The following is a visitor-submitted question or story. For more, you can submit your own sleep story here, or browse the collection of experiences and questions other visitors have shared here.

Sleep Deprived Mom Experiencing Sleep Paralysis

by Amy
(Boston, MA)

My son is 6 weeks old and needless to say I haven't gotten much sleep. The night before my sleep paralysis experience, I had only gotten 2 hours of sleep. This is my experience:

Tonight I slept on the couch because my son hasn't been sleeping well. He's actually across from me sleeping in his swing. Well, in the dream I woke up on my couch and it all looked the same and my son was still sleeping in the swing. However, I was paralyzed and I couldn't move off the couch to get to him. Finally the paralysis started to wear off, but I had to drag my body to my phone to call my husband to come home. When he got home he didn't believe me and went back to work. I "woke up" or so I thought in the same place on my couch. This time my son was on the floor. I went to him and he was frozen/paralyzed like I had been! I try to leave with him to get help, but outside my door is a man in a creepy costume running full speed at us as I struggle to close the door and lock it. That's the most I can remember before I finally woke up. It was terrifying because it felt so real! I guess the part where my son is paralyzed is the lucid dream part maybe?

Also, when I was experiencing the sleep paralysis, my brain was telling me that someone was in my house injecting me with something that was making me paralyzed. So I was feeling afraid that someone was in my house trying to hurt me and my son. It was definitely more frightening than any nightmare I'd ever had before!


Kevin: Hey Amy, that sure does sound very frightening. I'm glad though that you have the resourcefulness to look up information about sleep paralysis. While episodes can be unbelievably scary and life-like, my belief is that they are just dreams and dream projections--amazing stories that our mind cooks up using our fears and our immediate environment (which of course makes it more real!).

If you'd like to learn more about sleep paralysis, and potentially get some advice to make any future episodes less scary, I recommend Ryan Hurd's book, Sleep Paralysis: A Dreamer's Guide.

All the best to you and your son!
Kevin

Comments for
Sleep Deprived Mom Experiencing Sleep Paralysis

Click here to add your own comments

Nov 01, 2011
 Sleep paraylsis
by: Anonymous

Call on Jesus evev if cannot speak in mind & try to say His name. Ask Jesus to help you. Back when I dabbled in Wicca, New Age & Occult but left remnant of Christian ( note not same as Catholic ) faith, this happened but I called out to Jesus in mind & lips until I was able & it ceased Two years ago was last attempt but by then I was saved renounced & repented of the occult & new age. I was warned by I believe the Spirit of God within me able to while sleeping hear it coming the walk towards my home but was powerful & unafraid & w the Lords help called on His name before hand & the evil being flee quickly & that was last. Have a patient to see soon gotta go & also class to study for but hope my testimony helps someone overcome..
in JESUS name!
Mar 17, 2012
 Mom of 3 experiencing sleep paralysis NEW
by: 21st century flowerchild

Hi. I experience sleep paralysis from time to time, mostly in spurts. The last few weeks have been pretty bad.
I am a mother of 3 boys...3,6, and 9. I go to bed at 2am because I am a night owl and can't get enough of the radio show Coast to Coast which airs from 10-2am where I live. I should be waking up at 7:30 to send my kids off to school, but at that time, no one can even talk to me.
My alarm will be going off right next to my head(loud enough to wake up the whole neighborhood), but I don't hear it. My sons and husband try to come in and talk to me and I know they are trying to say something to me (after they shake me), but I am COMPLETELY unable to respond...can't move, it's like my limbs are made of lead; I try so hard but end up giving up. Sometimes I can mumble, but I don't make any sense.
I have been starting to stir around 9:30, but can't fully pull myself out of bed until 10 or 10;30. Sometimes I remember them talking to me like it was a dream; sometimes I don't remember at all, even after them telling me about it.
This doesn't make any sense to me. I have lived on 6-7 hrs of sleep for so long and I wake up tired, but am still able to wake. By 10:30am, that should be about 8hrs of sleep, and I still am having issues waking. How much sleep could I possibly need??!lol Thanks for reading.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to Sleep Paralysis Stories



Enjoy this page? Please help us pay it forward to others who would find it valuable by Liking, Sharing, Tweeting, Stumbling, and/or Voting below.

About This Site

Welcome! This site is continuously being created by students of Dr. William C. Dement's Sleep And Dreams course at Stanford University.

We made this site as a call to action for people all over the world to live healthier, happier, safer, and more productive lives by learning about their own sleep. We have faith that reading the information provided on this site will motivate you to be smart about your sleep deprivation and strategic about your alertness in order to live life to your fullest, most energetic potential.

In fact, we challenge you to do so! What do you say, are you up for the challenge?

A Note On Visitor-Submitted Questions:

Publishing sleep stories and questions from our visitors is meant to create a forum for open and proactive dialogue about an extremely important portion of our lives (one that occupies 1/3 of it and affects the other 2/3) that isn't talked about enough. It is not meant to substitute a trip to the doctor or the advice of a specialist. It's good to talk; it is not good to avoid consulting someone who's profession it is to help you with this kind of stuff.

If you are in any way concerned about your sleep health, don't wait for an answer on here, and don't necessarily rely on them. See a sleep specialist in your area as soon as possible.

More Questions:

Ask | Answer

The Stanford Sleep Book

Stanford Sleep Book Picture

Dr. Dement's pioneering textbook has been the core text for Sleep and Dreams since 1980, but it has just recently been made available to the wider public for the first time.

In it you'll find a more detailed account of the most important things you need to know about sleep, alertness, dreams, and sleep disorders. Studies, statistics, plus plenty of Dr. Dement's classic anecdotes painting the history of sleep medicine.

Preface | Intro | Contents | Get A Copy

More Sleep Resources

The Zeo

Track Your Own Sleep With Zeo

A revolution in personal sleep tracking, the Zeo is a wireless headband that transmits your brainwaves in realtime to a dock (pictured here) or your smartphone. The result? You can wake up and see exactly what stages of sleep you were in during the night! Unprecedented personalized sleep knowledge.

Sleep Paralysis: A Dreamer's Guide

Sleep Paralysis Treatment Book

Ever woken up paralyzed? A surprising number of us have, believe it or not. But few know the actual causes of this phenomenon, and fewer still how to exert control over it. Dream researcher and sleep paralysis expert Ryan Hurd shares breakthrough insights into how to do just that.

How This Site Was Made

Kevin Morton With Dr William Dement

In 2007 I discovered a guide to website building that would change my life. After learning from it diligently, it would eventually empower me to help Dr. Dement take his life's mission of spreading education about sleep health to the online world. Now, several years later, this site reaches over 100,000 visitors per month and counting.

The results are due in large part to the methods taught in that guide, and they are replicable for others who have knowledge of a subject they would like to share with the masses. I've detailed some of my journey here for those who might be interested.

Important Disclaimer

Please Note:

The information found on this page and throughout this site is intended for general information purposes only. While it may prove useful and empowering, it is NOT intended as a substitute for the expertise and judgments of healthcare practitioners.

For more info, see our
Terms of Use.