Sleep Paralysis
By videnom
@videnom (98)
Romania
May 8, 2012 11:19am CST
Have you ever heard of/experienced sleep paralysis?If not, I'm gonna tell you about my experience.
First of all my name is Simona and I'm 17 years old.
It was an ordinary night of january, so I was laying in my bed, trying to sleep.I was in that phase between sleeping and reality and suddenly I felt like I couldn't move at all and I was starring at some dark point on the ceilling wondering what was that.
I felt as though I'm awake and no matter how hard I tried to open my eyes or move to wake myself up I couldn't.I've been trying to scream out but every time nothing came out.It was terryfing.
In the moment my body stopped following my orders I was breathless and desperate.
It lasted like 5 minutes or even 10.
It happened to me just once and if you went through something like that I would really like to hear your story!
3 responses
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
8 May 12
This is not uncommon and more usually happens on waking so that one is completely aware that one is awake but cannot move or do anything for a few seconds. Usually, breathing is not affected but, of course, when one is scared (as people usually are when it happens the first few times) one often feels unable to breathe.
It is a result of one part of the brain waking up before another part (or, perhaps, in your case, part of the brain shutting down before your consciousness shut down). The function is actually completely normal and is designed to stop our bodies from thrashing about and moving too much while we are asleep and so prevents us from injuring ourselves.
Some people never experience it and others experience it a lot. It frequently happens during adolescence. The actual length of time during which one feels paralysed is normally less than a minute but it often feels much longer.
You can be reassured that you are quite normal and that nothing dreadful will happen. People who experience it frequently usually just learn to lie there while the brain 'catches up with itself'. I have even heard of people saying that they rather enjoy the experience.
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
8 May 12
You can read more about it here: http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/sleep-paralysis
@syramoon (654)
• United States
8 May 12
I've had this experience off and on for as long as I can remember. Usually my experience is accompanied with being in an out of night mares, in which I'm unable to move like you've said, but not sure if I'm really awake or asleep. Until I read about sleep paralysis I just thought I was having horrible night terrors, that can be associated with bipolar.
@videnom (98)
• Romania
8 May 12
Oh I see. My experience wasn't accompanied by nightmares, but I was scared and I haven't really realized what was happening to me, but I finally calmed down.Anyways from what I've heard this happens when you're stressed out or tired.
After I took a look on the net about it I was relaxed. When it happens for a moment you think you got insane.
@ryanong (9665)
• Vietnam
9 May 12
I used to be like that. I feel that i still awake but my body could not move. Only my eyes can see only. it takes 2-3 minutes like that, and suddenly my body is released and i can move again.
Sometime I feel that my body is falling down to the big deep hole and then I started to wake up.
However it happens when i am tired in that day only.
