Thread: Some questions about sleep paralysis

Originally Posted by VampireLime17

If you start hallucinating, is it very vivid, or something you are only half aware of?
Lets say someone came up to me right now, while I'm fully conscious, and whispered my name in my ear. Would it feel like that? Completely vivid and clear?

There are 5 types of hallucinations. Visual, Auditory, Intruder, Body experiences, and "The old hag".

Visual is like seeing things that aren't actually there. Some see small things that don't really effect them at all, and others see really bad things. I've never seen anything bad personally.

Auditory being like what you described. It can even be as bad as someone screaming, which is something I've never heard personally.

Body experiences would be like your body falling through your bed, or feeling as if someone is touching you.

"The old hag" is pretty common. Some people have it bad enough to where they actually see some kind of monster/demon/witch sitting on their chest. The old hag makes it feel as if you aren't breathing or having trouble breathing. A big weight on your chest.

The last is the Intruder. It's that feeling that someone is there but there actually isn't anyone.

And if tonight I had SP and decided to try and stay calm to reach lucidity, how long would I have to stay calm? (I know how it depends on the individual but what is the general time?)

I'm not sure there is a general time. As you said, it depends on the person, but if I had to guess, I would say less than 30 minutes?

And lastly, what are the chances I will experience SP without attempting any WILDS or anything like that? Just natural, regular sleep. Would the chances increase now that I know about it and have been thinking about it?

I believe people reach SP in their life atleast twice without actually trying to gain it. I'm not really sure your chances would increase, but since you know about it, you may try to actually gain it.

But really, you won't always see hallucinations, or hear things or anything. It really just depends on the person.

Also, sleep paralysis is not the cause of these hallucinations. Hypnagogia is. It's the state the mind is in when you are falling asleep. It's trying to determine what is reality and what is dreams.

Hypnopompic is the state the mind is in when you wake up. It's when the mind is trying to figure out what are dreams and what is reality.

Sleep paralysis is when the body paralyzes itself outside the REM cycle.

I hope I answered your questions and any other questions people may have had. If you would like to know anything else on SP, don't be afraid to ask me.

People often think sleep paralysis is the cause of hallucintions and what not. I just want to make it clear that it is not the cause. I do realize that there are some people who are aware of the Hypnagogia state, but still say SP. I don't have a problem with this, just wanted to throw it out there...