Do you suffer from sleep paralysis?

[SeptemberSon]

Was having a conversation with a colleague about this earlier today.

I've suffered from SP since my early teens. Usually happens when I sleep too much (like when I have a lie in). I get a really high pitched noise like a ray gun in my head, feel a really ominous sinister presence in the room then realise I can breathe but cannot move any part of my body. It terrifies me every time even though I know it passes in a few seconds. My colleague has something similar but she gets a loud clicking, same sinister presence and same paralysis. What are everyone else's experiences with sleep paralysis??

I had this every time I slept as a teenager when I was about 12/13 , would have a terrible nightmare followed by waking up but unable to move and this demon /witch/ hag looking creature would be shaking me by the shoulders screaming at me. Completely terrifying.

Oddly it stopped after I swapped bedrooms with my mum, the first night in that room my mum saw an orange circular orb float out of my room, she followed it not believing her eyes and it seemed to pass through the wall to next door. It was very odd. Haven’t had a sleep paralysis event since. I know it’s a natural phenomenon but sometimes I wonder if occasionally there is a paranormal reason behind it🤷🏼‍♀️

It happens to me from time to time, but I don't have any of the awful dreams, thank goodness! Just an awareness that I'm asleep but not asleep, and I want to wake up, but I can't move.

I am concious enough to wiggle my fingers and toes, and eventually the rest of my body and mind catches up. Horrible feeling.

I've had a few variations over the years. Started the first year of uni and was absolutely terrifying. 'Awake' but paralysed, trying with every ounce of energy to move or to scream. No precence or anything. I eventually learnt that I had to relax and go back to sleep to come out of it.

I've also had the absolutely realistic feel of a cat walking over me in bed.

I had the feel of my step child walking into my room and standing by my bed, combined with paralysis - that was many years ago, and haven't had it so far with my own young children yet.

I also get very very vivid dreams occasionally. I've woken up, got up and looked out of the window, had the feeling that it was a dream but decided it couldn't possibly be because there's no way my brain could imagine the exact details of what I was seeing - only thing is, my bedroom window looked out onto a carpark and I was seeing a beautiful meadow 😂. But it was different to normal dreams as I felt that I could think clearly and had the ability to question if I was dreaming.

Don't get them anywhere near as regularly now, but my last one just last week was on a loop of me 'waking up'. So I'd be absolutely convinced that I was awake, boring routine of getting up, check baby, head to bathroom, but then I'd wake up for real and think, oh I just had that vivid dream where I think I woke up and got up, but then I'd wake up again, and think, that's weird, I keep dreaming I've already woken up and got up, but now I've woken up for real. It was horrible and went on for about 5 wake ups before it was the real one!

I also get the very real feel of teeth falling out - which is quite a well documented one linked to stress. But I always find it crazy how I can completely remember that feel and taste of a tooth wobbling and falling out as a child, and recreate it as a dream. I've also done the: oh, last week I had the dream where a tooth fell out and now it's happening for real... Nope, this one's a dream too!

AND... at risk of having the longest most boring post ever, I've also had two times in my life where I've lost my memory on waking (real waking, not a dream!) Once was just a normal day, woke and knew my alarm had gone off for work but didn't know what I did as a job or where in the country I lived. Had to lie there for what felt like the longest time for it to come back to me. The second time was just after I'd had my first child (maybe a few days or a week before so I'm sure sleep deprivation played a parr). I woke with no idea who or where I was, just this overwhelming feeling that something good had happened. It wasn't so much scary at the time, but terrifying thinking of that feeling being longer term with something like dementia.

I have only had this happen twice. Both times I felt a malevolent presence on my chest. I was absolutely terrified and once I managed to get conscious I would not go back to sleep and spent the night praying. I was convinced I was in the presence of real evil.

Only once, I was facing my husbands side of the bed. I thought oh he’s getting up to go to the bathroom, seeing a dark figure walking around the bed but instead of towards the door ‘it’ was now behind me and was pushing me down into the bed with incredible force. In my head I was screaming but I couldn’t move or make a sound I felt like my eyes were going to pop and my heart burst. It’s the single most terrifying thing that’s ever happened to me, I think I’d need to be sectioned if it happened on a regular basis.

I've had it a couple of times. It's like an overwhelming sense of dread and darkness and then a wave of darkness descends on me.

Not very often though, thankfully.

What I do get is what I've since found out is called Exploding Head Syndrome. Only happens when I'm under prolonged stress but it happens very frequently during those times. I'll be woken from my sleep by a loud repeated banging on the door. But there's no one there! I googled "hearing knocking on door in sleep" and found out it's a (relatively common) thing! So now it no longer freaks me out but it can be bloody annoying!

Yes. Infrequently, and no obvious trigger - although when it does happen it leaves me terrified and I then rarely sleep for more than an hour or two at a time for weeks.

Yes it is awful. But I found out although they feel long apparently they are only a few minutes, and this was borne out once when I noted the time before, and checked my clock after. I also read that if you can manage to move it breaks it. So I try and move my fingers. Doesn’t always work

That's exactly the same as me - and when I sleep on my back too but only when I'm stressed. It happened loads when I had pnd with my firstborn.

I tend to have nightmares if I sleep on my back too, so strange!

Not me, but one of my children.
Happens when waking after sleep, can't move, can't speak and finds it terrifying, thinks they won't come out of it and will die.

They have heart condition but it happened for years before getting diagnosed.
It doesn't happen all the time.

I wish I hadn't read this before bed.

I used to get this as a child, around six years old. I can still remember the dreams and experiences as they were so terrifying I thought/worried this is what death would be like. I think it was stress but I don't know what my six year old self had to be stressed about. No figures but I could sense a presence when I heard a certain noise.

I started to wet the bed around the same time but didn't tell my parents. Oddly they were convinced the house was haunted and had a priest come to bless the house (RC).

When I heard the noise/felt the presence I'd visualise nice dreams and ignore it. We moved house and nothing happened since, though the two are probably unconnected.

I've had trouble sleeping recently. It seems to be worse the more sleep I have or the earlier I try to go to bed, so I go as late as is practical but then I grind my teeth as I'm stressed at the moment. Not sure entirely why, but possibly also peri menopause.

I didn't tell my parents about the sleep experiences that is. I don't know why. They were quite strict so I might have thought they'd be dismissive.

I get this, on average, around 5 times a year and have done for decades.

Mostly seems to be if I’m on my back (not my favoured sleeping position). It has never involved visions/feelings of anyone else in the room - dragging me or whatever. It’s simply that I “feel” I’m awake but that I can’t move a single muscle. In my head I’m saying “count to three and then roll over”, but I can’t move and the panic feels awful. I eventually manage to haul myself over, but it leaves me feeling horrible.

Almost/just as bad are double dreams - they really freak me out. At least a couple a year. Bloody terrifying when you think you’ve woken up from a nightmare and then have to go through it again.

Also lucid dreams can be really irritating - mine are always re flying.

I really need to sign up with a sleep centre, they’d probably get some good data!