I'm similar sometimes, in that I get this chilling sensation through my body, which numbs my hands and feet if they go on for long enough, but it is not sleep paralysis itself and other than the physical sensations, I don't feel any closer to the dream state after these chilling sensations than I had before them.
I have a few questions: First, are you getting close to the point of falling asleep during any of this? It's obvious, but also very forgettable that in order to achieve a WILD, you do need to fall asleep. Also, do you ever reach the point where you begin to hear random noises/voices? Personally, I've never achieved a WILD, but I've been conscious enough to recognize these random noises as I am seemingly beginning to fall asleep (although I usually get too excited or alert, and snap right out of it at that point ), but I haven't experienced sleep paralysis either. If you have heard these random noises around the time your heart races and your body twitches (or even if you haven't, since, like everone says, "everybody is different"), it's possible you legitimately were close to the dream state, and maybe sleep paralysis was trying to kick in, but the moment it began, you became alert to the point that the relaxation you'd been attempting to achieve was gone, along with your progress.
I can't tell for sure whether this might've been sleep paralysis, especially since I myself have never experienced sleep paralysis, but what I've found helpful these last few days when trying to WILD is thinking about some scene to focus on the entire time, which I have found makes it much easier to remain calm and not too alert, yet also stay conscious, when something like sleep paralysis (or whatever we're feeling) is kicking in. Personally, I sometimes imagine reaching out for somebody's hand, but not quite being able to reach it. It's very helpful, because it requires effort and keeps me conscious enough to WILD due to the effort of visualizing "reaching out" for that person's hand, yet it is generally a mostly constant visualization throughout the time I am attempting to WILD, and doesn't require effort to update and change over time. I've definitely noticed that if and when I have ever felt close to transitioning into sleep, this visualization, and the effort that goes into envisioning reaching out for somebody's hand, helps me to remain calm and undistracted...yet, since it is so constant, it's easy to maintain and not as easy to drift off with. You've probably read lots of other suggestions, which other people use as well, such as imagining yourself climbing stairs, riding a bike, etc., but personally, I like to think about this rather than actions like that, because I can continue to focus on it even when I feel something happening to my body, but this visualization itself is not enough to keep me overly alert and awake.
I would suggest finding a sort of visualization like this that works for you, other than just imagining the dream state. It's possible that what you're feeling could be sleep paralysis starting to kick in, but your visualizations of (whatever you're visualizing) isn't keeping you calm enough to be able to continue focusing on them even when something is happening to your body. It must be something that you are able to continue to calmly visualize amidst the twitching and heart racing without becoming distracted by these sensations.
That's my advice...you may just be getting too alert when something starts happening. Personally, it feels as though I automatically tune in as soon as I start feeling something, and this is the urge you have to be able to resist effortlessly, without thinking about it. The moment you get distracted and tune in to these sensations, you've likely lost any chance at achieving whatever was to follow these initial sensations. And, if you ask me, that's where your visualization must come in handy. If you find the right visualization, it should allow you to not become distracted when you begin to feel something happening (while your visualization effortlessly continues as it was), and then, you may be able to find out whether these heart-racing, twitching sensations actually lead to something, such as sleep paralysis, immediately afterwards by remaining calm.
As I mentioned, I haven't yet achieved a WILD, so I'm probably not the right person to be talking...but hopefully my advice helps anyway.
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