Perhaps you've experienced the sensation-while awakening or falling asleep-of not being able to move. You discover that your body is paralyzed. Although you may try to call out, the sound remains locked in your throat. Meanwhile, your mind is clamoring to know what's going on.
"Sleep Paralysis" American Medical Association Guide to Better Sleep, l984.
Couple of weeks back, it happened again for the second time. I was having an afternoon nap and suddenly I felt the presence of some invisible force. I wanted to get up from my sleep but I could not. I could not even open my eyes and I was scared to death. The fact that I was not able to fight it made me all the more scared. Well this was a very mild one as I had experienced the worst. Around four years ago (in 2005), I became the victim of sleep paralysis. I was choked; could not open my eyes; I was thrown out of my bed (though in real I was still on the bed); and I felt the presence of some force. I knew it was not a dream but it was not the reality either. But it was so close to real. It was like I was trapped in my sleep and the only solution was to get up. And then there was this OBE. Anyways!
I did some research on it and I happened to bump into the word ‘Cauchemar’. It is a French word and it means ‘nightmare, bad dream’. Find the roots below:
“Where does the word nightmare come from? The English word for evil spirit or incubus is mare, a word that comes from the Sanskrit mara, meaning ‘crusher’. The French word for nightmare, cauchemar, also contains the root mare, while ‘caucher’ means to trample. At some time in history people started to confuse mare or merrie, which meant a female horse, with the other meaning of mare of an evil spirit. Maybe a further complication happened because of the existence of a Teutonic goddess Mara who would changed herself in a white merrie to visit a sleeping man at night.”
And this nightmare is often related to sleep paralysis. And I also checked the exact definition of sleep paralysis. This is what I have got from medicinenet.com –
Sleep paralysis: “A frightening form of paralysis that occurs when a person suddenly finds himself or herself unable to move for a few minutes, most often upon falling asleep or waking up. Sleep paralysis is due to an ill-timed disconnection between the brain and the body. The symptoms of sleep paralysis include sensations of noises, smells, levitation, paralysis, terror, and images of frightening intruders. Once considered very rare, about half of all people are now believed to experience sleep paralysis sometime during their life. Sleep paralysis strikes as a person is moving into or out of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, the deepest part of sleep. During REM sleep the body is largely disconnected from the brain leaving the body paralyzed. Sleep paralysis is the result of premature (or persistent) mind-body disconnection as one is about to enter into (or exit from) REM sleep. Sleep paralysis occurs most often after jet lag or periods of sleeplessness that interrupt the normal REM patterns. It affects both sexes equally and occurs at all ages but is most common in teenagers. Sleep paralysis can be familial and may be genetic (inherited) in some cases. An attack of sleep paralysis is usually harmless and self-limited. It tends to be over in a minute or two as soon as the brain and body re-establish connections and the person is able to move again. However, the memory of the terrifying sensations felt during sleep paralysis can long endure. (Some scholars believe that sleep paralysis may account for some of the old claims of attacks by witches and the more recent "reports" of nocturnal abduction by space aliens.) A rare fatal form of sleep paralysis may, it is thought, underlie the cases of healthy teenagers, mainly in Southeast Asia, who die in their sleep, sometimes after fighting for breath but without thrashing around. Sleep paralysis goes by a number of names, including the "old hag" in Newfoundland (for an old witch thought to sit on the chest of the paralyzed sleeper), "kokma" in the West Indies (for a ghost baby who jumps on the sleeper's chest and attacks the throat), "kanashibari" in Japan and "gui ya" or ghost pressure in China (because a ghost is believed to sit on and assault the sleeper). Medically, sleep paralysis is sometimes called waking paralysis, predormital (before-sleep) paralysis, postdormital (after-sleep) paralysis, and REM sleep atonia.”
If I were to go by the above definitions, my paralysis was more of a waking paralysis or postdormital paralysis. In my case, it happened when my sleep was more in the lucid state as I was about to wake up. According to some sources (as you read in the last paragraph), it has a supernatural side to it too. There was a case study done on supernatural assault tradition in Southwest Louisana. You can read more about this supernatural narrations and witch riding experiences at this link:
Contemporary Cauchemar: Experience, Belief, Prevention by Katherine Roberts
All I know it was a very frightening experience. And now that I have experienced it twice, I really don’t find anything scientific about it but at the same time I don’t buy any witch riding justification also. Anyway, hoping not to go through it again….
If interested in knowing more, you can visit these sites:
Sleep Paralysis
Dream WorldSleep - A Dynamic Activity
"Sleep Paralysis" American Medical Association Guide to Better Sleep, l984.
Couple of weeks back, it happened again for the second time. I was having an afternoon nap and suddenly I felt the presence of some invisible force. I wanted to get up from my sleep but I could not. I could not even open my eyes and I was scared to death. The fact that I was not able to fight it made me all the more scared. Well this was a very mild one as I had experienced the worst. Around four years ago (in 2005), I became the victim of sleep paralysis. I was choked; could not open my eyes; I was thrown out of my bed (though in real I was still on the bed); and I felt the presence of some force. I knew it was not a dream but it was not the reality either. But it was so close to real. It was like I was trapped in my sleep and the only solution was to get up. And then there was this OBE. Anyways!
I did some research on it and I happened to bump into the word ‘Cauchemar’. It is a French word and it means ‘nightmare, bad dream’. Find the roots below:
“Where does the word nightmare come from? The English word for evil spirit or incubus is mare, a word that comes from the Sanskrit mara, meaning ‘crusher’. The French word for nightmare, cauchemar, also contains the root mare, while ‘caucher’ means to trample. At some time in history people started to confuse mare or merrie, which meant a female horse, with the other meaning of mare of an evil spirit. Maybe a further complication happened because of the existence of a Teutonic goddess Mara who would changed herself in a white merrie to visit a sleeping man at night.”
And this nightmare is often related to sleep paralysis. And I also checked the exact definition of sleep paralysis. This is what I have got from medicinenet.com –
Sleep paralysis: “A frightening form of paralysis that occurs when a person suddenly finds himself or herself unable to move for a few minutes, most often upon falling asleep or waking up. Sleep paralysis is due to an ill-timed disconnection between the brain and the body. The symptoms of sleep paralysis include sensations of noises, smells, levitation, paralysis, terror, and images of frightening intruders. Once considered very rare, about half of all people are now believed to experience sleep paralysis sometime during their life. Sleep paralysis strikes as a person is moving into or out of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, the deepest part of sleep. During REM sleep the body is largely disconnected from the brain leaving the body paralyzed. Sleep paralysis is the result of premature (or persistent) mind-body disconnection as one is about to enter into (or exit from) REM sleep. Sleep paralysis occurs most often after jet lag or periods of sleeplessness that interrupt the normal REM patterns. It affects both sexes equally and occurs at all ages but is most common in teenagers. Sleep paralysis can be familial and may be genetic (inherited) in some cases. An attack of sleep paralysis is usually harmless and self-limited. It tends to be over in a minute or two as soon as the brain and body re-establish connections and the person is able to move again. However, the memory of the terrifying sensations felt during sleep paralysis can long endure. (Some scholars believe that sleep paralysis may account for some of the old claims of attacks by witches and the more recent "reports" of nocturnal abduction by space aliens.) A rare fatal form of sleep paralysis may, it is thought, underlie the cases of healthy teenagers, mainly in Southeast Asia, who die in their sleep, sometimes after fighting for breath but without thrashing around. Sleep paralysis goes by a number of names, including the "old hag" in Newfoundland (for an old witch thought to sit on the chest of the paralyzed sleeper), "kokma" in the West Indies (for a ghost baby who jumps on the sleeper's chest and attacks the throat), "kanashibari" in Japan and "gui ya" or ghost pressure in China (because a ghost is believed to sit on and assault the sleeper). Medically, sleep paralysis is sometimes called waking paralysis, predormital (before-sleep) paralysis, postdormital (after-sleep) paralysis, and REM sleep atonia.”
If I were to go by the above definitions, my paralysis was more of a waking paralysis or postdormital paralysis. In my case, it happened when my sleep was more in the lucid state as I was about to wake up. According to some sources (as you read in the last paragraph), it has a supernatural side to it too. There was a case study done on supernatural assault tradition in Southwest Louisana. You can read more about this supernatural narrations and witch riding experiences at this link:
Contemporary Cauchemar: Experience, Belief, Prevention by Katherine Roberts
All I know it was a very frightening experience. And now that I have experienced it twice, I really don’t find anything scientific about it but at the same time I don’t buy any witch riding justification also. Anyway, hoping not to go through it again….
If interested in knowing more, you can visit these sites:
Sleep Paralysis
Dream WorldSleep - A Dynamic Activity
15 Comments:
Hey Honey,
This is fascinating... I have had this experience, not often but often enough. I have terrible sleep problems, with a ton of dreams and nightmares, and because I am a very light sleeper, I remember many of them.
I don't often fall asleep when I nap, but this is when what you describe usually happens. or if i awaken and then drift off to sleep again. I will feel like I am awake, in bed, but unable to move. I have variations of it as well. I will feel as if I have awakened and told my mum about my dream and then wake up and realize it had been a dream within a dream.
all very annoying and tiring.
I hope you don't experience it again!
True Incog!!.. That dream within dream thing is really very irritating. I have missed on lot of things 'cause of this. There had been times in my life when i hated sleeping. But then you just can't help it when your body needs it...
I don't look forward to sleeping because I know I'm in for a bunch of exhausting, frustrating dreams and/or nightmares. But I need the sleep. So I do. I always wake up exhausted.. but such is life.. :-)
Hi,
Thanks for the comment on my blog :)
I'm glad you liked what you read, and I hope you will come back for more!
I get this too. It's awful.. sometimes my eyes are partially open and i see distorted images of stuff on my walls. It's scary and horrible. I'm glad it has a name. Thanks for the info :)
I am researching this cause as it plagues me quite frequently upon waking. This morning alone it occurred twice while I was fighting to awaken. For me it is almost always the same. I feel as though the covers are around my mouth and nose and I fight desperately to make my hand move to pull them away so I can take a breath. The covers are usually not near my face, but the struggle is terrifying. I have had this problem since I was a teenager. On the days I experience this feeling of "struggling for life" I am left tired and shaken. Usually upon these occurances, my dreams are easy to remember for a while. I just wish there was a way to make it not happen. It leaves me exhausted and fearful of sleeping. Has anyone found any ways of decreasing these occurances?
Well as far as my knowledge goes, there is no solution for this other than having good sleeping habits. In my case, till date I have experienced it twice and both the times it was during afternoon naps. So I usually avoid sleeping in day time and I have awful sleeping habits so I am trying to work on that too. Anyway this is what I have read somewhere:
“Coping with Sleep Paralysis
Because sleep paralysis, though sometimes terrifying, is seldom harmful, most treatment methods and advice are usually designed towards simply helping people cope with an episode, and taking preventive measures to minimise incidence. The individual is generally advised to practice good sleep behaviour: namely getting enough sleep, reducing stress, maintaining a regular exercise schedule as well as a consistent sleep schedule, not engaging in activities likely to cause sleep disturbance (such as eating large amounts close to bedtime) and not sleeping in the supine (face-up) position11, which seems to contribute to the condition. In the event of an onset, the individual is also instructed to remain calm and relaxed as the condition will wear off within minutes, to attempt to make small movements (to break the paralysis), or at least mental ones (which is likely to result in sensations of astral projection and out-of-body experiences). If an individual remains apprehensive about this, he or she may also arrange for the sleeping partner to help by arousing the sleeper from the paralytic stage. Some literature even advises enjoying the sensation as, if the individual can maintain control of his or her anxiety, there is the likelihood that the sleeper will slip into lucid dream.
In extreme cases, where episodes persist for weeks to months, it may become necessary to treat the condition with medication. Treatment with Prozac-type anti-depressants to inhibit REM sleep has reportedly reduced the incidence of sleep paralysis in some cases – although it would also seem that these episodes tend to increase once the patient is taken off medication or given different drugs.”
Hope this helps!!
Avoid things, written or other media, that invoke bizarre thoughts. Don't sleep on your back. Get plenty of rest... sleep deprivation is a factor.
If it happens don't panic... focus your mind on your body, the slightest thing that you know is real... example, I knew my hand was on my chest...focused on it until I could move a finger...focus on your breathing anything to force your brain back to physical reality and out of the nightmarish experience.
As best as I recall, I had only one more experience of this after becoming a Christian; then it stopped.. However, I was in my early twenties and they say this experience is more common among teenagers.
BTW the experience is VERY UNPLEASANT! Frightening beyond the norm... you'll be expecting Freddie Kruger to show up any second.
I believe that the "presences", spirits that are perceived are real, but fortunately, we're usually not aware of them. If we did, human life would be intolerable. On the other hand, there would be far less unbelievers than there are now.
I've had this for years. During some periods I had an episode nearly every day of the week, and I've had periods when I didn't have them at all.
Unfortunatly, I had another one just a littl while ago and got out of bed to write about it.
I was curious to see who else wrote about it and here I am.
I'm sorry to hear you are suffering from these episodes as well. It's not something I'd wish on anyone.
While the supernatural thoughts behind it seem realistic, I'd rather not get too involved with that personally. That's just a little too much for me.
Nevertheless, it is interesting in some way.
I too have read, or saw a documentary on TV, about the different experiences different cultures have with this weird condition.
I'm just glad I don't actually see things that arn't there, but the choking to death is already a handfull so no worries there haha.
So:
- reducing stress
- improving quality of sleep
these things would help us probably. My sleep pattern has been destroyed for so many years now, this is almost impossible to restore.
I have heard people say before that you just need to stay calm when it happens and let it happen. How they do it, I don't know. I for one can't find call at a time like that.
@Lightbringer : I don't seem to understand what religion has to do with sleep-paralysis but nevertheless, if it works for you, then I am really happy for you. Trust me nobody'd want to have these hellish experiences.
@René : Sad to know that you are being tormented by these things so often. As you told me your sleeping habits are really messed up, I think you should work on this matter.
Hey, It's anonymous from Feb 16, 2009. I suffer from Dysautonomia. There I am known as Candle.
I have had some studies done since my last blog. My doctor likes to refer to this Sleep Paralysis that I am experiencing as Hypnogogic Hallucinations. I understand a lot more now. It happens when your brain regains consciousness before reconnecting to your body. (You disconnect during REM to prevent you from flailing and acting out your dreams). The suggestion about trying to move a finger is a good one. They have found that now it is usually easier to return the mind to body connection faster if you try to move your eyes back and forth as opposed to a body part. I would always concentrate on trying to move my finger but when I could not that would usually start the panic. I am not as fearful now. I still don't like the feeling of pressure on my chest or something covering my mouth. Once in such a situation, I thought I heard my husband in the room. I was trying to call out to him to tell him to wake me up. To touch me or shake me. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't make the words come out of my mouth. It was frightening. Turned out he wasn't even in the room. It was all a part of the hallucination. I have started taking Provigil now - it is mainly used to treat sleep apena and narcolepsy. It induces wakefulness. I haven't had any more occurrences since. It is nice to not be scared to go to sleep. Sweet dreams all.
@Candle : Hey there, good to hear that things are better for you now and yeah, thanks alot for sharing the information.
@Ashok: Thanks for the info, Ashok. Sleep paralysis is different from Sleep Apnea because somehow you tend to remember that experience. But Sleep Apnea is definitely a symptom of Cerebellar Ataxia. I was doing reserach on SCA 2, and your info definitely helped alot. :)
Good article. Thank you.
Hey, I am checking this blog using the phone and this appears to be kind of odd. Thought you'd wish to know. This is a great write-up nevertheless, did not mess that up.
- David
Post a Comment