Why can I not move when I wake up?

Question

Sometimes at night...I fall asleep and then wake up in the middle of the night and I open my eyes and I see myself and everything around me, the only thing that is wrong is that I cannot move whatsoever...the only thing i can move are my eyes, to look around of course..It gets scary so what i do is try to move as much as I can and I eventually can, but I find myself breathing really hard and my heart is beating fast. What can this be...??? Could it be tied to lucid dreaming? What is it that I am experiencing??? HELP!!!

Another thing that happens while this is in occurance is that I cant breathe either, so when I wake up, I am out of breath and my heart beats really fast....Its creepy and scary.

Answer 1

I have the same problem

Hereis some info:




Sleep paralysis consists of a period of inability to perform voluntary movements either at sleep onset (called hypnogogic or predormital form) or upon awakening (called hypnopompic or postdormtal form).

Sleep paralysis may also be referred to as isolated sleep paralysis, familial sleep paralysis, hynogogic or hypnopompic paralysis, predormital or postdormital paralysis

What are the symptoms?


A complaint of inability to move the trunk or limbs at sleep onset or upon awakening
Presence of brief episodes of partial or complete skeletal muscle paralysis
Episodes can be associated with hypnagogic hallucinations or dream-like mentation (act or use of the brain)
Polysomnography (a sleep recording) shows at least one of the following:


suppression of skeletal muscle tone
a sleep onset REM period
dissociated REM sleep
Is it harmful?

Sleep paralysis is most often associated with narcolepsy, a neurological condition in which the person has uncontrollable naps. However, there are many people who experience sleep paralysis without having signs of narcolepsy. Sometimes it runs in families. There is no known explanation why some people experience this paralysis. It is not harmful, although most people report feeling very afraid because they do not know what is happening, and within minutes they gradually or abruptly are able to move again; the episode is often terminated by a sound or a touch on the body.

In some cases, when hypnogogic hallucinations are present, people feel that someone is in the room with them, some experience the feeling that someone or something is sitting on their chest and they feel impending death and suffocation. That has been called the “Hag Phenomena” and has been happening to people over the centuries. These things cause people much anxiety and terror, but there is no physical harm.

What else can you tell me about sleep paralysis?


Some people with disrupted sleep schedules or circadian rhythm disturbances experience sleep paralysis
A study found that 35% of subjects with isolated sleep paralysis also reported a history of wake panic attacks unrelated to the experience of paralysis
Sixteen percent of these persons with isolated sleep paralysis met the criteria for panic disorder
How can I stop the sleep paralysis?

In severe cases, where episodes take place at least once a week for 6 months, medication may be used.

You may be able to minimize the episodes by following good sleep hygiene:


getting enough sleep
reduce stress
exercise regularly (but not too close to bedtime)
keep a regular sleep schedule

Answer 2

That sounds a lot like something I saw on a documentary about alien abduction. The symptoms of this sleep disorder was just like that, you can't get up or move. It's like your body and some of your mind is still asleep, but a lesser part of you (eyes included) are awake. It's also accompanied by an acute sense of panic.

But I guess when it's REALLY intense, the part of your mind that's asleep can still actually be dreaming. Therefore, it's not uncommon to dream that demons or aliens are standing around your bed (creepy, eh?). It is hypothesized that people who think they've been abducted actually have the same disorder that you have. But it's so believable because the dream of the abduction is interwoven with the reality of waking up, looking around, and panic.

I also seem to recall that it was a treatable problem. Go tell your doctor about it. He'll probably get a kick out of it.

Answer 3

Save your $$ there's nothing wrong with it. I have never had an out of body experience so I can't say whether or not that's even possible. It is simply sleep paralysis as several have already stated. You're probably only losing your breath because you're tense. Try to stay calm. I know that it's one of the several things your body goes through when going to sleep (and waking up as I've read) along with hypongogic images and sounds.

Tied to Lucid Dreaming? I'm not sure but read about the technique WILD. It uses such knowledge of sleep paralysis and hypongogic images and sounds to help induce a lucid dream.

Answer 4

This is a normal stage of sleep, normally you don't wake up when this is going on but it does happen. Pretty freaky eh?

Sleep paralysis is a condition characterized by temporary paralysis of the body shortly after waking up (known as hypnopompic paralysis) or, less often, shortly before falling asleep (known as hypnagogic paralysis).


Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain is awakened from an REM state into essentially a normal fully awake state, but the bodily paralysis is still occurring. This causes the person to be fully aware, but unable to move. In addition, this state is may be accompanied by hypnagogic hallucinations.

More often than not, sleep paralysis is believed by the person affected by it to be no more than a dream. This is the reason why there are many dream recountings which describe the person lying frozen and unable to move. The hallucinatory element to sleep paralysis makes it even more likely that someone will interpret the experience as simply a dream, as one might see completely fanciful objects in a room alongside the normal vision one can see.

Answer 5

I've heard that you are somewhat paralyzed while sleeping and so you might just be half asleep still. Try setting yourself up so that you have a reason to get up right away. Try setting the alarm clock to a really high volume and putting it in another room and see if you can jump up in the morning and go shut it off. If you can't get up, even when you have to, it's a little scary. I'd go see a doctor if you can't get up after trying the above.

Answer 6

When people sleep, their brains put them in sort of paralyzed state, to keep them from acting out their dreams. People with abnormalities of this pattern sleep walk,s leep eat, sleep anything! and some just lie there, awake. some are still dreaming. some awaken to find themselves still seeing their dream images, however, they can not move. it would be very terrifying to lie awake, paralyzed in your bed and to see your dreams coming to life in front of you, or worse, nightmares! these are called night terrors and can greatly disturb a person's night of sleep and even their mental health. have a doctor prescribe you sleep medicine, so that you can stay asleep in your paralyzed state and NOT wake up. I'm an insoniac, i'm sharing the crappy night's sleep with ya! good luck!

Answer 7

i believe this is called astral projection i've heard about it and its quite common. people often go out of their bodies when they sleep and when they renter the body sometimes they have trouble. if it is not fast enough u will experience what you experienced its nothing to worry about at all! people in ancient times and even now thinks that this is some demon and stuff but its not i've had a few times and im sure alot of other people did too. just say to God that plz let me enter my body without any trouble before u go to bed and it will work. good luck

Answer 8

Go to the doctor! I experienced something similar but not as bad as you! I could'nt move because I was scared (I dont know of what) but eventually I was too tired and sleepy to wake up during the night. If I was in your case I would go to the doctor!

Answer 9

H3y I think that u should tell ur parents or something then go to da hospital.. N have them do that sleeping test thing... They have u stay there 4 like 2 days.. N they do studies of ur dreams n all this otha crap.. Well i think u should have it checked out as soon as possible b4 it gets worse

Answer 10

Sounds like some sort of sleep disorder. Lucid dreaming like you said. I would find it scary too. Have you talked to your doctor about it? They should refer yo to a sleep clinic to see what is going on.