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.

Thank God I Found This

by Bill
(Western New York)

I'll write more tomorrow because I'm too exhausted at the moment. I'm petrified to sleep - it's getting worse & worse every single night - harder & harder to "snap myself out of it." I've heard of SP before but last night - i was finally convinced it was something evil. The breathing's getting harder and it literally felt like something was doing this to me.

I was asleep on my parents couch, laying on my right side - and it was as though something or someone was pushing as hard as they could against my back as if to suffocate me with the back cushion of the couch. I'm going to lay down on it right now - and again, as i do nightly, i will pray for God to allow me to wake up alive.

Sometimes i think it happens because i think about it & fear it so much leading up to falling asleep - that maybe i'm the cause of it's onset myself. I'm just glad i'm not alone - i thought i was possessed. i hope to be able to write more tomorrow - but if tonight's any worse than last night - i fear there won't be another night for me. Goodnight all.



Kevin: I'm glad you found us too Bill. And happy to hear from you. I strongly recommend reading the book I talk about here. It's about taking control of your sleep paralysis, written by a guy who's battled it for almost two decades. I hope the strategies within can help you sleep much more peacefully.

Let me know how it goes,
Kevin

Comments for
Thank God I Found This

Click here to add your own comments

Mar 01, 2011
You're not Alone
by: Anonymous

"it was as though something or someone was pushing as hard as they could against my back.."

This is the first post I've read where an
SP episode occurred while someone was sleeping on their stomach and they felt as if something was pushing on their BACK.

You're not alone though.
I've only experienced SP whilst sleeping on my stomach and facing into my pillow... can you say terrifying?


May 17, 2011
Pray...Nevwr
by: Coco

Don't let it get the best of you cause the more you fear the worse it gets. I've had this experience so many times. It had gotten to the point where I would
Sleep with every light on in the house. I thought it was jus SO but I strongly believe its much more than tat. I started burying myself under a lot of blankets cause I was so scared but that didn't work sleeping with all the lights on didnt work either. I prayed and called on Jesus and I started reading the bible eventhough i didnt understand most of it. I sleep with the bible open under my.pillow and that helped me.

May 17, 2011
Pray...Never Fear cause when u fear it gets worse
by: Coco

Don't let it get the best of you cause the more you fear the worse it gets. I've had this experience so many times. It had gotten to the point where I would
Sleep with every light on in the house. I thought it was jus SO but I strongly believe its much more than tat. I started burying myself under a lot of blankets cause I was so scared but that didn't work sleeping with all the lights on didnt work either. I prayed and called on Jesus and I started reading the bible eventhough i didnt understand most of it. I sleep with the bible open under my.pillow and that helped me.

Sep 13, 2011
my poor baby
by: worried MOM

Until today I never even heard of SP. I began searching online for answers to what is happening to my son. He is 14 yrs old, and has been complaining off and on his whole life about having bad dreams about ghosts .This progressed into complaints of waking up feeling as if he was being watched and then he began describing waking up and seeing a dark figure looking down on him.He feels this "man" has intense hatred for him ,he feels very threatened and frightened and worries that noone believes him ,or think he is dreaming ,and I actually considered a psychiatric condition could be effecting my child .The more i read the more I am learning about this condition.This is such a helpless feeling for me as I can see my child is truely terrified and severly affected by what is happening to him.THANK GOD I FOUND THIS!!!
I now have a starting point in which to research and help my son to learn about what is happening to him.

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

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

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.