• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Adventures In Sleep Paralysis

PeteByrdie said:
What's a sleep app?
Click to expand...
In this case, a sound activated* app for your phone, to record nocturnal noises - sleeptalking, etc.

I'm going to suggest a more prosaic option @Robsocks (I don't mean to trivialise or offend, or get to into the specifics of the sound quality one way or another), but one of the things that popped into my head listening to that clip... nocturnal flatulence.

I know, I know!


*I assume its more a rolling recording that self deletes as it goes, leaving only portions with actual sound intact.
 
BeardSprite said:
In this case, a sound activated* app for your phone, to record nocturnal noises - sleeptalking, etc.

I'm going to suggest a more prosaic option @Robsocks (I don't mean to trivialise or offend, or get to into the specifics of the sound quality one way or another), but one of the things that popped into my head listening to that clip... nocturnal flatulence.

I know, I know!


*I assume its more a rolling recording that self deletes as it goes, leaving only portions with actual sound intact.
Click to expand...
I don’t think I could use a sleep app, then. I'd be terrifies every day of hearing an old hag like voice whispering something.
 
Wouldn't you have to spend just as long listening to the recording as you did sleeping? That's a lot of the day devoted to the night.
 
GNC said:
Wouldn't you have to spend just as long listening to the recording as you did sleeping? That's a lot of the day devoted to the night.
Click to expand...

Not if the recording is sound activated, and stops after a pre-set amount of silence.

Or if it's fancy enough to delete long stretches of 'dead air' as it goes, leaving only the parts with sound and a little buffer of quiet either side.

I have software that does the same for recording when I play video games - set an interval up to 20 mins, and when the recording gets to that length, it starts to erase anything that came before the last 20 minutes of gameplay. You can manually save and therby 'reset' the recording at any time.

I imagine it's possible to do the same/similar for audio recordings, though I haven't looked into the specifics of the app used in this case.
 
PeteByrdie said:
I don’t think I could use a sleep app, then. I'd be terrifies every day of hearing an old hag like voice whispering something.
Click to expand...
Don't get married and you won't have to worry about that!


^ Joke!
 
Robsocks said:
There are loads of sleep talk recording type apps on the Playstore. The one I use is called Dream Talk Recorder and it only records sounds. So there may be only 1 recording in the morning, or there may be many, it's unlimited dependent on how noisy it is at night (how much chilli you've eaten for dinner perhaps :) )
Click to expand...
I've just looked at Dream Talk Recorder. I am curious, having been told frequently that I talk in my sleep. I see it contains ads. I assume I won't be sleeping happily only to have my phone inject subliminal advertising for Raid Shadow Legends into my dreams.
 
I know someone in their early teens who has sleep paralysis almost nightly. It can last multiple HOURS according to their perception of the clock which can be seen with open eyes. Horrifying. Any idea what can be done to remedy? They experience it while side-sleeping just the same as on their back.
 
BeardSprite said:
Yeah, it was pretty creepy!

I put it down to being able to hear, in the hypnagocic/hypnopompic state, the voices of my parents and their friends talking downstairs. My mother can't remember the incident, but I'd be willing to bet her American friend was visiting.

I think it's safe to say I was not, at the time, familiar with The Rocky Horror Picture Show :hahazebs:
:cool:
Click to expand...
I sleep with audio books running to keep me asleep and, quite frequently, passages or topics from the book make their way into my dreams. When I wake up I think the dream was odd, then remember what I was listening to and think 'oh, yes.'
 
catseye said:
I sleep with audio books running to keep me asleep and, quite frequently, passages or topics from the book make their way into my dreams. When I wake up I think the dream was odd, then remember what I was listening to and think 'oh, yes.'
Click to expand...
Very interesting. I could never imagine doing this myself because I have insomnia and any noise will keep me awake. Do you play specific types of books so you can have more pleasant or interesting dreams?
 
Endlessly Amazed said:
Very interesting. I could never imagine doing this myself because I have insomnia and any noise will keep me awake. Do you play specific types of books so you can have more pleasant or interesting dreams?
Click to expand...
I used to wake in the night overthinking and panicking (about stupid stuff usually). I found that running audio books during the night means that, if I do wake, my brain sort of 'hooks into' the book rather than overthinking. I normally listen to non-fiction; a lot of prehistory like Alice Roberts and Francis Pryor, and some Dan Snow. But I also like listening to very well known and loved books (so I'm not kept awake to find out the end), like Terry Pratchett and Miss Read, and also children's books. I used to think it would keep me awake, but it doesn't!
 
Human_84 said:
I know someone in their early teens who has sleep paralysis almost nightly. It can last multiple HOURS according to their perception of the clock which can be seen with open eyes. Horrifying. Any idea what can be done to remedy? They experience it while side-sleeping just the same as on their back.
Click to expand...

No really, I'm afraid. Maybe turning the clock so it's face isn't visible would help reduce the apparent duration of episodes. Though if it's multiple nightly episodes blended into one by the common factor of the clock, it may seem that frequency goes up, instead.

Also means you have to wake up enough to move the clock if you wan't to check the time during the night.

catseye said:
I sleep with audio books running to keep me asleep and, quite frequently, passages or topics from the book make their way into my dreams. When I wake up I think the dream was odd, then remember what I was listening to and think 'oh, yes.'
Click to expand...

Endlessly Amazed said:
Very interesting. I could never imagine doing this myself because I have insomnia and any noise will keep me awake. Do you play specific types of books so you can have more pleasant or interesting dreams?
Click to expand...

I too am sensitive to even the slightest sound when I'm asleep - it has been known to annoy my partner when I've been disturbed in the night by some random sound (to which she has been oblivious, either because asleep or not heard it) and have to get up to investigate/complain/put a stop to it.

On the otherhand, playing music or having the tv on in the background - at very low volume, but not so low it becomes indistinct 'noise' are sufficiently soothing that I'll fall asleep to/sleep through them no problem, although yes, that does mean I may pick up theme's for dreams from them, too.
 
Human_84 said:
I know someone in their early teens who has sleep paralysis almost nightly. It can last multiple HOURS according to their perception of the clock which can be seen with open eyes. Horrifying. Any idea what can be done to remedy? They experience it while side-sleeping just the same as on their back.
Click to expand...
I would suggest that they train themself to recognize that it is SP and then have a planned recitation they can say in their head. I myself thought the words to The Lords Prayer, though am not overly religious, which is why I suggested any recitation they are familiar with. It seems to break the paralysis aspect.

Perhaps because a more active area of your brain is activated? SP apparently occurs when your brain waves are between fully awake and fully asleep. I think that maybe when you intentionally change the brain activity, it helps you awaken.

This may take some practise. Just getting past the terror of the experience to focus on something else is at first difficult.

I also know that a physical sound (meaning outside of your dream state) tends to wake me immediately, though this is not something that you can plan.
 
BeardSprite said:
I too am sensitive to even the slightest sound when I'm asleep - it has been known to annoy my partner when I've been disturbed in the night by some random sound (to which she has been oblivious, either because asleep or not heard it) and have to get up to investigate/complain/put a stop to it.

On the otherhand, playing music or having the tv on in the background - at very low volume, but not so low it becomes indistinct 'noise' are sufficiently soothing that I'll fall asleep to/sleep through them no problem, although yes, that does mean I may pick up theme's for dreams from them, too.
Click to expand...
I USED to be very very sensitive to noise. But as the children got older and there were less 'having to wake at the slighest grumble' and more 'let's party and watch TV all night while Mum is in bed' moments, I learned to sleep through a degree of background noise. Nowadays, because I live in the middle of nowhere, the sound of birds cheeping at 4.30 am doesn't disturb me in the slightest, but I find it hard to sleep with any amount of passing traffic.
 
Here's a question for all of you. It might come across as a bit odd, but I'm serious in asking it.

Has anyone here discovered a reliable way of inducing sleep paralysis?

I ask this because I used to experience SP quite regularly as a teenager, but as I grew older it gradually faded away, and it hasn't happened to me for decades now. The long and the short is - I kind of miss it.

Maybe there was some kind of neurological difference in my experiences, because I never felt they were terrifying. Waking up physically paralysed was certainly odd, perhaps I'd go so far as to say confusing, but only mildly scary. Quite often I could get the 'ghost limbs' moving, while remaining aware that it wasn't my physical body responding. It felt like I was part way to an OBE.

It was actually the title that MorningAngel quotes above that got me thinking. - 'The Horror of Sleep Paralysis' - what horror ? I'd happily pay money to buy a vitamin supplement, say, that would trigger SP again.

So if anybody knows anything, please post it here.
 
Salmonellus said:
Here's a question for all of you. It might come across as a bit odd, but I'm serious in asking it.
Has anyone here discovered a reliable way of inducing sleep paralysis?
Click to expand...

To reliably trigger a sleep paralysis (SP) episode you'd have to specify a single point cause for SP. Multiple studies have found correlations with a variety of factors, but none of these factors have been demonstrated to be a reliable trigger.

The most highly-correlated factors are sleep deprivation, stress / PTSD, alcohol / antidepressant withdrawal, and inability to adhere to a consistent sleep schedule (e.g., working swing shifts).

Anything that disrupts sleep while you are or may be in REM phase seems to increase the probability of an SP episode, because the most widely accepted hypothesis is that paralysis events represent a mismatch, functional blurring, or clash between the REM / dreaming state and wakefulness.
 
Salmonellus said:
Here's a question for all of you. It might come across as a bit odd, but I'm serious in asking it.

Has anyone here discovered a reliable way of inducing sleep paralysis?

I ask this because I used to experience SP quite regularly as a teenager, but as I grew older it gradually faded away, and it hasn't happened to me for decades now. The long and the short is - I kind of miss it.

Maybe there was some kind of neurological difference in my experiences, because I never felt they were terrifying. Waking up physically paralysed was certainly odd, perhaps I'd go so far as to say confusing, but only mildly scary. Quite often I could get the 'ghost limbs' moving, while remaining aware that it wasn't my physical body responding. It felt like I was part way to an OBE.

It was actually the title that MorningAngel quotes above that got me thinking. - 'The Horror of Sleep Paralysis' - what horror ? I'd happily pay money to buy a vitamin supplement, say, that would trigger SP again.

So if anybody knows anything, please post it here.
Click to expand...
I don't think sleep paralysis can intentionally be brought on. It occurs when your mind and body are between waking and sleep. The paralysis occurs because your body is in a state of deep sleep where you (sleeping) do not move so as not to physically act out your dreams. Your mind is closer to an awake state and, at least with me, my eyes briefly flutter open and I can see my room, but I immediately go into a dream state that involves the brief glimpse of my real world. These elements incorporated, cause the hallucinatory aspect and inability for you to recognize that you have not fully woken.

You might be interested in researching lucid dreaming. There are proven techniques that can bring on lucid dreaming. This is dreaming with intent to control how a dream develops.
 
Salmonellus said:
Here's a question for all of you. It might come across as a bit odd, but I'm serious in asking it.

Has anyone here discovered a reliable way of inducing sleep paralysis?

I ask this because I used to experience SP quite regularly as a teenager, but as I grew older it gradually faded away, and it hasn't happened to me for decades now. The long and the short is - I kind of miss it.

Maybe there was some kind of neurological difference in my experiences, because I never felt they were terrifying. Waking up physically paralysed was certainly odd, perhaps I'd go so far as to say confusing, but only mildly scary. Quite often I could get the 'ghost limbs' moving, while remaining aware that it wasn't my physical body responding. It felt like I was part way to an OBE.

It was actually the title that MorningAngel quotes above that got me thinking. - 'The Horror of Sleep Paralysis' - what horror ? I'd happily pay money to buy a vitamin supplement, say, that would trigger SP again.

So if anybody knows anything, please post it here.
Click to expand...
I find sleeping on my back is more likely to result in sleep paralysis than sleeping on my side, enough that I intentionally avoid sleeping on my back.
 
I feel this is kind of weird as I've never had any SP experiences and now I'm in my 50's I've had two. I wrote about the first one in the link below but had another one a couple of weeks ago. The first one I didn't see anything just sensed a malevolent presence standing behind me which then drew claws down my upper arm. This latest one involved my bedroom door swinging open and a huge (think of the demon hound in the original Ghostbusters) dog type creature walking in, staring at me direct in the face and then sinking it's teeth into my hand that was hanging off the bed. Didn't wake up immediately but as before was telling myself that it was SP and to wake up but could feel the fangs in my hand and it was bloody horrible. God knows what's prompted them at my age


https://forums.forteana.org/index.p...-in-sleep-paralysis.42889/page-6#post-2081273
 
Salmonellus said:
Here's a question for all of you. It might come across as a bit odd, but I'm serious in asking it.

Has anyone here discovered a reliable way of inducing sleep paralysis?

I ask this because I used to experience SP quite regularly as a teenager, but as I grew older it gradually faded away, and it hasn't happened to me for decades now. The long and the short is - I kind of miss it.

Maybe there was some kind of neurological difference in my experiences, because I never felt they were terrifying. Waking up physically paralysed was certainly odd, perhaps I'd go so far as to say confusing, but only mildly scary. Quite often I could get the 'ghost limbs' moving, while remaining aware that it wasn't my physical body responding. It felt like I was part way to an OBE.

It was actually the title that MorningAngel quotes above that got me thinking. - 'The Horror of Sleep Paralysis' - what horror ? I'd happily pay money to buy a vitamin supplement, say, that would trigger SP again.

So if anybody knows anything, please post it here.
Click to expand...
I found myself having a rash of sleep paralysis occurrences when I tried sleeping with an eye mask. I think the mask would slip down a bit over my nose and perhaps cause enough of a gentle suffocation to bring on the paralysis. It wasn't reliable though and I haven't heard of anyone else having this with eye masks but maybe worth a go?
 
I was driving yesterday and caught a bit of a book called Night Terrors by Alice Vernon on Radio Four at 9.45. It was an extract about sleep paralysis and incredibly interesting. I must listen on BBC Sounds to catch the rest of the episode - well worth listening to, and I might seek out the book too.

Should be recommended listening for all who think demons are persecuting them at night.
 
catseye said:
I was driving yesterday and caught a bit of a book called Night Terrors by Alice Vernon on Radio Four at 9.45. It was an extract about sleep paralysis and incredibly interesting. I must listen on BBC Sounds to catch the rest of the episode - well worth listening to, and I might seek out the book too.

Should be recommended listening for all who think demons are persecuting them at night.
Click to expand...

I read it & appreciate it - up to a point. Thing is for me, all our "scientific" rationales for sleep paralysis and associated horrifying "hallucinations" are just as hypothetical (for the most part) as the legends of demons etc.

My longterm other half has suffered from SP & all the horror it can bring since he was a kid. Accepting we just don't know what those things are has been incredibly difficult to do - but also oddly liberating over time for both of us.

Once we realise there are layers of unknown reality beyond our senses or understanding then we need to find a way to be content with simply not knowing the why and how of much that we observe and experience. Something we humans find very hard to do.
 
AngelAlice said:
I read it & appreciate it - up to a point. Thing is for me, all our "scientific" rationales for sleep paralysis and associated horrifying "hallucinations" are just as hypothetical (for the most part) as the legends of demons etc.

My longterm other half has suffered from SP & all the horror it can bring since he was a kid. Accepting we just don't know what those things are has been incredibly difficult to do - but also oddly liberating over time for both of us.

Once we realise there are layers of unknown reality beyond our senses or understanding then we need to find a way to be content with simply not knowing the why and how of much that we observe and experience. Something we humans find very hard to do.
Click to expand...
Up to a point. Except that sleep paralysis is an observable, quantifiable and reproduceable phenomenon. So we actually do know what these things are and how they work.
 
Thankfully I‘ve never suffered from sleep paralysis myself, but had a friend who confided in me that one of reasons he drank every night was to try and prevent terrifying SP episodes. He said if he didn’t have alcohol when he went to bed and was falling asleep he’d experience a terrifying vision of a demonic creature crawling from the corner of his bedroom, slowly making its way up to him in bed. It sounded truly horrifying. I have no idea if alcohol has any bearing on sleep paralysis or not, but he was convinced it stopped them. I know consuming alcohol interferes with sleep.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top