Do you ever feel paralyzed in your sleep?
 

Occasionally when I am asleep, I will suddenly become aware that I am sleeping. But I am paralyzed and can not do anything. It is a very distressing feeling. It feels like being trapped in your own body. Whenever this happens, I try with all my might to move my body in an attempt to wake up. Even if I concentrate all my energy on moving a single finger, nothing works. It never lasts long before I do wake up, but it feels like an eternity anyway.

Is this phenomenon just something that happens to me, or do you know what I am talking about?

No, it happens to me, and presumably most people all the time. It's what your body is actually supposed to do, it's what prevents you from moving all around when you are dreaming. Otherwise, your body would physically act what is happening in your dreams. :wavey: It's very frustrating though, I agree. I often dream that I'm getting up and doing things, because I am trying so hard to wake up and move, but I can't. But anyway, yeah, your body is supposed to do that. :)

I know exactly what you mean! This used to happen to me rather frequently a few years ago, it has pretty much stopped occuring now though. It's like being trapped in a void between sleep and alertness, and it is VERY frightening!

~Marissa~

I never felt this, it must be really scary, but common too.

Sure, that makes sense. But I am never dreaming as it happens. I am just laying there and can't do anything. It happened yesterday when I fell asleep in my recliner. I was aware that I was in the recliner and not the bed like usual.

I've felt paralyzed before (very freaky!), but my problem is that I have dreams that come true. :eek: It freaks me out. They are so vivid and in depth, that I think that it is actually happening in real life. When they actually happen, it's major deja vu. It my happen the next day or the next year, but they do happen...and a lot!

this is EXACTLY what i experience quite often while sleeping, glad to know i'm not the only one~ it freaks me out everytime!!!~

wow curtis i get this too, & when it comes true it seems to go in slow motion for me, very strange~

This used to happen to me on an almost nightly basis for YEARS growing up. It was very scary and nobody would understand what I was trying to tell them. Then I got so preoccupied with it happening, that I would start DREAMING that I was paralyzed and in my dream I would be able to get myself up and walk around the room. But then when I woke up in real life, I would find that I was still in bed. Very freaky stuff. It only happens to me a few times a year now, so it's not that bad. And I've just trained myself that I know what is going on and to just close my eyes and go back to sleep.

Brad

Jeezus christ. :rolleyes: Here you go...I can't believe no one else knew this. :rolleyes:


"Paralysis while asleep is the normal condition. The body secretes hormones which relax certain muscles and prevent you from acting out your dreams. If it didn’t you would be in quite some danger every time you went to sleep.

The process of waking up might seem quite simple to you. But it’s actually a complex process involving many physiological changes. One of these is the reversal of the paralysis. People experience sleep paralysis when the hormone doesn’t wear off fast enough as they wake up. They remain paralysed though conscious. Because they have little sensation from their body, if they are lying on their backs, it can feel like someone is sitting on their chest. Eventually the paralysis departs and normal functions can be resumed.

There is an opposite disorder where people don’t get paralysed enough as they go to sleep. In a minor case this results in twitching and kicking while dreaming, but in a major case they can get up and walk around.

A side effect of this paralysis is that your bed feels a lot more comfortable in the morning when you wake up than it did when you first got into it. It hasn’t changed, your body is just less sensitive.

None of this should be considered evidence of anything paranormal.

MP."

great info & girl you always crack me up, look forward to your posts daily!!! :wavey: :xoxo: ~

No, I knew this too, Amber. But I think what the original poster is talking about is being aware of his surroundings and trying to wake up and not being able to. That's different from not being able to move while dreaming. I know exactly what he's talking about because it has happened to me too. I was once "asleep" on the couch at a friend's house (I guess I had nodded off), and I could hear them having a conversation without me. I was basically aware that they were talking to each other and playing video games while I was sleeping. But I wanted to get in on the conversation and respond to what they were saying, but I couldn't speak or move because I couldn't make myself "wake up!" It's like, whatever mechanism paralyzes you for sleep was in overdrive and even though I wasn't asleep anymore, wasn't dreaming, and was perfectly aware of what was going on around me, I couldn't do anything about it! It was really quite maddening, and it has happened to me before, though not often (thankfully).

sometimes when i am sleeping i feel like i can't catch my breath and i try and try to wake up and i can't. it's very scary.