Thread: waking up in paralysis

This used to happen to me too a few years ago, for a few months. I also got it about 3 times a night. Sometimes my body would get into some loop and I'd just keep getting it every time I tried to fall asleep again. It's rare, but I've heard of it happening to others. I don't know how to stop it, but if it's anything like my situation was, it will eventually stop happening.

thanks dianeva! it seemed that no one else has experienced this before until you replied to this thread. so you don't remember how it eventually stopped? i'm trying to find if there is anything he can do before he falls asleep to prevent it.

No, I'm sorry I can't help but I don't remember doing anything differently. I think it's just something that happens to some people and goes away on its own. I suspect it might be genetic, since my mom has told me she used to get it around the same age I did.

I've heard that it might help to make sure you sleep with no distractions, since it's often a distraction that wakes you up while you're still mostly asleep and puts you into paralysis. But I don't think that would work to cure the type I was getting, since I don't think distractions were responsible. But maybe your boyfriend's situation is different. If he sleeps with the TV on or something, maybe that's the issue.

I remember hearing that, while getting it, if something external like a person touches you it can snap you out of it. I never got to test this one since I sleep by myself. It seems useless anyway, since if someone is in sleep paralysis, even if they have someone there sleeping beside them, they don't exactly have a way to alert the person that they're in sleep paralysis.

While actually in paralysis, I'm guessing your boyfriend does this already since it's the natural thing to do while facing it, but I found if I struggled to move and just kept trying, not giving up, focusing on moving with all my strength, I'd successfully move within a few seconds. I've also read it helps to try not to fear it, to relax, but I haven't tested that one. If he experiences the 'loops' that I did - getting paralyzed, getting out of it, then getting paralyzed again while trying to fall back asleep... - I found the only way to break free from the cycle was to get up and do something else for a few minutes before trying to sleep again.

alright. well thank you for all the advice!

My girlfriend has experienced sleep paralysis many times in her life. Her doctor told her it's greatly related to stress. Whether mental or physical. She experienced it most often when she was studying ballet for 40+ hours a week. One time she said it happened while we were on a roadtrip. She woke up in the passenger seat but could not move or speak. But her eyes were open. I guess because she was silent and still, I never noticed she woke up. She told me about it later. She explained that her mind feels very active. Telling her to "move move move" and "wake up!" alarmingly but she can't for some time.

Here's what wikipedia has to say: Sleep paralysis occurs either when falling asleep, or when awakening. When it occurs upon falling asleep, the person remains aware while the body shuts down for REM sleep, and it is called hypnagogic or predormital sleep paralysis. When it occurs upon awakening, the person becomes aware before the REM cycle is complete, and it is called hypnopompic or postdormital. The paralysis can last from several seconds to several minutes "by which the individual may experience panic symptoms". (described below) As the correlation with REM sleep suggests, the paralysis is not entirely complete; use of EOG traces shows that eye movement is still possible during such episodes. When there is an absence of narcolepsy, sleep paralysis is referred to as isolated sleep paralysis (ISP).

In addition, the paralysis may be accompanied by terrifying hallucinations (hypnopompic or hypnagogic) and an acute sense of danger. Sleep paralysis is particularly frightening to the individual because of the vividness of such hallucinations. The hallucinatory element to sleep paralysis makes it even more likely that someone will interpret the experience as a dream, since completely fanciful or dream-like objects may appear in the room alongside one's normal vision. Some scientists have proposed this condition as an explanation for alien abductions and ghostly encounters

Spontaneous sleep paralysis is an excellent gateway for lucid dreaming. It is what first led me to have out of body experiences and lucid dreams. It is totally normal and healthy. It has been a part of human experience since the beginnings of recorded history. There are a few reasons why it might be happening to him. His sleeping position, breathing, snoring, and other night time habits can raise his chances of it happening.

Does the paralysis bother him? Normally, once you learn it is healthy and common, you can enjoy the experiences. The paralysis is normally coupled with intense dream-like hallucinations. Has he ever mentioned any cool dreams that have come from this? Tell him about lucid dreaming (specifically WILD) if he doesn't already know about it.

i agree you can have an out of bdy experience threw SP. you can use this mind awake body asleep to enter the astral planes. First time i experienced SP was when i was learning to astral project. ive stopped it now because it scared the hell out of me. my whole body was vibrating and it felt i was being pulled. its scary but normal.

Not uncommon, I wake up in paralysis sometimes too. It's nothing to worry about. Use it for WILDing without the SP, thats a DEILD

Originally Posted by ninja9578

Not uncommon, I wake up in paralysis sometimes too. It's nothing to worry about. Use it for WILDing without the SP, thats a DEILD

Is wilding lucid dreaming. If so how do ya do it..

WILD is where you enter a dream from a waking state. If you are already in sleep paralysis you are almost there. Check out our tutorial on it: WILD Tutorial - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views