# Sleep paralysis



## Kito (Jan 6, 2012)

I wasn't sure where to put this, but this seems like the most appropriate place.

What are some ways of stopping sleep paralysis? If you're not familiar, it's waking up and finding that you're completely unable to move. It's natural and usually happens when waking up during REM sleep, although I'm unsure how common it is. I've been getting it almost every morning and sometimes in the middle of the night, and it's an absolutely terrifying experience. Sends my heart and breathing rate through the roof, trying to move anything but to no avail. It brings forth a sense of immediate danger, like there's something I need to escape from but can't, no matter how hard I try. It lasts anywhere from 10 seconds to a minute.

I've heard that it helps to avoid sleeping in the supine position, but I never do that. If anyone here knows some ways to prevent it, I'd be really grateful.


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## Red Panda (Aug 18, 2010)

I don't know how to prevent it, but I've read that it helps if you focus on something specific, like some people prayed when they believed it was the devil or smth that caused it.


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## CaptSwan (Mar 31, 2013)

Believe it or not; I've had it a couple of times, and on each time, I started praying... didn't even finish the prayer because I went back to sleep. I can say for a fact that it works.


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## Orchidion (Jan 3, 2013)

I undergo this frequently. Unfortunately it tends to be mixed with appaling halluzinations. A few nights ago I awoke and remained in sleep paralysis. I tried to move erratically, but to no avail. Then it appeared to me, that I was sinking in my bed. Slowly I decended. Above me floated some bizarre creatures (looked like gorgoyeles). I was really scared by then. Next it seemed that I could not breath. I commenced choking and ringing for air. I was quite anxious by this time and really struggled with moving. I don´t remember what happened next, but a few minutes later I finally awoke.

It feels as if I am caged in my own body or lost control about it. This is really an unpleasant situation.


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## Dolorous Haze (Jun 2, 2012)

Keep as calm as possible. When you freak out, that's when the really scary hallucinations start. Close your eyes (if possible) and ignore what's happening. Don't try to scream or shout because the way your voice usually 'sounds' will just terrify you more.

Focus on something as hard as you can. That's why prayer works. I'm not even religious, but sometimes I say a Hail Mary or something because it's the first thing that comes to mind and it does actually help to stay focused. 

Concentrate on moving a small part of your body first. Try to move your little finger, then try to make a fist. As soon as you get one part of your body working, the rest should work too.

As for preventing them, I've found that meditation before going to sleep works. It helps to relax you and forget about stress, which can be a trigger. A regular sleeping pattern will also help to prevent them.

Sleep paralysis can be interesting sometimes though. They can be a way of entering into a lucid dream, if you can manage to stay calm and stay "awake" until it passes. So there are some benefits to it, although I'm not sure if the absolute terror is worth it.


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## alyssa_ (May 8, 2011)

I do the same thing as Dolorous Haze where I try to focus and move a single body part. Sometimes I'll concentrate on moving a toe or finger. Trying to move my tongue and licking my pillow works too, hahaha, because I usually sleep on my side or on my stomach. 

Everytime it happens I just kinda blow it off and say "ahhh this again" in my head and try not to panic. Eventually, at least in my case, you get used to it and just ride it out. I usually happens to me when I'm trying to fall asleep after not sleeping for over 20 hours or so. The only thing that still bugs me is that I always seem to have a really loud white noise in my head that accompanies the sleep paralysis (see Exploding Head Syndrome).


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## breadandbutter (Aug 16, 2012)

It happened to me once directly after a nightmare and even though I knew what was happening, I couldn't move. My mistake was that I was trying to do big things like grabbing my cellphone or even sitting up and not being focused enough because I had awoken from a nightmare. Because I hallucinated my shoulder transforming into the back of a bald head, I realized I should maybe start with it and managed to twitch there. Then I could get to the bigger movements.


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## Pixzelina (May 25, 2013)

I've had it happen to me a couple of times. The last time I had it though I was really psyched out. My heart had some sort of arrhythmia and it really hurt when it was beating against my chest. I thought I was literally going to die.. :sad: both times it happened to me I was lying face up when I woke up.. and directly on my back. Keeping your sleeping schedule regular and sleeping enough is a way to help prevent it. I don't know any other ways though


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## birdsintrees (Aug 20, 2012)

I used to have this quite a lot along with phases of sleep activity (Talking, Turning off phones, unplugging alarm clocks, waking up on the sofa instead of the bed). 

Of all of the theories surrounding it I think I can pin my experiences down to migraines and bad sleeping habits. Once I got the migraines under control with the right hormonal treatment and I started on a more regular sleeping pattern, the waking up without being able to move disappeared quietly too. I also no longer turn off my phone in my sleep and actually make it to work on time.


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## WickerDeer (Aug 1, 2012)

I get sleep paralysis pretty regularly and I've just gotten used to it. 

It's not really huge. It's just kind of scary. 

The last time I experienced something like this was the night before last. I had been having frequent, very light dreams that were punctuated by waking, and I dreamed that there was a swirling mass above my eyes (in bed). It was in a series of dreams about "invisible aliens" who could move around without detection and also "posses" people. i also had a discussion with one in my dreams--and he seemed pretty friendly.

So I just focused on sending love towards the area above me, which resembled a swirling mass of clouds, and i kind of forgot about it. 

I've been experiencing sleep paralysis since i was a child and I've never found a way to stop it. i find that sleep paralysis is a good springboard for lucid dreaming.


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## Chaerephon (Apr 28, 2013)

I get the reverse every once in a while.

As I am falling asleep it kicks in. I just can't move, I can't really talk. I can kind of moan a little. I have had some crazy hallucinations follow it too... 

Luckily it has been maybe 2-3 years now and before that it really only happened maybe 4 times at the most I can remember.


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## DiamondDays (Sep 4, 2012)

I've had it happen a few times. Really really trippy. I enjoy it, actuallly. Then again i enjoy nightmares too.


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## koalaroo (Nov 25, 2011)

I've had this happen a few times before. It was an exceptionally odd experience for me, because the way it occurred, I could breathing that was out of sync with how my breathing felt (I felt like I was suffocating). It was actually my own breathing, but the centers of your brain that put together the action of breathing with the sound of breathing aren't communicating during sleep paralysis. I also hallucinate during these experiences, the sound of laughter. It was like some malignant presence was on my chest, to be honest, and I'm neither religious nor superstitious. Keep in mind that this doesn't happen regularly to me, but when it happens I have it happen 3-4 nights in a row, and then nothing for several months, sometimes a year.


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## Loupgaroux (Mar 9, 2013)

I've never had sleep paralysis & yet whenever I find myself lying on my back when going to sleep & remember most cases of sleep paralysis occur whilst on your back & turn over. The idea scares the living [email protected]#$ out of me.


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## Who (Jan 2, 2010)

A year or two ago, I used to get it very often, but now I almost never get it.

Something that I remember working for me every time I've tried it was thinking of something funny. After successfully getting myself to laugh, I was able to start moving again. I used to think maybe there's something about laughing that sort of wakes your body up, but in hindsight it's probably similar to the prayer thing and I was focusing my thoughts on something in particular.

Another tip I would give is that if you wake up in the middle of the night with sleep paralysis, it's probably a good idea to get up for a few minutes. Something I've noticed is there have been a couple times where I tried to go to sleep immediately after coming out of it and I would either become paralyzed while trying to sleep or I would wake up minutes later with sleep paralysis again and it's pretty much the most frustrating thing ever.

Also, there are a number of things that can cause it, too. For example, if your sleep schedule has recently changed (especially if you stayed up longer than usual), your body will enter REM sleep earlier and that's thought to be a cause of sleep paralysis. Furthermore, if you're under stress, you're more likely to experience it as well. Certain medications like pain medicine are alsoa factor as well.


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## Angus512 (Jul 9, 2013)

well, i've woken up paralyzed three times. the first time was weird because i tried to wake up. something was happening in my dream and my conscious mind said. 'no, you piece of sh*t, i ain't having this'. i found myself staring at the alarm clock and unable to move. i didn't panic because i don't panic. i was just like 'could you not have woken up not facing the clock?' and eventually managed to get up. both of the other times i just twitched my fingers as i realized what was happening. it's pretty effective, since i was able to travel the twitch up my arms an through my body with minimal effort.


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## Devin87 (May 15, 2011)

I've gotten so use to it that it doesn't bother me anymore. I know exactly what's going on, so I don't let it freak me out. The worst case I've had in awhile was right after I watched The Fourth Kind when I could have sworn aliens had me levitated perpendicular to my bed with my feet hanging out. I just concentrated on the fact that I could feel my sheets and blankets touching my feet and legs and so couldn't possibly be levitating out.

But it still happens to me at least twice a week, always after a nightmare, and I just breathe and relax and stay calm until I'm able to move a finger. Usually once I can get one finger moving, the spell's broken and I can slowly start moving the rest of my body until I'm relaxed enough to go back to sleep.

The hypnagogic hallucinations get me worse. Spiders crawling out my mouth and up the wall by my head... Birds flying at my face... Ugggg... That's when I jump out of bed, dive to turn on the light, and stand there staring at the wall until my heartbeat slows down and I'm convinced they're not really there. I can usually get back to sleep pretty well after a case of paralysis, but the hallucinations...


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## Angus512 (Jul 9, 2013)

well that was interesting... i had a dream in which i got sleep paralysis..... talk about weird. guess i'l be confused as to how that even makes sense for the next 300 years or so.


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## dragthewaters (Feb 9, 2013)

It's less scary if you remember that it's just sleep paralysis and will go away. Usually when it happens to me I think "damn it, not this shit again." Then I try to wake myself up to break out of it, and try moving my arm or something like that. If you fight it you will eventually wake up enough to not be paralyzed anymore.

Also, don't sleep on your back, and don't sleep with your face in the pillow so you could feel like you're suffocating if you get sleep paralysis. Don't sleep in any position where you feel restrained or wrap yourself up too tightly in the covers. I don't let my fiance cuddle me when we're sleeping because I feel like my risk of getting sleep paralysis increases if my mobility is restricted.


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## John Coltrane (May 11, 2013)

thismustbetheplace said:


> It's less scary if you remember that it's just sleep paralysis and will go away.




This is the essence of everything I've learned. Its all in your mind, at least that's what I convinced myself and I had it so bad I was staying up almost until 3 most nights because I was afraid to go to sleep. My episodes were all thematically similar too, I'd see the same entities, sometimes before I woke up in the morning or right in the middle of night, which eventually turned into some pretty paranoid delusions...going to sleep earlier helped me too.


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## LoveAshley (Mar 31, 2013)

I used to get this all the time. It scared me and I tried explaining it to family and they all acted like I was crazy or that I was just dreaming it or something.

Then one day it just stopped. Idk. They say stress is a factor.


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## boredToDeath (Jan 3, 2010)

That has happened to me a few times as well, a totally ugly experience 

I find that focusing on moving some small limb, like wiggling a toe or a finger, and staying calm and breathing normally helps really really much! I haven't tried prayer, but I'm sure it will help too


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## Alles_Paletti (May 15, 2013)

Lots of good tips in this thread.

Realize you are still dreaming, close your eyes and go back to sleep or just doze. Relax, don't fight it. Allow the REM sleep to end normally.


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