It used to happen to me all the time. But like all other sleep and other issues (stress, depression, anxiety) it went away for the most part when I moved. It still get it every once in a great while, especially the floating and falling feelings, but not nearly to the extent of back when I used to live at home.

It's happened to me twice, but luckily I knew enough about it before hand that it wasn't all that scary.

Anyway, I didn't see or hear anything weird either time, which was a huge relief, but I was afraid the whole time that I might start hallucinating, which freaked me out a bit. Both times I "defeated" sleep paralysis I guess, since it never progressed. I willed myself to speak, just to get any sound at all out of my throat. The second I got a tiny moan the paralysis broke.

There was this other time as a kid, I was sleeping on our pull-out couch, and I woke up in the middle of the night unable to move. I heard footsteps in the hallway, and I heard someone flush a toilet. I was scared out of my mind, but I figured it was just a dream. Years later I realized that it could have been sleep paralysis coupled with some hallucinations, but since I had nightmares where I couldn't move very often as a kid, I dismissed it. Still could have been SP, I guess...

I never really thought it was scary... I always thought it was pretty cool. Then again, I'm also a very strange fellow.

A word to the wise: sleep paralysis is the penultimate step for astral projection.

If you don't know, now you know.

That would explain those annoying prophetic dreams I keep having. Really, I don't care if I'm doing something a week later, its going to happen either way.

Astral Projection? Isn't that where you go out of your body and can travel to far away places and see what's happening there?

Big frown :(, I have this sensation almost weekly and other times with alarming frequency. I just had a terrible case this morning, which I couldn't fight since I slept after 3 a.m. last night, so my body was actively keeping me asleep. Unfortunately for me, my willpower seldom beats it and I'm left to aimlessly struggle with no progress:

- usually my eyes are "open" and I can make out the blurry image of whatever I see in the room (it doesn't help that I always see blurry things due to my high glasses prescription). I think I'm awake and try to move.
- I then realize: "damn it! I'm still physically asleep" and I try to move at least one body part (usually a finger). I feel like it worked but my mind snaps back since I'm really lying motionless and I haven't physically moved anything.
- The whole ordeal is something I wouldn't mind if I wasn't always perceiving my paralyzed position as something highly uncomfortable (I always feel like I'm going to choke to death or it's really warm, even if I'm not under the blanket).

The only good part is that just like many dreams and such, I've erased the horrible sensation completely back in real life.

Isn't it also called scissor lock?

I have yet to experience it, but my friend has. He's also religious, so he gets freaked out about these since, apparently this is when you're most likely to get "possessed". I don't blame him though, since from the descriptions, you literally can't move your body, but you're awake.

The closest thing I experienced sleep paralysis is when I force myself into self hypnosis. It actually feels good if you want it to happen. You're entire body is relaxed, and the your state of mind is also just floating around.

Naah, I don't believe this one. If sleep paralysis is one of this I would love to have them as much as possible <3.

What's the connection between those two anyway?:cow:

That happened to me while I was sleeping in Enlish once. I was able to open my eyes but I couldn't move. So I was just like "fuck it" and I went back to sleep.

I think I experience what Nehmi experiences. As I am trying to go to sleep, I will seem to be fully aware of my surroundings, but unable to move or react. I think I've had this happen while I was on my stomach a few times. I guess I never really considered my position. I'm not even sure if it was really sleep paralysis. Being aware while you are "asleep" really sucks, though....

Sleep paralysis doesn't happen all that much to me . . . But it's scary as all hell when it does. I know they say that the motor neurons are disabled for REM sleep but when I wake up, I can't breathe for 2 minutes . . . Scares the hell out of me even tho I know it'll pass . . .

I never realised that Sleep Paralysis happened to so many people, I thought it was quite a rare thing. I myself have never experienced it, do you snap out of it instantly or does it take a while for it to go?

I don't know about everyone else but I snap out of it instantly.

It happened to me a few times when I was a kid. It scared the **** outta me.

If you want to experience sleep paralysis, sleep on your back. At least that's how it works for me. Some nights I really want to dream, but dreams are only really vivid for me when I'm on my back. Unfortunately, this results in sleep paralysis more often than I'd like.

Good link here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

I've had it before. At first I kind of freaked out, cause I was "awake", but I couldn't move, nor could I talk or even open my eyelids.

There have been a few times where I sort of force myself to move, and sometimes it works. Should I "fail" however, I more or less force myself to go back to sleep, knowing this'll blow over in the morning.

A psychology class I took says that it's an uncommon occurance, and it's probably a leftover from evolution, where your brain locks down your body to prevent you from acting out your dreams. Cause back then, there were real dangers when early man went to sleep, and they could for instance fall down a cliff while asleep, or walk into a hungry predator after leaving their protective areas.

But most of the time you don't realize this cause you're sleeping, it's when you start waking up and notice your body's still on "lockdown", where people start wondering wtf is going on. And since their understanding of the world and science wasn't as advanced as ours, they had to come up with reasons for it happening (hence the popular "demon/evil spirit" sitting on your chest thing almost all those cultures seem to mention).

I too go out of it instantly, although it's one hell of an annoying and useless struggle trying to break out of it. I wish there was some sort of medication to circumvent it. :S