you know you've woken but can't move a muscle or open your eyes, you have to sort of jerk your whole body to be able to move? i normally then go back to sleep? no-one i know understands what i'm on about? it's always in the middle of the night.
2007-03-12 06:12:10 · 24 answers · asked by manc.lass 4 in Social Science ➔ Psychology
the scariest bit if is the quilt is over your face, i think i'm suffocating! thanx for all answers at least i'm not alone or crazy!
2007-03-12 07:33:12 · update #1
I have had that happen as well. It would seem that there is a sort of switch in the brain that when we pass into sleep stops our ability to perform muscle skills at will. When we wake up it is supposed to toggle back, so that we are able to move again. In some individuals however, there are times when you do become somewhat conscious, but still can not move. I have noticed that when it happens to me it seems to be a function of what foods I consumed before bed. If I drank a beverage with caffeine etc. That may have something to do with your condition. Try watching what you eat before bed and see if that alleviates your problem.
2007-03-12 06:20:40 · answer #1 · answered by uahgrad05 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This is a known condition within the medical world. However, scary though it is, there is nothing wrong with you. I have experienced it once, quite some time ago. I woke up, I was conscious with eyes open, but I could not move anything, although I wanted to. My nervous system wasn't responding at all to what my brain was wanting. I was effectively paralysed, and damn scared, because I thought that I might be dying. However, after a short while, it passed.
I have read about this condition, it is quite technical and I have forgotten the ins and outs. It has never happened to me since though.
2007-03-12 18:00:22 · answer #2 · answered by Veritas 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Thank god someone else understands. I was sleeping and my face was down in the pillow, i couldn't move my head ( felt like something was holding my head down) and i was starting to feel like i was suffocating ( i thought i was going to die) this must of lasted 45 secs, then i manage to open eyes and i could breathe again. Seriously freaked me out
2007-03-12 19:49:32 · answer #3 · answered by Blackout 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sleep paralysis. It has happened to be on rare occasions when I was younger and was always terrifying. Apparently it is when your mind is virtually awake, but the part that controls body movement is still asleep. It feels as if a car is sitting on your arms and legs and you strain with all of your might and they just won't move. Like I said, VERY scary.
2007-03-12 13:19:34 · answer #4 · answered by Oliver T4 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It's a condition called "Sleep Paralysis". go get a sleep study done because it is not normal,either you're losing too much muscle mass in REM sleep or the signal for your muscles to move aren't getting from your brain to your body
2007-03-12 13:21:59 · answer #5 · answered by medsans1 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
sure i have had it ,i was told it is caused by sleep apena but im not sure if you want info on that try calling the hostital and see if they are doing sleep study there and ask them.but i have also heard that is a nightmare .i do know that you can take control of it by telling yourself that it is ok and you arent going to freak out and you become much calmer .here is a bunch of stuff to look at good luck
2007-03-12 13:31:22 · answer #6 · answered by raindovewmn41 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are not a freak!! This is actually a common thing & I know 2 other people who this has happened to. They both feel as if someone or something is holding them down. For them it tends to happen during more stressful times. They have been told it has to do with anxiety.
2007-03-12 13:23:50 · answer #7 · answered by Sara S 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sylvia Browne talks about this and it's in her books. I can't remember what it's called. My daughter has experienced this too, and from what I've heard, a lot of others have too. It happens after astral travel (which occurs approx. 3-4 times a week) and when you come back down you don't 'fit' into your real body at first, like placing anything in another object. As you said, you have to jerk your body so it all fits together again.
2007-03-12 13:23:49 · answer #8 · answered by Bud's Girl 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
When we sleep, in particular during dream time our bodies go into a kind of paralysis to stop us acting out our dreams.
You may be waking up, mid dream, and find that your body is still in that paralysed state.
2007-03-12 13:20:29 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, but it's not when I wake up but when I try to fall asleep. It only happens to me once every couple of years, though. I try falling asleep, and then I can't move, and then I feel this very weird buzzing stop at the top of my head (like a huge vibrating sensation) and it makes its way to the bottom of my feet, then I fall asleep. Weird.
2007-03-12 13:34:27 · answer #10 · answered by brian 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋