Twice, I have awakened from sleep unable to move. I can open my eyes and my mind is alert. Yet I am unable to move my body for what seems like an eternity. It's not that I'm tired, I'm physically unable to move, speak,etc. Similar to parlysis. I feel weighted down and bound for a few seconds or so.
2006-09-20 15:45:15 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Other - Health
Your body is just having a sort of lapse keeping up with your brain.
Your brain paralyzes you during REM sleep so you don't hurt yourself, you are just having a delay.
If you are worried, go see a neurologist.
2006-09-20 15:47:26 · answer #1 · answered by PreviouslyChap 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
The first question is.. were you having a bad dream. What youre describing is called sleep paralysis. Its temporary paralysis in a slight sleep state.
Ive done this a few times. I cant talk, scream, move my body. I can move my eyes and my head very slightly.
"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."
2006-09-20 15:58:01 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
many yrs. ago i did that same way - several time!! I think I was on a tri-cylic anti-depressant - not sure which one: could have been any of these: Pamelor; Tofranil; Surmontil; Ludimil and I possibly was on Inderal at that time too ( a beta blocker for my THEN heart - beating too fast; and I may have also been on Navene 2 mg. EVERY - OTHER - DAY - ( an Anti-psychotic).
I'm fairly certain I was taking at least one of the anti-depressants i mentioned Above and I'm fairly certain i was On the Inderal (proponal---mis-spelled); IT WAS AWFUL - when I could not move!!! ( once I thought someone / stranger was about to come into my back door and I could not Move - upon waking; seemed forever!!! and another time I heard Car - outside and I could not move - so that i could look to see if I knew who it was outside; i lived out in the Country then and my husband was at work & my children at school. /// my house got broken into 2 different times -when I was not at home - THANK goodness cuz sometimes I slept in day-time lots due to bad nerves and / or nerve med's!!!!! best wishes; hope u find out what caused You to not be able to MOVE!!! i NEVER DID FIND OUT! AND IT IS CERTAINLY A BAD FEELING!!! / i DON'T THINK I WAS HALLUCINATING EITHER!!!!!! I might be bipolar but probably not Sczrophrenic and have usually never hallucinated; only a few times due to extreme lack of sleep , which i read is normal with extreme amount of lack of sleep! I saw it snowing in my bedroom--- was so pretty! l o l !
2006-09-20 16:00:45 · answer #3 · answered by Brown Eyed Susan 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
What you are experiencing is called Sleep Paralysis. When you fall asleep, the body secretes a substance which shuts down your ability to move. The body does this so that you won't act our your dreams and hurt yourself. I've had sleep paralysis episodes hundreds of times. Don't be afraid of it. When you "wake up" and are stuck, just try to fall back to sleep. If you fight the paralysis, it will only get worse.
2006-09-20 15:49:17 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Indeed it's called sleep paralysis but a more spiritual answer is because our body travels at night without the physical intsrument we carry day to day. When you wake up abruptly (noise, etc) it takes a few seconds for you to get back into your Earthly body. It's nothing to be afraid of.
A few hundred years ago these cases were classified as the devil pinning down sinners at night.
If you want to argue us travelling when we sleep by all means do so. One documented case comes to mind where a woman would visit a home in England in her dreams. She finally went to the house on a trip to the country and the family who answered her ringing the door said "It's our ghost!". =o)
If you "fight it" it does not get worse. You merely begin to panic therefore feel worse. Just like if you were tied up and tried to struggle. The ropes won't get tighter but you'll feel more restrained.
Whether the body secretes a substance to disable our movement is up for grabs. Many people sleepwalk, talk and just flail about. Rarely does anyone awake in the same position they went to bed in but they don't recall moving. You don't need to be fully awake to roll over.
2006-09-20 15:53:02 · answer #5 · answered by Matt L 1 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Sleep paralysis or night paralysis.
It is thought to be because you are waking up during parts of REM sleep. During this phase, you lose muscle tone (similarly snoring/sleep apnea occurs from this loss of muscle tone in the muscles that line the airway). Upon waking up, you are initially still paralyzed, but quickly recover as the conscious part of the brain takes control.
2006-09-20 15:50:47 · answer #6 · answered by littleturtleboy 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is called sleep paralysis. It is because your mind has awakened faster than your body and it takes a few seconds for it to register. Very scary I understand but from what I read, lasts, as you say just a few seconds.
2006-09-20 15:48:20 · answer #7 · answered by chris 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
This happened to me often when I was in my early teens. This may freak you out - have you ever suspected your house of being haunted?
I heard of all the scientific sleep paralysis explanations....later on in life someone else who experienced this told me it is from a ghost laying on you, sitting on you, or holding you down. I really don't want to believe that -BUT...
what a strange coincidence that I ALWAYS used to suspect we lived in a haunted house from an early age until the time we moved when I was 14. Once we left, it never happened to me again. I am curious to know if you ever felt like your home may be haunted
2006-09-20 15:48:13 · answer #8 · answered by Bellina 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I've had that happen a few times myself. I guess that for some reason the mind doesn't send out messages to your body right away. Maybe you should talk to a doctor? I've never spoken to a doctor about it. However I haven't had it happen since I was 16 or 17.
2006-09-20 15:48:56 · answer #9 · answered by Just me 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
you are between consciousness and unconsciosness
some people say thats when you are at your most psychic if you can not panic
also a point where you can astral travel from
if it makes you uncomfortable just twitch your little finger on either hand it will make you wake up-yes even though you are not able to move anything else you will be able to move little finger
maybe the big fella upstairs safety mechanism
2006-09-20 15:59:10 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋