have you ever experienced this?

Question

when waking up you are unable to move or speak and feel paralised I feel this often and wondered why its very frightening

Answer 1

Yes I suffered from it for a few years; it's called sleep paralysis.

It's caused by the hypothalamus gland in your brain releasing a muscle relaxant when you sleep. This is to prevent you from acting out your dreams, falling out of bed, sleepwalking etc. The problem occurs when you partially wake up and the gland is still active, resulting in you being unable to move shout scream etc. Also as you are not fully awake you are still having some form of dream and this can lead you to see things in your room (I used to see objects floating in my room and figures moving about) because of these effects it is assumed that when people claim to have been abducted by alien’s etc. they’ve just had an attack of sleep paralysis.

Yes the effect is very frightening, however I was lucky enough to have heard about it before experiencing it so perhaps not quite so bad for me.

As for seeing a doctor about it, I mentioned it to mine next time I was there on something unrelated, and he confirmed what I already knew. However If it’s happening really often (couple times a week every week) or your still worried about it then by all means go and see your doctor.

Having thought about my experiences while writing this. It has occurred to me that although I'd lived in the same house for several years before having an attack they stopped very quickly after moving house again. Maybe it was just coincidence or maybe there can be an environmental or external trigger to it.

Hope this has helped.

Answer 2

I have actually had this happen to me a lot and I agree that it is extremely scary. It first happened to me when I was about twelve I opened my eyes and thought I saw someone standing at my door looking at me and when I asked my mother if she had looked in on me and she said she hadn't. The whole not being able to move thing didn't freak me out too much at that time. It stopped happening for about three years and has started up again since a little after I turned fifteen, I'm sixteen now and I've been experiencing this almost bi-weekly. Personally I haven't seen a doctor about this but from one person who has experienced this to another I suggest that if this happens to you again you should try to remain as calm as possible and try to fall back to sleep. I read some of the answers and one person said that this happens a lot to back sleepers. I usually sleep on my side and go into 'sleep paralysis' on my side, I am not narcoleptic, I don't have hypertension and it doesn't run in my family. If everything I said applies to you then I do suggest that you see a doctor, I know that I'm going to make an appointment with my doctor Monday now that I see what this could be linked to I want to make sure that this is not something harmful. Remember that the only way to be completely safe is if you're completely sure.

Answer 3

It can be very common, please see a doctor though just in case.

There is on form of this called old hag syndrome. The "old hag", "demon" or even "alien" who sits on an unsuspecting sleeping person's chest, and upon their waking realise they are powerless to move.


Sleep paralysis is a condition in which someone about to fall asleep, or just upon waking from sleep, realises that they are unable to move or speak, but can still breathe and move their eyes, in this "half-asleep/half-awake" stage the "twilight" stage.

Your conscious mind has begun to drift into sleep or from sleep, therefore you still have a small amount of your waking conscious. It is a very transitory stage indeed, and one that seems to leave you "open" to certain experiences you would not otherwise be receptive to when fully conscious or fully asleep. It is also accepted by most researchers that although this can happen in any sleeping position, it most commonly occurs in the supine position (laying on your back).

Once the person realises they are unable to move, they usually, but not always, leave this "twilight" stage and become fully awake, but still paralysed. The person may only experience a temporary paralysis, and after several seconds or up to a minute or so would then regain their movement and the event would be over.

There is a painting by Fuseli called the Nightmare which is supposed to show this form of sleep paralyse (circa 1782)

http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~acheyne/Fuseli.html

Answer 4

It's caused by one part of your brain waking up before another- usually your consciousness comes back at the same time as mobility, but in sleep paralysis, you are conscious but unable to move. It's not harmful, but is frightening. A similar thing can happen under anaesthetic, where patients are aware of whats happening, but unable to communicate. If it has started recently, see your GP. If you have always been like this, see your Dr if you want. If you're worried, its worth 15 minutes of his or her time.

Answer 5

Yes I have when in my 20s quite often. I also experienced a black phantom gliding over me as it occurred, which made it even more scary. The same thing was happening to my wife about the same time, and we consulted someone experienced in these things who told us how to fight them off. It worked. - No trouble since. I've recently finished writing a book which starts with this scary experience and carries it through to its ultimate conclusion. I didn't realise it was so common, as it obviously is from the answers here, though not everyone actually sees them like my wife and I did.

Answer 6

I've had this once and I didn't enjoy it much (I'd just watched about four episodes of Twin Peaks - yikes!). Apparently, to stop us falling out of bed and moving about too much in our sleep, our bodies become paralyzed. So 'sleep paralysis' is what you experience when you awaken during it.

It also has many names historically and is experienced in many unrelated cultures.

I'm sure you'll find better info from one of the links above. IMHO no need to worry and hopefully it will go away.
:)

Answer 7

This is a sure sign of Hypertension.

I know from personal experience. As you say, it is a really frightening experience.I contacted my doctor and explained my symptoms, he immediately told me that I had just described hypertension exactly.

I have been on medication since and have not suffered an attack for a few years now.

Seek medical help .

Best of luck.

Answer 8

Yes that is common it is called sleep paralysis. Basically it is what happens when we are asleep to stop us all sleepwalking. Some people still have it for a few minutes after they wake up. However if you are worried you should go to your doctor.

Answer 9

yes, it's called sleep paralysis... it happens to me every so often and it's very frightening... your mind wakes up but your body doesn't. you'll find it's actually quite common. i have it where i try to scream but nothing happens... in the end you just have to make yourself go back to sleep. oh, and there's no need to see a doctor about it!

Answer 10

Had this once was explained to me as being a waking dream, but go with the seeing Doctor thing is my advice