A very strange event

[Nester]

Hi, This happened a few nights ago... I suddenly awoke but couldn't move, not a muscle. I sensed that there was a presence in my room at the end of my bed. I could even make out a shadow!! I started to panic and kept on trying to move but couldn't, I am not sure what happened next or how! I sit up and turn on the light switch at the side of my bed. Well the light doesn't come on! I look around the room for a few seconds trying to make things out in the darkness but then... I wake up and immediately turn on the light switch and it works!! I was so puzzled and weirded out by this I stayed awake all night!! I have had this happen to me a couple of times where I have had sleep paralysis but nothing quite like that, it's like I woke up twice! I didn't quite know where to post this and since I am new here I thought the Newbie Section would be fitting? I would like to ask, has anyone else experienced this before and what exactly would the technical term be for what happened to me?

[Akane]

Reading here I've found that thinking your awake when you aren't (dreaming your awake) is called a false awakening. I do it all the time. Especially if I have to go to the bathroom or something in the middle of the night. I can't wake up very easily until it's time for me to get up so I frequently dream that I woke up only to find it's not true. Sometimes I do it over and over again if I'm trying to force myself to wake up. You also still can't move at that point. Although I usually just dream that I am moving instead of trying to move my actual body. An exception was one time when I took lots of melatonin. I thought I was awake and I kept dreaming things were happening that weren't, actually that my cat had broken into my room and was attacking my gerbils, and I was unable to move. Finally I forced myself to clap my hands, physically not just in the dream. The sound woke me up completely and I realized all the stuff I'd seen happening around me didn't. My room door was still shut and it was just the cat meowing in the hallway that had made me dream it was in the room.

[Nester]

Ah thank you for that, a False Awakening is the term I needed! I have just done a quick Google on it and found an interesting link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_awakening The link mentions something called 'simulated reality' which sounds rather interesting, might have a read about that! I wasn't moving before I really awoke, I was lied flat on my back but it seemed so very realistic that I thought I was sat up and I could even hear the light switch click on as I tried to press it! When I really woke up and tried to turn it on it worked, I was like but I have just done this and it wasn't working! It's good to hear that someone else has experienced this and I'm not going mad! Thanks for responding Nester

[AlexLou]

I've had this happen. I'm in frightening SP and suddenly get up out of my bed in a dream. But I'm always lucid following SP so I know I'm in a dream when I get out of bed. Next time when your light switch doesn't work, remember why

[Nester]

Hi AlexLou and thanks for replying, I wish I could be lucid to walk around my room! Unfortunately I have only ever managed lucidity for all of about five seconds a few nights ago! I have just been to the stores and got some vitamin B6 and bananas as this I believe is supposed to help with having more vivid dreams. I will give them both a try tonight and see what develops. I haven't had any dreams I remember from the last couple of nights. I seem to go through periods of this on and off, then I will have a bout of really interesting and in depth dreams I do remember. Now if I could just learn to become Lucid!!!! I am so glad I found this forum. The people here all seem very friendly which is a welcome relief from some of the forums I post on! They all just want to tear each other’s heads off! Nice place, I will try to post here more often. Thanks again Nester