Sleep paralysis.

[GeminiTwin]

Hello everybody and happy Monday!

I just wanted to see if anybody else experiences these dreams. I'm quite open minded when it comes to 'woo' things and the spiritual world but I don't know if this comes under that, or I'm experiencing something totally normal.

For the past year I've been having some really weird dreams. These dreams only happen in the early hours of the morning, or if i take nap during the day. It doesn't matter if I'm laying on the sofa or in bed. The dreams don't really follow a pattern but they always involve me.
For example - I know I'm dreaming. I say to myself in my dream that im dreaming and I cannot snap out of it. They're very vivid and real and when I wake up I do wonder if it's actually happened or not.
I've been experiencing this 'sleep paralysis' for a while but yesterday my husband witnessed it for the first time. I was dreaming that I was napping on the sofa (which I was) but I was totally and utterly stuck. In this dream I sat up and turned around and I was looking at myself. Totally life like, laying there dreaming away. I stood up and turned to me and kept trying to wake myself up. I started to panic that I couldn't wake up I was poking and prodding myself and I couldn't wake and started to panic. My husband called my name and I suddenly zapped back into my body but I couldn't move. By this point I was actually starting to wake up but all I could do was a tiny whimper. I was calling my husbands name but I just couldn't get the words out. I ended up managing to slightly move my finger tips but I was stuck they're for what felt like a lifetime.

That's one of the more 'pleasant' dreams. Some of the others are really quite scary. I see horrid things and I have dreams where someone or something is sat crushing my chest and it genuinely feels like I can't breathe. I know it's a dream and it takes me a long time to be able to move and wake up.

Has anyone experienced this, and any tips to avoid them? They're becoming very frequent and really scary.

I would get it checked out at the GP surgery. It's probably sleep terrors or something similar. Sleep paralysis, far as I know, isn't something that happens often. Good luck.

Yep - I experience it a lot, and I agree with you that it can be very frightening and discombobulating.

Stress is my big trigger and while I can't avoid that all the time, cutting down on caffeine after about 12pm seems to help.

Switching your sleeping position can also help - I find that raising my pillows (I'm a side / front sleeper) and draping myself over a full-length body cushion helps.

I believe there is some connection with lucid dreaming / sleep paralysis and changes in blood pressure when sleeping (although I can't find any citations - sorry!), so sometimes these small changes can help.

Sleep paralysis is not the same as dreaming, and yet there's little explanation for it.

I have experienced SP many times, and it's absolutely terrifying at times, especially as the hallucinations can be so real. Its nothing to do with mental illness and not a sign you are unwell, but for me, the worst I've ever experienced SP was at a time when I was under huge stress.

There's little you can do to prevent it, as far as I know. I have learned over the years that most of the time I now know when I'm entering SP as I hear a very specific noise in my ears which sounds similar to if I was clenching my teeth very hard (and I might be). If you can, tell yourself soothing things. "It's just sleep paralysis. I'm safe at home and will wake up soon".

I believe SP is a stage between being awake and being in REM sleep where you kind of 'get stuck' between the two. You're not deeply asleep and yet you can't wake up either. You just have to try and keep calm until it passes.

Sleep paralysis is actually very common. I have had it a few times and it can be very scary.

Stress, anxiety, insomnia and narcolepsy can all cause it. If it keeps on happening and is bothering you, you should probably talk to your GP.

I've had sleep paralysis a few times too and found it really scary it's exactly as you've described !

@crossstitchingnana

I would get it checked out at the GP surgery. It's probably sleep terrors or something similar. Sleep paralysis, far as I know, isn't something that happens often. Good luck.

Sleep paralysis is a very common physiological phenomenon, and something the vast majority of people will experience at some point in their lives.

www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2013/aug/05/podcast-science-weekly-sleep-paralysis

www.nhs.uk/conditions/sleep-paralysis/

It is entirely normal - nothing woo about it though it feels very super-normal - and absolutely terrifying. If you're having it so often I'd definitely speak to a GP - I have it at times when I am exhausted and/or stressed, most people get it but not on a regular basis.

Had episodes of sleep paralysis for years, sleeping on my back seemed to be a trigger, switched to sleeping on my side and not had one for years!

I had an episode when I was a student.
This sounds ridiculous, but I had an "incubus" encounter, felt very, very real. Never told anyone IRL and probably wouldn't.

I was having a difficult time when it happened, and it's never happened again. If yours are becoming more frequent OP then perhaps you should see your GP.

Yes I get it. It's horrible.
I had a dream my friends husband was here doing some work (tradesman) and I was trying to call to him as I couldn't move.
He wasn't there of course.
The episodes really scare me.

@IBelieveInBiology

I had an episode when I was a student. This sounds ridiculous, but I had an "incubus" encounter, felt very, very real. Never told anyone IRL and probably wouldn't.

I was having a difficult time when it happened, and it's never happened again. If yours are becoming more frequent OP then perhaps you should see your GP.

same. very scary

@GeminiTwin look up hypnogogic and hypnopompic dreams/paralysis

I had this a lot as a child and growing up, for me it was like my mind was starting to wake up from the dream but my body was still fast asleep. Initially they used to be a feeling that someone was in the house / in the room and I needed to wake up but couldn't. I never used to see anything it was always a feeling that used to rise to a panic that I would be trying and trying to open my eyelids or move but couldn't. I eventually had had them so much, that I recognised them when it happened and would be able to say to myself 'it's just that sleep thing again, you have to go back to sleep'. After adolescense I mostly grew out of the sleep paralysis and it would come back occasionally at times of stress. A few years ago during a period of intense stress I started to get them again for a short time and it's always a bit of a warning sign for me now, though I haven't had them again for a few years now. It's not very nice at the time but it's also fascinating!

Wow thank you everyone for sharing your experiences. I'll definitely look up the suggestions thank you.

I seem to be having 2-3 a week. I'm convinced my alarm is going off for work or I can hear my baby crying and I can't get to her. But when I wake there's no alarm or DD Isn't crying.

If she were to actually cry or my alarm were to go off, would I be able to snap out of it and wake up straight away?

I tend to get those most often or the ones where I'm looking at myself sat on the edge of my bed.

The chest crushing ones are rare but they are god awful. Horrible.

Im going to do some reading up about it and maybe speak to my Gp. Thanks everyone!

Haven't had an episode lately but for me they happen most often post natally. It is absolutely terrifying and I have felt like I was dying. One of my worst attacks was when my second was a newborn. I think it was sheer exhaustion. Another happened after I had been reading a lot about the occult.

I get sleep paralysis when I'm overtired or very stressed. I had one a few weeks ago where I was half awake and could feel someone sat on my bed, pulling at my duvet, it was a very real sensation and I couldn't move a muscle and I was trying to scream but no noise comes out. Because it's happened several times, I can sort of recognise what's happening and I find if I concentrate on trying to move a finger or toe I can get myself out of it.
From what I've read, your body is paralysed when you are in the dreaming phase of sleep to stop you acting out your dreams, sleep paralysis happens when your brain wakes up out of sync with your body, so you are still paralysed and not fully awake, so you have a sort of half awake hallucination.

How old is your baby?

Like others I have lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis when very tired and I had all kinds of mad dreams where I would wake up absolutely convinced a baby had gone missing in my bed at various times when mine were young. I mean I'd be scrabbling around at the sheets while the baby slept peacefully next to us. Presumably also caused by lack of sleep.

Try to get into a good sleep hygiene routine. These hypnagogic events lessen when you sleep in a good position in a dark quiet room, no screens, no caffeine, no booze etc.

Oh and I also get what I now know is called exploding head syndrome (really!) which is where I hear a loud banging at the door that wakes me up, sounds similar to you thinking you've heard your alarm. Of course there is nothing there, it is literally in my head in my sleep. Again, when very tired and the children were young, also when peri lack of sleep gets out of control now.

@BookkeeperBobby

How old is your baby?

Like others I have lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis when very tired and I had all kinds of mad dreams where I would wake up absolutely convinced a baby had gone missing in my bed at various times when mine were young. I mean I'd be scrabbling around at the sheets while the baby slept peacefully next to us. Presumably also caused by lack of sleep.

Try to get into a good sleep hygiene routine. These hypnagogic events lessen when you sleep in a good position in a dark quiet room, no screens, no caffeine, no booze etc.

She's a young toddler now really she's 16 months. She's been an okay-ish sleeper but cutting a molar at the moment so she's up every hour and can't have any teething gels as she's allergic to the main ingredient. So I'm pretty sleep deprived! DH is back from being away from work for a week so I'll be able to get some help tonight. I'm just in bed now about to get stuck into a book with a camomile tea.

It only really started properly half way through the pregnancy so it's interesting somebody mentioned postnatal. They've ramped up since having DD.

I've got my pregnancy pillow out so hoping that'll keep me on my side and a good nights sleep will help. I'm interested to read about it though. They really are so scary and so convincingly real.

I used to get sleep paralysis a lot when I was younger. It is indeed scary. Not had it for years now though.

I've had slerp paralysis about 7 or 8 times and each time its totally traumatised me.
I dream that someone is trying to stab me, then I wake up in real life, but my body is paralysed. All I can do is open and close my eyes. I'll be trying to call my husband's name, who is sleeping right next to me, and screaming for help, but I can't open my mouth or get any words out.
The last couple of times I've managed to think to myself: "Close your eyes and wait and your body will unlock in seconds", and I've got through it that way.

"If she were to actually cry or my alarm were to go off, would I be able to snap out of it and wake up straight away?"

Yes you would. I used to get it quite frequently and one of the times I used to get it most was napping in the car.

I was a single parent, and a sales rep, so I would often park up for a kip at lunch time and not infrequently I could 'hear' someone trying to break into the car and be unable to wake up. Someone only had to slam a car door for real anywhere close and I would be instantly awake.

I can't remember the last time I had the sleep paralysis but I do occasionally get the 'exploding head' attacks - which also used to scare me initially but not now.

@ImplementingTheDennisSystem

I've had slerp paralysis about 7 or 8 times and each time its totally traumatised me. I dream that someone is trying to stab me, then I wake up in real life, but my body is paralysed. All I can do is open and close my eyes. I'll be trying to call my husband's name, who is sleeping right next to me, and screaming for help, but I can't open my mouth or get any words out. The last couple of times I've managed to think to myself: "Close your eyes and wait and your body will unlock in seconds", and I've got through it that way.

That's what I do. Try and 'go back to sleep' and think ok I'll wake up properly in a minute.

Yeh I get this often altho maybe won’t happen for ages and then happen lots in the space of weeks , stress definitely makes it worse for me

I get the paralysis part along with lucid dreaming so have similar where I think someone has come in the room or I think I have got out of bed / sometimes feel like I float up out my body am looking down from the ceiling . I know what it is though so I don’t really panic anymore with it .

I do the opposite of try go back to sleep though the sensation feels awful for me if I do like il stop breathing or something that’s the only way I can describe it , I deliberately try wiggle my foot or hand or something and take deep breaths and that wakes me up properly within seconds

Also get exploding head syndrome same as a pp normally when just falling to sleep think someone has shouted me or banging on the door arghhh panic !

I get this, especially if I nap or when I'm either falling asleep or waking up (that kind of in-between stage where you aren't quite awake or asleep). It's sleep paralysis and I've had it all my life; I'm pretty sure it's nothing to worry about. The way I snap out of it now is to focus on moving very slightly - a toe or a finger. If you can hear / see / sense something horrible then don't look!! Just block it out and keep repeating "it's not real, it's not real". I can now pretty much stop this as soon as it starts because I know the signs and use these strategies. I also lucid dream, which comes in handy to stop more typical nightmares too! Don't be afraid or worry about it - I think stress can make them more likely to occur. It's just your brain playing tricks because you're tired, that's all.

@BookkeeperBobby

How old is your baby?

Like others I have lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis when very tired and I had all kinds of mad dreams where I would wake up absolutely convinced a baby had gone missing in my bed at various times when mine were young. I mean I'd be scrabbling around at the sheets while the baby slept peacefully next to us. Presumably also caused by lack of sleep.

Try to get into a good sleep hygiene routine. These hypnagogic events lessen when you sleep in a good position in a dark quiet room, no screens, no caffeine, no booze etc.

Yes, the hunting for the baby in the night. I still occasionally have variations on this, but now they're nearly three it's sleep-panicking that they've fallen down the stairs, or out the window, or that they're dancing on my bedside table.