Sleep Paralysis Is Killing Me (Page 1)

I had this problem too. I had this right after sleeping. I feel awake and very fit, but nothing works and my eyes stay shut.
Then I realized "holy **** I am suffocating !!!!" and I try to move or wake up, nothing happens. I know how to move muslces, but I doesn't respond. Eyes still shut. Then around 10-20s later I wake up because (i suppose) of the automatic awareness that happens when your respiration is stuck. Finally I wake up full of transpiration and stressed up.

Now I know it's normal and that it would never really kill so just wait until it's over and don't panic.
(info: strangeflly it never happens the working days (mon-fri). Maybe it's thanks to the alarm.)

however, right now (around since june) I feel myself better, and now the problem occurs much lesser. My big changes are: I decided to have more sportive activities, I changed school, and I open both doors in my room at night.

Maybe you're stressed up or too hot at night? Try to change your habits and see if that helps. It did with me.

Hey I have been suffering from a condition called Sleep Paralysis. Is there anyone that has this that has consulted a doctor or uses any remedies to calm or eliminate this? It would be very helpful, I'm tired of dealing with this 2-3 times a week.

Thanks

Oh too hot definitely, but theres nothing I can do about it. I'm in a non-air conditioned dorm room.

At least open the door... Or change your bed's position. Whatever, change something. Maybe that will help.

I heard sleep paralysis happens when you are sleeping on your back. Has anyone found this?

Actually i've found it happens the most when i'm sleeping on my side. Even though I like sleeping on my side, I really don't do it anymore.

Dear bad sleeper-

i've had sleep paralysis for about two years now (even though iv'e only recently found out what it is) and there are ways to help.

- when having an attack:
I know it's scary, but first concentrate on breathing slow and steady. Then, to "wake up" start with moving the little things( toes, eyelids, fingers, ect) then you should gradually get control back. When you wake up, don't go back to sleep in the same position you were in (especially not on your back)

-prevention:
a. Try to relax more in general; this disorder is known to be made worse by stress.
B. Don't switch up your sleep patterns
c. Try raising the head of your bed 6 inches with wooden blocks. It doesnt help prevent, but for some reason it helps you "wake up" easier; you can have more control over your body.
D. Do not nap during the day
e. Go to bed early

* about 1/4 of the population will expirience one attack in their lifetime...I have it about 3 times a month. Having it every night is not ok. I would suggest (just my opinion) talking to a doctor, there is medicine to be perscribed for extreme cases (at least once a week)

- let me know if this works out for you. Good luck

sweet dreams,
ally.

Another thing to lessen the sleep paralysis before and/or after sleep is exercise. Give yourself at least an hour to chill afterwards before bed. The more you get the more it helps.

This always happened when I slept on my back too but all the sleeping on your back is always recommended by experts for good sleep! ?? Some experts ha?

I have finally found other people that have this problem! I've been having sleep paralysis since I was a little girl and it still happens on occasion. I find that it happens more when i'm sleeping on my stomach and occasionally on my back. I usually fall asleep on my left side but I will "wake up" on my stomach. I'll feel extremely weighed down, barely able to breathe, and only able to move maybe a finger or so. I try to move as much as I can to wake up. And I know how terrible it is to have someone right around you (i share a queen sized bed with my grandma when i'm at home) and not be able to get help.

Thank goodness I have found people who can relate!

i am now 14 an went i was little use 2 get sleep paralysis. neva new what it was till now, i wish i enjoyed thoughs 5 years wile it lastd but now its back and worse. went i was lil i would wake up from a lucid dream were i new i was dreamin from den would wake up with my eyez wide open wide looking around. it was weired coz ppl ho had this were lying on their back but i waz always lying on my tummy evrytime. i wasnt able 2 move or talk at all. i would feel a heavy weight on my bak like sum1 was sitting on me. i could hear a loud ringig sound an couldnt breathe and thought i waz gona die. i also could feel the presence of sum1 or thing was there in my room sumwhere watchin me.

now went i get it it is worse coz i get it b4 i fall asleep durin a dream aswell plus no matter how hard i try 2 fight it i rarly win and end up being sucked bak in2 my dream were the process is repeated through the night. now it is worse coz i also hallucinate in colour and always see the same spirit ghost wateva it is(kinda looks lyk the devil)and also feel hands touching me. i also get sleep terror aswell wich scares my mum when she checks on me at nite. also i strange thing is when i fall bak asleep after losing a fight with sleep paralysis i dream of the same thing iva an ova but no its a dream 4 sum reason.

now that its come bak a have theories of how 2 prevent it like not having caffine or sugar near bed time, going 2 bed and waking up in a rythem and not thinking about it coz when i 4got about it it happened less and less.

hope this helps

Do any of you suffer from narcolepsy(daytime sleepiness)? 50% of the people who have narcolepsy get sleep paralysis/hypnagogic hallucinations.

i do not believe that i suffer from it but i do find that almost everyday i find myself very sleepy even if i had a good sleep that night and nights before but have never realy had a time were i have fallen asleep during the day at inappropriate times. i find that i usually find it very hard to fall asleep i am just realy tired and sometimes it makes me dizzy and want to throw up.

I'm So Glad That I'm Not The Only Person That Has Got It!
I Know What Your Feeling..
Its Soo stressful When You Loose All That Sleep And Its Sometimes really Scary.. Must Be Awful Too Have It Everyday..
I'm Not Saying You Do..
But If Someone Has This And They Drink Alcohol..
I Would Seriously Give It Up It Makes Mine 10x Worse Also I Found..
If You Have A Good Sleeping Routine Bed Early.. Up Early Every Day..
It Helps.. During The Paralysis.. I know Its Hard Not 2 Struggle 2 Move..
But I Find Its Easier 2 Just Lie There And Relax And Eventually You Will Come Out Of It.. And When You Do Dont Go Straight Back 2 Sleep..
To Prevent It Happening Again Before You Go Back To Stare At A Bright Light.

I'm Just Wondering If Anyone Else Exsperienses The Weight On The Chest Feeling.. And Hallucinations??

is sleep paralysis and anxiety attacks the same. i have the same symptoms as you do but my eyes are open i just cant move and i feel intense fear. im not sure which one i suffer from .....

I have had it 4 times laying on my back. I heard 2 different things it could be. When you are sleeping you body is paralized so that if you run in a dream you don't actually run in bed. Or if you have a dream your hitting someone you don't actually punch someone next to you. Well once in a while you mind wakes up before the body and your body is still in the sleeping state. You should be able to breath fine unless you start panicking. It is what normally happens at some point in you sleep states.

The other thing I heard it is is you are about to have an out of body experience. If you are having sleep paralysis just relax and go with it. You will start to float out of your body and can go through ceilings and travel outside the body.

These are the 2 things I heard it could be. I never heard it called an attack before. I don't think it's that serious. You sould have no problems breathing if you relax.

I am so glad to have found this site! I have had this for years but never knew its name or what it even was. I'm a psychiatric nurse so I eared telling anyone about it as it sounds absolutley crazy to non-suferers. My friend actually just informed me he has been projecting since he was a boy and said it's very easy as you said. I just cant stand the feeling of doom when it happens and would love to turn it into a nice expierence like astral travel, can you give me anymore specifics on how to do this once you realize your in this state? I always panic and try to move a limb or digit and of course cant. It's terrifying to me, ANY help is appreciated because its at the point where I dont want to go to seep anymore =(
thank you!
Jade

I have suffered with sleep paralysis since I was 15yrs old I am now 54'.
Up until just over a year ago I thought I was crazy so I could never speak to anyone about it because of the stigma attached to it and also thinking that it was only me that it happened to.
But just over a year ago by chance someone told me of things that were happening to them , I had never spoken of my experiences , so you can imagine how I felt as I sat and listened to them as they said word for word what had been happening to me for all of these years, omg what a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders I was elated, in fact so relieved that when I visited my gp for a routine check , I thought I would mention this, what a mistake , I came out of that surgery feeling as though he thought I was mad.

man i was so scared that i was the only one that had this!! i thought i had it bad since the average person has it only once in their lives while i have it about once a month. however, seeing other people have it as frequent (or more! gosh i feel so much for you guys and hope you will get over the problem very soon), i feel at least a little more comforted....anyways, when you guys have it do you guys feel a little dizzy and/or physically and mentally exhausted after waking up from one of these?...if anyone's ever had one of those "flying dreams", it feels like the complete opposite (feeling more alert, energized and a generally "good" feeling) of that when i wake up (which is interesting, because i used to have those as frequent as i have these "sleep paralysis" occurrences. maybe just a coincidence?)

Hello Guys ... I'm glad i could find you ...
I'm Alex ; I live in Romania ; I have 23 years old and i am a student ; Due to the nature of my work and unwillingly other activities that involve the computer i spend lot's of time in front of it . A year ago i started having problems with my back but nothing serious ... Two months ago i reched that state that often i couldn't stay in front of the computer more than 15 minutes without becoming dizzy and nauseaus after i stoped using it ... I thought i had cervical discopaty or something like that because i felt my neck and lower-back head heavy... I went to the doctor and i took a neck radiography and nothing showed up ...
In the same time i was doing this , when i sleept (that is for about three months ago), that is when i slept only on the back side(i do not recolect having experienced "SLEEP PARALYSIS" some other position) i had experienced exactly , shockingly-striking similar experiences as you did ... sensation of paralisys, sensation of vibration of muscles (like someone electrocuted me), sensation that i can't breathe (maybe it wasn't a sensation) ; i was at first frightened ; even one time i had the sensation someone was pushing my chest down to the bed not letting me rise up (like a ghost or something ) etc ;
I recolect a month ago ,before i startted do take physical exercises i was at school and suddenly for a second (maybe even shorter than that) , i felt my head falling down and a very sleepy sensation (quite intense) and i started to panic but that never happened again .
Also when i stretch my neck very intense i get dizzy and sleepy
So my opinion is that i developed "SLEEP PARALYSIS" due to longterm use of the computer, very little, or none, physical exercises ;
3 weeks ago i started taking exercises , push-ups, arm sthrengtening exercises, and i don't feel the dizzines and the HARD neck sensation so much intense ; in fact i feel realy good ; i don't even have the sensation of not breathing good anymore , except when i sleep on my back and DEVELOP "SLEEP PARALYSIS" .

So what's your story ? Do you have neck problems ? Narcolepsy ?

OOO : Even when i was a little boy(10-12 YRS) i was very lazy, all the day i felt tired and wanted to sleep for no reason ; i find this sensation quite frequent today even though when i start to do something physically active it disipears ....

Hello

I have lived with sleep paralysis since I was 8 years old and am now going on 24. I seem to have a extreme version of it due to unlike alot of people I tend to hallucinate very vividly almost evertime I have SP. Ive seen everything from a man on fire to a weird mantis creature standing in my room while I laid in bed unable to move. I will just say that pretty much most of my life seemed to be some crazy horror film.

Anyways today I have grown use to it now that I know its a disorder rather then wondering these creatures were infact real or not .

Things Ill say. First off I dont have Narcolepsy which seems to be a big thing for most people (I dont often take naps at all due to having SP when I do). It does happen to me more often when I sleep on my back or side. I normaly sleep on my stomach and still have it randomly that way as well. Like most people said you will feel a vibration and a feeling on your chest as if you cant breath. One thing to remember is when your asleep your body will normally slow down breathing. When your in sleep paralysis your body is still asleep while part of you mind is not. So what you feeling is your body in a sleeping state were everything is kinda slowed down. This state of being half asleep and half away also explains the hallucinations. You are pretty much dreaming while you are awake making things seem very real and scary. Your mind will normaly blame the fact that you cant move and the fact that you cant take deep breaths on a outside force. Thus seeing a ghost or something on or around you. It is very creepy indeed.

My suggestions are when you do wake up in this state just remeber whats going on. Try not to panic and just let your body breath normaly... stress will normaly make it happen again. (Ive poped out of SP .. fliped over and went right back into SP .. not fun times). If you are scared then one way to pop out is just try and take faster short burst of air. This will normaly wake you up.. of not try and relax your body completely and then make a sudden jerk. When if you do get out of sleep paralysis do not roll over and go back to sleep. Get up walk around a bit.. stretch let your mind wake up a bit. Then when you feel good try and sleep again. Normaly sleep paralysis for me will happen over and over if I just keep trying to sleep as is.

Another thing to do.. this one is much more harder due to fear. When you wake up or fall into SP. Be calm .. close your eyes and let your self fall into deep sleep. It took me years to get the guts to just let myself fall back to sleep.. due to fear. But it is the most relaxing and less stressing on your mind.

Anyways hope that helps some on basic stuff See if I can answer some stuff as well.