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Confused and Paralyzed During Dreams While Waking Up




I don't know how to explain it, but a few times I have dreamt that I am laying there awake and paralyzed or keep going in and out of dreams, but I don't actually know if I am dreaming or actually awake.

It's like I keep waking up and trying to force my eyes open and move but I can't and if there is anyone else there I am saying to them that
I know I'm dreaming. Before I have dreamt i am laid there paralyzed while someone is breaking in to attack me.

What I don't understand is what is going on and am I awake really or are they just freaky dreams??

Kevin's Response

This is a really interesting connection you've hit on between sleep paralysis and dreaming. You see, experiencing paralysis as you are waking up is precisely linked to dreaming, because the paralysis you feel is left over from REM sleep, the period of the night where you do your dreaming.

The body paralyzes itself during REM sleep (the paralysis is known as REM atonia) to prevent it from acting out the dreams that are going on in your mind during this stage of sleep. When you experience sleep paralysis it is often because you have awoken during REM sleep and the atonia is a little slow to go away.

Sometimes that is all that happens, and it is just a short bit of paralysis that people are left with as they try to wake up (that can be disgruntling enough though!). However, sometimes the dreams themselves can carry over into this paralyzed transition phase, taking on characteristics of your environment, and manifesting themselves in what are called hypnopompic hallucinations. (Hypnopompic simply means it occurs when you are waking up. Hypnagogic is the opposite, meaning occuring when you are falling asleep.)


What you describe sounds exactly like sleep paralysis with some hypnopompic imagery. The incident of you seeing someone breaking in to attack you is a fairly common hypnopompic hallucination. As long as this is only occurring when you are waking up and not when you are falling asleep, this is virtually always completely benign, more common than you might expect, and just a product of REM functions outlasting your sleep a bit--not something to worry about at all.

So to answer your question of whether you are asleep or awake, you are essentially awake at this time but your body is still experiencing certain aspects of REM sleep. Pretty interesting, huh?

I hope this helps shed some light on what you are experiencing. If you have any follow-up questions or comments please don't hesitate to submit them using the "Post Comments" link below!

Warmly,
Kevin

Comments for
Confused and Paralyzed During Dreams While Waking Up

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Jun 24, 2010
 Freakiest of the Freaky
by: Teresa

I have dealt with sleep paralysis since I was seven or eight, I'm 32 now and I realize that I am not dying and if I were there is pretty much nothing I can do about it anyway. Man controls neither life or death but honestly speaking it is easier to say that after the fact instead of during. My concern or question is though, I have instances where I think I am awake walking in my house going about my normal routine until something appears out of the ordinary and I have to tell myself I am still sleep and at that point I clearly see the vast difference. Can anyone give me some feedback on this instance.
Jun 24, 2010
 A Lucid Dreamer Perhaps?
by: Kevin

Teresa, what you describe sounds an awful lot like lucid dreaming. For more information on that and to see if perhaps you are a lucid dreamer, check out this article:

http://www.end-your-sleep-deprivation.com/what-is-lucid-dreaming.html

If these are lucid dreams you are experiencing, really try to take that article in, because lucid dreams are amazing instances in our lives that can be cultivated and harnessed to better ourselves in the waking world even. Sounds intense right? Check out the article to see what I mean.

(If that's not quite what you mean, feel free to describe your experiences a little more.)
Aug 12, 2010
 Waking up and waking up
by: Anonymous

"Waking up" in dreams is fairly common and doesn't have to mean anything.
Sep 17, 2010
 Afraid to sleep
by: Anonymous

I have had sleep paralys alot this year but with mine, i fall into a dream where there is a spirit in my house. It attacks me and paralyses me so that I can't move or call out for help. I wake up in this way, trying to shout out and move but I can't. How do I stop this from happening? Its very frightening and I am really afraid to go to sleep
Sep 18, 2010
 Knowledge and Lucidity
by: Kevin Morton

Sleep paralysis and the dream imagery that often accompanies it can be frustrating, but the key to staying calm with it is possessing knowledge about how it occurs. You can learn about that here:

http://www.end-your-sleep-deprivation.com/sleep-paralysis.html

You may also want to look into lucid dreaming, a skill that can be put to use very effectively to combat and control nightmares.

http://www.end-your-sleep-deprivation.com/what-is-lucid-dreaming.html
Oct 19, 2010
 lucid nightmare
by: Anonymous

definately lucid dreaming! in my dreams i am stuck in the dream unable to move i also always have a few false awakenings ( when u think that u have become awake but infact u are still dreaming.. in some of my dream i can move around in my bed .. but can never get out sometimes i can just reach to my bedside table and get my phone. i know if im sleeping because i can never read the time its like a blur.. ive heard in lucid dreams that u cant look at such things like mirrors and phones they are just a blurr. i usually just scream in my dream trying to wake myself which i always do after a while.. the dreams are very realistic and terrifying.. for a while i was on prescription sleep tablets and i had these dreams constantly .. i am now on natural sleeping tablets and i still have them not as much. ive only had these dreams whilst napping during the day or on medication. dont think i have had them otherwise.. soo could this be the reason ure having them ? some people say they can control there lucid dreams.. unfotunatly i cant . maybe one day !
Nov 01, 2010
 I experience the same :|
by: Alex

I experience the same thing as the author and as the guy in the last comment - I'm awake in my sleep, I have false awakenings and I'm fully paralysed. But I never get attacked, and I never reach for my phone/look at mirrors. What really bothers me is the fact that it happens when I'm about to fall asleep. I manage to wake up after few false awakenings, but it often happens several times before I finally go into normal sleep. What may be the reason and what can I do to stop it? I'm only 17, I don't want to eventually become scared of falling asleep :|
Nov 03, 2010
 Opposite
by: CS

I have just read the above response and noticed you said "As long as this is only occurring when you are waking up and not when you are falling asleep, this is virtually always completely benign, more common than you might expect"; what does it mean if I am experiencing these hypnopompic hallucinations when I just starting to fall asleep but feel as though I am still half awake?
Nov 03, 2010
 HypnaGOGIC Hallucinations
by: Kevin Morton

Hey CS, experienced at the start of sleep these things are actually called hypnagogic hallucinations instead. The reason for the qualification in my post was that hypnagogic hallucinations are one of the four main symptoms of narcolepsy, although they are sometimes experienced in individuals without narcolepsy too. You can read more here:

http://www.end-your-sleep-deprivation.com/narcolepsy-symptoms.html#paralysis
Nov 22, 2010
 dont know whats real or not
by: Anonymous

when i dream and wake up it takes me about an hour to stop feeling the dreams and sometimes i dont know if i dreamt things or they real i wake up in the night and talk to my hubby for what seems like a long time before i suss hes asleep i hear sounds that are different to what other people hear and see shadows moveing fast that scare me and flashing lights and i feel things touching me like people pushing down on me i dont sleep well and havent done for some time am i loseing my mind help please
Dec 13, 2010
 my dream
by: bridgett

I was sleeping. I was dreaming of a tornado and them not letting me get in my car and leave school. I did not listen in my dream. I ran outside got,got in my car,and was sitting at the stop sign. The tornado picked me up in my car and spun me every where,I woke durring this. I was unable top move or yell. I was seeing my room I seen everything around me and I was seeing the dream at the same time. I was scared to death. Is this lucid dreaming? what is this?
Dec 25, 2010
 Paralysis before and after sleep
by: Ron

Ever since I could remember, I have had issues with sleep paralysis and hallucinations revolving around falling asleep and waking up. I'm a very sane 39 year old, who grew up in a rather religious family. Normally, about once or twice a week I see large, black orbs or figures in my bedroom as I am trying to get to sleep. I hear an old time radio when I lay my head down. It's the kind of radio that has a lot of static in the background and the songs are usually from the 50's. To top off the problems before I go to sleep, I have extremely vivid dreams and have woken up yelling, jumping out of bed, grabbing for the gun in the night stand, etc., on many occassions. If that weren't enough, usually a few times a week I wake up around 2 or 3 in the morning and find myself paralyzed with fear. The effects can last up to ten minutes sometimes. Most of the time I am in a panic from my dreams, which only adds to the problem. My heart is usually racing. There is an impending fear that someone is in the room with me, or more like they just walked in. You know the way sound in a room changes when someone walks in? That's what it's like. I am leary about expressing these concerns with my doctor. I've been a cop for 15 years and fear has never really been a big issue for me until these dreams and paralysis issues have gotten considerably worse. It is rare for me to get more than 3 of 4 hours of sleep in a row now. Any thoughts?
Dec 26, 2010
 Sleep Paralysis Treatment
by: Kevin Morton

Hey Ron, try checking out this book by a sleep paralysis expert named Ryan Hurd. I read it a couple months ago and it's got some really breakthrough insights for dealing with sleep paralysis--stuff that I've never seen anywhere else. Here's where you can find my review of the book and a link to get it:

http://www.end-your-sleep-deprivation.com/sleep-paralysis-treatment.html
Jan 05, 2011
 Scary!
by: Nicole

I've have had these dreams ever since i can remember and i'm only 20 and cause of that i have to sleep with someone or sleep with the door open, it mostly happens when i sleep on the edge of the bed i dream of something then i half wake up see the room i'm in and there will always be someone there or i can hear someone, examples this one time i woke up and i could see the room i was in then i heard this person breathing scarily in and out and as it did the whole room started to move and it freaked me out so much that i can barely move or talk at most and i closed my eyes tell myself to wake up but most of the times i can't. This really scares me help?
Feb 03, 2011
 I thought I was dead
by: Anonymous

I had this same thing happen to me this mourning. I thought I was dead. It scared the hell out of be. I feel a little better now after reading your article.
Mar 09, 2011
 im confused and concerned about the comment
by: Anonymous

what do u mean as long as its not occurring as u fall asleep?
Apr 01, 2011
 Concerned about sleep paralysis
by: Mona

My husband is on multiple medications and is battling cancer. A few minutes ago, he woke from sleep and was paralyzed - he also had shortness of breath. I walked by the room and he was unable to make any noise or movement to let me know he needed help. This episode lasted about 10 minutes. I called his doctor's office and spoke with a nurse and the nurse told me to get him to a local emergency room. He refused to go! He calls this "waking paralysis" and said that he has had it happened before but has had no incidence in many years. I worry that it might have been a form of a stroke or a reaction to a build up on one of his medicines in his system. Can you give me any insight on this since he refuses to go get checked out at the emergency room?
Apr 07, 2011
 *How to treat it*
by: Anonymous

When you go into REM,your brain releases a chemical to paralyze your body when you sleep, its deference mechanism. **Hold your breath next time, you will trick your brain and you will wake up normal**
Apr 10, 2011
 Feelin horrible and frightened
by: Scaredman

This has happened to me many times but some are just scary I actually had the will power to wake my self up by doing something that gives me energy like a catchphrase or a hand gesture. But I wake up and still in my dream. One dream was when I woke up and walk in my houses hallway then I see a shadow in my sisters room I run in and see her eaten by a snake and I cut up the snake but sometimes I can turn my nightmares into dreams. One instance was I was in a gothic house and a knight in black armor is swinging his axe at me but at that moment out of nowhere I'm a knight and slay him. And the dream right now I had was horrible. I wake up using my catchphrase I mentioned earlier but I wake in my dream but I can't move after screaming I use my catchphrase again and stand up but it's to hard to stand up and I get dizzy then I see a man who talks my native language that I don't understand then he talks gibberish and then sits in a corner rocking back and forth then I look across my door by the way I'm in my room but back in my old house those were the best days of my life but moved here so I hate it anyways I look across but I see my sisters room in our new house and the same man walks in. I get scared and angry and run at him then u wake and can't move. After a while I wake but that man who was talking my native language and gibberish I understand it now after the dream. NMR chest was heavy which mediums say is an evil presence in the room I'm scared but I know I have the will power to control my dreams but some dreams are horrific of mine
Apr 13, 2011
 help anyone? lol
by: Anonymous

I have been having these dreams for a long time but cant really remember when they started they are always scary i fall asleep and wake up around 2 or 3 although i dont know for deffinate what the time is. im awake but cant move i hear scary noises like the other night i heard a baby crying and i see different shadows or outline of what looks like people i try to move or call out to someone but i cant one dream i had i got up and tried banging on walls and smashing things to wake someone else up but no one ever comes. the scary part is it feels so real and the dreams are extremly vivid ive started to move my arms or fingers slowly when it happens and that usually brings me round but then when i try to fall back to sleep it happens again so i try and stay awake for a while then i can usually get to sleep normally. im wondering if mayby i should see a doctor about it or mayby some kind of councelor or shrink? please help?
Apr 13, 2011
 help anyone? lol
by: Anonymous

I have been having these dreams for a long time but cant really remember when they started they are always scary i fall asleep and wake up around 2 or 3 although i dont know for deffinate what the time is. im awake but cant move i hear scary noises like the other night i heard a baby crying and i see different shadows or outline of what looks like people i try to move or call out to someone but i cant one dream i had i got up and tried banging on walls and smashing things to wake someone else up but no one ever comes. the scary part is it feels so real and the dreams are extremly vivid ive started to move my arms or fingers slowly when it happens and that usually brings me round but then when i try to fall back to sleep it happens again so i try and stay awake for a while then i can usually get to sleep normally. im wondering if mayby i should see a doctor about it or mayby some kind of councelor or shrink? please help?
Apr 14, 2011
 I can't stay asleep when i realize i am dreaming!
by: Anonymous

I've been trying to lucid dream, and the last time I had a dream I remembered(and this has happened other times before as well) I realized I was dreaming, but then either the dream ended or I woke up. Is there something I need to do to stay asleep when I become aware of my dreaming so I can control my dream?
Apr 14, 2011
 RESPONSE
by: Anonymous

I believe your eyes could possibly be playing tricks on you while you are awaking from the REM sleep, as Kevin answered to this person's experiences. It could be possible that you are even hallucinating, as Kevin also explained above. To explain the sounds, your senses could still be in some sort of dream mode or being hyperactive. I've had periods where I awake from deep sleeps and think I smell cooking food. You might even be sleepwalking. This is all most likely just your senses being affected by the REM sleep and the dark causing you to hallucinate, but if it does become VERY troubling, I WOULD say that you might want to talk to someone about it. Dreams are odd things, and sometimes CAN have an internal meaning to the dreamer.PS I am no professional,ok? I've just been looking up a lot about dreams lately.
Apr 16, 2011
 I too had this experience! Strange feeling it gives you!
by: kelly

I too had this experience. I was sleeping on my friends couch that faced the front door. I felt that strange feeling like when you forget where you fell asleep. The sun lighting up room like every other day and the room felt the same, as though I was awake. I just lay there (paralized, i guess) and was looking at the door and evey senario of who could might come in that door would happen. hen someone I know walked in something felt strange, or something odd would happen then I would wake up again to realize I was dreaming.. but again I was still dreaming.. and another senario would happen that was strange, and this started to scary me, and prayed to wake up in the real time.. I was like my brain didn't know what to expect when waking up, so it was making up it's own senarios until everything just started to feel right. I will never forget this..(I also sleepwalked alot when I was younger) I feel like the brain already expects, or is prepared to see everything that I see or go to look at as though things exist because we already know it is there, which I can see would give us a feeling of consistency and comfort in life, i think life could feel scary and chaotic if we didn't find connection to things that alreadt exist. Perhaps gives us a feeling of living in the now. I don't know if this totally makes sense..But this is the feeling this experience gave me. Weird!?
May 03, 2011
 Different then before...
by: Nate

Last night I awoke from a nightmare and was in a paralyzed state for what seemed like longer then 5 minutes. I kept telling my self in my head that I know this is only a dream and it's not real. After awhile I realized I was actually 100% awake but could not move. I closed my eyes and I immediately jumped back into the same nightmare. There was a demonic figure trying to open the door to my bedroom. When I noticed this I jumped out of bed and tried to close it. As soon as I touched the door I no longer had control of my body and the figure began to drag my around my house. I kept saying this is not real, I know its a dream and a weird demonic voice stated "Then prove its not real." Immediately I jumped out of bed and was awake covered in sweat. I used to get dreams like this when I was younger, 15 years ago but nothing this vivid.. Any comments?
May 16, 2011
 Assaulted during paralysis
by: Anonymous

I am a 32 year old woman who has suffered from sleep paralysis since I was a teenager. One night when I was about 17, I awoke from a dream that I was being dragged across the floor by my ankles. I woke paralyzed, unable to even open my eyes, but I felt the hands on my ankles and I was actually moving down the bed. When I finally could move, I was at the end of the bed. This was the scariest experience of my life until 2 days ago. I awoke from a nap where I had just been dreaming of walking in a crowd of people. Somewhere between the dream and consciousness, I felt hands on my body, one across my chest grabbing me, one prying my mouth open, I could actually feel a finger in my mouth, and one pushing my underwear down. I was paralyzed and could not move. I was so sure someone was in the room with me and I was about to be raped. Even after the paralysis ended, I could feel a cold sensation where the "hands" had been and my underwear felt out of place, though they were not. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? I am afraid to sleep, which has never been an issue for me before, even with previous sleep paralysis experiences.
Jun 11, 2011
 REM paralyzes
by: Anonymous

June 11, 2010 location at my office work time 2pm to 3pm..i slept at the sofa of our office...during that time...when i was sleep i feel i would to urinate so i decided to wakeup...but problem is i can't move mybody i'm on a rem paralyzes state...it looks like my eyes are open but not...looks like i can see the lights on the window but not...looks like somebody is on top of mybody straining me not to move...i tried to move mybody but i can't...i tried to drop mybody to the ground were i sleep just to wake mybody..but i can't...i'm fighting myself to wake myself-up...until...i gain control to move mybody...and when i woke-up mybody was very tired...looks like i haven't got rested...i don't know..i can feel some unexplained presences in the office...but i tend not to bug them..i'm already immune to there presence...or maybe there just playing with me...Please Help....
Jun 11, 2011
 REM paralyzes
by: Dennis

June 11, 2010 location at my office work time 2pm to 3pm..i slept at the sofa of our office...during that time...when i was sleep i feel i would to urinate so i decided to wakeup...but problem is i can't move mybody i'm on a rem paralyzes state...it looks like my eyes are open but not...looks like i can see the lights on the window but not...looks like somebody is on top of mybody straining me not to move...i tried to move mybody but i can't...i tried to drop mybody to the ground were i sleep just to wake mybody..but i can't...i'm fighting myself to wake myself-up...until...i gain control to move mybody...and when i woke-up mybody was very tired...looks like i haven't got rested...i don't know..i can feel some unexplained presences in the office...but i tend not to bug them..i'm already immune to there presence...or maybe there just playing with me...Please Help....
Jun 28, 2011
 paralyzed while falling asleep
by: liz memdietta

I been having this confused paralyzed dream for about five years know and I get paralyzed when im falling asleep but it makes me fall in to a deep sleep like if im so tierd.then something unexplanible comes next to me and is tellimg me something in my ear I just cant explain what his trying to tell me try to open my eyes but I will only be able to see infront of me and I can think and pray at it or curz at it thats how I know that im awKe then my teeth start pressing against each other they fill like ther going to brake this is unaxplaynable .. But if I put a cross by me I wont ever have this dream if u can call it that.. Y do I have this
Jul 06, 2011
 I think I am awake and getting out of bed
by: Mary

I have experiences where I am sleeping and I think I have woken up and am getting out of bed and then I realize I am still in bed and I can't move to get up. Then it seems like I do get up but I realize that I haven't and that I am dreaming. I go in and out of this, sometimes feeling like someone is outside my room or coming in and I am afraid. I can spend what seems like a long time trying to get up, thinking I am and the realizing I haven't moved. I believe I am going in and out of a dream, being almost awake and lucid and then falling into the dream again. I have to work really hard at getting myself to really move, really wake up, and get out of bed. When I do I repeat to myself that this is real.Sometimes the sense of someone being in my room is very frightening. I called out for help to a family member to help me wake up but I am not really doing it. What is happening?
Jul 09, 2011
 reguarding assaulted during paralysis
by: Anonymous

to the woman who commented above about being raped while in this state just want to let you know you are not alone. this has started happening to me at least once every two weeks where i am being held down by something evil and i keep resisting and saying no and it whispers in my ear to stop struggling.the more i resist the further away from waking up i feel i get. the harder i try to move my head or arms it seems they sink lower like into quicksand. i can not shout or scream sometimes i feel like i am whispering but i dont know if i really am or not. after what seems forever i recently have finally just given in. i always fight what ever this evil thing is but in the end i get so tired i cant anymore. when i come to, i lay and stare at the wall for a long time not able to move when i finally get up i have to walk around and turn all the lights on in the house slap my face just to make sure i dont fall back into the same nightmare cause that has happened alot. this is the scariest feeling i have ever had its been going on since i was 19 but now it has gotten more frequent. i am writing a psych paper on this being raped when paralyzed... so any others out there please share.
Jul 09, 2011
 Sexual Experiences During Sleep Paralysis
by: Kevin

To the commenters describing the evil-feeling sexual experiences during sleep paralysis, you both are by no means alone, as the commenter above suggests. In fact, sleep paralysis has long been known to take on darkly sexual natures for some. In fact, the famous 18th century painting "The Nightmare" by Henri Fuseli is thought to allude to this, where an incubus (a term used in many other cultures' names for sleep paralysis) sits on top of a seemingly paralyzed woman.

I wish I could offer more information on why this happens, but the only connections I can make without studying it more or experiencing it myself is that SP brings out fearful projections for most people, and REM sleep (whose mechanism REM atonia causes SP) is a sexually charged period of the night (the period of sleep where men naturally get penile erections and women experience processes related to clitoral stimulation). Combine fear and sexual processes, and you get the dark form of sexual encounters. That's the best I can offer at the moment, but I know it falls short of fully accounting for the insanely real feelings you both have during these experiences.

One more thing I can suggest though, and wholeheartedly, is to read Ryan Hurd's book about taking control of your sleep paralysis. It really sheds some empowering light onto how you can turn around the evil nature of many SP episodes and turn them into enlightening experiences. All the best!
Jul 22, 2011
 My thoughts
by: Toovin

Well, I'm early 20's and have been having these for about 5 years now. The first time it happened, I didn't know what was going on and just thought i was asleep still (as having some logic, i know that i cant see the inside of the house and the outside at the same time was a tip off, so i calmed down some) - i think acknowledging the fact that you are asleep at these times can really help you if its a bad situation that you have 'woken' up too. The time i actually told my self right off the bat that i am still asleep, and told my self to go back to dreaming, i slipped off back to my 'asleep' state pretty much immediately, which was alot better than struggling with it.

The past 3 or 4 times though, I have been trying to wake up when this happens - and i gotta say, its a struggle. I have only forced my self to actually wake up twice from these. The first time, i felt as if i was exerting all of my strength to sit up (or do anything for that matter), and after about 10 seconds of that, i sprang up so fast into a sitting position - it was like jumping up from a bad dream, and the shock you get when you finally have control again is kinda freaky and a relief at the same time.

Tbe 2nd time i was able to wake up was a bit more disturbing. I realized what was going on and wanted to try waking up from it, but the added stress just brought on some scary images and feelings. I tried to yell for someone to wake me up, but all i could do was moan, and it was the weakest and most helpless noise i have ever heard - that was the disturbing part. Either way, finally woke up and shook it off finally after about 10 minutes.

Otherwise, as for morning hallucinations, ive only had those twice, and they both involved spiders. I dont hate spiders, but i certainly dont want them in my bed when im sleeping, so thats the upsetting part about it. And when they look scary and evil, its not much of a help to stay calm. Either way, they go away after about 5-10 seconds: they just simply disappear after crawling about.

its amazing what the brain can do. Now if only i can try to have some fun with the 'lucidity' from this!
Aug 02, 2011
 .
by: Anonymous

Maybe 20 times now over the last 3 years (i am 21 now) i have suddenly woken up in bed completely unable to move and overcome with what i can only describe as sheer terror. I can control my eyes and look around the room but have no other bodily control. Each time has been different, i have (thought) i felt someone pulling on my arm from the edge of the bed and have seen people standing at the foot or side of my bed watching me...The first thing i do is panic and try to force myself to move or force out any kind of sound to wake my girlfriend, i am usually able to regain control within a minute and instantly jump out of bed grab the lights and look around. I never had the courage to talk to a doctor or anyone about this as i did not think anyone would believe me... just having recently researched this online and finding out so many others experience it is quite a relief, there is a lot of literature on hypnopompic states linked on this page and i cant wait to read through them to find out more about this state of mind.
Aug 04, 2011
 Might help to redude the sleep paralysis
by: Ann

I had the sleep paralysis and saw myself lying down quite often. I know how terrify it is. This might help:

Before going to bed: put something such as pillow behind your back making you sleep on the side rather than supine position, close the curtain making the room dark, avoid taking a nap in the day around 5-7 pm (which is extend sleeping to around 6 pm).

In a dream while you are sleeping: just calm down, relax and try to breath deeply and try to turn your face to the side suddenly when you are not trying to move yourself.

Hope it is useful.
Aug 28, 2011
 Worried
by: Anonymous

I had a dream the other day where all I can remember is that I could not move or scream, my heart I remember was pounding. I was paralysed lying in my bed face up. I did wake up eventually. It is now a few days later and have noticed my face looks a little swollen on the left side of my face. I am 54 and am worried if my be this was a small stroke. If any one has any info please reply.
Sep 13, 2011
 wierd scared and confused
by: eric 15

I'm going to make this short since it it 3:30 at night where I live at. But I just had one of those dreams and in It I imagined that I was trina th rapper and me and my freinds were playing basket then my. ball rolled into a dark corner and when I walked to go get it I disappeared and all I saw was blurr and I culdnt move an my eyes were hard to open. And I still have the chills
Sep 25, 2011
 Waking up paralyzed
by: Warren walker

Well waking up paralyzed is always the same for me but the weird part is that I've been reading more about this and my expieriences are slot like many others it's very frightning
The dream world crossing over to our reality I'm not so convinced this is mi expirience I awake my eyes are heavy from deep sleep I can only move my head so I started shaking my head frantically trying to wake then my hands start to move as well and but I can't talk and this is the worst part that some of you readers can relate to that blows my mind .. Thier is somebody in my room a dark figure moving about and making noises so I'm now desperatly trying to move and awake myself now and so my body goes into overdrive and I begin to move faster and this is where my expierience gets worst and is different than anything I've yet to read about .. I'm fully awake and mobile now but there literaley is still a being of some sort I'm my house moving around and making noises that somehow manifested from my dreams in some phenominal way so I go searching for it with a knife in my hands of wich I keep on my night stand but I never find it this is causing me serious insomnia this situation is out of control but now I know there is more intrlligance to this than well ever understand the way I figure where creating this situation somehow in our dreams and wich of now is also my reality .... Please comment I hope I'm not alone out here..
Sep 29, 2011
 My story
by: Diamond

I. Just had it around 5:am and I fell like it was because I had a hard time sleeping and when I finally want to sleep out of nowhere. I found my self walking up but not moving and then I saw this stange black shadow of a alien in front of me so I tryed closing my eyes but I feel like I'm going to die the weird thing for me was. I was facing the wall then I started hearing buzzing sounds and found my bumm starting to hurt and it felt like someone was hold a object to it then I moved my left leg and I was out of the trans so I had to look it up
one of the first times i had it was around 8or10 and I was at my grandma house in the living room and I found my self not moving but in font of me I saw a rope that was used to hanging then a woman in a dirty white dress was haning from there then all of a sudden she started to get in my face and I got out of the trans it sound like something of a moive but it was the scraest moment of my life so I tried repressing it as a dream but when ghost moment started happing to me like the acttic door was opening up and dog would bark out of nowhere all mean and look at the celling so i didn't know what to think but I'mnever really payed attenchen to it and digg into the house because it was hapenping at my house but I saw alien so I thought I was hunted or something but Ive been look on the net and found answers
Oct 14, 2011
 Reply
by: Warren

Thank you diamond for the comment it made me feel better about it. what happened in situations like ours is unheard of you hear about ghost and aliens and yeti and every strange thing under. The sun but this it's incredible no answers though .
Oct 14, 2011
 Lucid dream turned into nightmare
by: Sylvia

I experience lucid dreaming and probably sleep paralysis from time to time. I use to dream I can't breathe and thought I had sleep apnea, but the apnea test was negative. Sometimes I dream that I wake up, see my room, stand and walk, talk to people as in real life (false awakening) Then smth unusual happens and I realize I am still dreaming and I struggle to wake up but I can't. After reading more about lucid dreaming I started using the trick of jumping off tall buildings in the dream to wake up. After that I always wake up and know that I'm awake from the first moment.

Today I had a scary experience, just after waking up from a lucid dream turned into a nightmare, I wasn't sure if I was really awake or not. I kept asking my bf if I'm really awake, because the scenario was similar to the other false awakenings. It took me some minutes to realize I am really awake and not in the dream anymore.

Here is the dream I had: I was out in my neighbourhood with my bf and we went to an outdoor party. The people attending the party were strange, some wearing elegant dresses, others dressed like goth and wearing piercings. Then it got scary, one guest had an axe coming out of her chest like in a horror movie, I could see the blood and the wound. The others also turned into zombies. I told my bf we should leave, we found an excuse like his mother is visiting the next day and left. After this I realized it was a dream and wanted to wake up but wasn't able to. So I used my waking up trick: me and my bf went on top of a building which was close to the location of the outdoor party so the party guests could see us and I screamed "hey, over here". They looked and saw us and in the next minute they were coming after us on top of the building, but before they could reach us, we both jumped off the building and then I woke up (for real).

When I woke up I saw my bf next to me was also awake and asked him if I'm really awake or still dreaming, because I just had a nightmare. He confirmed I was awake but I still needed few minutes to reassure I was awake, as I previously experienced false awakenings when I see the same image and talk to him and it's still a dream. This never happened to me before, when I wake up for real usually I realize it right away, this time the dream was so real that I wasn't sure if I was really awake or not.

Did anyone else experience smth similar? And do you have any advice on how to check if you are really awake or still dreaming? Or how to transform a lucid nightmare into a normal or even pleasant lucid dream? Is it better to wake up using the trick or try to transform the nightmare into a nice dream? It was a strange and scary experience and now I'm afraid to fall asleep again.
Nov 03, 2011
 I cannot move or shout for help!
by: Jack

These events have only happened to me twice in my life. i am 17 years old.
I was sleeping in my room. Then it felt like i was awaken by my bedroom door opening. A dark human shape started walking towards me. The thing that was strange is that i was slightly floating above my bed? i was so frightened by this figure that i started to shout but i couldn't! I could open my mouth but no sound was coming out. After i relies this i tried to move my arms and legs but i was completely paralysed. I woke up and i was afraid to go back to sleep as i was so frightened. At the time i thought i had lost my mind as it felt so real.
But now that i have read some other peoples stories it's good to know that other people have had similar events to mine.
Nov 07, 2011
 IS THE DEVIL TRYING TO TAKE OVER MY BODY?
by: Dorothy

I have experienced this since i was about 9 but it has gotten worse i am 20 now. When i was younger i would have a hard time waking up out of my sleep just feeling paralyzed and screaming only for no one to hear me because they said it wasn't really happening. It scared the crap out of me. It stopped for about 4 ears and returned again. Since i have been in college the feeling of something standing over me, like a presence that i can literally feel is there and i am awake but i cannot open my eyes or move any parts of my body. It feels like i am fighting with all my might to wake up. One night i was sleeping and i felt something stand next to my bed and lift the covers off my shoulders and lean to look at my face. I felt the cover slowly slide off my body down to my waist and was fighting with all my might to wake up. After what seemed like forever i finally managed to move my head and look at my roommate who was across the room in her bed. She laughed and said i never moved. And that none of it had ever happened. I know that I'm not crazy and i know what i felt i don't believe its a dream. Should i see a psychologist ?
Dec 10, 2011
 Im not the only one then :) NEW
by: Brissa Alva

It was strange, this has happened to me three times before. I am fourteen (fifth-teen on december 22). I always wake up around 2-4am. Today I woke up suddenly. I tried to move but couldn't. This had happened before so I decided to try to go back to sleep. But I couldn't, It felt as something bad was happening. I heard a faint voice, like if someone who had shrunk was asking me to help. I slowly moved my hand back and it was as If I was pulling the little person from the floor up to my bed. As if he tied something to my hand. When I slowly started to pull my hand up It felt as if the voice was becoming nearer. Then I suddenly snapped out of it when I gained full control. I went to my mom's room and slept the bad experience away :) It's kinda funny, when It's over it feels like a dream. Maybe it is. Well, it feels like I got a heavy load off my chest. I'm glad that I am not the only one. I thought I was going crazy.
Jan 02, 2012
 scary NEW
by: Anonymous

I just had this happen this morning. It has happened before but it bothers me to no end. Usually its when I wake up and try to go back to sleep. I feel as though I'm awake and the bed will usually be shaking slightly like an earthquake. My heart will start to race and it feels like something is tightening the sheets around me (I'm very claustrophobic so this doesn't help). I will try to move, open my eyes, speak, but nothing. Finally after forcing myself to wake up I feel very out of sorts and my heart will usually still be racing. On occasions where my boyfriend is in bed with me I will try to call out for help but nothing comes out. Very scary. Glad I know I'm not the only one.
Jan 27, 2012
 Nightmares NEW
by: Khris

Almost every single night call paralyze dream. Not sure as well if I am aWake or not. I can't move before I can close my eyes. I start to wear watch and look at the time so i know what time when about to close my eyes and ten minutes or half hour later I woke up from awful dreamt but then I am not sure if it was a dream because Most of the time I see myself as my spirit falling away from my body. Sometimes I seen myself somehow crying so hard and screaming PLEASE WAKE UP.... My spirit begging me to wake up.

I cannot help what to do because I have five times or more in one night and most of the night sometime I feel I don't want to sleep.

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