matwitham on 21/07/2005 22:07:15
I am 18 and have episodes of sleep paralysis a couple times every month. They always happen when I wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble falling back to sleep. While I am drifting in and out of sleep it usually happens. I have never felt any evil presence, although when it began about 5 months ago I would panick and feel like I was going to suffocate, I wanted to breath fast but could hardly control my breathing.

I do not Panick any more, but relax and try to wiggle a finger, after a few seconds of this my finger will move and I will jerk out of it.

Lately I have not fought sp but tried to stay in it and experiment, I camly try rolling my entire body over, it feels as though my upper half is leaving my body, but I am still stuck to my legs(this must be some type of hallucination?). While I am attempting this the strangest tingling sensation goes throughout my entire body, I have to admit I enjoy the sensation. It feels as though I must be on some type of crazy euphoric drug?  

If anyone reading this has experienced something similar I would love to hear about it. I am baffled as to why I feel like I'm on drugs?
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: satans-getawaydriver on 24/07/2005 23:55:27
I've recently started to experience these SP's.  I'm actually quite relieved, because i thought i had a clot or something - with the way my head started buzzing.  Then i searched the net and found out about SP - I have had it before, but that was upon waking, and i didn't experience the buzz.  Today I went for a little nap and experienced it three times.  When it happens, i hear voices and see things - I hear voices sometimes anyway, because I'm psychotic.  I saw and heard an evil old man by my bed - which was scary.  Can anyone tell me why there's always a theme of evil during these episodes? It doesn't make sense to me.  The fact i can't scream out or move is very disturbing.

The difference between genius and stupidity is genius has its limits - Guess I'm free as a bird then
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: chris on 25/07/2005 09:50:29
quote:
Originally posted by Andrew K Fletcher

You may think that the circulation in the spinal cord is well understood, and you may be surprised to learn that there is no clear explanation for the driving force behind the cerebrospinal fluid, other than it is posture related and does not rely on pressure from the heart. I asked Dr Wise Young (the Dr that initially cared for Christopher Reeve) how he believed cerebrospinal fluid circulates? I made it quite clear that I was asking about the driving force and not just the route it takes.

I had a long wait for an answer, and eventually, all I managed to squeeze out of him was the pathway in which the cerebrospinal fluid circulates. I.E. From A. to B.

Wise is a good man, and a brilliant spinal cord specialist. But he could not give even a vague explanation of the driving mechanism. Not surprising when one cannot find a clear explanation in any medical book!



CSF flows from source to sink. CSF is formed as an ultrafiltrate of plasma in the choroid plexus within the brain's lateral, third and fourth ventricles. It flows out into the subarachnoid space surrounding the brain via the foraminae of Magendie and Luschka, making its way back into circulation by reabsorption via arachnoid granulations in the superior sagittal sinus in the falx.

Cells lining the subarachnoid space, called ependymal cells, carry hair-like projections (cilia) on their surfaces which beat rhythmically, setting up currents that sweep the CSF along, and both the pulsation of arteries running through the subarachnoid space and physical activity are also thought to assist in moving CSF. The situation is similar to the muco-ciliary escalator in the lungs whereby ciliated cells lining the airways help to sweep mucus and debris out of the lungs up towards the throat.

Chris

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
 - Groucho Marx
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: davidh on 26/07/2005 18:38:24
im 18 and recently i have had sp at least once in every month. when i was younger it would just be every now and then. the evil presence that some people write aboute for some reason stalks me when i am actually awake through the day. i feel the exact same way as i feel during sp, the only difference being that i have controll over my body. im sure there must be some1 else out there who constantly suffers with sp and has the same scary experiances when they are awake through the day

david.h
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: gumby on 31/07/2005 00:37:17
Hi Julia,
 I've been suffering from sleep paralysis since I was about 10 years old. I,ve spoken with many people about this,and everyone thinks I am crazy. I have these episodes on a daily basis.The best way I have come up with to end it is to relax completely,as fear and anxiety can make it even worse. When I am relaxed enough, I jerk myself awake. It works every time for me. I hope this will help others. The main thing that I had to teach myself, is that I will wake up,everything will be normal, and,that the fear is only fear.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: simeonie on 31/07/2005 21:24:28
F.E.A.R - False expectations appearing real :D



----------------------
-__- my website!!!!
http://www.simeonie.co.uk
has forums too!
Think about it! lolz
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: finchbeak on 02/08/2005 04:41:05
This is a fascinating thread; never heard of SP before.  [Of course, when I find myself having trouble moving upon waking up, I usually remember having had a bit too much scotch the night before - certainly not the same as SP ;)]  I will definitely check out Julia's article.
I vaguely recall learning about a neurological mechanism whereby the somatic nervous system is more or less shut down upon falling asleep.  This makes good adaptive sense as it prevents one from moving around very much while dreaming.  Of course, the shutdown is not complete (as can be observed by watching a sleeping dog "run" in her sleep) and I seem to recall that sleepwalking is essentially caused by a failure of the brain to perform this shutdown.  
Can anybody confirm or deny or correct or expand upon this recollection of mine?
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: mightypai on 22/08/2005 01:10:34
Hello Everybody,
I one of the SP senior, but before today I tought to be the alone.
No one would believe me when I was a kid.
It started when I was 12, I was in my mother's bed with a broken leg, and suddenly I couldn't move a finger nor lips, not even pronounce a word. I didn't really understood what was going on, then it happened to me many other times, and I really didn't know what was going on, some time go really baaad, with all the shadowing things in the room, pressure of something or somebody on the chest, and difficulties to breath. ****, it was really scary the first times. Even if I tried to fight with all my strengths I still kept beeing frozen. It always happens when I'm almost almost asleep, when it happens.
I think it happens to people who may be more mentally weak. I actually was, or in moments when you are very very tired mentally and phisically, and now that I've grown, I am 25 years old, it happens very seldom (thank god)
1 thing that may usually help me is to pray just before sleeping, maybe it just helps me mentally, but it works sometime.
And actually I also used to pray those times I froze, seconds that seem to last soooo damn long.
Now when it happens I try to fight whatever evil presence is there or looks to be there. Of course I may be scared, but I fight with all my unger and after praying god, I think to myself (because I cannot talk) "Come and Get Me! I 'll fight you Ass....e !"
Almost Everytime I can feel it coming, (just 1 sec. or less before) and I can avoid it by moving my body, but it's not really so easy, but when I did it, it's like to push away an evil presence/feeling.
Did any of you ever felt it coming ?
Another thing: if there was somebody sleeping with me who would push me or move me I'd unfreeze.
Bad for me that most of the times I was sleeping alone :(
Train your mind to be peacefull and strong, it will help !

Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: mightypai on 22/08/2005 01:23:20
Hello Julia,
I read your article, very interesting, I have a question:
Why during SP do we have these really bad bad feelings of evil spirits, presences, breaths difficulties (we feel somebody on our chest and so on) ?
:)
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: coolgirl123 on 22/08/2005 17:44:47
Hi

This is my second post to this topic. Just yesterday i had another episode of SP and this time it was totally different from my previous episodes.
My previous assumption that this was related to stress is not true as yesterday i was not at all stressed.
Generally during these episodes i feel there is a stranger or a strange thing next to me, but yesterday i could clearly see that it was my dad entering the room. Though it was a familiar figure, i was still scared because i know my dad is out of town and cannot be at home.

In a sense the fear during SP is a fear that you know its not true yet you are seeing it, but can anyone answer why we experience breathlessness and why we cannot utter any words or call out to a person?

My mom says she also experiences these things, could this be heriditary?

Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: dutchgirl on 31/08/2005 13:27:54
I read about SP in many different forums. Many of you believe that there actually is no presence in your room. I don't agree with that, and I'm not the only one. I believe that there really is something in my room. I guess most people dismiss the idea that there could be demons in their bedroom. But what if you're not dreaming? You have the idea you're fully away so why can't that be true? It's not imagination for far too many people suffer from SP.
Fortunately, I don't suffer from SP anymore. The thing that helped me was praying. You might be sceptical towards this but I won't hurt trying! Believe me, demons won't touch you when you pray.
For the ones who are religious or interested in the bible, here are some comforting scriptures: Psalms 25:20 "Do guard my soul and deliver me. May I not be ashamed, for I have taken refuge in you." and Proverbs 18:10 "The name of the LORD (or Yahweh or Jehovah, depends on the translation) is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe."
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: ade670 on 06/09/2005 01:20:31
Everybody,
To say i found this website by chance is an understatement.  Bored, 1am in the morning cant sleep.. need a scare!!  I typed in 'spooky stuff' into google and found old Hag syndrome... Suddenly every hair on body stood on end as i realised... hey wait a minute this has been happening to me for years, actually ever since my divorce, or at least when things started to go wrong.. actually putting my mind to it.. it has always been there.. I have always thought this was a kind of lucid dream.. I have only read a few posts and write my exact experience - is virtually the same everytime.  Ok, not sure what time in morning it is.  I think i wake up but it is as if someone has wiped the ability to moce from my mind.  I lay there briefly for what i think is a blink of an eye and then the pressing starts.. can't explain better .. I sleep on my front and it is as if someone is sitting on my back.. I think i can feel the hairs all over my body stand on end and i realise that something is wrong.. I have tried recently to let-in the pressing feeling rather than fight to wake up .. I remember saying in my mind... Go on then.. as if i was letting someone in.. stupid I know but the pressing increased considerably until I panicked and dragged myslef awake.. To be honest I dont even know how I wake.. All i know is, when I awake I feel totally stressed and anxious, scared even..  Until this day I have always thought of it as a kind of lucid dream , maybe not.. i cant categorically say one way or another.. I am going to read more posts.  I would appreciate some feedback on this.. I write as I think so please take the above as completly honest.  OK.. me.. am a regular 31 male.. relatively high ranking in the military .. am divorved with two 7-year old girls.. Have been under stress at work.. but this goes back a long way.. i think that the frequency of the 'attacks' increases during times of high stress.  

Any ideas?????
anyone on MSN .. I'm totally dumbstruck at mo.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: bumblesting on 07/09/2005 01:44:15
Andrew K Fletcher's post describes SP as your body being asleep while your head is fully awake. That's exactly how I described it to my GP around 30 years ago when I was in my early 20s and he'd obviously never heard of it. He told me I was suffering from stress which was complete nonsense. I'd suffered from these incidences of paralysis since my late teens when they used to happen pretty regularly, sometimes several times a week. I was in my late forties before I'd even heard of SP by which time they had more or less petered out, I rarely get them now. I used to think they were more frequent during humid weather which someone else has said on here.

The malevolent presence for me was always a large animal, usually a cat, which would lie across the top half of my body and gradually work it's way up to my throat when it would start to suffocate me. I would try and nudge my wife and call out to her to wake her up. But my muscles didn't respond and even though I felt like I was talking quite clearly to her, she said it just sounded like a muffled scream. Fortunately it was just loud enough to disturb her and then she would gently shake me out of it, she said my eyes were wide open and staring straight ahead. I would always be pouring with sweat and gagging for breath when I came out of it. It was quite frightening when it used to happen when I was away from home and sleeping alone. Sometimes I thought I would pass out and people would think I was dead, then I'd be struck with the thought of being buried alive.

Even though I rarely suffer from them now, it would be good to find out for certain what used to cause the attacks. I never heard of anyone else having them and really thought I was the only one who'd ever experienced it. But I didn't talk about it often, didn't want people thinking I was an oddball.





veritas vos liberabit
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Andrew K Fletcher on 07/09/2005 14:44:41
I have conducted a lot of research into the way gravity provides a stimulous for the nervous system. It was my beleif in 1994 and is today, that horizontal bedrest helps to shut down neurological function, and that sleeping on an incline helps to maintain neurological function.

Raising the head end of the bed by six inches has certainly helped my wife! Now if she gets an episode of s.p., she is able to take control of her body more easily. Furthermore, there has been a massive reduction in the number of s.p episodes that she experiences and that simply cannot be a coincidence.

The bed is raised at the head end using blocks of wood, bricks or by placing a plywood wedge under the mattress depending on the type of bed used.

Having the legs level or raised is useless and comprimises the circulation in the whole of the body, along with compressing the spine and buttocks, whereas having the whole bed angled from head to toe, actually decompresses the spine.

If you are serious about finding answers, then I suggest you try this method and begin to understand how to deal with S.P.

Andrew

"The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is most likely to be correct."
K.I.S. "Keep it simple!"
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Simmer on 08/09/2005 20:47:44
quote:
Originally posted by chimera

I remember reading somewhere that it's a natural phenomenon that prevents you from hurting yourself (and possibly others) in your sleep...



Yes I thought that was the case too.  This link http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=9806 suggests that temporary paralysis is necessary and experienced by everyone during deep, REM sleep but is recognised as a disorder when it starts to early or ends to late, when in light sleep or even awake.

I would guess that the hallucinations are the dreams of someone in a light sleep trying to rationalise the sensation of paralysis (by associatiion with fear or a physical impediment) but I don't know if any of our experts would agree?
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: gavin on 21/09/2005 13:49:03
Im hearin people talk abbout how they wish there was a cure for SP and I read somewhere that it can be caused by sleep deprivation
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Andrew K Fletcher on 23/09/2005 11:39:28
Place an eel on its back it is it rendored imobile, shutting down its nervous system, same with gators and crocks and even a chicken. In fact many species of animals become totally imobilised when their posture is screwed around with!

Now hold you arm and hand above your head and it will also become numb and useless if you manage to keep it there long enough.
So its not rocket science to presume there may be something seriously wrong with sleeping on a flat bed!

When you tilt your bed so that the head end is 6 inches / 15 cm's higher than the foot end, the nervous system is not shut down as with sleeping flat, However, if you sleep with your arm higher on an inclined bed you cant move your hands, fingers or arm when you awaken, further proof of gravities influence on the nervous sytem?  But I guess you guys are not going to listen so why do I bother?

Andrew

"The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is most likely to be correct."
K.I.S. "Keep it simple!"
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Simmer on 23/09/2005 20:13:48
quote:
Originally posted by Andrew K Fletcher

 But I guess you guys are not going to listen so why do I bother?



Sorry, Andrew, I wasn't ignoring what you said, just that not suffering from sleep paralysis I had no experience to add to your post.  Interesting idea though, I would certainly be interested to know if other sufferers find or have found the same.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Lisa20 on 29/09/2005 05:25:44
Hi, I have been having this problem since last year.  I happens when I an falling asleep or just about to wake up, and then i get frozen unable to move or speak or open my eyes...the first time I heard a woman speaking to me in my ear and she rubbed my back as like consoling me.  It felt so real! that happend after I had a big fight with an ex-boyfriend.  The next time i heard a man talking to me and rubbing my hands saying "it will be ok, I am always here for you" but the weird thing was...was it scared the crap out of me and all I could do is cry right after  it.  Keep in mind i was frozen still..it happens time to time and just started back up again,  and I continue to still hear voices, some of little girls, and one recently, just tonight was rambled and fast and creepy like something evil.  Most of the time i pray and just keep praying for it to go away but it still comes up and I can feel it coming onto me ( the paralyzation), but sometimes it doesnt help. One time i even stopped breathing and couldnt even move to hit my man next to me, it must have lasted atleast a min. I thought I was going to suffocate and die..it scares the **** out of me and I hate for it to go as far as me hearing or seeing things, so I just pray but sometimes it isn't enough.  Please feel free to email me or IM me, I would love to know more about this because i strongly believe in spirits and all that stuff so this is why it scares me.[:(]...

Lisa B.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: robhazes10 on 07/10/2005 12:35:18
i just had the same type of experience for the first time myself. around 3:00 a.m. i was awakened by what sounded like my fiance` voice saying my name in my left ear. i was laying on my back and when i opened my eyes my fiance` was on my right. i got extremely scared when i noticed i could not move, i tried to yell for her but i was out of breath. i also kept seeing flashes of a blurry figure to my left and what sounded like very loud whispers in my ears. then slowly everything went away and i was able to get up.  i've also heard someone say my name in my ear about 5 mounths ago and when i'm home alone i always feel someone is following me.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: beenthere on 12/10/2005 05:49:15
All you can do is open your eyes... and blink. I'm glad I found out its called SP. I didn't even think it had a name. Do you guys ever get those dizzy spells right before "going in"? Like some sort of whooping tickle?? When I barely noticed that I start to feel that "tickle" I turn to my side, that usually helps; then again- I'm usually too tired to move and just let it go. I'm a veteran, so I never worry about it that much, anymore. Exhaustion is my best guess.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Tatoon on 28/03/2006 19:22:53
I'd never had SP before or heard of it.It only started to happen when i got to college (probably because of the irregular sleeping time, some nights I sleep 2 hours other i sleep 12).The first time i had it, like most people i started to panic.I tried to scream out but i couldn't make the most insignificant sound (or so i think, i live alone).Allthough i felt a presence near me I never thought it to be evil(!)most of the times it was people i knew well.I learned a few tricks to snap out of an episode: most of the times i tried to start moving a finger (hand or toe, whatever)and in a heart beat the full limb beggan to move and the episode ended.
When I discovered it was an experience common to lots of people i read more about it.SP is not a disease, it's basically when the brain wakes up before the body, or the body falls asleep before the brain.It is not even an health problem, it's completely normal (like a fart, it stinks but it doesn't hurt you).
The best way to avoid it is to have a regular sleeping pattern.First of all you must realize the paralisys is due to the substances the brain uses to relax the muscles when you fall asleep, but the panic and the presences you feel they're all in your head.There is nothing to fear but fear itself.When you have an episode just relax (try the finger trick)if you feel a presence remember it happens on SP, and it's normal, and it is not there it's only in your head.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Soul Surfer on 29/03/2006 23:10:41
Just catching up with this topic.  I am surprised that no one appears to have mentioned the link with sleep apnoea.  That is stopping breathing when you are asleep.  I have been tested and found to suffer from this problem and think that I have probably had it all my life.  I have seldom been aware of sleep paralysis because I learned not to try to move until I had been awake for some time and my breathing had been normal for a while.  This waking up just as you are about to flake out through lack of oxygen can cause serious panics in some people but it has never really bothered me because I like underwater swimming and used to win bets at school for holding my breath for more than three minutes. I don't think that I can do that now!  (only 2 mins while typing this but could probably have done a bit better)

Learn, create, test and tell
evolution rules in all things
God says so!
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Blahzaay on 11/04/2006 16:00:38
I am so glad I found this thread!!! I have had SP very intensely 4 times now and every time I swear I was on the verge of death. Usually the only thing working is my brain. The 1st two times i experienced it I could not open my eyes and could barely breathe for the 1st 30 seconds or so.

If I am able to force my eyes open (only a couple of mm anyway) I still can not move an inch and still have the trouble of not breathing properly. Eventually I will be panicing enough for my brain to snap out of it but I have a lot of trouble staying concious. I constantly fall in and out of the same dream and everytime I re-enter not a second has gone past. It's like the dream is put on pause.

I can't say that I suffer from being smothered, my chest doesn't feel heavy and I definitely haven't been freightened of any other figures or bodies in the room. All I feel is complete paralyzation.

I would like to add that I have been diagnosed with high levels of anxiety resulting in many heart pulpitations throughout my entire life.

Anyway I'm off to bed... Have to get up early 2moro. Just hopin I don't have another one!!!
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: another_someone on 12/04/2006 03:18:26
Don't know if the following is of any interest to people in this topic.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4898726.stm
quote:

Near death experiences have a biological explanation rather than a spiritual one, research suggests.
The US team said the same parts of the brain are activated when people dream as in near death experiences.
The study, in Neurology, compared 55 people who had had near death experiences and 55 who had not.
Those with near death experiences were more likely to have less clearly separated boundaries between sleeping and waking, the scientists found.
People who have had near death experiences commonly report being surrounded by a bright light or gazing down on themselves in an operating theatre.
Many of these sensations are also common to experiences of being in the dream state, or rapid eye movement (REM), stage of sleep, the researchers said.
'REM intrusion'
Near death experiences were defined by the University of Kentucky researchers as a time during a life-threatening episode when a person undergoes an out-of-body experience, unusual alertness or sees an intense light or feels a great sense of peace.
They found 60% of those who reported such experiences said they had experienced the REM state of sleep during periods of wakefulness.
Only a quarter of those who had not had near death experiences said they had experienced this "REM intrusion".
Examples of this include waking up and feeling unable to move, having sudden muscle weakness in the legs and hearing sounds just before falling asleep or waking up that others do not hear, the team said.
'Biological basis'
Study author Professor Kevin Nelson of the University of Kentucky, Lexington, who led the study, said the findings suggests that REM state intrusion contributed to near death experiences.
He told the Daily Telegraph: "I see it as an activation of certain brain regions that are also active during the dream state.
"However, I hesitate to call it dreaming or dreaming while awake. This is the first testable hypothesis of a biological basis for these experiences."
"People who have near death experiences may have an arousal system that predisposes them to REM intrusion," he added.
'Incredibly real'
However, he suggested the theory did not automatically rule out a spiritual dimension to near death experiences.
"We, as neurologists. address the how of these experiences coming about but not the why," he said.
Dr Neil Stanley, director of sleep research at Surrey University, said the theory was a very plausible one.
He said: "There are plenty of rational people who say that these things happen and the one part of us that's utterly fantastical is our dreams.
"Our dreams can appear incredibly real - after all they are our reality when they are happening.
"If you get that sort of reality playing through into your consciousness - it's a very convincing reason to believe such a thing is happening."






George
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: cfury on 12/04/2006 22:11:53
I am going to describe most of my sleep paralysis experiences.  Nothing traumatic has really happened to me,they just occur.  I have asthma, allergies, and I'm not a very happy person most often.  I don't think I have severe depression, but I felt like it since I moved 600 miles from my best friend and I'm still "coping" although I've been handling it pretty good.  I'm almost 15 years old and about ready to kill these dreams.  I will also post some of my own tips that I have tried and sometimes work.  Here goes:

Usually my sleep paralysis kicks in during early morning hours (around 4am to about 6am).  It happens ANY TIME and is completely unpredictable.  It happens mostly when I sleep on my side, but happens in any position.  It seems to have a mind of IT'S own.  I usually have this very strange feeling of tingling and numbness crawl all the way up my spine.  Then, recently I have had a crushing feeling on my side, back, or chest like something is sitting on it.  This is what TERRIFIES me.  Yeah I've read all about the hallucinations, but also about the "Old Hag".  By the way, Enter Sandman is a great song to listen to about this topic.  It goes right with the subject of sleep paralysis.  Back to my dreams...  Sometimes I begin to hear something talk or whisper into my ear which is also scary.  It sounds like it talks in latin, once again scary.  Then all of a sudden the weight on my back or chest lets up like IT flies away.  I don't always get the Old Hag Syndrome along with my sleep paralysis, only sometimes.  Every other time it starts with the tingling and paralyzing and then I just can't move.  I panic and feel my heart beating like I'm in vigorous exercise.  Sometimes this paralysis lasts for what seems like seconds, other times a few minutes.  (I'm starting to make myself paranoid right now.)  The weirdest part is when I HAVE to "build up" my strength to shake my arm or leg to wake myself up.  Then it's all over.  I sit up real fast sweating and breathing hard.  I check the door to make sure it wasn't my cat that was sitting on my chest, but my door is always closed and the cat is sleeping in my parents' room.  Another note: I have been known to have the flying/floating sensation during my "night terror".

Okay, if anyone can help or share their experiences that would help.  Here's a few tips of mine (obviously I'm no doctor, but...)

- Check your bed.  Make sure there are no springs that are poking in your back or side.  Sometimes I wake up from SP and notice that I was sleeping right over a hard spring.

- Don't worry about SP.  I can't help this myself, and I'm sure I will be afraid to go asleep because I fear just having these dreams.  Whether you worry about it or not, I will come if it wants.  You might as well forget about it.

- This is my favorite.  I haven't tried it yet, but I found it on a reliable website.  If you ever see a demon or monster in your bedroom during SP, relax for a few seconds or look away and concentrate on a not-so-scary figure.  Men can think of that hot chick you are always fantasizing about and women can think of someone they wish to see.  Then, the monster should turn into that person.  That would help you until your little nightmare ends, and it will.

- What I always try to do is fight your image of Sleep Paralysis.  If you imagine Sleep Paralysis as a certain figure (i.e. The Devil, the Old Hag, Sandman, etc.) before you go to bed and you are brave and willing enough to try it, attempt to fight it in your sleep.  *Maybe* this will permanetly "kill" it.  You might trick your mind into actually believing that it (sleep paralysis) is dead.  Some days when I just get totally furious over it all I dare it to come.  I don't know if it works either, I haven't tried it.  Just an idea.

Hope that helps.  I know these are pretty bizarre and hard to keep your cool, but just try to remain calm.  There's nothing more I can do to help.  Here's the lyrics for Enter Sandman by Metallica for ya' if you are like me and love guitars and music.  The song itself is about the "Sandman" that terrifies kids in their sleep and haunts them.  Replace the Sandman with the Old Hag and you've got yourself a song to relate to.

Say your prayers little one
Don’t forget, my son
To include everyone

Tuck you in, warm within
Keep you free from sin
Till the sandman he comes

Sleep with one eye open
Gripping your pillow tight

Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
Off to never never land

Something’s wrong, shut the light
Heavy thoughts tonight
And they aren’t of snow white

Dreams of war, dreams of liars
Dreams of dragon’s fire
And of things that will bite

Sleep with one eye open
Gripping your pillow tight

Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
Off to never never land

Now I lay me down to sleep
Pray the lord my soul to keep
If I die before I wake
Pray the lord my soul to take

Hush little baby, don’t say a word
And never mind that noise you heard
It’s just the beast under your bed,
In your closet, in your head

Exit light
Enter night
Grain of sand

Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
We’re off to never never land



Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: another_someone on 13/04/2006 07:09:53
Although I have no direct experience or expertise in this topic, one question that I have wondered from the beginning is, how does sleep paralysis relate to sleep walking, or similar sleep activity.  I would see them as two extreme opposites, but are they in fact based on a common mechanism that is operating in one extreme mode or the opposite extreme mode, or are they in fact two distinct mechanisms?  Am I totally misunderstanding what sleep paralysis is about?



George
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: lickacube on 13/04/2006 17:20:40
I would fill it out, but I cannot get the link to work.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: fm47 on 14/04/2006 13:26:53
Oh-My-God... I can't believe I found this place (thanks google)! And I can't believe this thread is still alive!

CAUTION: My post WILL be long and rather detailed.  But please do read it.  I've read the rest of the posts and some of my experiences are similar to others, some briefly talked about, and a bit not at all mentioned.

Hello, I'm Tony and 19 years of age.  I was born and raised (at least till 8yr) in Taiwan.  I've had sleep paralysis for as long as I remember and have debated to myself about it scientifically and spiritually.  My culture has influenced me on it, so I've always had something to refer it to as.

In the Chinese culture, sleep paralysis is also known as "Gui Ya Chuang", or literally, "Ghost pressing on bed".  I was always told that it's caused by stress and fatigue, but sometimes a ghost could really be holding you down.

That's as much as I knew about sleep paralysis until I did a slight report on it back in high school, but only described the scientific reasonings to it.  Other than those few information, I've never heard of the Sandman, Old Hag, ect or at least not realize it when I've heard of it.  I have, however, concluded that though it may sometimes be caused by physical and psycological reasons, but I beileve that it also--maybe not always--but also involves spiritualism (if that's a real word).

My sleep paralysis exeriences have become so common in my life, I sometimes expect it as much as women expect their menstral cycles.  By that, I do not mean to be offensive or immature, but in means that I expect it and it comes periodically, where I would experience them from days to months.
In fact, sometimes it's so frequent that sometimes right when I find myself in sleep paralysis, I think, "DAMN!"
That period for me has come and happens about 5/7 days a week, and 6 or 7 times a night (as I repeated wake up and fall back asleep right away).

My experiences are much like others.  Here I will list those similar things, followed by my personal experiences.

First, I'll explain my most common SP experiences in general.
I often get a sensation, somewhat of that "buzzing" feeling, and that's when I know I'd be having SP, but by then, I'd be too tired to care and doze off within seconds to that thought.  I usually cannot open my eyes, and instead of paralysis, it feels like someone's turned on the gravity many times higher.  Many, many times.  Sometimes it feels stronger, other times less.  There is usually an entity that makes me feel ensecure and fearful.  I usually try to fight it, but whenever I do wake up, I'd still be so tired that I'd just fall right back sleep, into the same situation.  Sometimes I try to just forget about it and relax, but then it feels like the atmosphere came down upon me and all the weight would squeeze me to the point I'd *splat*.  Sometimes relaxing just cause my body to be uncontrollably tense.

All that and:

1) Feel of a presence.  I also feel an entity, and from what I've read in this thread, seems we all have some sort of entities in our SP experiences.  I have a few different ones, actually.  Earlier in my life, I've always just felt a presence, one that made me fear uncontrollably and threatened.  Later in life, at about 14ish, I had an experience of sliding off my bed... though it's flat on the ground -_-  I was being sucked into the closet and something told me "Witch" lived in there.
I've felt spiritual all my life, thoughts of Chuckie, Boogie Man, ect, never really scared me, so I never really had a reason to believe something was in my closet and I never had a thought of it.
After that, I met a man... he'll be in my exerience section later.
And after that it actually changed into an entire room of people, but I felt calm and safe -- also will be in my experience section.

Please bare with me.

2) Sleep Apnea.  I read a bit on sleep apnea and realized that I've experienced it before, though not as often as I experience SP.  Recently, however, it's been incorporated into my SP experiences.

3) Floating sensation.  I've only had this experience once or twice, it felt like I was at the end of the ride.  I felt like I gently fell into my body.  When I woke up, I concluded that it was the transition from dream to consciousness.  But I've had curious thoughts of it as well.

It's become something I've been trying to exploit, to explore, and to record.

This was not recorded, but more of a memorable experience.

Exploration
While experiencing and experimenting with sleep paralysis, I found that if I could last longer than the effect of the paralysis and remain asleep, but conscious, I can explore my dreams.
Most of the time I'm conscious, but it's still like I'm following a plot, and just watching it as it all happens.  There are usually two views, one as first-person, the other as third-person.  Both of those views are in a sense... simultaneous.
Sometimes, I'm allowed to explore freely, to look about my surroundings, and sometimes, even create my surroundings.  All I have to do is give an idea a thought, and suddenly it would all be built.  Even at that, though, random things could happen.

Here's an example, rather recent, too.
I had just endured sleep paralysis--I refer to it me fighting it off--and I was at the stage where I could move freely.  I thought of this particular girl and wished that I could see her and talk to her and embrace her...
Suddnely I found myself with her, somewhere in a vast garden of fountains, flowing endlessly from one to another.  It was beautiful.  The fountains were of white stone and the water shin/knee deep.  She was in a beautiful white dress and we were speaking.
She looked like someone else, but to me, she held the position of another.  The last rays of sunlight just before sunset were glowing on our skins and I embraced her in my arms and we kissed.  The kiss was long and beautiful, but suddenly my mother appeared, calling to me as if she had a chore for me to do.  I woke up, bittersweet.

The Sighing Man
I was on sitting at my computer, tired, depleted of energy.  I rolled around onto my bed, under the bed cover, and fell asleep.  My eyes were uncommonly open.  Wide open.  I was still under the bed cover, I could source that my monitor was still on, and hear the hum of my computer fan.  There was presence again... but this time, it seemed to be a different person.
Suddenly, I had an urge to ask in my mind, "Who are you...?"
All was white and I audienced two small clips, almost like video tapes or a recording of a reinactment.  The two "videos" lead me to ask next, "Were you... murdered?"  I then anticipated a sharp pain to be placed on my lower back, so I asked again, "Were you stabbed in the lower back...?"
!!
Though the entity felt about six feet away, it let out a deep, gravely sigh that sounded like it was right beside my ear.  Goosebumps arose about my body and I struggled to do something.  I couldn't.  I tried with all my might and couldn't even turn my head.  I tried desparately to turn my head all the while I wondered what would happen if I were to wake up at this moment?  Could I have a sudden turn of head so hard that it'd break my neck and kill me?
At that thought, all the fear disappeared and I suddenly was more occupied to the possibility of someone killing oneself by such a movement.  I woke up.

The Hanging Woman
I had fallen asleep on the couch.  The couce in the living was shaped like a shape such as this:
 __________
/          |
|\ / ______|
| | /
|\|/|
|_O_|

And according to the picture, I lied vertically, head pointing downwards, and facing upwards.

I woke up with paralysis and was meeting eyes with a woman who hung in midair.  Her long black hair had as much life as she did--none.  She had a long white gown and her feet, though I couldn't see, could not have reached the ground.  She stared at me blanky with terrifying sorrow and sadness.  I fought against the paralysis and tried to crawl to the lightswitch on the other side of the couch.  I managed to get there, even if she did rotate her body and gaze with my movement.  Right as I hit the switch on, I fell instantly back into the same position as I had "woken up", but was actually in my dream.  Even so, I was convinced that I had woken up.  I repeated the strategy, and on the 6 or 7th time, I got sick of it and it wasn't much of a deal.

Suddenly, with one last flicker of the light switch, I woke up, and this time, was absolute that I had really woken up.

Grunting
A few times, I've experienced SP in a place where there was a lot of people, a lot of warmth, and interestingly enough, a sense of calm.  But it was like no one even realized I was there, like I never existed.  I try to see them but my eyes are shut tight, and I couldn't move.  I try desparatly to say something, to cry out, but the breath is caught in my throat.
A low grunt came from my voice and I wondered if I was making such sounds in real life.  Chuckling ot myself, I wondered some more, then woke up.



I want to record myself sleeping sometime and see how that goes.  One time, during my waking of my dream's dream's dream's dream's dream... and forever on, my friend saw me violently jerk my body up from lying down, stare blankly, then falling back to sleep, only to happen again from seconds to minutes later.

Though there'd always been a place for me to be at during sleep paralysis, it's been weird recently.  It's becoming harder and harder to fight it and wake up from it all... and all that surrounds me is darkness.  Nothing but pitch black.

There is much more I planned to type, but it's very late... or early (6:30 am), so i will stop here.  I would love to speak to some of you about sleep paralysis.

my MSN is dark_knights_ag@hotmail.com
Just add me and message me ZZZ if you want to talk
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: bumstar on 15/04/2006 05:50:17
I googled 'sleep paralysis' and found this thread.. funny thing is, I just had an episode of it last night, which was beyond terrifying.

I woke up in the middle of the night, paralyzed and staring into the dark while I heard demonic laughter reverberating throughout my bedroom. It happened three times that night. The feeling of helplessness and terror was just overwhelming.

The most vivid one I had was when I was 15, and sleeping on a fold-out bed at a condo. In this episode, I saw a pale, little eyeless boy at the foot of the bed, chanting something in a high-pitched sort of scream.

The other ones involve dark, tattered-robed things gathering towards my bed. Or decaying, skeletal things clawing at me.. I guess I have a vivid imagination, huh?

Why is it that the hallucinations that accompany sleep paralysis almost always relate to evil/ominous things? I found it interesting.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: fm47 on 15/04/2006 06:38:52
Yeah, I've always wondered why things have to be so horrible until you either get pass it or you wake up.

I had an experience that wasn't exactly sleep paralysis, but more of an OBE (out of body experience).  At first, I heard all these noises: cars, horns, broad metals booming, people, screeches, everything.  It's as if every sound in the world happened at once right by the side of my  ear.  I was furious and couldn't stop the sound... I kept waking up, trying all I could to stop the noises, but couldn't.  I then had a dream.
I was flying high above a road just down the street, pass the elementry school by my house.  Everything was in shades of beige and objects and people were in shapes sketched by dark, rust-red lines.  It was as if everyone was a sketch.  I slowly floated down the road and stopped at the cemetary and it was as if I saw every movement in my surrounding in thousands of angles simultaneously.  As I saw literally "everything" happen, I noticed that some of the figures travelled extremely fast, and some ridiculously slow... it was as if everyone was in the same place, but on different dimensions or at least they weren't aware of each other.  Figures moved at speeds leaving an image-trail, some so slow you wondered if they're moving at all, and some just normally strolling as a real person would.

It felt like that was where people were after they died... they all exist in the same place but on different... levels.  It was like life after death is just another life...

I then had a sensation of drifting down and opened my eyes slowly and just realized how heavy my body was as compared to my dream.

This experience led me to wonder:  If life after death is what my dream has shown me, then does that mean it's possible that as we live in our dimension, our time, our "level", there are others that really do coexist?
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: brettc1 on 24/04/2006 14:32:58
Hi, im new to this, so bear with me.

I have been suffering from SP for about past 4 years and I have the episodes about once a week. I have got used to it now and started experimenting with it, a bit like the film Flatliners where they experiment with after death, although not quite as servere i guess its the same principle! I have tried to stay in the state as long as i can before i 'wake' my self up.

I knew that SP existed when it first started happening to me, thanks to an older friend.

My search today was prompted by my first hulucination last night. It wasnt of an old hag as most people have mentioned but a very transparent and vivid image of an older bearded man who decended through the ceiling to stand in the middle of my room and walk towards me. At this point i decided i didnt really want to be in that situation and 'woke' my self up.

The way i wake my self up isnt a graceful as wiggling a finger or tensing muscles, the only way i can do it is to shake my head side to side or jolt my body upwards, i would imagine its a horrible sight if anyone ever saw it!

I find it usually occurs after a late night and is as im going to bed in the evening. However I have found that when it occurs (often 5 or 6 times in a evening when it does happen) that sleeping with a fan on helps stop it. I dont know whether this is a phycological thing, taking you mind off the situation or that it helps you in another way. But it appears to work for me.

I dont know anyone else who suffers with this now so i am glad to have found this forum, reading other peoples similar experiences has helped me understand it more, while im not shy about telling people that i experiece it, it gets mixed reactions, from interest to disbelief, sometimes sarcsm. But it doesnt bother me, i know kind of know why it happens and its harmless so i dont worry about it, going to sleep isnt a problem.

Its just a strange experience and to be honest im glad im experiencing it because it makes things that I am scepitcal about almost life like which i find interesting.

probably a useless post but i thought id share it with you.

Check me out!
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: fm47 on 24/04/2006 23:32:51
Definitly not a useless post.  Your method of waking up is just as mine--constant struggling and body jolts, all the while wondering what I look like in real life.  What an interesting scene that'd make... I've even thought of recording my sleep.

I just experienced another one yesterday, but it was so confusing, I "broke" the paralysis and charged to the living room, pulled a blanked over the couch, hoping that when I wake up I'd see if I was sleep walking or anything...

The paralysis feels more of a constriction more than paralysis.  Perhaps that's what makes it so scary for me.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: paperheart on 25/04/2006 06:54:23
It's hard to find a topic like this kept alive. Just wanna share my crappy SP experiece with all the other SPers. I started to fall into SP since 4 years ago which I were only 16 years old. It gave me a shock for a momment there when it first happened, when I was somehow trying to fall asleep.. but i still manage to realize that I was actually awake. Tried pulling myself or moving, even trying to scream or shout.. but to no avail. After a while going through it, it made me curse with my conscious mind and tried fighting like a bull with my paralyzed body.. and somehow managed to break free with my heart thumping real fast. There isn't any hallucination about some presence or something (learning from wikipedia about SP that hallucination will happen).

It went on til now, and I realized it happened only when i was somehow very sleepy and tired over the day. There is once when this happened, my mum was in my room doing a little cleaning.. I managed to open my eyes, tried to call out for help to my mum, but there ain't no voice coming out. Then from my peering eyes i saw that my mum came over and wake me up, it can't help.. and from what she saw it seems like my eyes were turning white (as the pupils went to the back) when she saw that momment. After a while i managed to pull myself up, with a fast beating heart. But it can't be that my eyes were turning back because I was looking around and able to see my mum cleaning the room.

Due to my mother (we're a Chinese family) and she believe that some spiritual being is making this up. I wasn't worried at all, and it happened almost thrice a week. Until yesterday night, when I pretty tired working on the computer.. wen't on to my bed and tried to fall asleep. Seems like my body fell asleep before my mind did.. and again.. SP is happening, but it's a bit different, when now I saw an old granny telling me to follow her, which i resisted and told her I don't want to, I'll prefer to wake up! ( my eyes were shut tight, and pretty conscious that it was a dream). I pulled myself up by fighting with my own body, just like every other time. Once awake I tried changing position of sleep, and again it happened.. my ears were humming and my eyes were widely opened. Only able to move the tips of my fingers. Pulled myself up again, changed position.. and it happened again!! Ain't planning to sleep, so went and consulted my mum, she told me to do some Buddhist prayers when it happen.. So I went back to bed, and again it happen..

I wonder when will this thing stop, I wasn't worried or anything, being strong all these while fighting over it.. But it is kinda disturbing when I was just looking for some sleep like everyone else.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: fm47 on 25/04/2006 08:42:11
Paperheart, if you have the time and boredom to go through my giant post just above, read the first few paragraphs.  It's most likely what your mother told you.

If it's the so called "Gui Ya Chuang", then you either chant "Na muo wo mi tuo fwo" (you know what I mean, or your mother will) repeatitively, or become real angry and swear up a storm to literally "scare" the ghost away.

I sure do hope more people post.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: sasperella on 25/04/2006 12:00:23
I am so glad I found this sight as I am finding it harder and harder to cope with the SP. I don't really speak to friends about it anymore cause they just think I'm having a bad dream and don't understand at all.

My first SP experience was about 4 years ago and happened a couple of days after I had taken ecstacy so put it down to an after effect of that. I have just read that a lack of sleep can cause it that would explain this.

I was only having SP about 10 times a year but in about the last year it is alot more intense.

The feeling of dying is the worse thing ever and it's nice to read that so many people have this same feeling so I now don't feel so alone.

2 nights ago, I had the worse one ever and was convinced I was not going to wake again. The hullicinations would just not stop and I saw a man in my room walking towards me, trying to scream and move I managed to come out of it before he reached me.

I never want to have this experience again but am just waiting for it to happen so I am still a bit of a wreck at the moment!

I've read that anti-depressents can stop it from happening - has anyone tried this who could give me some advice?

I just hope that I haven't caused this myself through years of ecstacy abuse - any comments on this will be appreciated
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: MunK on 25/04/2006 18:41:27
Hi I've had SP about 3 or 4 times over the last 6 months (dont remember ever having it before this).  Before I go into my last experience here is what puzzles me:

I can agree to the theory that SP is caused by your brain failing to wake your body properly from REM sleep, that seems plausible but why such a common theme? Hallucinations are generally so varied from person to person under any other situation, why does everyone get the banging, rustling, sense of being watched, sense of terror, sense of looming death? the old hag? why cant i wake up paralysed with a naked fitty straddling me ffs? why is it that i have not read one really positive sp experience? for me this is where science falls over, even if it could prove exactly what causes sp and the hallucinations etc. it cant explain a common theme that goes back centuries can it? one that I experienced before I even knew it existed.  Thats what really interests me about SP.  Sorry if this has re-itterrated a past post but i've only just found it and im about to finish work so dont have time to read them all yet, nice forum tho!!

My latest SP experience:

Its normally been a fairly scary experience but as of Sunday night it suddenly became absurdly terrifying.  Previously I would just have the paralysis and the feeling that someone was in the room with me but I would always have my back to them and couldnt turn my head.  

Sunday night I woke to loud slow banging on my bedroom door, couldn't open my eyes, tried to shout out and couldn't, could also hear a rustling about 4 ft to the right of my bed.  The terror was overwhelming at this point I really cant stress how scared I was. After a struggle I managed to open my eyes, the banging stopped and I looked towards the door and seen a silloutte of a man/woman of average height, I tried to look towards the rustling but couldnt and then I snapped out of it like someone had just clicked a switch and started breathing v heavily.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: paperheart on 25/04/2006 19:27:14
Hey fm47, thanks for  the info. Well yea i chanted "Them" while I was going through SP.. but it didn't help. Just like your experience, I do know I'm about to step into SP again, so I started chanting. Til in the middle of it, am still chanting.. with the thought of 'making it' go away (well previous SPs made me curse and swear while in it). Somehow i didn't believe it's a spiritual thing until that night when I mentioned that this old lady appeared and told me to keep up with her.(The old lady look decent enough to not being some bad spiritual thing). And again I don't pray much or visit the temple much in my life.

Another thing is, even it felt like my eyes were wide open, when I jolted/pulled myself out if it, I find myself opening my eyes (which were actually shut). Somehow are my eyes taking a snapshot of the surroundings on the last second before i close my eyes and fall asleep right after? This sound ridiculous though.

I'm pretty interested in recording myself and laughing it out watching them, but I guess it's not gonna help much. The only thing I've always wished for when SP occured was that I can have a sword or some kinda weapon to slash all these constriction away. Ofcourse hoping that I won't occur ever again because it kinda irritates me when I'm really looking for some sleep.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: fm47 on 28/04/2006 01:02:45
Hi.  I really hope some of you have taken the time to my gigantic post above.  I wrote it during some late-night time, so there are a few things I want to clarfiy that I may have left out.

  I am not at all religious.  I like to find both sides of explanations, and of course, the scientific one is much easier and more accessable than the spiritual one.  I fully understand that my knowledge (whether they are fact or not) could alter my perspective.  Most of us already know about the scientific side, that is why I presented my perspective of what else it COULD be.  I should have, however, expained the possible reasons to SP, but MunK just did that for me (thanks :).

  "Well yea i chanted "Them" while I was going through SP.. but it didn't help."
As I was telling you during our conversation, the chantings, prayings, and/or swearing may just be a source of phsycological comfort.  For example, you've been stressed and tired.  When you fell asleep, you experience SP.  The situation terrifies you and brings your stress level to a whole new level.  You do all you've been adviced to do, hoping they'd work, thinking they'd work.  It provides with some comfort because now you have something you can at least try to do to make it go away.

  Sasperella (that's a good drink :), I can't tell you why you have SP experiences, but I can tell you that I, myself, and others I've known to have SP have not taken any drugs (excluding the common perscription drugs).  It may be the ecstacy, it may not be.  I personally doubt it.
From a bit of research online and with a good amount of people I know, I noticed (as research has) that they experience SP when under stressful times, have gone to an extent of fatique, or physical exertion.  Have you had any or combinations of these situations?

  MunK, I will share with you my wonderful experience with SP.  As annoying and nerve-wracking SP can be, I try to find the good sides of it.  It's an experience that some people, some I personally know to be ages 40 and beyond, have never had.
  As I've explained above in the "Exploration" section, there are times where I've been able to explore my dreams.  Though I follow a general plot, I'm conscious, thinking, and sometimes even making decisions.  When I "explore" or even "control" my dreams, I usually have to go through SP.

  Now, just to clarify, this is NOTHING like times when you slightly wake up midst having a good dream, close your eyes, and try to sleep and resume the dream, which you always realize later that the rest of the dream was just your imagination.

MunK, read this if you havn't read my huge post above.  It's a direct quote of what I posted earlier:

"I had just endured sleep paralysis--I refer to it me fighting it off--and I was at the stage where I could move freely. I thought of this particular girl and wished that I could see her and talk to her and embrace her...
Suddnely I found myself with her, somewhere in a vast garden of fountains, flowing endlessly from one to another. It was beautiful. The fountains were of white stone and the water shin/knee deep. She was in a beautiful white dress and we were speaking.
She looked like someone else, but to me, she held the position of another. The last rays of sunlight just before sunset were glowing on our skins and I embraced her in my arms and we kissed. The kiss was long and beautiful, but suddenly my mother appeared, calling to me as if she had a chore for me to do. I woke up, bittersweet."

Notice how, even though, I wanted to see her, I didn't think about the garden of fountains and the beautiful lighting.  And though I thought of her, she appeared to be someone else, but still representing who she is to me.  It's like there are many universal dimensions with every possible event can occur, and after I gave it my general thought, it brought me to one of them.

For me, that's a valuable experience... not because we kissed, not because it was so beautiful, not even because I wanted it to happen.  It was valuable because the surreal became real for me.



Lastly, I've experienced with the ability to "control" the dreams, but it's a rather... personal and mature content.  If you are interested in knowing how I went about that, email me or message me at dark_knights_ag@hotmail.com
I'll just say that the phrase "Anything is possible if you set your mind to it" and beyond what the figurative (if that's a word) speech means is very, very true.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: fm47 on 28/04/2006 01:10:36
Oh, I forgot to post what I try to do to get out of SP.

As weird as it may sound... give sleep a rest.  Stay up for about 5 minutes, when you are slightly less sleepy than when you barely wake up.  Sometimes it seems that putting yourself in different temperatures will stop SP from reoccuring.  I usually just walk to a different room, usually my living room, and sleep there.

Sometimes providing background music, noise, or light will help you get past the SP-occuring stage (which is usually within the first few minutes and last few minutes of a sleep session).
I usually just turn on the television, sometimes setting it on mute, and some how time whatever it is I have going to turn off by the time I'd fall asleep; around 30 minutes.
To have the "lullaby" source on after you've gone through SP occuring stages is bad for sleep, even if it's your favorite music that calms you down whenever.  It disturbs your deep sleep cycle (forgot what it's called) and you'd wake up like you hardly even slept, and possibly more tired than you were (because you just spent some eight hours somewhat awake, adding to your fatique).

Good luck to those of you who seek to put an end to SP when it happens.

I do not claim these... rememdies to work.  They work for me, perhaps it'd work for you too.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: MunK on 04/05/2006 17:47:39
FM - I was going to mention the lucid dream aspect to all this as i've been trying to achieve lucidity for some time.  I like yourself generally direct my dreams and control things to a certain extent but rarely become completly lucid.  Anyway i've read various accounts of ppl being able to become lucid thru SP.  Im a bit confused about this as when i had SP I was awake (or at least 99% sure I was) or maybe in some wierd (very wierd) state somewhere between sleep and waking? when you go into a lucid dream from SP do you fall back into full sleep?
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: fm47 on 05/05/2006 10:13:18
When I have SP, I'm still asleep.  Everytime it convinces me that I've awoken, but in reality, I remain asleep.  I know this because when I'm truly awaken, it feels completely different from the SP dreams.

So far, after I wake up from "controlling" my dreams, I do not fall back asleep and experience another SP.  I wake up as if it were any other dream.  With SP, I would wake up for a few seconds then, almost helplessly, fall back asleep.

The state between awake and asleep is very weird.  I feel like my brain has separated into individual parts and each doing their own thing.  During this stage, I am stuck in between consciousness and unconsciousness.  For moments I would know what I'm thinking about, and quickly it would switch to moments as if I just had a dream... like my brain skipped a beat.

For example.
1st 30 seconds: asleep, but conscious.
2nd 30 seconds: *had a dream
3rd 30 seconds: think I just had a dream, but don't remember.

The 2nd 30 seconds becomes very vague to me.

This was also the stage where I felt the "floaty" or the supposed Out of Body experience.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: MunK on 05/05/2006 16:21:33
Well everytime I've had SP i've been convinced that i've been awake.  Especially the last time it happened as I was trying to call out but couldnt and i've had that in dreams before but it was nothing like when i experienced it in SP.  However it doesnt feel like normal conciousness at all, when I came out of it it seemed like there was previously loads of background noise that had vanished and everything was a lot more clear in an instant, but it wasnt like waking up at all. If it was a dream then it was like no other dream i've ever had, much much more real.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Henry on 12/05/2006 19:26:49
Hello my name is Henry and 18, I didn’t read all the post but what I suffer from seems a little different. It first happened when I was 15. One night I woke up, rolled over and saw the time 12:35am, then positioned myself flat on my back; I tried to fall asleep and woke up unable to move. This was my first ever experience of this happening to me with my eyes open. I almost cried but couldn’t, my door was cracked open and I saw my mom walking in her room and couldn’t scream for help. Eventually my eyes closed and I went to bed. Ever since that day I tried explaining it to people and no one under stood but a few. Strange but I know when and how to get it. I don’t have them when I’m lying on my back just that one time the first time. I now have them when I sleep on my chest with my arms down. And bang, I can’t move and cant scream the only noise I can make is the sound of heavy breathing. I regain control and rock my feet left to right, then up and down real hard and fast, Try watching that I bet it looks like I’m possessed, freaky. As soon as its gone I don’t have enough time to reposition my body and it comes back even worse. This happens around 3 times a month and each time it happens I get attacked around 3 times in that night. When my cousin used to sleep over I told her about it and she told me it happens to her, and we usually get them in the same room at the same time. When we wake up we then talk about it and laugh because it so weird. Her case soon changed when she told me she gets them now with her eyes open and she sees things. Last night I was attacked and it was the worst case ever. I don’t know what time it was when the first attack happened. I was sleeping, hmm no dreams, when all of a sudden my bones got stuck and tight. I felt like my body was sleeping toward the bottom of the bed when I sleep at the top. It felt like someone took my blanked and wrapped it around my face and I could feel my hot breath because the blanket felt around me, it was difficult to breath and I remember squeezing my eyes really really hard till I saw lights and colors, I gave up, I was weak and tired and couldn’t fight it anymore then it went away. I didn’t wake up it was as if it never happened and I immediately fell to sleep. I knew it was morning when I got my other two attacks because I remember hearing birds singing. I was on my belly, left arm was up and bottom arm was down, what happened with the gravity man, couldn’t move, how can I fight something I cant see, I don’t know I just started squeezing my eyes again trying to regain control and my legs started flying round, as soon as it was over it happened again another attack.  My wonderful mother saved me as soon as she walked in to tell me she was going to buy food it was over. I don’t know why this happens but I like it sometimes because its weird that something so strange is happening that I cant explain but then its horrifying and feels like I’m helpless and I cant do anything, even when people are right nest to me they never know that I’m being attacked and that’s scary..
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: NightLord on 14/05/2006 15:45:08
This is a very interesting thread!
I have this too, though not as intente as some of you guys. It seems to happen randomly and it occurs only some times in a year I guess. The first couple of times have been very scary but later on I noticed that if I REALLY REALLY try, I'll be able to move on my side and that will get me out of it.
The strange thing is though that I can't remember ever snapping out of it to a fully awake state, I always seem to fall back asleep for a short while before waking up vividly remembering what happened.
This is the reqson I started to think that maybe this was just a bad dream, however when it occurs I'm just way too concious for it to be a dream. Heavy cases of SP report hallucinations and all that, I haven't had those... yet...

It's been quite clear to me from the first occurences on that sleeping on my back triggers it, and as I said, turning over on my side seems to get me out of it.
Just like most people say it surely is a very unpleasant experience and I even told my girlfriend that if I ever seem to be in a coma or something because of this she should definitely try to put me on my side and even try to punch me. :-)

It seems to be unharmful though, I've been having this for many years now and luckily it does not happen often.
Funny thing is that I've never been able to keep calm and just let it happen, or to relax and fall back asleep... Somehow it also triggers quite an intense state of panic, eventhough I know it's not going to be permanent.

/NL
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: fm47 on 17/05/2006 12:29:38
To Henry,

Many times when I have SP, eyes closed or not, I can see my surroundings exactly as I saw it when I fell asleep.  If my eyes are closed in my dream, then it's like a mental image.  Depending if you believe in the supernatural, having it in the same room at the same times... that's kind of weird.  The frequence of it happening should say something.

I too enjoy my SP experiences, but more than 3/4 of them are simply annoying and disturb my sleep.

- fm47

Anyway, though my "period" appeared to be over, I had SP again last night.  It was rather interesting because I sat there trying all the methods that everyone's posting saying it's helped them.  The finger wiggly doesn't work for me.

I feel like I'm becoming weaker in those dreams... as in I can't pull myself out of them as much, I have less control, and it's becoming very dark... very vague...  There wasn't even the "hostile" presence there this time.


NL, you just made me realize that I've never actually been woken up by someone during SP... what would happen o_O?
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Trantor on 27/05/2006 19:42:49
Hello everyone.
Phew! Googled SP and got to this site. I'm glad to see there are others that 'suffer' from it. I recently mentioned SP to my housing officer to see what he thought of it... I think he thinks I'm barmy! [:D] Err right I'll just keep this to myself from now on.

I get SP once or twice a month if I'm lucky (unlucky). It usually occurs mid sleep. I become aware that I'm no longer sleeping (is that right?) and I want to open my eyes/move.

I think to myself the next time it happens, try to tell myself that it's okay etc... but it's useless. Lying in limbo is not okay, it's bloody scary. It's a fight to open my eyes, but I usually manage it before they're forced shut again. I'm not sure what it is that finally makes me snap out of it - growling (talking doesn't work), swaying bit by bit until I've built up enough momentum to pull out of the state or clawing at my body with my hands, if within reach.

There, said my bit. [:D]
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: NathanDavies on 01/06/2006 14:27:42
Hello All.

I have been 'enjoying' Sleep paralysis for many years now. I find it a great experience of exploration and wonder.

I have reached the stage of being able to lie down and consciously 'bring-on' an episode. I have SP once a night except when I have been drinking too much alcohol.

One thing that I have noticed about SP is that no else seems to mention experiences of free virtual limb/body movements. This is the extraordinary process of proceeding to move a part of your body, and it feels as though it is moving; but you can still see your hand or leg in the original position. This has developed so much that I can roll out of my body.

Also when you move your ‘virtual’ limb though an object, your mind seems to be able to imagine what that feels like. I can move my limb through my partner’s leg and I can feel her flesh and bone. (Ghastly I know - sorry) or you can push your legs through the bed and feel the roughness of the wooden slats.

Astral travel experiences can also happen at this stage when you completely leave your body.

I find the constructs of the human mind fascinating!

Sleep Paralysis is certainly nothing to be afraid of. It is my belief that this is a long forgotten skill that human beings once found great happiness and insight from. A natural ability to hallucinate or trip without drugs. [:)]

Thanks,

Nathan
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: fm47 on 02/06/2006 11:45:45
Whoa o_O that's intense.  I've never gone through things let alone feel them... things went through me (a lance from some giant knight >_<).

I lik eyour POV on this, Nathan.  Rather than a "curse", I think when you can control something such as SP, it's more of a blessing, a chance to explore in what there's none other way to.  Although I try to keep in that in mind, I still can't make myself calm down during SP.  There have been times where I'm simply irritated that it's happening again because it's very uncomfortable and disrupts my sleep, so I'd try to relax my body but only to feel some sort of invisible constriction that almost leads to what feels like a seizure (or what I'd imagine a seizure would feel).

Just wondering, anyone find any good books on SP?
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Jughead on 19/06/2006 13:22:06

I have experienced SP at least three times and I am convinced it is Supernatural. The SP has occurred whilst I am "sleeping" on my stomach. It begins with waking up not being able to move, speak, scream...only being able blink and move my eyes. I will feel a cold tingly rush flowing down my spine. I have a sense of something, not human, going up and down the hall that is behind the sidewall of my bed. I feel I am seeing what that something is seeing. I get the impression it is attacking me, pushing hard against my back... It feels like it is taking something from me, like, energy. Then it is over.
I will wake up the next day not remembering my experience until hours, sometimes days, later.

I have only ever experienced SP in my bedroom, which is also the one place I have encountered Spirits. One night I went to bed around 1am, hours after the rest of my family. As I walked down the hall and around the corner to my bedroom, I came across a grey elderly woman. It scared the sh*t out of me for a second before I realised it must have been Mum. The woman walked by me without a word. I turned to say something when I realised the woman was gone, and the only way out was through the closed bathroom door. I then realised my parents room door was closed also. I was freaked out and quickly turned my bedroom light on and composed myself. Ten minutes later I turned the light off and went to bed. A short time later, I noticed several different coloured "orbs" floating around the corner of my room. I immediately sat myself up and pushed my back against the wall. Then there was a dark figure in the corner of the ceiling right next to my bed. I watched both events carefully then there was a big flash in the room. I could then see the figures of people walking around my room freely, not paying any attention to me. This lasted several minutes before everything going back to normal.

Since that night, I have not experienced SP again. I feel that SP and my encounters were linked. I do not know how or why, but instinct tells me that SP is something supernatural. I hope to experience it again one day and learn more about. No PhD will be able to explain what happens. You must seek your own answers and enjoy the experience.

Feel free to email me at paullester3@hotmail.com (http://mailto:paullester3@hotmail.com) with your thoughts.


P//\//\L
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: fm47 on 03/07/2006 01:00:28
Ok, so recently, my SP cycle has come back around... but now it seems harder to get out of it.  It's very distruptive to my sleep, and even worse, drives me nearly insane because I know that I'm in my dream, having SP, but can't do a thing about it except wait with fear.  Everytime I convince myself that I have nothing to fear for, something happens; things touch me, certain areas ache, entire body constrictions...

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm thinking of going to a church and get a blessing or have something spiritual done about it.  It may not work, since it could easily be a sleeping disorder, but it might at the same time...

Should I go for it?  These... experences--are awesome because what I experience there I can't in real life.  The possibilities in SP is just remarkable.  Though I want to get rid of this nusence (spellcheck), I also don't really want to lose it if I could do something about it...
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: fm47 on 03/07/2006 01:00:28
Ok, so recently, my SP cycle has come back around... but now it seems harder to get out of it.  It's very distruptive to my sleep, and even worse, drives me nearly insane because I know that I'm in my dream, having SP, but can't do a thing about it except wait with fear.  Everytime I convince myself that I have nothing to fear for, something happens; things touch me, certain areas ache, entire body constrictions...

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm thinking of going to a church and get a blessing or have something spiritual done about it.  It may not work, since it could easily be a sleeping disorder, but it might at the same time...

Should I go for it?  These... experences--are awesome because what I experience there I can't in real life.  The possibilities in SP is just remarkable.  Though I want to get rid of this nusence (spellcheck), I also don't really want to lose it if I could do something about it...
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Rhapsody on 10/07/2006 23:44:02
I have had sleep paralysis for most of my life and two of my 5 children also have this problem. I get very emotional just thinking about what I have been through. I just thought I would tell you that ever since I put a floor lamp in the corner of the bedroom with a small 25 watt light bulb in it and leave it on all night I have not had an sleep paralysis.It has been over a year now. I can't explain this. I just thank God.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: dropkick_murphy on 13/07/2006 11:13:03
hi everyone. have enjoyed this thread, especially since i have been exp SP since as long as i can remember. how many of you guys exp sleep apnea as well as SP?

when iwas younger, right up until a coupl eof years ago, it would start with a spinning sensation, like my bed was being spun round and round, faster and faster, just as i was drifting off to sleep, i have always been powerless to stop this, and must say i kinda enjoyed it as i got older and studied a little on astral travel etc...

the thing that has always scared me has been the loss of breath, right up until it the last second when i eventually get a gasp of air. scary.

in recent months though, things have changed. no longer is it  a pleasant experience. when i lie down on the bed (preffered sleeping position is face down, on my stomach) i can feel as if i am being drawn into this state, even though i am aware /awake and dont want to be drawn into it, my Girlfriend is lying next to me unaware, i can hear her breathing and fidgeting about.. then theres the presence, like lots of dfferent voices all saying different things at the same time, i can understand what they are saying kind of, random, almost malevolant phrases, and sometimes laughing/giggling(i can never seem to make sense , or remember what i heard when i come out of this state).
 sometimes i try to fight it, i know this rarely works  but it can be quite distressing at times.. i have felt this prence/multiple presence physically come to me and have heard the voices so close in my ear. Last night it happened 3 times, i made my girlfriend aware of it, an she saw me try to struggle and woke me up.  afterwards she went to the loo, and in the 30 seconds she was out of the room (i knew it would happen) it happened again, the worst yet. pretty sure i heard the words "breing him round here", or get him".. something to that effect.  i got up, went through to the living room an fell asleep in front of the tv.

im aware of how fcucked up it sounds , but if anyone experiences the same , id like to hear from them.

happy sleeping campers[:p]
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: julius on 16/07/2006 13:41:49
hey,
I've just returned from a trip overseas and i had about 4 or 5 experiences of sleep paralysis... and i had the same experiences the last time i went overseas also (about 5 times). And now that i found there was a pattern to it i decided to google it and i found this.
My experiences arn't as bad as the most ive read here, mine just consist of not being able to move, while everything in the room is as always and having a feeling of alot of pressure on my body pushing me into my bed and only on the last two occasions i had hollucinations (spelling?)... one of my parents in the room and one where a voice appollogised to me for me waking up at night. The first few times i thought it was a fairly unamaginative dream of just my room, even though i panicked cos of the not moving part, but then i saw this show on alien abductions on tv once and sleep paralysis was apparently a possible explaination for apparent alien abductions, so i thought that it was sp that i had, which it probably was.
But im just glad that i dont get voices shouting at me or evil things in my room.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: gra30 on 17/07/2006 03:14:47
Hello

I am Graham from the Uk.

I really don,t know where to start or if I am even in the right place to get answers but I am really at a loss how to stop what I am suffering.

I am very level headed and to many that I describe this to , I only get a laugh or a sarcastic comment.

I have suufered from waking sleep paralysis for the last 10 years, often with a large gap between incidents but they are very very strong.

I have been on a train and can see fully my surroundings, even my stop, and I cannot wake myself.

I can be on a bus and hear and see everything around me, I shout, well my head does, yet no one can hear.

Lately I have learnt to make choking noises which people say they have heard after but they think I am doing it in my sleep.  I force my eyes open but my eyelids are like lead.

Today at 3.30 I fell asleep.  I awoke and I could feel myself lifting my arm, yet I could see it not moving.  I have learnt to try and fall back to sleep and I count and try to physically wake myself up.  It works but can take many times.

To all I speak to it sounds funny,  my wife does not understand and its not affecting my life,  but its the most scariest thing that I have ever encountered.

Please advise, there must be a reason but sometimes I am so scared to go back to sleep.

Kindest regards

Graham Scollick
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: gra30 on 17/07/2006 03:28:24
Please may I add something.

After now reading this thread properly can I please ask NathanDavies to email if possible

My email is graandcathathome@tiscali.co.uk

I have too experinced seeing my body move yet seeing my form not move.

Today was the most intense.

I am vague as I put this down to being weird or, I thought it was in my head.

It was like a semi form, with colour but fuzzy.  My arm did not move but as I felt my body moving my arm as normal it came from my form.

As I was in a paralysed stse I certainly did not enjoy it but I realise I may be experincing things taht maybe I should be grateful of.

I am confused and if you could get in touch Nathan maybe you can help.

Thankou.

Graham
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Rhapsody on 17/07/2006 16:59:35
Graham.
When I was in my sleep paralysis, I tried to yell for help for so long that when I finally got out of it, my throat hurts for days.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: loxdawg on 20/07/2006 16:31:25
ok i just woke up from having "sleep paralysis" so it is called. during my sleep paralysis i felt like i induced the paralysis on my self. i felt like i had been dreaming and woke up but then i had the sleep paralysis then woke up again. it seems like it makes no sense. i will begin to explain what i did to induce it on myself by accident. first of all i was thinking about atoms and what holds them where they are. for those of you who know what atoms are they are helled together by nothing???can you exlpain that? i was thinking about the force that holds atoms and i was surrenduring my body to that force. i felt like the energy rushed through my body at speeds noone could imagine and that is what kept my body from moving. it felt almost like all the mucles in my body were tightend by the energy flowing through my body. i could open my eyes but that is al i could not awaken from it on my own and i had begun to panick. then i felt like if i want to get out of it try the same way i got into it except reversed. so i thought about not surrenduring to the energy and instantly i woke up from the dream as though it had never happend. it was way to weird though becausewhen i opend my eys during the sleep paralysis i could see my clock and the time was only a few minutes off when i woke up...... i dont feel like i was dreaming what happend but it feels like i was awaking from a dream asthough my body had to restart itself to wake up. after i had gotten up i felt like my body was soooo weak that i went downstairs and drank a whole bottle of water in one gulp. if anyone can explain what was happening to me please e-mail me.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: terrytoh on 21/07/2006 18:16:47
Hello, I just chanced upon this forum while doing a search for sleep paralysis. I am a 19 year old student, since last year I started to experience SP. I experience SP 2-4 times every week, but it can never happens for one month or more. Most of the time when SP occurs, I find that my dream is very realistic, as if I am in other world. Quite often, I "fainted" in my dream (Strange isn't it?) and woke up paralyzed. Sometimes I experienced strong vibration in my ear (or so called ringing in the ear?). I noticed when I wake up, I go through 2 stages - first stage where I often see things with SP: such as my mum and she talking to me (twice); I can see my arm moving around rapidly in front of me (many times); see lightning outside my window (once); shadows (many times), single red and single green pinpoint of light. Second stage is where I finally wake up with SP gone. Several times, I can experience more than 1 SP in a single night. In every SP, I feel great fear of the unknown and also feeling cold.

These are some factors which I think may contribute to SP (based on what I experienced):
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: digitalmonkeynuts on 25/07/2006 06:07:34
Hi Julia & fellow SP sufferers, **warning i have just had SP so what i type here may be a little unfocused as i`m still freaked out by having an episode......i`m sure you`ll all understand :)

I can clearly say that if i never had the internet i would never know what I actually had, searched through google my symptoms and I now thankfully know i`m not going bonkers as others out there plainly have the same issues as me!

Okay well i must start by saying thats a whole load of experiences and i`ve had SP for over 10 years now on and off, i`ve just woke up an hour ago with yet another episode, this time it was the usual high pressure sound in my ears but my whole body felt like my blood pressure was going through the roof, then my heart started beating faster and faster (evil dark presence was there) I got that angry within the SP that i decided to give up fighting it and ended up thinking i was having a heart attack, was as convincing as if i actually DID have a heart attack, i put my hand on my heart to feel it (so i could see how fast it was going) but as i was drifting in and out of it fighting i was realising that my hand was not there it was just laying beside the pillow.

questions i have

Why the heavy presure (like high presure water going through the ears)

people getting the same visions? ghosts? aliens? Astro Projection (which ive actually had some fun with was amazing like i was on drugs or somethin lol) and WHY EVIL PRESENCE? is it becuase we feel like we are not in control? so the human brain automatically believes there is a evil presence in the room?

Why when i THINK i have my eyes open (but i actually dont) can i see my room? like it actually is?

I found this link showing brain activity during normal sleep and SP looks interesting.........

http://www2.educ.fukushima-u.ac.jp/~kfukuda/sp_map_s.jpg

anyone wanting to discuss SP with me on msn add me if you wish, it`s interesting to hear peoples views
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: cs_coolest on 01/08/2006 13:20:55
Hello all,

I am just a ordinary guy with an ordinary life, But i've had these Sp for about 4 years now they come and go, but they seem to appear more often when i'm going to bed off hours. At first there was no telling when it would happen until i was having them, and then i had to fight to get up. But now i can sense it coming while i'm sleeping, so i try to get up right away, but it is very hard since there is this pressure on me trying to put me in SP and sometimes i cant fight it hard enough to get up and find myself awake but paralysed and then the pressure starts hurting like hell, i can be sometimes 5 to 10 min paralysed because i am usually on my side looking straight at my clock and i got to wait just for the right moment to shake it off so i can get up.

 But my sharing today is this dream i had this week, i was dreaming of my familly and friends and there was this big get together and all of a sunden i saw this girl sitting on a chair by herself and looking at all of us talking, i went to her took a chair and sat beside her i looked in her eyes and said , "your the one who paralyses me , Right?"
and she answered yes. I looked around the room and no one could see her but me, and i woke up and found myself paralysed. And it had been a few weeks since i paralysed, i had no toughts about this when i went to sleep. Just Weird..

PS: sorry for the spelling i am french.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Rhapsody on 01/08/2006 23:33:08
My SP always seemed to be at 12:35 AM. I told my family if I died at that time, they would know why.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: cs_coolest on 02/08/2006 02:02:09
I have a question to all of you that posted here. Are you all people with open mind about spiritual world and are you strong spiritually, because i dont know if having an open mind and strong spiritually creates a doorway for the other side to come to us and try to contact us or just play with our mind.

 And as i read some posts i landed on one form dropkick_murphy who's talking about a spinning sensation that spun round and round, faster and faster And made me remember that when a was a child although his was before falling asleep mine was before waking up I always started seeing lots of colors spinning faster and faster until there was this big loud bang and i was waking up in cold sweats... but during the spinning i was awake but paralised, and that lasted a few years and i remember telling my folks about that but just didnt understood what i was talking about.
 And by the way i am a very open minded person about all this, always where and fascinated about the unknown.

Later everybody !!
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: liltarap55 on 05/08/2006 06:54:11
I Googled SP a couple of months back after a particularly frightening episode, and have been randomly researching it since. This forum is by far the most reassuring places I've visited and I have read each of your posts!

My SP ALWAYS happens when I nap or accidentallly fall asleep at a non-bedtime time and I am almost always alone in the house (probably about 2 or 3 times a month). I never feel like I am TRULY asleep. The 'hallucinations' begin almost immediately when I feel myself falling asleep, and I can have MANY of them in the hour or so time period I am 'sleeping.' I normally hallucinate that I'm talking to a family member or my husband and that the situation is stressful or maybe there is danger, or of a presence that seems threatening. I always see the room exactly as it is when I fell asleep, so I am sure that I am at least partly awake when they're happening. The SP itself will strike after a hallucination and my whole body will be paralyzed. Most times I struggle for a moment and then I am pulled back down into another hallucination and the cycle starts all over again. It is SO hard to rouse yourself, to just get your eyes open and get out of bed and WAKE UP! Sometimes I will 'dream' that I get up and go into the living room or something like that, only to 'wake up' in bed and realize it never happened! And when I finally do actually wake up from an episode, I'm like a zombie; my brain feels fuzzy, my throat aches, my muscles ache and it's really hard to me to snap back to reality. The finger wiggle technique only works for me sometimes. At the worst of times, I will have paralyzation that lasts anywhere from 2 to about 4 minutes and there always seems to be a dangerous, life-threatening presence lurking just outside of my vision. I scream and yell, but garbled words and hoarse whispers are all that come out. I try to move my body and it takes everything I've got to mave a body part, and that still doesn't make me snap out of it. One time I actually raised one of my arms and it just stayed suspended there, which totally freaked me out. So I reached up with my other arm and grabbed my wrist. I was just laying there for like 2 whole minutes with my arms in the ait, silently screaming for my husband. It was very traumatic.

I really empathize with all of you and know the true terror that SP can cause. I truly hope you can all find something to help control or, OH JOY OF JOYS, completely eliminate these nasty episodes that can scar the mind. If any of you ever need to talk, feel free to e-mail me. Thanks for listening.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Shaney on 06/08/2006 21:44:55
Hi..I have had SP since a child (I'm 33)I go through times where I have them weekly or more often then I don't experience them for months. I haven't had one for a few months. The last one was the worst I have ever had. ...It started with me waking up and looking accross at my husband and I was suddenly 'dragged' away from him and 'something' started to beat me up. I could feel the blows but no pain at all. It seemed to last for ages but probably didn't. Usually I can get out of a SP by just staying calm and relaxed as I know it's not real but this time it was far too much to handle!
Another thing I want to mention: I also experience hallucinations without the paralysis but only at night! I have seen a v. big spider that changed into a v. big butterfly! and all sorts of things like fairies and once even a women handing me a book!!! These don't actually frighten me like the SP does.

"I'm not feeling very well, I need a doctor immediately. Ring the nearest golf course."
Groucho Marx
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: cette_fille_est_dingue on 06/08/2006 22:37:48
For some strange reason SP has been happening to me way to often for comfort. I've had it twice in the past week and just today i had it in the afternoon when i was taking a nap. I wanted to see if it would happen to me during the day time so i took a nap on my back because that's when it usually happens, and it happened. It was weird this time because I didn't feel an impending sense of doom as I usually do, just, I don't even know. But I felt my blanket slip and I tried to open my eyes but I couldn't. Actually, I think i may have gotten them open just a little, but I felt all this pressure coming on to me. It was weird. Then I think it immediately went into a dream because I thought that I sat up and screamed, but no sound came up. Then it stopped and the blanket was definitely still on my body. It was quite odd. The time before that, I was too scared to go back to sleep and the weirdest thing was that once it stopped it went straight into a dream, that i knew was a dream (lucid dreaming?) and I was telling my friends that SP had just happened to me, but they wouldn't beleive me. Oh and to reply another thread, i too think i'm getting weaker with my SP and I don't understand why all of a sudden i'm having it so often because before this it only happened once or twice, say every 3 months since I was very young and i'm 16 right now.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Thy Wraith on 08/08/2006 23:54:38
I have finally altered SP!I have had it since i was 7 now im 21 but only until i was 18-19 i started getting it more often.I haven't really heard anything but once i had a SP episode and my Tv was on and the tv screen was like a purplish color it was strange but that is the only thing that has happened that was weird.Most the other times i wake up i notice whats goin on and just close my eyes and go back to sleep but I think what triggers my SP is when i lucid dream when i wake myself up from a dream i will have a SP moment and when that happens i just wake myself up as if i would in a dream but yesterday i slept in the day and i woke up in a SP mode and i thought to myself how i can have fun with this so i used my mind and I told my brain to move my right arm as high as i could,I concetrated on it for about 10 seconds and all of a sudden my arm raised! i was so happy so after that i woke myself up for a brief second just to go back to sleep and i closed my eyes again and about 3 minutes later i woke up in SP again so this time i actually tried to walk i just thought to myself of sleepwalkin but the thing is i was aware of it  i got as far as getting my feet on the ground and about to stand up but lost concentration when i stepped on a damn remote and i ended fallin on my face but even though my nose was bleedin from the fall i was still happy to actually do something with this experience i'm not sayin SP is the best feelin in the world but if u got the skills use them thats what i say because SP is all mind over matter so give it a shot don't be afraid that is the main reason i think people have alot of pressure on their chest and can't breathe is because they don't wanna be in that position and they don't know whats happening and begin to panic so some advice once you know your in SP relax and if you want to wake up and don't know how to lucid dream inhale really fast through your nose and try to jerk your head back and you should wake up fine but if i knew exactly how to activate SP at anytime when i sleep i would do it everyday just so i can have OBE's and a little fun hehe =)I hope this gives so advice to you all how to take this "Paranoid feeling" and have fun also

Money is like fertilizer,it's useless unless you spread it around
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: fm47 on 12/08/2006 11:14:43
Hello everyone--I've posted a few posts above and hope some of you have read it.

As I read each person's experience, I feel that the theories and perspectives will be too hard to be given at once.  So I will be working on an essay dedicated to Sleep Paralysis as I do believe that it may be catagorized, conqured (sp; excuse the pun), and enjoyed as an experience unable to have elsewise.

Please check back regularly and I will, given time, write a document based on what I believe SP is.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Thy Wraith on 14/08/2006 00:25:03
ok i gotta tell u all 1 thing that has happened to me once well i had a SP episode i was laying there trying to speak and i said something but it was as if i had a OBE the way it sounded like i heard what i said but it sounded like my voice was thrown  it's hard to explain ok say if u were speaking to someone and u hear urself speaking and u feel ur throat tingling when talkin well i didnt feel my throat but i heard what i was saying as if somone was saying what i said to me confusing yes but its the only way i could describe it also i wish i knew when my next SP episode will be so then i can get my camera and record what happens that will be interesting.....

Money is like fertilizer,it's useless unless you spread it around
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: aero annie on 20/08/2006 01:07:34
Hello, I, like a lot of you, recently found this thread while searching for sleep paralysis information. I'm 19 years old and usually have an SP experience once every two or three months. They must have started when I was around 15 or 16, though I also have a history of childhood night terrors. Anyway, I won't get into the specifics of my experiences because they're so much like what has already been posted, but I do have one question. Does anyone else find that when they're going to have a SP night, they wake up about 20 minutes after initally falling asleep, fall asleep again, wake up 20 minutes later, and repeat this cycle a few times before falling asleep for two or three hours, then waking up and not being able to move? That's how mine always happen and they usually only happen when I go to sleep early (I'm usually a bit of a night owl). I haven't seen this mentioned in any research--does this happen to anyone else?
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: aero annie on 20/08/2006 01:11:38
Oh, also, has anyone heard of "Kokma"? It's like the Old Hag theory, but Kokma is supposed to be a spirit of a dead baby that haunts the West Indies. This theory sticks with me because the first time I remember having an attack (I don't know what to call them) I was having a dream about a ghost baby, then woke up not being able to move and later read the story online. Like others have mentioned, I returned to that dream after falling back asleep just as I usually do. I hate it.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: KP on 31/08/2006 23:09:41
I have had SP since I was a very young... I don't remember much when I was 3 or 4 years old, but I do remember experiencing SP around that age..  I recall going to bed and all of a sudden I couldn't move.. I then would hear a loud buzzing tone which vibrated throughout my head and I felt myself spinning around.. The louder  and more intense the tone was, the  faster I would feel myself spinning around.  I eventually would wake up and was terrified about what had just happened.. I thought I was dying or something..
       This would happen to me throughout the years as I got older...I'm now in my 30's and it still happens to me.. The way I usually get out of SP is I would try to move my finger...Eventually after a few minutes my finger would move and I would rapidly gain access to the rest of my muscles and I would wake up..This  technique has always worked for me..
       One night I decided not to be afraid anymore and go with  the SP experience... My muscles became paralyzed, I heard the high pitched buzzing noise in my head..(sounded like a musicians tuning fork), I felt the vibrations and I had the sensation of spinning around and around..I was relaxed, my breathing was slow and deep but I didn't try to move my finger to wake up...instead I went with it and do you want to know what happened?  Nothing!  I drifted off into a peaceful sleep..So there is no need to panic the next time this happens to you..I actually look foward to it happening because it's such a weird a different feeling..  hope this helps
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: KP on 31/08/2006 23:09:41
I have had SP since I was a very young... I don't remember much when I was 3 or 4 years old, but I do remember experiencing SP around that age..  I recall going to bed and all of a sudden I couldn't move.. I then would hear a loud buzzing tone which vibrated throughout my head and I felt myself spinning around.. The louder  and more intense the tone was, the  faster I would feel myself spinning around.  I eventually would wake up and was terrified about what had just happened.. I thought I was dying or something..
       This would happen to me throughout the years as I got older...I'm now in my 30's and it still happens to me.. The way I usually get out of SP is I would try to move my finger...Eventually after a few minutes my finger would move and I would rapidly gain access to the rest of my muscles and I would wake up..This  technique has always worked for me..
       One night I decided not to be afraid anymore and go with  the SP experience... My muscles became paralyzed, I heard the high pitched buzzing noise in my head..(sounded like a musicians tuning fork), I felt the vibrations and I had the sensation of spinning around and around..I was relaxed, my breathing was slow and deep but I didn't try to move my finger to wake up...instead I went with it and do you want to know what happened?  Nothing!  I drifted off into a peaceful sleep..So there is no need to panic the next time this happens to you..I actually look foward to it happening because it's such a weird a different feeling..  hope this helps
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: terrytoh on 03/09/2006 21:11:25
Seem like a few of you here enjoy the feeling of SP...[|)]
For me, I really afraid of it coming, sometimes it may get so intense that I nearly fainted. Sometimes it happens so many times in a single night that I can't sleep properly although I am so tired. I am not sure if SP only occurs during the night, does anyone here experienced in the day?
I hope that there will be in depth research into this disorder, whether it is supernatural or human health issue, we need an answer on why and how it happens.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: djalki on 04/09/2006 18:48:58
Hi there, Im really happy I found this forum and its still alive and kicking!! Just awnted to share with you the strange happenings I have had which I now believe to be SP.

To start, when I was about 5 years old There used to be a "lady" who visited me while I was in bed, I remember like it was yesterday and not 18 years ago, anyway, cutting a long story short, she used to ask how my day was etc, and if i panicked, I would try to shoult i would feel my lips move but nothing was coming out and i was unable to move..Sleep paralysis at 4 / 5 years old? Possible unless my house was haunted..

Over the last 5 or 6 years ive had this feer of going to sleep for a few reasons,, reasons as bizzar as
*Just as im about to "sleep" (literally seconds probably from dozing off) I get the over whelming sence that I cant breath and i can feel its almost as if im being sucked into a hole in the ground.

*Ive never really been affraid or a believer of ghosts kinda person but since my so called "SP" happenings ive had this horrible sence of being watched, 1000000times more when im in bed, but it can happen if im sat in the same space for a while. Ill be in bed and then ill get scared for no reason and im still not sure if the reason i dont move is because i am too scared to or because i cant, or maybe tis even a mixture of the two. Its just a feeling that if i turn over then if i look back there will be some"thing" stood there, but I end up being so scared and fighting the panic that i have to get the energy and will to get up and put the light on, i can lye there for a good 15 minutes without moving for no reason, just petrified. << Is this also a kind of SP.. because its really scaring me :-(

There is also another thing maybe not connected that keeps happening only recently ive done a google search and cant find anything. Basically all it is, is when im half way to nod nod land ill get a major haullucination.. not one that you have your eyes open its one that i see with my eyes closed. If u can imagine having your eyes closed then a blue or yellow or red or ornage (i get differnt colors every time) its like a lightening strike that i can see in front of my eyes, well maybe nto as bright, more ilke a blue stream of electricity, or it is different colors, and when this happens I hear a loud click in my head, its not coming into my ears, its like listening to a mono song, it sound slike its right in the middle of my head and after that my ears ring like ive been shouted at or a trumpet has blown in my ear..

Can any one please help me find explainations to this, i want and need some answers because its all getting scary and im affraid to go to the doctors incase he thinks im nuts :'(

Thanks

Dan Hall
djalki@hotmail.co.uk
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Audrey Kavanagh on 05/09/2006 15:22:05
Hi,

I just experienced another sleep paralysis last night and decided to look it up this morning. I didn't know what to expect to find on the net but am glad I found so much info, because I was really beginning to get worried about these sensations I've been having !!! Firstly I kept reading that this happens when lying on your back in bed and the feeling of someone sitting on your chest ?? But I'm the other way round....I'm always lying on my stomach, face to the side with the feeling of someone lying on top of me... and that tingling sensation, kinda like pins and needles but scary as if someone's feeling you all over ??? Allthough I was scared last night, it had happened maybe 3/4 times before so I knew it would pass...but still wanted to scream out to the girl I live with cos I could hear her outside my room...but couldn't open my mouth, I think that could be the scariest part of it !!

The first 2 times it happened, I thought it was a kind of a ghostly thing because my mother had recently died but I knew she wouldn't want to scare or harm me so then I just began to think it was a nightmare.
I'm really finding it interesting to read so much about it, one web page explains it as an outer body experience and that it should be embraced and not feared.....will definitely try to do so if it happens again !!

Thanks for sharing your stuff guys... I feel great now !
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: princessbunny on 13/09/2006 22:43:09
heya,

i suffered from SP last night, i can honeastly say i have never been so scared in my life im 22 and i recall it happening 6 times last night i didnt know what to do thankfully i have a friend stay last night so she sat up with me , even thinking about it make me scared, short of breath and cry.

i just remember everytime it happened feeling very awake i didnt notice at first then i tried to move my arm and i couldnt i remember my friend telling me about when it happened to her i i just tried to move something i tried toscream and nothing came out  and my chest started to get tight like it was being sat on  it was horrible. i never want it to happen again im so scared to go to sleep i just dont know what to do.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Rhapsody on 14/09/2006 19:00:50
princessbunny. Just reading your post I get emotional, I have been through that same thing for many years. I wish I had an answer. As I posted early that ever since I leave a lamp in the far corner of the room with a small 25 watt bulb on all night, I have not had the problem. I can't explain it but it has worked. It's worth a try.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: fm47 on 17/09/2006 08:58:04
a really good way to prevent sp for me is to turn on music with my computer and set my computer on an automatic shutdown... set it slightly over a time that you think you'd fall asleep.  Have it at 30 min if you must.  The point is to distract your mind before you fall asleep, meaning TV will also work.  Of course, you don't want any sound, or, as little as possible sound, while you sleep, so make sure it can be timed to shut off.  Gl

an on the note of that document i was planning to write... I've written a few things down, but havnt written everything yet with school and all so we'll have to see
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: brandon on 18/09/2006 15:35:51
Hello,
   my name is brandon, 34yrs old from the US.  i have had SP for as long as i could remember. i have been thinking for ever that i was the only one with this and thought that it was from taking to much LSD and POT. Or opening some spiritual can of worms from lying on my bed naked trying to astro project at about age 9.  Later in life, while on these hallucinogens (Spelling?) at around 19 yrs old to 21, i was able to meditate and go into this state of SP so as to reach "nirvana". the whole time i was able to speak.  i got so good at it that i was able to do it by just listening to trance, or rave music with no drugs.  and then i was able to just meditate with nothing else and "The Door" as i called it would open. each time it got more intense and what felt as "Going deeper".  After a while, i had it "come on" on accident while just sitting there. but not fully.  all of these i was not asleep at all.  At about 22 yeas old i became a christian. and i thought it would stop.   i was never able to fully project my body until one night.  i was lying on my bed and i was NOT asleep.  i have a hard time going asleep anyway.  i just read some book on christians getting rocked by demons and other weird stuff.  and the thought came to me... just the thought, i haven’t tried to go out side my body for a while.. then zoom i was sitting up out side my body. i could hear this sound like you hear when you are yawning but more intense. like hearing your own blood coursing threw your veins. then the utter panicking terror hit me.  sheer utter terror. and a force so evil was in my room. then the blacker than black syrupy sticky evil demon thing started choking me.  i looked down and saw my body laying there. i could hear my heart beating. & the though came to me that i must get back in my body then the grip got tighter around my neck.  it started pulling me out of my body. i felt and believe it wanted my body to live in and was trying to "pull me out of the shell so this spiritual hermit crap could have his new shell... sorta speak"  there was a reason for him choking me.  there is a name that demons fear and that is higher than all other names which is Jesus.  i tried like CRAZY to speak Jesus help me to no avail.  Gutturally i got out the name Jesus only and then it was like snapping a rubber band.... slam! i was back in my body, gasped for air, started yelling and freaking out... ran to wake up my dad who used to be like some warlock, witch dude who used to give guided group tours with small groups of people...ASTRO PROJECTING!  freak! and one time while in another city they all "flew up to my city to check on my mom and she was giving me a cool bath in the sink because i had a fever.  he "flew" back and they got back in their bodies and all concurred that they all saw the same thing.  he called my mom and without her telling him what she was doing, he told her that i would be ok and what he saw.  she freaked out because she knew he was away and couldn't have known what she was doing...  weird eh...  any way  i knew my dad had experience with eccencar, or astro projecting.  so i woke him up and told him the happenings.  he calmed me down and revealed to me that our family had a generational ability to do this and it ( the SP episodes) is a door i discovered.  he said that it all was real and not a dream and he used it when he was younger to fly around and check stuff out and even as a leader of some group that would do it together.  he said once opening the door the feeling of fear would come, that was the devils tool.  he said if you give in to the fear, you would be given a feeling of nirvana and ecstasy or enlightenment.  but to be warned  that is the trick... kind of like bait.  if you give in to it he can come in and kick you out or rule over you or posses you.  so resist it!!! I know i know.. you are thinking what a fruit cake...bunch of loons.  any way being christians, we prayed that this "door" would be shut by God and that it would never be opened again.
   I wish i could say it worked.  It still haunts me.  i feel that there are demons waiting for me to slip up and go or slip out of my body so they can jump in.  i still have these "Doorway" SP episodes about once a month and some times twice or three times a day.  frozen like under a trance, not able to move any thing but my eyes. terror seizing me. cant even scream. weird blood rushing threw my head under pressure, all while awake just before falling asleep. or just watching tv.  if any of you are thinking of going out of their bodies... beware!!!  we don’t know whets out there! i know we are curious and inquisitive creatures..  but trust me what worth is it to not be able to get back inside your own body while some trickster is at the steering wheel!?  and your just screwed!!!  
  any way...crazy world we live in. i have my own conclusions as to what medically SP is and isn't but no idea as to the cure. if any one can email me a cure for this or needs support or would like to talk about this email me at faithfulfive@juno.com    idiots and jerks along with spammers will be reported,   thanks brandon
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: fm47 on 17/09/2006 08:58:04
a really good way to prevent sp for me is to turn on music with my computer and set my computer on an automatic shutdown... set it slightly over a time that you think you'd fall asleep.  Have it at 30 min if you must.  The point is to distract your mind before you fall asleep, meaning TV will also work.  Of course, you don't want any sound, or, as little as possible sound, while you sleep, so make sure it can be timed to shut off.  Gl

an on the note of that document i was planning to write... I've written a few things down, but havnt written everything yet with school and all so we'll have to see
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: brandon on 18/09/2006 15:35:51
Hello,
   my name is brandon, 34yrs old from the US.  i have had SP for as long as i could remember. i have been thinking for ever that i was the only one with this and thought that it was from taking to much LSD and POT. Or opening some spiritual can of worms from lying on my bed naked trying to astro project at about age 9.  Later in life, while on these hallucinogens (Spelling?) at around 19 yrs old to 21, i was able to meditate and go into this state of SP so as to reach "nirvana". the whole time i was able to speak.  i got so good at it that i was able to do it by just listening to trance, or rave music with no drugs.  and then i was able to just meditate with nothing else and "The Door" as i called it would open. each time it got more intense and what felt as "Going deeper".  After a while, i had it "come on" on accident while just sitting there. but not fully.  all of these i was not asleep at all.  At about 22 yeas old i became a christian. and i thought it would stop.   i was never able to fully project my body until one night.  i was lying on my bed and i was NOT asleep.  i have a hard time going asleep anyway.  i just read some book on christians getting rocked by demons and other weird stuff.  and the thought came to me... just the thought, i haven’t tried to go out side my body for a while.. then zoom i was sitting up out side my body. i could hear this sound like you hear when you are yawning but more intense. like hearing your own blood coursing threw your veins. then the utter panicking terror hit me.  sheer utter terror. and a force so evil was in my room. then the blacker than black syrupy sticky evil demon thing started choking me.  i looked down and saw my body laying there. i could hear my heart beating. & the though came to me that i must get back in my body then the grip got tighter around my neck.  it started pulling me out of my body. i felt and believe it wanted my body to live in and was trying to "pull me out of the shell so this spiritual hermit crap could have his new shell... sorta speak"  there was a reason for him choking me.  there is a name that demons fear and that is higher than all other names which is Jesus.  i tried like CRAZY to speak Jesus help me to no avail.  Gutturally i got out the name Jesus only and then it was like snapping a rubber band.... slam! i was back in my body, gasped for air, started yelling and freaking out... ran to wake up my dad who used to be like some warlock, witch dude who used to give guided group tours with small groups of people...ASTRO PROJECTING!  freak! and one time while in another city they all "flew up to my city to check on my mom and she was giving me a cool bath in the sink because i had a fever.  he "flew" back and they got back in their bodies and all concurred that they all saw the same thing.  he called my mom and without her telling him what she was doing, he told her that i would be ok and what he saw.  she freaked out because she knew he was away and couldn't have known what she was doing...  weird eh...  any way  i knew my dad had experience with eccencar, or astro projecting.  so i woke him up and told him the happenings.  he calmed me down and revealed to me that our family had a generational ability to do this and it ( the SP episodes) is a door i discovered.  he said that it all was real and not a dream and he used it when he was younger to fly around and check stuff out and even as a leader of some group that would do it together.  he said once opening the door the feeling of fear would come, that was the devils tool.  he said if you give in to the fear, you would be given a feeling of nirvana and ecstasy or enlightenment.  but to be warned  that is the trick... kind of like bait.  if you give in to it he can come in and kick you out or rule over you or posses you.  so resist it!!! I know i know.. you are thinking what a fruit cake...bunch of loons.  any way being christians, we prayed that this "door" would be shut by God and that it would never be opened again.
   I wish i could say it worked.  It still haunts me.  i feel that there are demons waiting for me to slip up and go or slip out of my body so they can jump in.  i still have these "Doorway" SP episodes about once a month and some times twice or three times a day.  frozen like under a trance, not able to move any thing but my eyes. terror seizing me. cant even scream. weird blood rushing threw my head under pressure, all while awake just before falling asleep. or just watching tv.  if any of you are thinking of going out of their bodies... beware!!!  we don’t know whets out there! i know we are curious and inquisitive creatures..  but trust me what worth is it to not be able to get back inside your own body while some trickster is at the steering wheel!?  and your just screwed!!!  
  any way...crazy world we live in. i have my own conclusions as to what medically SP is and isn't but no idea as to the cure. if any one can email me a cure for this or needs support or would like to talk about this email me at faithfulfive@juno.com    idiots and jerks along with spammers will be reported,   thanks brandon
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: kimmer on 20/09/2006 04:48:04
Hello.  This started happening to me years ago.  The occurrence is sometimes preceded by a loud banging noise while I am still awake.  Normally, I would jump up and check on a loud banging noise in my home in the middle of the night, but I immediately fall asleep.  Later, at some point, I feel as if I am wide awake and alert but I cannot move, only my eyes. I will see a black figure wearing a hat and overcoat -- it reminds me of those characters you see in the old Humphrey Bogart gangster movies -- but totally black, no features, with its hands in its pockets.  Even though I could not see a face, I got the impression it was just peering at me from my bedroom door. Another time I was vacationing in Ireland, and I woke up and an old white-haired lady in a long robe-like garment was standing at my bedside right by my head and was clacking two stones together.  I see other things too and call me a crackpot but I woke up and saw a grey creature like a human but only about 3 feet tall, large head, thin arms and huge eyes.  It looked surprised that I opened my eyes and looked at it.  It had four very long fingers and no thumb.  There were others in the room, too, standing to the side and back of it.  I finally refused to sleep at night and only sleep in the day.  It never happens in the daytime.  I did accidentlly fall asleep last night while it was dark and the same thing happened only when I opened my eyes I saw a large owl.  Sometimes if I can just move a finger or a toe I can come out of it but I have a very, very hard time staying awake when I do.  I feel like I have been drugged.  It's freaky. I wish I could overcome this problem.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: kimmer on 20/09/2006 04:48:04
Hello.  This started happening to me years ago.  The occurrence is sometimes preceded by a loud banging noise while I am still awake.  Normally, I would jump up and check on a loud banging noise in my home in the middle of the night, but I immediately fall asleep.  Later, at some point, I feel as if I am wide awake and alert but I cannot move, only my eyes. I will see a black figure wearing a hat and overcoat -- it reminds me of those characters you see in the old Humphrey Bogart gangster movies -- but totally black, no features, with its hands in its pockets.  Even though I could not see a face, I got the impression it was just peering at me from my bedroom door. Another time I was vacationing in Ireland, and I woke up and an old white-haired lady in a long robe-like garment was standing at my bedside right by my head and was clacking two stones together.  I see other things too and call me a crackpot but I woke up and saw a grey creature like a human but only about 3 feet tall, large head, thin arms and huge eyes.  It looked surprised that I opened my eyes and looked at it.  It had four very long fingers and no thumb.  There were others in the room, too, standing to the side and back of it.  I finally refused to sleep at night and only sleep in the day.  It never happens in the daytime.  I did accidentlly fall asleep last night while it was dark and the same thing happened only when I opened my eyes I saw a large owl.  Sometimes if I can just move a finger or a toe I can come out of it but I have a very, very hard time staying awake when I do.  I feel like I have been drugged.  It's freaky. I wish I could overcome this problem.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: jaded_sad_girl on 24/09/2006 01:53:03
THIS IS A LETTER I SENT TO THE WRITER OF AN ARTICLE ABOUT SP.IT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING AND I DID NOT WANT TO RE-WRITE IT.



Subj: PLEASE READ THIS!(seriously please)about SP..  
Date: 9/23/2006 7:23:04 PM Central Daylight Time
From: Ducky7766@AOL.COM
To: slinkii@theshadowlands.net
 


Thank you so much for the page you wrote about SP. I have been an occasional sufferer for about 4 years now. I have been looking for somebody that has had this "SP" since my first attack, even consulted docters, but with no such luck. I have NEVER had a decent explanation until today. I am 21 and recently had a child. I noticed that I had more attacks durring pregnancy, and when my husband I were fighting than any other time. Also durring pregancy I was forced to sleep on my back often.I have always wondered about the relation of the supine position to the "paralyzing dreams".
       The two worst episodes were terrifying. The first horrible episode happened when I was taking an afternoon nap. I had not yet fallen asleep , or so I thought. The paralyzing sensation came over me. All of a sudden I saw a hand coming at me.(This would be the ONLY hallucination that I actually saw something THAT WASNT REAL, and not just felt the presence)The hand looked grey and dead, and was not attatched to any sort of body. It was just  floating there. I regained movement and the hand dissapeared. I continued to try to sleep but everytime I tried the SP would start again..Oddly enough if i caught it on time I could stop it from completely paralyzing me. I would only "start" to become tingly. weird eh? Well I just decided to lay on my side after that.It worked. But that was one of the scariest things I have ever seen. It seemed so real..
       The second scariest encounter with SP happened at night. I was sleeping next to Ryan and all of a sudden I was paralyzed again. I was awake I could SEE the alarm clock. It said 2:55 a.m. I started floating , for some reason I could still see Ryan too. He sat up and gave me a horrified look. I was so scared. SO SCARED. Then i started thinking, why doesnt he help me. I was able to move again shortly after. I slapped the hell out of Ryan saying "why didnt you help me?" He said he had been sleeping the whole time. I looked at the clock and it said 2:59 a.m..After the dream I couldnt seem to catch my breath. I kept falling down when I tried to walk. Ryan took me to the docter. They said my blood pressure was dangerously low.They kept me in the hospital until I was regular again. THE Frea  kin DOCTER TOLD ME IT WAS AN "ANXIETY ATTACK"  I know it wasnt. I dont know how I knew. I just did. I was pissed off.
       My first experience with SP was the most insane one though. Not quite as scary for me at the time because I had no idea what it was..I was laying in bed..not sleeping just laying down.All of a sudden I felt this numbness come over me. I could barely move , but i still could a little bit. But It felt like I was "almost paralyzed" and I had a falling feeling in my stomache. I thought It was fun oddly enough.AND I COULD CONTROL IT WITH MY MIND. So i closed my eyes and started thinking about a roller coster. It was so out of this world.When i closed my eyes and thought about the roller coster, I was there , I could feel It , See it , Hear it.Its like I really was on a roller coaster ride. When I felt like I was about to loose control of the dream Or that it was getting way too intense , I could use my mind to bring me out of it.I repeated this  a few times. It was actually amusing me. Sadly that was the only SP occurance that I have been able to control. THE ONLY ONE. All the SP occurances after that were impossible to control. I always fought them but it never worked.Whn I read your article it made me think about my first experience..If there is a way to contol SP,god knows what we could do with it.....

       Anyways you are the first person that I have met that has suffered from SP.I thought i would tell you about my most bizzare bouts of SP. Until today I thought I was freakin crazy

sincerly
amanda

ducky7766@aol.com
my main email

Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: ScouseLad on 25/09/2006 06:50:30
WOW. thank you. I'll try that..

quote:
Originally posted by arunescu

I'm glad I found this thread. All my life I thought only I suffered from this "thing" which is the most frightening experience ever

I had sleep paralisys very often as child - maybe weekly. in time the episodes have diminished in number but I was still experiencing it once every 6 months as a teenager

I'm 26 now and haven't had one for a long time - maybe 2 or 3 years

In all these occurences an evil presence was around me - and it was always a woman though I can't describe her figure. The feeling can be described as being burried alive and there was nothing I could do. couldn't move, couldn't speak and the most interesting thing was that I was awake - could see the room and the evil presence around me. I believe there is nothing more frightening in this world than sleep paralysis

as a teenager, even though I realized there are no ghosts, UFOs, poltergeist, etc I was still frightened while paralised as that presence was so real in the room and it wasn't a dream although it feels like one

in time I developed an escape method and become experienced in doing this: maybe someone who still suffers from sleep paralisys can apply it as well:

while paralysed try to contract and expand your butt muscles very fast - you will then be able to move other muscles untill you will be in control of your whole body and be able to "wake up"

I guess we all tried hard to escape these episodes but lately I wanted just to stay there in that state and see what happens without trying to escape........ it never happened again though...still waiting :)

Arun


Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: ScouseLad on 25/09/2006 07:20:11
I red about 1 and a half pages of this subject, and got lazy. Anyway I can go to bed if I want, and willingly suffer sleep paralisis. I have looked it up before because it used to terrorise me. The way that I don't suffer from it these days is by sleeping on my front. I cannot sleep on my back or I am 80% - 90% sure it will happen again to me... (unless there is someone else in the room or bed or couch)

Many times however, do i wake up lying on my back from the weirdest OBE's (Out of Body Experiences).
If you suffer from sleep paralisis do not read on if you get scared easily.
To me, when this happens (OBE) I actually feel asif my soul is leaving my body. And I think that is genuinly what has happend to me before. I don't care if you don't beleave in you have a soul and physical sensors are all in your brain or whatever... People who suffer from brain damage etc are all still there.. they just cant refer or relate the way they used to.
Anyway going back a couple of weeks to when it last happend.. I went asleep on my stomach (as I always do) and woke up on my back, however before i woke up on my back... I woke up (or so it seemed).. And then i proceeded to get out of bed, without my body, and float.. (can't think of a better word 2 describe the moving) to my door, and to try and get out of my bedroom.. However I could not open my door as i couldn't use my hands (because theyre on my body).. And so looking around, or down, you don't see legs.. It's asif you can float around, but its like learning to walk again.. And so because i could't open the door I thought this is bad, and tried screaming but couldn't. Then what I always do is think to throw myself to the floor in an attempt to make a noise and hopefully woke up someone else in the house. But I float down to the floor, feel like a beeched whale and then wake up. Weird eh?..
Another time I went asleep on my back, drifted off, woke up, couldn't move. This was a few months back now, but still vivid in my memory.. anyway i woke up and was completely relaxed but I was trying lightly to move.. When I felt myself lifting up through the roof, and I could see all the house tops around me, and I thought about visiting some friends who live very close by, but I began to get terrified thinking asif I was dying or something.. And relaxed back letting my soul enter my body.. Or so it seems...
I think that the old lady may also somehow be where the grim reper comes from,(as in different cultures its different hilusanations) as it's something we can think and comprehend that is going to kill us before we die and can float off I don't where..  
Some of my friends have suffered from sleep paralisis also, although not as frequently as myself, and without the weird things that happen to me, and I'm always the one whos started the topic of conversation about it before realising that they suffer from it.
I'm not sure if many other people experience soul leaving the body experiences.. but I know I have.
I also beleave that when you die you experience sleep paralisis.. but in a much less terrorising way.. a more relaxed way.. I like to think.. This is because waking up from sleep paralisis sometimes I think to myself 'I was sure I was going to die'.. Then forget what actually happend, but when also knowing it was sleep paralisis. Like kind of when you have a dream and within a few seconds its erased from your memory.. I can't actually think of anything more to say about my own experiences...

Peace...
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: N2Jesus on 27/09/2006 15:10:13
I'm 19, and I've been dealing with sleep paralysis since I was about 10 years old.  My episodes come in clusters.  I'll experience SP many times in one week, then go a couple weeks without it happening.  Though I usually only experience paralysis along with a sensed presence, occasionally it's much worse.

Once I was napping on my couch and I woke up suddenly unable to move (blah blah).  I remember that I was paralysed for a long time and I was trying very hard to move.  Then I suddenly woke up and sat up on my couch.  I called my dad on the phone and then I called a friend.  I suddenly realized that I wasn't really awake, I was having a lucid dream then.  I then woke up on the couch again but couldnt move.  I then "woke up" for a third time.  I immediately realized it was only a dream.  I remember walking around my room thinking how real everything seemed.  I then got weirded out because I knew I was still paralysed on the couch.  I woke up on my couch paralysed again.  I then saw shadows of peoples feet moving around the room and I thougt someone had broken in.  I then woke up for real.

Another time, which was more recent, I was sleeping on my couch again.  I woke up paralysed.  I tried very hard to move my feet and legs to wake myself up.  Then I felt someone picking me up by my hair.  I felt like the thing picking me up was an evil being.  I then felt like I was lying on my back and flying down an endless hallway.  I also felt like I was flying around the "being" that picked me up.  He said something to me that was very vivid in my dream, but when I woke up, I couldn't remember what he said.

Anywho, I'm a little tired of typing, haha.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: lph on 29/09/2006 01:40:43
Thanks for everyone who have posted their experiences.

i've just googled my experience and found this website, i've never posted a thread or blog before because i always think people who do so, are people who haven't got anything better to do so with their lifes!
but this is different, recently i've experienced exactly what many of you have posted. to tell you the truth it's terrified me, i've recently found my religon again and have thought that i'm allowing my religous beliefs to overtake me unconsciencely. But from reading this i'm comforted that, i'm not alone in my experiences (i thought i was losing it! [:)])

But i'm not sure if this is a medical or spiritual issue?

Just to give you an idea, i can now sense when it's going to happen (2-3 minutes before they do so) when i'm half alseep and they have been getting worse?!?, well they've been more concerning and realistic/ and darker recently. it now happens 2-3 times a night - 3/4 times a week. Last night for the first time i saw a figure standing above me on my bed (it looked like me, a double...but i'm not sure) the night before that i saw i white round orb going to and from my face from the far wall from my bed, i can open my eyes but i can't scream or move. im suffering from paralysis! usually i think i see dark shadows moving around the room, but i wonder if this is just my mind playing tricks on me?

on every experience my head is ringing or buzzing, and i need to shake myself to getting out of this - but i'm feeling weaker and weaker from my first experince. They are lasting alot longer now!

i've tried everything from prayer before sleeping, to attempting to say the lords prayer whilst it's happening to me. neither has worked in stopping it!

if this is something spiritual it certainly isn't something good or nice, my only other comfort apart from now knowing others have experienced similar incidents and that i'm not a nutter! is that where there is evil there must be a good - certainly re-inforces my faith in a higher power/ or greater power (for me, being god).

Thanks again to everyone who have recorded their comments, i only decided to google this after what i experienced last night - with seeing that image of myself, and it's really given me a piece of mind that i'm not alone.

ta
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: fm47 on 29/09/2006 09:31:27
Wow, this thread just grows and grows.  Anyhow, I had a couple more sp experiences since I've last posted.  What's hilarious is that it's become a game for me.  I realized that if I begin to feel fear, it becomes sudden hell.  In the darkness (which seems to be the recent theme, where everything is just a dark nothingness), my leg started to be tugged, I thought, "Crap, I'm thinking of fear" and just that thought alone made that tug an yanking.  Soon I was playing tug-of-war with... hm, I wonder what it was.  Anyhow, the "thing" pulling my leg, although was "winning", could not pull me away from where I was (although I was really nowhere inside the vast of darkness), perhaps a few inches.  Then it started spinning me around and around, as if trying to twist the attachment between me and the surface apart.  It didn't work.
The day after that, I thought, "If I thought fear... it becomes scary, but what if I thought of... her (a particular girl I've had a crush on for a while)?  So I tried my best to remember, and I did.  I began thinking her name, repeating it in my head and thinking of her image.  Although it didn't work out as planned, I met with a different girl... of which I've cannot say I have had any real experience or imaginations with.  It was very brief, as if I couldn't sustain the ability to "control" my dream, and I woke up.

What do I make of this?
A) It's all in the mind in these two cases
B) Experimentation with such phenomenons are scary.  Why?  Because sometimes you think "maybe I'll just let it win and 'take me', but just before it feels like it's really going to take you, you panic.  I imagine it to be the sudden regret of those committing suicide.
C) These two dreams do not conclude what my beliefs of SP are.

For those who are interested in experimenting with it, please share your experiment results :D
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Kir on 04/10/2006 22:47:28
I had to look this issue up to see if there was a forum topic.
Ive had a read through and it clearly prooves i'm not going insane..
I'm 17 and I have had this experience 3 times.. The first was about a year ago. The pinning to the bed happened and the buzzing in my ear. And to the right side of me was a white figure of a bloke laying next to me. Scared me half to death but I didn'y know whether it was a dream, it felt so real. The second time was about 2 months ago. I could feel the similar feeling as the first. But my cousin died last december and I figured Whats the worst that could happen and I let it pin me with no struggling. I said hello and it said hello back. This was not the frightening feeling everyone else is describing. This was a warming feeling and it talked to me I asked why it was there and it said "to keep you company" It could have all been a halucination but it told me to close my eyes and go to sleep, and as I did I felt stroking of my hair and arm. After this amazing experience I thought nothing of it. Untill about 5 days ago. It happend again.. i let myself get pinned again said hello and it replyed. I asked where it was and the next moment a black ( I dont know how to describe it) appeared merging itself together.. It was a horrible feeling and not the nice one i had felt the second time.. The fear caused me to struggle and I couldnt shout. My mother was downstairs but I couldnt scream. But as I sruggled The blackness just merged into itself and vanished.. I then got up and grabbed my mobile phone.. And turned on my side reading my phone. I left it by the pillow allowing me to know whether it was a dream or not. I then looked around me room and there were a few white figures although I See that as my eyes playing up because I had just switched my lamp on and off. I woke up the next day and the phone possition prooved that it was no dream.  

Sleep paralysis Is the most terrifying thing ive ever experienced. Most of my mates shrug it off as if i'm making it up.. only one person i know has experienced it for themselves. From now on I won't sleep on my back. Only my side. I'm just so glad i'm not the only one who goes through this.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: ursularanis on 07/10/2006 05:28:43
I have this rather strange phenomenon happening over the past 6 years or so. I awake from sleep and as I am about to fall back to sleep I go into what I can only describe as a quazi altered state. The sensation is a kind of fuzziness and shifting with a buzzing noise in my ears. I have on occasion willed myself to reproduce this event. It is neither pleasant or unpleasant but a bit disconcerting. I often fight it and am able to come back to ordinary consciousness. The last time this occured I heard whispering voices. Have you heard anyone else describe such symptoms?
Thank you for your time.
Ursula

Ursula
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Hardly hannah_x on 13/10/2006 14:55:46
I was looking up sites about sleep paralysis, as "weird" things have been happening to me and many occasions.
I'm not sure yet what they are fully but it's good to hear i'm not the only one and i'm not going mental.
They are all very similar to what is stated here but they just seen so slear and real!
Strange eh?
I may be young but i understand the thngs that isee, get me?
It's one of the most terrifying things i've experienced aswell and i strongly dislike how people tend not to belive me beecause it makes me doubt what i've experienced.
Just glad to hear i'm not mad.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: tachox2 on 18/10/2006 05:25:49
I've read of others clearly seeing things, hearing voices, having sex with things, etc. but I have not had that experience.  Well except for 2 shadow figures that attacked me one time but they were just dark images.  Anyways, I don't believe the previous poster is crazy.

My SP goes back 28 years starting at the young age of 14.  Took me 26 years to figure out what it was and find others that had it!  I rarely get them anymore but had the typical experiences (loud buzzing, unable to stay awake, wake up immediately and can't move, and, of course, a sense of dread/evil).  

One way I found to defeat the process is to move while the buzzing sound starts.  It takes a huge amount of effort though as it feels like I've been drugged and have zero energy.  If I do move, it breaks the buzzing, then I wait for the buzzing to completely end and go to sleep without the SP.

One thing that I can't find anywhere is an explaination of the loud (painful) buzzing sound that starts the SP.  I would rate it as a moderate headache.  If anyone has a link, please post it.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: jjpoirier on 18/10/2006 07:26:27
hi all,

i actually just got up (2:30am) and tried to google a search of this frightening experience. i could not sleep cause i am to freaked.

i have had similiar experiences to the ones posted on this site. i am glad to have found such a forum.

i'll explain while its fairly fresh in my mind... its as though i am just about to sleep or feel half asleep. i had my eyes open, and i could not move but it felt as though my body was shaking or convulsing. i couldnt speak or yell. the room seemed a bit brighter then usual and with my body sorta shaking, either my eyes where shaking to or kinda earthquake happening. it seemed at the time it was the house. i remember a kind of noise as well, but not sure what it was. my wife was sleeping beside me and i thought something was happening to her or that she was talking. i have fought to wake up from something before but this was really bad, it felt as though i was close to death. if i had stayed in that state i thought sure it was over. it felt like something was gonna leave my body or some sort of possesion. definately felt bad.  when i finally woke my wife was asleep so she didnt wake so i know i couldnt have woken her. when i turned towards her she must have been in a nightmare at the time. it sounded as though i heard whimpers or fear like noises. after i put my hand on her she stopped. almost as though she dreampt me going through this?? it was the worst sleep/terror paralysis i have had to date.

something that also is wierd that others may experience. is halucinations. im talking when you wake during the night and see thing and u are sure they are real. I have been experiencing these since age of 12. (27 on oct 24). i have seen bugs on my bed, snakes on the floor, dirt on the bed :P including my coat which  i thought for sure was there and tried to take it off the bed and my wife woke and asked what  i was doing and as i told her i started to realize there was no coat and i was trying to through the blankets on the floor. mostly i halucinate these days is my pet rat got out of the cage somehow and is on the bed or under the sheets. it freaks me out cause its as though i see her plain as day and i have went to pick her up and feels as though i touch her and as i begin to realize i cant pick her up or if i whip the sheets off me or turn on the light there is nothing of course. just my wife thinking im crazy and half dozed and little cranky cause i woke her.

i appologize if i got off topic a bit but was to freaked to sleep. still skethcy if i should [V] i will post past experiences and new experiences when they happen of this sleep/terror paralysis when i can.

g'night all
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: catfishbiff on 19/10/2006 20:47:01
I cannot say that in my terrifying experience that I ever hallucinated or heard anything, but I did experience that paralyzation and terror that I won't soon forget.  I took a nap in my college dorm room and woke up, unable to move or make an oral noise.  The only thing that I remember being able to do was blink.  The terror that I felt is unsurpassed by anything I've ever experienced; I thought that I would be lying there still as stone until my roommates believed me to be diceased.  Finally, I remember trying to whistle to get the attention of one of my roommates in the next room, and I thankfully regained all range of motion.  Like most others, I googled this system and now a mere hour later I am reliving the most frightening moment of my 18 year old life. I sympathize with all of you.
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: terrytoh on 24/10/2006 21:56:45
From what I gone through, I strongly feel that stress is the main cause of sp. We should try to reduce our stress...Hope everyone here is listening...
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: fm47 on 28/10/2006 10:27:41
I agree that stress seems to be a big factor on why people get SP.  But sometimes, stress or not, SP just happens and it makes you wonder between what's just a dream and what's more than a dream.  Some SP experiences I've had I conclude in that they were simply of stress and daily analysis, but certain other ones...
Title: Re: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: ScouseLad on 17/11/2006 12:20:10
hi all,

i actually just got up (2:30am) and tried to google a search of this frightening experience. i could not sleep cause i am to freaked.

i have had similiar experiences to the ones posted on this site. i am glad to have found such a forum.

i'll explain while its fairly fresh in my mind... its as though i am just about to sleep or feel half asleep. i had my eyes open, and i could not move but it felt as though my body was shaking or convulsing. i couldnt speak or yell. the room seemed a bit brighter then usual and with my body sorta shaking, either my eyes where shaking to or kinda earthquake happening. it seemed at the time it was the house. i remember a kind of noise as well, but not sure what it was. my wife was sleeping beside me and i thought something was happening to her or that she was talking. i have fought to wake up from something before but this was really bad, it felt as though i was close to death. if i had stayed in that state i thought sure it was over. it felt like something was gonna leave my body or some sort of possesion. definately felt bad.  when i finally woke my wife was asleep so she didnt wake so i know i couldnt have woken her. when i turned towards her she must have been in a nightmare at the time. it sounded as though i heard whimpers or fear like noises. after i put my hand on her she stopped. almost as though she dreampt me going through this?? it was the worst sleep/terror paralysis i have had to date.

something that also is wierd that others may experience. is halucinations. im talking when you wake during the night and see thing and u are sure they are real. I have been experiencing these since age of 12. (27 on oct 24). i have seen bugs on my bed, snakes on the floor, dirt on the bed :P including my coat which  i thought for sure was there and tried to take it off the bed and my wife woke and asked what  i was doing and as i told her i started to realize there was no coat and i was trying to through the blankets on the floor. mostly i halucinate these days is my pet rat got out of the cage somehow and is on the bed or under the sheets. it freaks me out cause its as though i see her plain as day and i have went to pick her up and feels as though i touch her and as i begin to realize i cant pick her up or if i whip the sheets off me or turn on the light there is nothing of course. just my wife thinking im crazy and half dozed and little cranky cause i woke her.

i appologize if i got off topic a bit but was to freaked to sleep. still skethcy if i should [V] i will post past experiences and new experiences when they happen of this sleep/terror paralysis when i can.

g'night all


I think that this sometimes goes hand in hand with sleep paralisis.
I had a kind of thing the same as this the other night. I was asleep and me and my friend had been out on the town, drinking and socialising with other people. But i know it wasnt the alcoholc that effected this, because it also happend another time when I wasn't drunk. Anyway..
I was sleeping, and when I woke up I seen like a fat guy hovering above my bed, and i screamed out a kind of 'UGH' sound. Then i looked at my friend sleeping on a matress on the floor and he made a noise and rolled over, so I knew that I had made the noise out loud, and then I just went back to sleep.

Another time I was dreaming that I was on my bed, and couldn't move, and my friend said to me 'lets put this game on the xbox' so i said 'alright'. Then all the other people in the room started rapping as he was reaching for the game, saying thing like 'Pac man (his nickname) is puttin da game on game on'. (lol i have alot of black friends) and then he came over to me and passed me the game.. as i leaned up to grab it i woke up. Then as I was awake I could still see him for a few seconds, and then he like turned into my lamp, and i was sitting up reaching out to the lamp.
This is a bit weird but they where the only two times I have hillusanated off waking up.

But scientifically.. I think that its maybe an overactive sleeping brain that causes this..
I know that your body realeases some chemical into your blood that paralises you when you sleep, and when you wake up this chemical is still in your brain or blood and thats the reason people suffer from sleep paralises.
The same thing could be happening for hillusanated from being asleep. You could just still have some chemical in your blood/brain, and when you wake up fully you realise that the thing actually isnt there.

Anywayz jus thought that would help.
1 Love. x
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: drtcjraj on 08/01/2007 13:13:10
why psoriasis aggravate in winter?
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: ChaoticBliss on 11/04/2007 04:38:51
Hey

This has happened to me as well, and often with a blanket over my face to the point where I am only telling myself to "just let go" and die already. It is very frightening, and something I don't want to have to deal with ever again.

ChaoticBliss
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Negin -(Universe) on 11/04/2007 22:12:50
i thought i was the only one who suffered from SP a few times during the past 18 years. I didnt even know it had a name. same with dreaming about havin done somthing and waking up an realizing that you were just dreaming. it is such a frustrating moment when you realize you wasted all that time dreaming about what you should be doing and not actually doing it!!!
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: coolgirl123 on 16/04/2007 20:47:26
I logged on after a long time to update on a recent sp attack. I think I got a way to kill the attack now. A couple of ways actually.
#1 -- Soon as you feel you are going to get the attack, which i guess 90% of us have acknowledged that we know it just a split second before it actually happens, try hard to move --its very difficult, needs a lot of energy but still worth the try. The problem is that the SP re-occurs again in a few seconds. So you have to do this a few times
#2 -- If you believe in God just call for his name. Try to call for his name loudly, but you cant open ur mouth, so just in your mind try to call for His name.

I tried both these methods and though the SP occured I was able to chase it away in a few seconds. Though before chasing I did feel like some lifted me and was hurling me in circles around the room

I have stopped getting these attacks after marriage as I no longer sleep alone, but sometimes if hubby is playing a game and I'm sleeping alone, I do have these episodes  (More reasons for me to convince hubby not to play video games at night ;)
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Dom_01 on 22/04/2007 13:18:23
I had my first experience of SP last night, but when i woke up this morning i knew what had happend. At the time of course, i thought what was happening was very real!!

I had spent most of Friday afternoon at work reading ghost stories, (Friday afternoon is never a productive time for me). I found this particular story quite interesting http://www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=746.

My particular experience was slightly uncomfortable but not scary. I 'woke up' to find one of my house mates in my room after she had come back form a night out. I knew she was in my room but i couldn't see her, i couldn't move my head either to look to where i could hear her. It was only until she came very close that i could make out her body shape, in black. My vision was very poor, as if i was trying to force my eyes open while sleeping. Obvioulsy, it was night and dark so that didn't help.

I was asking her to help me, and that i couldn't move. She came over to me and sat on my bed and just cuddled me for a while. I then must have gone back into proper sleep.


Nothing major i know.

1) That house mate moved out a week ago. There was no way she could have been in my room.
2) It felt so real, i could feel her touching me.
3) This has never happened to me before - i am 28
4) Why, after reading stories about this condition 2 days before, would it then happen to me?? What happened to my brain? This is what i really want to know.
5) Will it happen again?

I would welcome any feedback with great interest.


On anther note. Has anyone experience increased G-force while sleeping?? Maybe another post from me later


Thanks
Dom
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: coolgirl123 on 04/05/2007 21:53:28
I had my first experience of SP last night, but when i woke up this morning i knew what had happend. At the time of course, i thought what was happening was very real!!

I had spent most of Friday afternoon at work reading ghost stories, (Friday afternoon is never a productive time for me). I found this particular story quite interesting http://www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=746.

My particular experience was slightly uncomfortable but not scary. I 'woke up' to find one of my house mates in my room after she had come back form a night out. I knew she was in my room but i couldn't see her, i couldn't move my head either to look to where i could hear her. It was only until she came very close that i could make out her body shape, in black. My vision was very poor, as if i was trying to force my eyes open while sleeping. Obvioulsy, it was night and dark so that didn't help.

I was asking her to help me, and that i couldn't move. She came over to me and sat on my bed and just cuddled me for a while. I then must have gone back into proper sleep.


Nothing major i know.

1) That house mate moved out a week ago. There was no way she could have been in my room.
2) It felt so real, i could feel her touching me.
3) This has never happened to me before - i am 28
4) Why, after reading stories about this condition 2 days before, would it then happen to me?? What happened to my brain? This is what i really want to know.
5) Will it happen again?

I would welcome any feedback with great interest.


On anther note. Has anyone experience increased G-force while sleeping?? Maybe another post from me later


Thanks
Dom

Dom, I've faced almost the same type of situation as you have. And this is also a form of SP. I keep having so many episodes and most of them are the kind where I hear or even sense a person coming and sleeping next to me and that I'm trying to tell them that I'm scared because I had a SP spell and they kind of comfort me, I can feel the touch, hear voices , every thing is 100% real, except when I wake up a few mins later, I know that there is no one around me.

Now there are various ways to interpret this.

1) Its just a mind game -- mind is very very powerful, you are subconciously asking for someone to help or comfort you and mind is giving that to you ..obviously its the conscious which tells you its not physical, hence not true and so we get scared
2) Probably all this is real ..probably there is more than 1 world ...And dreams are just taking us to another world where in things are manifested, though not in physical form they are actually there and SP is a transition between the two worlds.
 
Last night I woke up when my son cried. he was up for an hour or so but went to bed after that. Unfortunately I couldnt go back to sleep until dawn, and then when I slept I had so many multiple episodes of SPs that its difficult to even write it in a post. But definitely the episodes are because of lack of sleep or some type of a sleep disorder. Has anyone in this forum tried to take any medical help? and if so does it help?
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: coolgirl123 on 18/05/2007 22:32:46
Had one more SP yesterday night, but this one was so different from the rest.
It started off when i felt that someone was spinning me in circles very very fast, and then i remembered this was the SP attack that just started. I thought of trying to relax and just enjoy the feeling (like someone said in some earlier posts) and I actually started enjoying it when i felt that I was trying to get off my body, and then I suddenly got scared, tried hard to move and broke off the SP...
Looks like I'm being able to control it more that I could do a few months back.
Kinda scary, but still curious to know what would have happened if I allowed myself to continue relaxing and got out of my body...could i wander free-spirited?
why does it happen to jsut a few of us? is there something really really spiritual happening to us?
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: zoofreakz on 24/05/2007 13:42:33
Here is something that may interest you people.  I read this forum till the last 4 posts and I think you should know what I am doing about this matter, how I am using it to my advantage.  A very smart woman I'll call 'Nation' dealing with ordeals such as this and an expert on good and evil spirits.  I popped the question and told her of my mana research.  I'm 17 but I am still very interested in this stuff.  She told me that if I obsess over my research I will or my soul will walk towards the evil side and I will be forever lost.  I acknowledge what she said to me and I know for myself that I am tampering with forces that no being should.  When I think hard on my research, I get this feeling, at first its a loving feeling then I get this ..  Horrible sense.  Like GOD or Jehovah.. his name.  Doesn't want me tampering with his creations.  A am anyway because I'm just so curious..  Here is what I do.  I get one of my female friends (I find it more easy to work on a woman than a man - I am a man) and I put them in a paralysis sleep.  Then I hook up a radio frequency to their ear and mouth and somehow I can speak to their mana, or, spirit.  I tell the mana what to do and it does it, I tell my subject that to remember and what not to remember during my session.  It is my belief that our souls are in a different dimension but, are in the same place, and I use the living body (the spirit's host) to conduct some sort of a relay communication.  I had one of my subjects wright a letter to herself.. from her soul to her body.  We have 2 sets of ourself separated in 2 dimensions.. and Its my belief that there is a 3rd and 6th dimension, the evil and good side.  Dimension 1 is the living, 2 is our spirits, 3 is the good, 4 is the evil, 5 is hell, and 6 is heaven.  (I'll substitute Dimension for D) The 6th D is the 3rd D's creator (D3 is our Arch Angels)  The 5th D it the 4th D's subdivision for evil, a free evil. (D4 is the evil in this world.. and its very real.. the evil once said coming from a possessed body "I am the dark!!" (GOD created light to rid the dark) "I am the evil! I am everything that is evil! I am in these walls, I am everywhere!" - Thats all I can remember off of a priest's subject.. and yes, when evil possessed a living body, that body does indeed become more than human.  For example: When you feel like you are walking under water in your dream (your soul) and you cant move anything.. unlike the spirit that is yours, the evil.. which is always active and frankly lives in that dimension, can move things.  The priest's subject was a little girl, and she broke through a solid steal padlock and chains. - "Nothing can contain me" It appeared to me she was walking as if under water too. As opposed to you jumping out of your body and if feels in that world I you cant walk well.  The evil which possessed that little girl couldn't walk well in our dimension, like it cant control itself out of it's own dimension like us.  Make sense?  Don't get lost cause this is very hard to understand.
 *Here is a picture I made to give an idea of how this works* http://images.cjb.net/756d2.jpg
Anyway, I talk to my subject's mana and tell it what to do, they are all VERY polite like they have never sinned before in it's life or existence.  I have done this to my girlfriend and I asked her mana if it would kill itself (kill herself) on my command and it said "no, i cannot do bad things" -it talked very polite and civilized the whole 6 hours or study.  I asked for it's first memory and they always say something similar to this. - "Allot of us, happy, a nice man made us, he gave us all instructions"
That makes perfect sense to me because they are not cabable of evil, polite, and try to give advice or tell the person 'its wrong to steal that'.
That is our real soul, our pure souls.  I have never believe in a GOD or anything and I have always believe in things that I can see till I started my study.  I have no choice but to conclude that there is good, evil, heaven, hell and souls.

But here is what I am tampering with, I am trying to get a subject's mana to move objects, like evil, but not evil. Study this image I have provided. http://images.cjb.net/a23e9.jpg
And I am trying to put multiple subjects in paralysis and telling them all to meet at 1 location in the room and trying to contact eachother's mana.  Then getting them all to try to move an object (It is my theory that all that energy working together must be able to move something at least)  Image on how I plan to communicate with all subjects at once. http://images.cjb.net/d39e3.jpg


Here is the question, do you believe I am tampering with forces I should not?  Will I cause some sort of dimention-overlap? 
Scientists who do not know of this are actually opening up one of the dimensions in the Franco-Swiss border this year around August of 2007! Its the CERN "Baby-Bang" experiment.  Will it free evil?  Or will it just kill everybody? - They said that the risk of it blowing up the Earth is calculated at about 10 to the minus 40 - a 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 chance.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=325&objectid=10400645


Any Questions? - Your thoughts please.
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: BenV on 24/05/2007 14:42:05
Many of these experiences sound similar to drug-induced hallucinations.  This can mean that you become incredibly susceptible to suggestion - Has anyone found that they experienced new aspects of sleep paralysis only after reading about it here? 

Here is the question, do you believe I am tampering with forces I should not?  Will I cause some sort of dimention-overlap? 

Likewise, by speaking to someone's 'mana' while they are in a hypnotised state, I would worry that you are subconsciously suggesting to your subjects the results you want to find.  So you're hypothesis would seem to be proven because you think that it's true, and then project this to the hypnotised people.  In other words, you are not contacting other dimensions but merely the reflections of your own ideas in hypnotised people.  It seems a great leap to me to assume that if we were to find additional dimensions, they would be evil. 

My only concern would be for the wellbeing of your subjects, as it doesn't sound like they have been through a psychological analysis to ensure that they are stable enough for the experiment.  I don't think you should stop your experiments though (on people who a professional has said are OK and who are willing), I may be cynical of your hypothesis but the only way we move forward is through rigorous experimentation, so stick at it.
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: zoofreakz on 25/05/2007 04:42:08
Sorry, you are wrong about that.  No I do not use any form or sort of drugs on my volunteers.  No they are not scared of what I am doing to them for before I work on them I make sure they know the risks, and everything their mana tells me is kept private between me and the individual.  The mana remembers every step, every word that the subject has ever said or done and saw including more.  All of the spirits or, mana that I have communicated through these subjects know things like what is in my wallet, umm.. looking at my report, Subject Jennifer Jane Garcia - (blah blah blah) saw everything in my filing cabinet and names while under hypnosis.  Then I had her soul or spirit wright a letter to herself .. like its 2 different people.  When she woke up I asked her to read it to me and it was nothing but life advice for her to deal with her problems.  where do these come from and why are they not cabable of evil?  I am very interested in my work, who wouldn't be?  These things, these forms of energy or whatever they may be.. we cannot explain what they are, where we came from exactly, and why 'we' can jump out of our bodies.  Those of you who are having these episodes.. Try to control then and look around and tell yourself to remember what you are seeing, you will be amazed.  Last week I found myself running out of my house, it was very dark outside but I saw everything a little brighter.  I went to a friend's house that was having a party that very night and looked through his window at all the people, then one of his friends looked at me and had a strange look on his face, then I suddenly floated so damn fast away from his house it was incredable.  Then I started to slow down to a run.  It felt like I was again, underwater but there was less gravity, the only way to run to my house was to lean forward and run with whatever gravity there was or grip the grass and use the grass to run.  When I jumped into my house I woke up and it was around 4:30 in the morning. 
If I could only get these women to all go to sleep at once, and get them to meet at one place, and if they can actually communicate with eachother..  It will be confirmed that they are in a dimension of just spirits and my theory is correct.  When I get all of this energy to fixate on moving a single object then actually moving it.  That will be biggest breakthrough in history, beside Einstein's Theory of Relativity.
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: kdlynn on 25/05/2007 04:46:16
it's not really my place to butt in... but don't you think this is a little risky? what if you can't get whatever it is to go back in? and why have you only experimented with women?
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: BenV on 25/05/2007 09:33:04
Sorry, you are wrong about that.  No I do not use any form or sort of drugs on my volunteers.
My comment on hallucinogenics was seperate to my comments on your experiments.  I did not suggest you did use drugs on your subjects.  Is there still not a chance that you are unintentionally suggesting things to people while they are under hypnosis?  Is anyone else present during the experiment?

I'm sure they do all give permission,  and you explain it to them in such a way as to not be frightening, but surely a psychological profile of each participant would be necessary to ensure that they are up to it and you are not going to do any harm?

If you are certain your hypothesis is correct, then maybe you should stop.  After all, different tests will be needed to satisfy the demands of the scientific community, and as KD said, if you're right; what if you cant get whatever it is to go back in?
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: zoofreakz on 26/05/2007 22:36:03
I am very amazed myself, what these people tell me is unlike anything that I've ever heard.  And the subject doesn't remember a thing about it, like a 5 hour conversation only took a second.. they look at me straight in the eye talking to me.. but they appear as if they feel like wearing a suit.  It creeped me out when I did it the first time accidentally.  For the first question 'why always women' well, I find women easier to work on, plus I'm 17 and I don't feel like talking to a male on a radio or a phone for hours, I could but I don't feel comfortable with it, understand?  For the 2nd question, 'what if they don't return to their body' well.. I had a friend die that was close to me, she had what I call a mix-mana.  When a being is created along with a soul, evil can infect.  This woman I knew, Rachel, she would be sitting or just simply walking and pick her head up as if she had heard someone talking to her, the last time I talked to her was on the phone and she was crying saying that she sees this 'Bad man' and he/she always calls her name.  I didn't know what to say but the next day.. it was too late.  She had jumped off an apartment building and thats all I'm going to say and what I was told.  This was before I discovered my work, and I believe if I had known about it before she had died.. I could have cured her.  We are human after all.  What we do or what we think has no restrictions, the conscience (soul) that we are given offer advice even if we do not know it.  They can't sin or take control over you, they ARE YOU, but an unearthly you.  Get it?  Only from what they all have told me, when they are all free they go back to the place where they got their instructions.  It's very hard to understand, I am having trouble explaining it.  Here are 2 images. http://images.cjb.net/90f61.jpg  http://images.cjb.net/4051f.jpg
The Arch doesn't work in your mind but it works around you, events that take place etc.  When born our soul has Morality already because its pure and is produced from the Good dimension.  Then the Arch works in your life on some things.  And your mana or your soul is the only thing that gives you advice, because thats all it is, its Morality.  But your body, your working mind is in more detail and gives your soul it's fiat to go to the Evil dimension or back to the Good dimension.  You that is reading this right now, is your random executive side.  Like, you can punch your computer or get a gun and just run down the street killing everybody.  But you don't because your mana tells you not to, your Arch wont tell you anything, because the Arch's job is only to serve you in surroundings in what happens.  Gives you life lessons.  NOTE: You cannot talk to Archs unless they want to talk to you.  But thats only happend to so few people in history.  Like Moses, Luke, Job, Judah.  Stuff like that, so again, you cant talk to Archs.

Now, answering the question more clearly.  No you will never be stuck out of your body.  But your good soul can be consumed by evil spirits (evil is everywhere like the possessed girl said "in these walls"), when a evil spirit takes full control of your mana and actually works through it, then you are possessed and the evil has actually worked its way through our world, but the Creator of all this will not allow the evil to break through the body and harm us.  If the evil could break through the body instead of making it a puppet, then we would all be dead or something like a whole nation going up in flames.  Like that possessed little girl, breaking through chains till the evil is removed yet again.  Evil's power is unlimited but does have limitations, thats why the "Hell" dimension is said to be so horrible because it can do what ever it wants to you and no good or light will protect you.  Ever. Questioning myself - If they can take control of your mana when why not they all do it to everyone in the world?  Answer: Thats why there are good Archs that serve you and there are Good dimemsion's servants (Angels) that don't allow that.  Some people are not helped and are possessed to teach them once purified from the evil have great meaning in their life, people who are possessed usually do magnificent things in their life afterwords.

The subject's mana will return unless the subject has deceased then it is free, but sometimes it will get lost and will not go to where it needs to and stays in it's own dimension trying to get to ours to fix something that is forgot to do, when fixed it will be officially free.

"Crazy" people have souls infected with evil that is trying to get through.  Though they wont even appear evil.  Like Rachel.  Kind person, but fought evil inside till it took over.

Slipped my mind to mension, once in Arizona, my family were driving around a mountain to the top and we were always close to the edge, I think i was 4 but like everybody els, we are forced to remember things that happen in our lives forever no matter how long ago.  I know till this day, an ArchAngel formed as a man came from nowhere in the small dirt road and said that the bridge ahead is out, and he just kept walking passed our car then bahind us, I looked back and it was very cloudy (thats how high we were) and he vanished, when we turned the car around he was still gone, he didn't have a truck or anything and there is no way he could have jumped down or climbed up the hill without getting seriously injured.  When we drove back down the mountain, we heard that the bridge suddenly collapsed by the time we would have been on it.  Thats how I know that our spirit gives us advice and our Arch Angels work in our lives like gives you car trouble to prevent an accident or saves you from cancer or a heart attack.

It is very scary to think about these things, knowing that they are very real.  It is horrifying to know that there are real evil things out there, demonic.. real.. things.  Its not a story, its not a horror movie, it is very real, the dead can move, even grow.  Proven, just dig one up.  But are some stuck in their decaying body?
Like what 'catfishbiff' said, "I could only blink" to find his room mates find him dead.  Trapped.  Or a decapitated individual, nobody dies instantly, the human head can stay conscience for 22 seconds after detached, but cant blink or move.  Why must one's soul leave the body yet he/she is not dead?  Why is it only sleep?  That is up to every one of you to decide.



Anymore Questions?
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: ozpc123 on 13/06/2007 22:42:00
             MY SLEEP PARALYSIS

It is so frightening because you don’t have control over
Your future, you are hanging in the balance and the next
Minute will decide your fate, it feels like if you don’t manage
To wake up from your paralysis your soul shall be taken or
That u may die or you may remain trapped inside your corpse
Forever.
I had it yesterday and it happened 3 times in a row because I
Fell asleep and became paralised each time
The worst position to sleep in is on your back as the paralysis
seems to be stronger and happens more often in this position.
Sleeping on your side is the best I have found (on your right side)
I did also manage to say 1 word only once but it came out
Like a sound that was out of synchronization, I tried to call
someone to come and shake me so maybe I could wake up!
LOL   [;D]
It’s a very bad experience and like some of you  mentioned the
Evil presence iv had those too. But for me the paralasis is worse,
The evil that is their I always fight it and im not too scared of it
Because it makes me very angry and can fight. hahaha
Any way good luck to all the people that experience this crap !
 [:)] [:)] [:)]
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: raleclerc on 19/06/2007 01:58:19
I'm a 30 yr old guy who's had sleep paralysis since I was 13 yrs old.  I have it approx. once a month.  I only learned about sleep paralysis in the last few years, so now I find I can minimize the aftermath of SP, that is waking up terrified.

For me, I've always been able to breathe but unable to move my body.  I find that by trying to move your toes, this will help your body wake up fast enough.  The most effective way, for me, is I have my wife shake me and continue to shake me until I tell her I'm OK.  Lucky for me, when I have these episodes, I'm able to scream.  Of course, I can't move my mouth and tongue but I'm able to make loud sounds.  Try screaming without moving your tongue and mouth and you'll see what I mean.  Freaky, but at least it's a trigger for my wife to snap me out of it.  If my wife is out of town and I need to sleep alone, I'll always leave a light on in case I have SP that night.  I find it helps me recover after my body wakes up because you're not as terrified as if the room would be pitch black.

The most terrifying experience I had was last night actually.  I was dreaming and in the last seconds, I was actually lucid.  Then, the SP kicked in, I was lying on my back (which I never do) and I had someone standing in front of my bed.  All I saw were his legs and chest (jeans and shirt).  I get chills as I write this.  I've had similar experiences in the past, where I was on my chest and felt a pressure in my back and I could see a dark shadow behind me.  Apparently this is normal as well (Old Hag Syndrome).  Freaky, but normal.  However, yesterday was no dark shadow.  After my wife woke me, I was so terrified the rest of the night.

Anyways, I just wanted to share my experiences.  I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one suffering from SP.

Cheers!
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Scotty 19 Uk on 21/06/2007 00:55:37
Wow, this thread just grows and grows.  Anyhow, I had a couple more Sp experiences since I've last posted.  What's hilarious is that it's become a game for me.  I realized that if I begin to feel fear, it becomes sudden hell.  In the darkness (which seems to be the recent theme, where everything is just a dark nothingness), my leg started to be tugged, I thought, "Crap, I'm thinking of fear" and just that thought alone made that tug an yanking.  Soon I was playing tug-of-war with... hm, I wonder what it was.  Anyhow, the "thing" pulling my leg, although was "winning", could not pull me away from where I was (although I was really nowhere inside the vast of darkness), perhaps a few inches.  Then it started spinning me around and around, as if trying to twist the attachment between me and the surface apart.  It didn't work.
The day after that, I thought, "If I thought fear... it becomes scary, but what if I thought of... her (a particular girl I've had a crush on for a while)?  So I tried my best to remember, and I did.  I began thinking her name, repeating it in my head and thinking of her image.  Although it didn't work out as planned, I met with a different girl... of which I've cannot say I have had any real experience or imaginations with.  It was very brief, as if I couldn't sustain the ability to "control" my dream, and I woke up.

What do I make of this?
A) It's all in the mind in these two cases
B) Experimentation with such phenomenons are scary.  Why?  Because sometimes you think "maybe I'll just let it win and 'take me', but just before it feels like it's really going to take you, you panic.  I imagine it to be the sudden regret of those committing suicide.
C) These two dreams do not conclude what my beliefs of SP are.

For those who are interested in experimenting with it, please share your experiment results :D


Hey,
I'm 19 and been experiencing SP since i was about 15, when it first happened it scared the crap out of me one minute i was lying in bed going to sleep, the next i was just froze but i knew i was still awake in my head it was a very daunting experience and was every time it happened for a year or so...after a while i found out why this was happening to me, i used to take Ecstasy and i realised every time i took it the night after id get SP and it would happen over the next couple of days.

I tryed telling my mum about it but she kept saying i must of been dreaming which i know for a fact i wasn't and still know now. I still take cocaine occasionally ( i know this is wrong but when i go out drinking i sometimes take it) and this also sometimes brings on my SP...Ive learnt how to control it now though like fm47 said its almost like a game to me now, at first i was terrified of it and it would happen then id wake up try to sleep and it would happen again a few times but now when i go into it if i think of something i can make it happen in my mind, i know it sounds completely crazy but its true, like if i think I'm on a rollercoaster i can be on one for a minute or so i can enjoy it sometimes lol until it gets annoying and i want to go to sleep !!

I'm glad Ive found this forum because when Ive told my mates they think I'm lying or like my mum thought just dreaming he he but now i know and id like to find out more about it.

I said i can control it but not all the time, sometimes when i go into it ill hear my stepdad or a mate/brother walk in my room and touch my leg, or speak and i cant move its scary even though i think in my head its not real it seems so real its unbelievable I'm sure you lot know what I'm talking about.

My advice to you is when you go into it if its scary, this might sound daft but think of something like going for a walk or in my case being on a rollercoaster :p i hope it works with you.

Ill keep checking back here to see whats said and look at your experiences...Thanks for reading this !
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: devalex8844 on 28/06/2007 07:45:28
Hello guys ... I'm glad I could find you :d ...
I'm alex ; I live in romania ; I have 23 years old and I am a student ; due to the nature of my work and unwillingly other activities that involve the computer I spend lot's of time in front of it . A year ago I started having problems with my back but nothing serious ... Two months ago I reched that state that often I couldn't stay in front of the computer more than 15 minutes without becoming dizzy and nauseaus after I stoped using it ... I thought I had cervical discopaty or something like that because I felt my neck and lower-back head heavy... I went to the doctor and I took a neck radiography and nothing showed up ...
In the same time I was doing this , when I sleept (that is for about three months ago), that is when I slept only on the back side(i do not recolect having experienced "sleep paralysis" some other position) I had experienced exactly , shockingly-striking similar experiences as you did ... Sensation of paralisys, sensation of vibration of muscles (like someone electrocuted me), sensation that I can't breathe (maybe it wasn't a sensation) ; I was at first frightened ; even one time I had the sensation someone was pushing my chest down to the bed not letting me rise up (like a ghost or something ) etc ;
I recolect a month ago ,before I startted do take physical exercises I was at school and suddenly for a second (maybe even shorter than that) , I felt my head falling down and a very sleepy sensation (quite intense) and I started to panic but that never happened again .
Also when I stretch my neck very intense I get dizzy and sleepy
so my opinion is that I developed "sleep paralysis" due to longterm use of the computer, very little, or none, physical exercises ;
3 weeks ago I started taking exercises , push-ups, arm sthrengtening exercises, and I don't feel the dizzines and the hard neck sensation so much intense ; in fact I feel realy good ; I don't even have the sensation of not breathing good anymore , except when I sleep on my back and develop "sleep paralysis" .

So what's your story ? Do you have neck problems ? Narcolepsy ?

Ooo : even when I was a little boy(10-12 yrs) I was very lazy, all the day I felt tired and wanted to sleep for no reason ; I find this sensation quite frequent today even though when I start to do something physically active it disipears ....
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Igr0 on 06/03/2008 10:56:49
I'm not wondering yet about being paralyzed at night [;)]. But i just want to ask, did somebody tried to see what will happen next in this situation and not just trying to wake up as possible as you can? I now that fear is against you( presence in the room(i always feel it, but never seen any shadows). Did somebody tried into eyes of horror [?] I don't remember where, but i read somewhere, that one woman decided to to be over that fear and demons, shadows, hags [:D] ...... etc. and after that all this creatures just disappeared and she can do now OBE( out of body expir) without fear!
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: notoriousfm on 14/05/2008 00:16:34
Hello to all on the forum.

After another 6 episodes of this strange phenomenon on saturday night within 1 hour and being completly awake. I had went to my doctors on monday looking for an answer to this. I will explain what happened on the saturday night. I had went to bed around 23:30 pm i was watching tv when suddenly i felt a strange sensation throughout my body it felt like an electrical
shock i could not move i was paralyzed except i could move my eyes. I was in this state for at least 2 mins at a time during this i heard a loud buzzing in my ears and felt that my body was slowly raising from my bed even i was trying to fight this feeling and then i could move my right thumb and my right big toe no other movement i was able to perform. I could hear and feel my heartbeat in every episode. When i had came out of this strange state i had woken my wife up and told her if it happened again i was going to go to hospital. I then most of dropped off to sleep without another episode.Upon waking up on the sunday i felt exsausted for the whole day i did not feel right at all for the whole day.

Before i explain what the doctor said to me i will explain that around 2 years ago i was diagnosed with wolff parkinsons white syndrome please see link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolff-Parkinson-White_syndrome
I had been experiencing this sort of strange sensations for years since a child before i had the nerve to talk to the doctor about this 2 years ago then i was sent for tests and this is when i was diagnosed with wolff parkinson white syndrome i am on medication which is flecainide acetate. Since taking the medication these episodes stopped until saturday night.

Now going back to the my story.
When i had seen my doctor on monday i explained all this to my doctor he asked my if i felt stressed in anyway i my reply was no he then took my heartbeat and stated that my reading was over 100 and it should be around 70 he asked my some other questions like do i smoke do i drink or do i take
recreational drugs. My reply was no he then thought that maybe i was taking a panic attack while experiencing an episode of cardiac arrhythmia. I tried to explain that this was no panic attack but he seemed to think that it was putting it down to stress levels for which i still do not think it is. The doctor then increased my medication and made an appointment for me to see him two days later as he was not happy that my heart rate is so high. I am going back to see him wednesday about this.

I am looking for some help or advice if anyone can help me as i don't think the doctor is correct and i am terrified so is my wife that the next episode could be my last and i will die from this the doctor has told me that wont happen but i am not so sure because at the time of these episodes on saturday night they were getting worse from 1st to last and now i feel my body is completly drained of energy.

I have tried looking for an answer on the internet but most of the answers is sleep paralysis or out of body experiences and maybe the doctor is right but it does not add up to me at all.

Thanks for the time in reading this

notoriousfm
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: GodDoesntNeedNostrils on 06/07/2008 20:35:54
Actually maybe god does need nostrils, if we are god but thats a different discussion! Hello people this is my first ever post on a forum and im 38!

I have a long history of SP and other lucid dream type stuff, when i was younger i would have to scream to wake myself up from terrifying dreams (usually about dogs!) and then in my twenties i had a long period of lucid dreams which where mainly harmless and i used to really enjoy being kind of 'awake' within my own dreams. I connected the latter with a lack of control over my own life which was very true at the time.

As i gained more control over my own life and became a 'free man' at 30 and began to indulge in all of the pleasures i had been forbid during my relationship and bringing up my son. Hedonism is the word here i think and like Noel Gallager said, 'Taking drugs is like having a cup of tea' and is more true now than then - not necessarily for me now tho' as i have very good reasons not to!

I have read quite a lot of the posts on here and can say i have experienced virtually all of the SP symptoms discussed. Only mine have been self inflicted to a certain degree... They started in '99 after a trip to ibiza introduced me to ecstasy pills which where taken every night for a week (i must mention at the same time i had just got my first apple mac - this is to do with the stuff ive read on here to do with spending long hours at a monitor). Upon returning i had a kind of sleep paralysis every night for at least two weeks that went like this:

Lets call it "Ecstacy/MDA Honeymoon period SP"
Before going to sleep i'd sense something wrong, a fear, and hear a high pitched frequency like a hiss. Sometimes before going to sleep or going into sleep i would hear an electronic 'beep' or series of beeps.
During my sleep at a certain point it felt like something was entering my body - a large vibrating dense wave going through my body and mind - being aware of this happening physically and not being able to wake up. It felt like a presence or something entering my physical being, the vibration was intense and bit like being raped  by an evil force and not being able to move at all even though my mind was awake.
I discussed this with friends and some had similar things to say but they didnt seem as perturbed about it as me and someone put it down to the seretotin that had been drained from your brain filling back up during your sleep or something and this seemed a fair explantion at the time. It didnt however explain the 'other dimensional' SP dreams of 'things' being in my room like little devil like creatures dancing on my bed, woman with the long face and evil men standing in my room.


Over the years of recreational drug taking things got worse and i used to call them 'black Wednesdays'. I'll list a few experiences here, i can only remember the more eventful ones and probably the ones i have told to friends:

One time watching tele with my brother and mate i was unable to keep my eyes open on a monday night after an indulgent weekend. After having dosed off i found myself floating outside my body, out of the living room and into the kitchen, above my brother and friend who where talking to each other. It was so real i freaked out and was able to wake myself out of it. When i did i got up and walked into the kitchen to find them standing in the same place.

Once after thinking i was awake but then being aware that i was in 'the other dimension' - that between sleep and waking - i was outside my body in my bedroom and being 'carried' underarm and flown around by something that had large black wings. There was two of them and the one that had a hold of me flew and clung to the wall. I could see my bedroom exactly as it was on that day and knew it was 'real'. The other flew over, they had long black faces and he said to the one holding me 'This is him isnt it?'. I was scared but no where near as scared as with the usual 'evil presences' and didnt necessarily feel that they were evil.

I have seen a lot of things with my eyes wide open, after i have been able to snap myself out of the other dimension - One time i was in the 'inbetween state' as i call it and had a evil almost goblin like figure with large old face just pointing and touching my face (which i could feel). Absolutely shitting myself i pulled myself out of it - my eyes did not need to open, they already were - and the figure was still there even when i was out of the paralysis, i could still see it right in front of me for quite some time before it faded away. Another time was similar but the figure was lying in my bed with me, this figure was a dead body of sorts but less human - more what we would describe as alien i suppose. After a long time being scared i was able to 'wake properly', and was able to lie there in my bed looking at the figure still there completely awake for a good few minutes - but the fear was gone as i knew i was out of the 'other dimension'. Just lying there being able to look up anf down at this figure while it faded away was freakin surreal experience, people think your nuts when you tell them!

Anyway i've calmed down a lot over the last 2 years in my substance abuse and have to take a firm stance with myself so i dont spend a week in bed hell. But i havent yet made the jump to a drug free life. But after what this week has brought me i know im ready for the wagon full time. I went to Glastonbury last weekend for the first time and had the time of my life - so good i actually forgot why i shouldnt say yes to 'fancy a dip of MDMA?' from every one i was with to everyone i met and their grandmothers.

This week - lots of people in my bed!! Grabbing me from all angles - smothering my face etc., i could realy feel the hands on my skin - the dirty bastards! And at one point snapping out of it and seeing a cluster of hands in broad daylight all wriggling from behind my curtains. The worst one being when something ran over my bed and i heard and saw my duvet cover move with their hands and feet.

Im definitely convinced that it is another dimension i go to and i don't really think that's to far fetched as other dimensions have been scientifically proven recently (i think or is it just theory?) Ive always equated it to a yin-yan rollercoster thing myself in that if you take a piece of heaven you dont deserve then you will pay for it. But i think theres more to it than that - theses drugs that everyone thinks it's ok to take cannot be good for your soul - they enhance a physical enforced happyness that propells the soul toward the light, i know - i have touched heaven before. Once you have done this then i think then your soul is left susceptible and detached from your physical being and open to interference from darker realms.

Sometimes I feel as if my soul has woken up before me and found itself in the same place but in another dimension. A dimension where they want your soul for keeps.

All this of course for me is very self inflicted and i feel for those who have SP without indulging in drugs. Just reading some of the posts on here though has brought to light that it's not just a dark and evil place because im 'being punished' mentaly for getting far to high.

But i would like to ask those who have, (well lets call it) 'Clean SP' ! - When you get it have you had a time that was euphorically happy some time or days before it happens? - maybe even incredibly good sex or falling in love? I think this is relevant somehow if we take into account how much the brain is drained of its natural juices when taking drugs like ecstasy, after all the drug doesn't give you anything itself.

I think the spiritual insights and the more scientific aspects of all this should be investigated side by side, as even from the perspective of those who do not believe in the soul, the soul can just be a word for the electricity and thoughts in your brain, 'the essence of you'.

Theres so much i would love to say here about what ive learned and my deeper views on why taking pills especially is wrong road - im sure there are a lot of people who have wrote on this forum -the students epecialy! - who have not even made the link between SP and drugs.

All i can say is that if there was such a thing as the 'devil' personified, he'd be selling drugs to everyone and helping to create a world culture where everyone accepts it and is largely dependant on it to have a good time. I have different friends from many cultures, classes and ages and from what i can gather it's getting there as i can speak to most about SP, and 'the fear' and the evil.

Ive decided im getting as far away from that dark place as possible and towards the light.

Sleep tight. [:)]

 
Title: Sleep paralysis research
Post by: Andrew K Fletcher on 07/07/2008 10:35:13
You Know one day some of you may actually listen to me waffling on about Inclined Bed Therapy for helping with sleep paralysis. My wife has this conditions and Inclining the bed has helped her tremendously by vastly reducing the episodes she has from several a night down to very rarely almost non existent and when they do happen they are easier to pull out of.

Google “Andrew K Fletcher” or “Inclined Bed therapy” Or carry on experiencing this terrifying problem.

You can lead a horse to water but You can't make them drink.