Ever get sleep paralysis? Any other weird sleep tales?

[ShadowTiger]

Has anyone here ever had anything interesting happen to them while sleeping, or about to sleep? Sleep paralysis, for example?

I've heard plenty of stories where people find themselves paralyzed after waking up from a nap or sleep, unable to move. I'm actually quite surprised that I've never had sleep paralysis. I think I'm a fairly light sleeper. Granted, most of the time, (Such as when I wake up to an alarm clock...) I am loathe to stop sleeping, but I am quite capable of hopping right out of bed easily at times.


Another question. Kind of strange, actually. Has anyone tried to lay in bed, as relaxed as possible, but not fall asleep? After many minutes of that, being completely relaxed, you start to feel these weird vibrations. You feel sort of like a cell phone that's gently vibrating, or you might even hear a vibration. What are those? I've heard plenty of stories, but I'd really like to hear a medical explanation. I pretty much hear them attributed to medication, none of which are being taken in the majority of people experiencing them.

[telecom_goddess]

My daughter has the sleep paralysis thing...no explanation as to why!

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I've had sleep paralysis. I didn't used to be claustrophobic. After that I was.

Probably one of the scariest things that ever happened to me.

Happened probably close to twenty five years ago and I still get chills and gooseflesh when I think about it.

[MadMike]

Probably one of the scariest things that ever happened to me.

Amen to that. It happens to me from time to time, and it's even worse when I hear and see things, and I can't run away from them.

With me, it seems to happen when I'm really tired and I fall asleep really suddenly. Sometimes I'll start dreaming, and in the dream I'll get light-headed and pass out. Next thing I know, I'm awake in my bed, but I can't move or call out. Then when I finally snap out of it, I have trouble falling back to sleep.

[Kanalah]

I have some wicked insomnia. On a good night it takes me at least an hour to fall asleep. And that's an hour of lying still and doing relaxation techniques.

I also have some really vivid and terrifying nightmares. Bad enough to wake me up and keep me up for a bit, since I'm always convinced that *someone* is in the house.

Lately my nightmares are about weeping angels, which creep me the heck right out.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I posted about this in another thread, if you're interested or missed it or whatever.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Happened to me once, about ten years ago...I was sleeping on an air mattress in my living room in my apartment because it was too hot (no AC in the bedroom), and I woke up in the middle of the night unable to move for several seconds. It freaked me out until I went online trying to see if I could figure out what it was. Once I knew what the hell happened I was OK.

Also around the same time I woke up with one arm completely numb because I was laying in a weird position. It was freaky watching my arm move around and not being able to feel it.

[Chazzie]

I've had sleep paralysis. It really sucks, because I tend to dream in context- so I'd see my room, but then I'd start hallucinating and see demonic faces. Or one time I was sleeping in the dark, saw my then-boyfriend's face that got distorted and freaky.

Another more amusing time, I had sleep paralysis where I heard my mother come into my room, and felt her starting to use a spray bottle on my head. I started panicking because I couldn't move and couldn't find a way to tell her to stop loud enough. Eventually I snapped out of it.

[MaggieTheCat]

I don't think I've ever had sleep paralysis, but sometimes I get this thing when I'm dreaming...I have no idea what to call it. Basically I'll be dreaming, and in my dream, I'll be aware that I'm dreaming, and something weird or bad will happen, so I'll be screaming (in my dream) for myself to wake up, and I can't. I'll want to wake up and I'll even feel my eyes flutter so I'm sort of half-awake, but I can't wake up fully and the dream continues. Sometimes this happens for minutes or even hours (at least it feels like it) before I can finally come completely conscious again.

I dunno, is that a form of sleep paralysis? I'm not actually fully awake, and I'm never really terrified when it happens, it's just very strange.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I've had episodes in the past where I awaken from a dream and it takes me a while to catch my breath.

Like I had the wind knocked out of me and I'm a little fearful as I'm trying to start breathing again. This hasn't happened to me in years though.

[42_42_42]

I've had episodes of sleep paralysis, usually they occur if I'm sleeping on my back, so once I've woken up enough to move, I roll over on my stomach and it won't occur again that night. I rarely sleep on my back, I'm more of a stomach/side sleeper, so this doesn't happen often.

I also have episodes (had one this morning, actually), where I'm awake and can move, except I have to struggle to open my eyes, but my ears or I guess really the part of my brain that processes hearing is still asleep and I have aural dreams.

I think the two are related as they both occur if I'm on my back. Occasionally I've had the feeling that my cat is jumping on my legs (which he does a LOT, he sleeps on or between my legs nearly every night when it's cold) or walking on my body, but he's NOT in the bed. This is the only weird thing that happens when I'm on my stomach and I can still move when it does. Again, shifting position makes it go away.

I also have occasional periods of insomnia. My psychiatrist has a sleep-aid prescribed for me. If I have 2 nights in a row of bad sleep, it means a pattern of insomnia is establishing itself, so I'll take one, have a good night of sleep and I'm good to go for a few weeks or even months.

My dreams at night are always extremely vivid and weird.

[candyshopgirl]

I dont even know what to call my crap. When I was little I sleep walked every night. It got where mom and dad had to put special locks on the door so I couldn't open them. I dont sleep walk anymore but now I have really bad nightmares and I act out my dreams. One night I got up and grabbed the dogs and screamed to the hubby. Get up, run the house is on fire. He is used to it and wakes me up and tells me to go back to sleep. One night I woke him up and said don't move someone broke in and they are in the bedroom. Another night I got up slapping the walls, screaming BUGS. Another one was I thought my dog was dead and was crying holding her. And finally about two weeks ago I dreamed the house was caving in, I raise up and started screaming. They tend to happen more frequently when I'm not happy in my life, or when I'm stressed out.
They haven't been happening since I put in my two weeks notice here at work, that was 3 days ago. My husband wants me to make a appointment with a psychologist, he says its a panic disorder. He says maybe I need some sleeping meds so that I go into a deep sleep. The strange thing is that I'm fully awake(my eyes are open) when this stuff happens but mentally I'm not there, my mind is still asleep.

[Jester]

Has anyone here ever had anything interesting happen to them while sleeping, or about to sleep? Sleep paralysis, for example?

Yes and no. Never full on sleep paralysis, the kind you're talking about, but I have woken up where an entire arm or an entire side is completely numb, like, fallen asleep numb. It happens often enough where it doesn't weird me out anymore, just irritates me. Nothing worse than waking up with only one usable arm, after all.

Also, I've had some dreams that were so vivid and so "real," even if they were unreal, that sometimes it takes me a while to sort out the dream from reality. Sometimes, it's literally taken me years to realize something was a dream. If the dream was very out there, though, it usually only takes me a few minutes. But there have been a few that took me far, far longer. And that was very creepy. Well, once I realized it was not real, it was creepy. Before that realization, it was just....well, real.

Lately my nightmares are about weeping angels, which creep me the heck right out.

"Don't blink. Blink and you're dead. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And don't blink. Good Luck."

The strange thing is that I'm fully awake(my eyes are open) when this stuff happens but mentally I'm not there, my mind is still asleep.

Then you are not fully awake, you are asleep. Just because your eyes are open and you are moving does not mean you are awake.

[Cookie]

Never have sleep paralysis, but I do know about insomnia. I also have a weird thing that happens where it's like I forget to breathe as I'm falling asleep. Once I'm asleep, I breathe just fine, but as I'm drifting off, I'll sometimes just not inhale again after exhaling. I'll snap wide awake and whatever progress I made toward sleep is just gone while I catch my breath. Used to freak me out, but it's just so "normal" now, it just irritating.

[Squeaksmyalias]

I tend to dream in context- so I'd see my room, but then I'd start hallucinating and see demonic faces. Or one time I was sleeping in the dark, saw my then-boyfriend's face that got distorted and freaky.

I dream like that too, except I get that sort of scary dreams instead of PMS, which is really strange and to be perfectly honest I'd rather have the normal PMS then the dreams. Really they are that bad, at least I know when they are coming, but until I noticed the pattern I thought my room was haunted cause of how vivid and realistic they seemed. Not fun, and I already have realistic vivid dreams that I remember in detail, which is cool for fun and cool dreams, nightmares that way are not pleasant, at least I fall asleep fairly quickly right after so my sleep isn't really effected.

I've had sleep paralysis, I think that's why I'm afraid of small places now. I used to not be, now I can't watch shows where they are in small spaces without starting to get freaked out.