Caffeine inducing sleep paralysis?
Yesterday I drank half a pot of coffee and took a nap a short while later. It gives me energy but doesn't really prevent me from falling asleep. Anyway, I woke up in sleep paralysis for about two or three minutes or more. I knew what was happening and it's happened plenty before so it wasn't scary, but it it got very frustrating. I told my dad about it and he immediately asked me if I had caffeine before I slept. Apparently the same thing happened to him a few times when he was younger and scared him. He drinks tea before bed but he avoids large amounts of caffeine for this exact reason. Is this a common side effect? Also what do I do when I wake up in SP? I don't necessarily want to get out of it if I can shift myself into an LD :cheeky:. If I relax enough will I see hypnagogic imagery?
Coming out of Sleep Paralysis
I have narcolepsy and sleep paralysis happens frequently to narcoleptics. A sleep specialist doctor once told me how to come out it at will. I thought I would share this since it can be a rather scary experience when sleep paralysis occurs.
Although you are paralyzed, you can still move your eye balls. Once you start moving them around, try spreading the movement to the area around your eyes. Then, try spreading the movement to your cheeks and other parts of your face. Before you know it, you can spread the movement to other parts of your body. Try it!
One other thing that narcoleptics tend to have are vivid dreams. Practically every vivid dream I have ever had has been lucid! Unfortunately though, for me, is that I take Xyrem before I go to bed. This drug greatly reduces EDS (excessive daytime sleepiness.) But it also has all but eliminated the vivid dreams. :(