Thread: Is sleep paralysis real, or just a dream?

I've had a few experiences with sleep paralysis in the past, and although it felt unreal at the time, I figured it must real (as in, I am actually thrashing around in bed, just seeing hallucinations), because it seemed to fit with what I read online, and I had no way of proving that it wasn't real.

However, this morning, I "awoke" in bed and did a reality check, causing me to become lucid. I was excited to get up and start doing fun things, but I found I was paralyzed, and could barely move. I did however manage to kick myself out of bed onto the floor. But then after a few seconds, I woke up for real, still in bed under the covers.

So, it is possible I dreamed the whole thing? Can you become paralyzed in your dream?

It's certainly possible - I've had five or six SP episodes in a dream. You can tell if you had the SP was real or not by analyzing the position you were lying in when you had it, and then consider the position you were in as you woke up in - if it's real, there's no actual transition between the dream and waking up; the SP just goes away and you're left lying there. SP may act differently while you're in a dream, too.

Since you're saying you did a reality check, that must mean you were able to move. SP normally happens right after you wake up, without giving the person a chance to move. So I'm guessing it was a dream.

Sleep paralysis is most definitely real. The audio/video hallucinations during SP are of course NOT real.

Your body is paralyzed to prevent you from acting out your dreams, therefore SP is always present. However, awareness of SP is only present when your mind is awake, but your body asleep.

Regarding the paralysis you felt in your dream, it could be that you started to feel your real body being in SP, and this incorporated itself into your dream, making you feel that way.

I had a few dreams about sleep paralysis and in my case there was no difference between real SP and dream one. When I was in a dream experiencing SP I thought it was real - there was no way I could do a RC. But real SP only occurs when I'm attempting WILD or just falling asleep really fast when my body is tired, but my mind is not so much - that way I know for sure it's real.
Actually, realizing this made me less scared of it, because when hallucinations are frightening it can be plainly perceived as another nightmare.