What is it when you are sleeping and you than wake up but can't move speak or move around for about a minute

Question

I mean like one night at 3:10 in the morning, I woke up and it took me about a minute to move my arms, my mouth and open my eyes. It felt like someone was pushing me down, and the funny thing was I was half asleep. Then finally I somehow fought it off. Could this be a health concern?

Answer 1

No don't be concerned. Its called (night terrors or sleep paralysis) it happened to me once too. It was terrifying and took me a while to get over. I awoke, i was face down on the bed, and felt like someone was pressing down on my back and pushing my body into the mattress. I could not speak or move my lips, arm or legs anything in fact. It took me a minute to be able to move and to be honest i was too scared to open my eyes and look around the room in case i saw something terrifying. Thankfully it only happened that one time 11 years ago. I have seen documentaries on the subject since it is quite common and has documented all through history. The explanation is ( waking before your body has had a chance to catch up with your brain).

Answer 2

Sounds like sleep paralysis - described well by others already. You might try to do some research on lucid dreaming too. It helped me. I first experienced what you described in my college years. Thought I was losing my mind - but only at night! Talked to my family doc (this was 20+ years ago) who told me to breathe into a paper bag. Ignorant fool. I couldn't move, let alone sit up and breathe into a paper bag. Anyhow, I suffered with this for 6 or 7 more years until I discovered a book on LUCID DREAMING (can't remember the actual title) which helped me control the "paralysis" through my own behavior modification and lifestyle changes. However, eventually I realized that stress triggered my sleep paraylsis. I got the episodes when having erratic sleep schedules (college exams, papers due), during every pregnancy and the first 6+ after birth when nursing frequently at night, when kids were sick and my sleep was disrupted. I also have struggled with panic attacks - only I didn't know what they were. After descibing some attacks and my sleep paralysis, my OBGYN prescribed zoloft 8 years ago during my 5th pregnancy. Within 2 weeks, I stopped having panic attakcs and sleep paralysis episodes. Life has been much more peaceful at night for me. There does seem to be a familial tendency to this kind of thing. I have one child with night terrors (different from nightmares) and two with nightmares. Three kids just sleep - lucky them. My mom and one of my brothers also have experienced nightmares/sleep paralysis frequently. For your daughter (and yourself) you might try relaxation techniques at bedtime: white noise like a fan, soothing music without vocals, a hot water bottle, lavendar oil/scent on a cloth near your pillow, prayer and peaceful reading before sleep. No scarey movies and/or scarey books. I gave those up 17 years ago and that also helped. No Stephen King, Dean Koontz, or Robin Cook for me anymore. Bummer. Good luck - you're not losing your mind and neither is your daughter :)

Answer 3

No concern. The body chemistry that causes sleep (my family calls it the sleep drug) takes a while to wear off, depending how deeply you were sleeping. It's the same as being woken up abruptly and having that weird feeling like you don't know what day or time it is, or that super groggy feeling you get when you're woken up by the telephone.

Answer 4

It's not a health concern. It's sort of the same thing as when you're falling asleep and then suddenly think you're actually falling and twist around, waking yourself up again. But it is terrifying when it happens.

Answer 5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogia

What you describe involves some of the less normal symptomology of sleep paralysis, however, you described nothing of concern. A majority of people will at least once in their lives experience one of the common symptoms of sleep paralysis and hypnagogia. You simply express some of the rarer traits.

Answer 6

I am familiar with cases like these, and some say it is caused by astral projection while you are sleeping, and waking before your spirit returns to your body, causing heaviness and a general inability to function for a few minutes.
Perhaps look into astral projection, or try lucid dreaming.

Answer 7

Sleep paralysis. Quoting the source below, "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."

Answer 8

This is called sleep paralysis , very common .No need for concern

Answer 9

When we slip into sleep we go into paralysis. This is why if you suddenly wake up while drifting off you feel like you are falling.

Answer 10

Many Muslims believe this could be a bad a jinn (singular form of genie) interacting with you. We believe in jinn and they are good, and some are bad. They can mess with humans.