Hey there,
Reading your story, I think the fact that you were very tired caused a disturbance in your particular sleep patterns. Your body or mind likely fell asleep faster then it usually does 
See when we go to sleep, our body paralysis itself. This condition is called Sleep Paralysis, and it prevents you from acting out your dreams while you're asleep. Without it, you'd be sleepwalking, punching the air, trying to open non-existant doors, or whatever it is that you do in your dreams, and sleep would be quite dangerous to you. So instead the body sort of shuts itself off, resulting in sleep paralysis.
At the same time, dreams begin to appear. No one is quite sure why or how, but at the onset of sleep, you'll begin to see something called Hypnagogic images and sounds, sometimes even feelings. These are like very fleeting dreamimages, without much subtance, though as your body falls deeper into sleep these can evolve into full blown dreams.
In your case, it sounds like you went to bed and fell into a sort of vague dream very quickly (the kitchen), but then your mind woke up very abruptly, without your body being fully awoken yet, and you were still in Sleep Paralysis, as described earlier.
Sleep Paralysis is a strange, and often scary thing to experience, until you begin to understand it. The sensations you were having are all things that many people report when they're in sleep paralysis. Additionally, it's also a state in which those hypnagogic images I talked about tend to become stronger and more vivid, and sometimes even superimpose themselves on your normal sensory imput, which can make it appear as though you're half dreaming, half awake, or even make you seem to see things that aren't there, like people in your room, ghosts, strange sounds, and what not.
You weren't about to die though. It can feel that way because your body is paralysed, but what you experienced is something you go through every time you go to sleep, only usually, your mind is fast asleep and unaware of it. Because the disturbance of your normal sleep pattern, you did become aware of it this time, and consciously it can be very unsettling. But there's nothing to be afraid of. In fact, look around this site, Sleep Paralysis is very often discussed and is actually used by many as a tool to induce certain types of lucid dreams.
Hope that helps!
-Redrivertears-
|
|
Bookmarks