Adventures In Sleep Paralysis

[PeteS]

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.

I caught a couple of episodes of that as well. very interesting. NT's have apparently been known about and recognized for a very long time, which I wasn't aware of.

 

[Sabresonic]

This is a very good website.

https://www.sheilaprycebrooks.com/

 

[catseye]

I caught a couple of episodes of that as well. very interesting. NT's have apparently been known about and recognized for a very long time, which I wasn't aware of.

My dad (born 1928) had night terrors of the traditional 'sitting up appearing to be awake and terrified but unable to communicate and actually still being asleep to the consternation of onlookers' kind as a child. He used to tell me about these and he knew they were called night terrors, so the term must have been in use in the early 1930's.

 

[AngelAlice]

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.

Observing and reproducing isn't the same as understanding or explaining though, is it. And I'm not even sure we can reproduce reliably, nor that we can claim it's quantifiable.

We observe much but can truly explain very little. Even the most basic functions of the areas of the brain are still up for debate. For every rule we make there's always some darned exceptions that spoil it & are often therefore ignored or downplayed or papered over with assumptions.

When we strip away our incomplete models & observations masking as explanations, and when we dare to acknowledge all the anomalies & misfit cases we prefer to ignore we have to accept we still know very very little about an awful lot.

I say this as someone trained in sciences and who started out a complete skeptic of all things strange or Fortean, but time & experience have forced me to modify that view.

 

[catseye]

Observing and reproducing isn't the same as understanding or explaining though, is it. And I'm not even sure we can reproduce reliably, nor that we can claim it's quantifiable.

We observe much but can truly explain very little. Even the most basic functions of the areas of the brain are still up for debate. For every rule we make there's always some darned exceptions that spoil it & are often therefore ignored or downplayed or papered over with assumptions.

When we strip away our incomplete models & observations masking as explanations, and when we dare to acknowledge all the anomalies & misfit cases we prefer to ignore we have to accept we still know very very little about an awful lot.

I say this as someone trained in sciences and who started out a complete skeptic of all things strange or Fortean, but time & experience have forced me to modify that view.

I agree with you on many Fortean topics - we don't know what they are, and they are still complete mysteries. But I was talking about sleep paralysis, where we do know what it is - the brain partially waking before the body and continuing in a half-dream state. It's a mystery why the dream is nearly always threatening, but the guess is that it's because the brain is warning us that something is wrong (ie, being awake while asleep). So sleep paralysis is observable and reproducable (ask anyone who suffers repeat attacks when lying in one particular position).

But I'm with you on most other things.

 

[merricat]

I experienced SP during a stressful couple of years after leaving university in my 20's. I agree that we do not know enough about the subject to attempt any firm conclusions about it. I was lucky enough, after my first, to be able to google my experience and comfort myself that this was indeed quite common. Usually, I don't care to read about or discuss it, which probably means that a small part of me, somehow, believes that it might be better to let it lie. Perhaps unconsciously I suspect that placing attention upon it could very well create the right conditions for it to return.
This isn't superstition, more a sense that where we place our attention creates 'significance', and significance can be something of a catalyst for ...experience. I hope this makes some sense!

One of the more curious SP experiences I had involved a meeting with a powerful, golden haired woman (a kind of older, wiser version of myself) who offered me a piece of stone with the word 'Artemis' etched into it. I was in a vast, unpeopled landscape which felt untouched by time, or outside of time, surrounded by curious articles, symbols and stones. My attention was on the stones themselves, which I began to collect around me, positioning them into a circle.
The dream became SP once I became conscious/awake yet unable to move or make a sound. Yet the dream imagery and import were still very present, this time in my own room. Strange symbols and words appeared on the walls, glowing softly like amber. One word appeared to sit above all of these images, shimmering and turning around on itself - the word palaeontology.
Not a word that I was familiar with at the time, as a fine arts graduate.
It may seem disingenuous to insist that I had no previous knowledge of 'Artemis' either, but it would certainly be possible for me to have seen references to both words at some point as I was an avid reader.

20 years later, I am none the wiser, yet a retrospective analysis might suggest that there are some elements here which could potentially link to realisations about the (my)self at the time.

Edit to add: This was one of the least terrifying of my SP experiences. The very worst were a touch more typical to the 'genre'(lol), vampiric beings crawling out of gothic sarcophagi and a host of dancing candles that attempted to crush me. I must add that lying either on my front or back made no difference whatsoever.

 

[SimonBurchell]

At least three episodes of sleep paralysis have overlapped into objective reality for me, with observable effects on my environment, which leads me to believe that more is going on than simple physiology. I do wonder if external entities are able to manipulate our physiology to their benefit, soften us up for the attack as it were. I abandoned materialist reductionism a long time ago.

 

[brownmane]

At least three episodes of sleep paralysis have overlapped into objective reality for me, with observable effects on my environment, which leads me to believe that more is going on than simple physiology. I do wonder if external entities are able to manipulate our physiology to their benefit, soften us up for the attack as it were. I abandoned materialist reductionism a long time ago.

I’m interested in more details as to what you mean by “manipulate our physiology“ and how the SP episodes into objective reality, if you please. I am thinking that something changed in your own real space? Is that correct? If so, that creates a whole other scary thought.

 

[SimonBurchell]

Well, in one particularly frightening case a lightbulb exploded. In another, I broke free after feeling something evil clawing through my brain (I interpreted it as an attempt at possession, I fought tooth and nail, metaphorically, but it was a prayer that caused it to rapidly withdraw). As I was now fully awake, I started to hear muffled screams from my wife, struggling in the grips of some nightmare, highly unusual for her. I shook her to try to awaken her, and after a few attempts she sank into peaceful sleep. A few seconds later, I could hear the teenage daughter in the flat next door screaming in her sleep, which went on for a few minutes before subsiding. It left me with the impression that something was roaming the night from person to person, looking for prey. The third instance is for me alone, I'm afraid.

Since I am intrigued by the transmission hypothesis of human consciousness (the brain acting as a receiver for our consciousness which is actually located somewhere else), it makes me wonder if sleep paralysis is interfering with our consciousness interacting with our physical bodies, and leaving us vulnerable in some way.

 

[merricat]

At least three episodes of sleep paralysis have overlapped into objective reality for me, with observable effects on my environment, which leads me to believe that more is going on than simple physiology. I do wonder if external entities are able to manipulate our physiology to their benefit, soften us up for the attack as it were. I abandoned materialist reductionism a long time ago.

Since the nature of these episodes have so much in common I wonder if we might possibly be accessing something akin to Jung's collective unconscious.. I always felt that there was something quite remote or 'ancient' about SP, something deeply embedded within us (humanity) which manifests through us (as individuals) or connects us to an outer source. I can't form a conclusion either way, although I have never experienced it to leave a trace in my waking life. If you are comfortable sharing I would love to hear more about the overlapping into objective reality (apologies, cross post!).

I would be interested to see more data on SP, particularly regarding life stage and age of onset. Mine all occurred whilst living at one address during my mid to late 20's, when I was single/sexually inactive. I also experienced some very disturbing nightmares involving poltergeists and very powerful, terrifying forces - and I do suspect now that these had a sexual/energetic component. They all seemed to clear up as my work life developed, with the distractions of self employment and the confidence that comes with age. Since never having experienced them for almost 2 decades, I do wonder if they were connected to that one particular life phase.

 

[brownmane]

I have heard that episodes tend to happen when people have numerous stressors in their lives.

My first experience was following the death of my cousin. He was my age (17) and I had many thoughts regarding his accident and early age at death. I had not liked him particularly as he'd harass me, but in the prior year, he'd matured and I could relate to him more as adults. He no longer was an ass. I'm pretty sure I over identified with him and his death. I had the traditional old hag experience.

I can't specifically recall other episodes' details, but in the early ones, I recited the Lord's Prayer in my mind.

Once I was familiar with what was happening, I was no longer frightened and would know that I was sleeping and dreaming. After this stage, I don't have frightening SP per se, only that I can't waken easily.

I do think that some of the methods used, such as reciting a well known prayer, somehow break the pattern of brain waves that cause the SP. Perhaps it is the conscious action that brings your waking state into the forefront and so allows you to wake.

 

[KenOwl]

I meant to contribute to this thread ages ago, but never quite got round to it. About 25 years ago I experienced the classic "hag" sitting on my chest and feeling unable to breathe - very vivid and frightening. I slept with the light on for days afterwards. Nothing similar until a couple of years ago when I "woke up" and a male face appeared a couple of feet away. I actually tried to punch it as it was between me and the bedside light switch. Again pretty unsettling.

I tend to think both were the result of sleep paralysis, but I'm particularly intrigued about the first one as it appears in different cultures.

 

[catseye]

I meant to contribute to this thread ages ago, but never quite got round to it. About 25 years ago I experienced the classic "hag" sitting on my chest and feeling unable to breathe - very vivid and frightening. I slept with the light on for days afterwards. Nothing similar until a couple of years ago when I "woke up" and a male face appeared a couple of feet away. I actually tried to punch it as it was between me and the bedside light switch. Again pretty unsettling.

I tend to think both were the result of sleep paralysis, but I'm particularly intrigued about the first one as it appears in different cultures.

I am also fascinated by the ubiquity of some of the phantasms experienced during SP. They seem to transcend culture, religion, age and background.

I also wonder whether animals suffer from SP of any kind, particularly animals which demonstrably dream (cats and dogs with their twitching paws and, in the case of my dog, really adorable little squeaky barks).

 

[Patrick30]

One time I dreamed a snake bit me and I was paralyzed. I woke up in a panicked sweat and realized my foot had went to sleep.

 

[brownmane]

I am also fascinated by the ubiquity of some of the phantasms experienced during SP. They seem to transcend culture, religion, age and background.

Yes ^this^. I had never heard of SP until the age of internet and yet my first experience was of the hag type. Though I never saw anything, I was well versed with witches and demons to believe that the entity was malevolent and had an intent to harm. It was outside of me but definitely crawling toward me. Awful.

 

[escargot]

One time I dreamed a snake bit me and I was paralyzed. I woke up in a panicked sweat and realized my foot had went to sleep.

I've mentioned this before: had a recurring dream about someone walking past me in the street and stabbing me in the side.
I'd wake up shocked and in pain, clutching the wound to stop the gushing blood.

Eventually I realised that the pain came from the grip of my own hand and that next time I saw the stabber approaching I could try ignoring the wound and walking on calmly.

This worked first time. No more stabby dreams.

 

[Tempest63]

Why Sleep Paralysis Makes You See Ghosts​

Imagine waking up in pitch darkness paralyzed from head to toe. You try to scream but can’t. Suddenly you realize there is a ghost with bloody fangs hovering over you. Before you know, the creature violently attacks you.

https://time.com/6259846/sleep-paralysis-ghosts/

 

[brownmane]

I find this idea of sleep paralysis being connected to a person's sense of self interesting.

Quoted from article:
During sleep paralysis disturbances to your sense of self (or “body image”) can occur.

Out-of-body experiences are often described as a type of “astral travel” where the self leaves the physical body journeying into a parallel dimension. But out-of-body experiences can reliably be reproduced in the laboratory. We simply disrupt a brain region called the “temporoparietal junction” in the parietal lobes (top-middle part). This area helps build your “body image” and is important for your ability to distinguish between “self” and “other.” Normally it is turned off during REM sleep, which is why your sense of self is loosened up during dreams. You can see yourself from a third-person perspective (like a Netflix movie), yet other times you’re catapulted into another person’s body

 

[catseye]

Why Sleep Paralysis Makes You See Ghosts​

Imagine waking up in pitch darkness paralyzed from head to toe. You try to scream but can’t. Suddenly you realize there is a ghost with bloody fangs hovering over you. Before you know, the creature violently attacks you.

https://time.com/6259846/sleep-paralysis-ghosts/

This is great (not sure about the 'chocking' though, fairly sure feeling oneself being 'chocked' would wake most people!). I wonder if it also goes some way to explain why so many writers have some form of neuro divergence? Perhaps these divergences affect our sense of self in some way and enable us to better imagine being other people, and therefore to write books that are not at all based on ourselves or people we know?

It's an interesting thought...

 

[queenofwands]

I don't really know what to believe about sleep paralysis . I'm on the fence , between the belief that these weird experiences have purely physiological causes , and the belief that they paranormal in nature . Perhaps they can be both.

I have experienced four such episodes , throughout my life . Each one very different from the others , each one had such a strong impact on me that I will never forget them. Three of them were terrifying , one was not.

The first time I experienced a sleep paralysis event , I was in my mid 20's . I was staying with my father , at the time and the incident took place in his house.

I was asleep and having a nightmare. I was in some sort of long corridor and something or someone was coming after me . I didn't know who or what was scaring me so much , but I knew , somehow that something was going to come round the corner , at the bottom of the corridor and get me. I was beyond terrified and ran along the corridor , desperate to find an escape. Suddenly , I noticed a green door , to right of me and went through it. I found that I was back in bed , could see the familiar surroundings of my room , clearly ( although in reality , this could not have been possible , as the lights were off and it was dark, yet I could even make out the titles of my books , on the bookcase ) Even though I was aware that I was in bed , in my room , I was still consumed by the fear that something was after me. I tried to get up , to go to my dad , because I was so scared . I couldn't move an inch . I tried and tried , with no success , and then , through sheer force of will, motivated by the fear , i was feeling , I left my body . I was about halfway across the room , when (this part is difficult to explain) I didn't actually hear a voice with my physical ears , but I had some sort of awareness of someone putting the thought in my head , that I was ok and that there was nothing to be scared of. The fear left me and the instant it did , I snapped ,quickly back into my body . It felt like I was on a piece of elastic and being pulled back. Once I was back and fully awake , the room was dark , (as would be expected , if you awoke in the night) and I couldn't see my surroundings anymore. I knew something odd had happened and that i'd had an oobe , induced by the nightmare , but as I will explain , it was more than that .
I felt overwhelmed with tiredness and just wanted to sink back into sleep, but I knew , somehow , that if I didn't go over the details of my experience , in my mind , that I'd forget most of it by morning. So I went over it all , in my mind , several times , and then finally fell asleep. The next thing I knew , was my dad , opening the bedroom door and asking me if I had any intentions of getting up that day . He informed me that it was 3. pm . I was shocked , because I'd never normally sleep so late.
I remembered the whole previous night's experience , except I could not remember who or what had been chasing me and terrified me so much.
I often thought about what i'd experienced and one day , more than three years after the event , I spontaneously remembered what i'd been so scared of in that dream. ( this is odd , because normally , dream details are fresh in your mind upon waking , but then fade away from memory very quickly. But my memory fully returned years later) There were grey aliens after me.There were three of them , two walking side by side and one , slightly ahead of the other two . I saw them in that corridor and knew they were coming for me.
As a curious aside , I once read an account of a woman who had experienced an oobe. She told how she had been relaxing on her sofa , listening to classical music,when she suddenly saw a green door in her mind's eye. She went through it and found herself floating above the rooftop of her house. It's strange that I also went through a green door , which seemed to have something to do with my oobe .

 

[kamalktk]

Found this one on youtube.

 

[escargot]

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?

Like a sleep mask? I wear custom-made ones (quilted leopardskin-patterned satin, liked with black fleece) which cover most of my face nearly down to my mouth, to block off the photosensitive skin cells that I've read are all round the eyes. Just my nose sticks out to correctly facilitate snoring.

No sleep paralysis occurs. It wouldn't bother me anyway as I've mentioned.

 

[Min Bannister]

Like a sleep mask? I wear custom-made ones (quilted leopardskin-patterned satin, liked with black fleece) which cover most of my face nearly down to my mouth, to block off the photosensitive skin cells that I've read are all round the eyes. Just my nose sticks out to correctly facilitate snoring.

No sleep paralysis occurs. It wouldn't bother me anyway as I've mentioned.

Yes, a sleep mask. I wasn't sure what to call them.

 

[catseye]

Two of my daughters were talking about their experiences with sleep paralysis the other day. One said she only gets it when her partner is away and she is sleeping alone, and they were agreeing that they both only get it when their sleep is disturbed or in unnatural conditions in some way.

I have never had sleep paralysis but I've had a couple of occasions (two a few nights apart last week) where I've 'felt' something on the bed with me. In the second one, I felt the covers being depressed as though my dog was climbing up the bed towards me while I lay half asleep. I don't know whether I could move or not because I didn't try and the feeling was over very quickly as I woke up fully.

I think it was the wind, the window was open and it was VERY windy, so it could have been my subconscious feeling the air moving and ascribing it to my duvet, or just that my sleep was disturbed because of the weather.

 

[pandacracker]

so it could have been my subconscious feeling the air moving and ascribing it to my duvet, or just that my sleep was disturbed because of the weather.

Or it's a demon.

 

[catseye]

Or it's a demon.

<nods>

 

[maximus otter]

Two of my daughters were talking about their experiences with sleep paralysis the other day. One said she only gets it when her partner is away and she is sleeping alone, and they were agreeing that they both only get it when their sleep is disturbed or in unnatural conditions in some way.

I have never had sleep paralysis but I've had a couple of occasions (two a few nights apart last week) where I've 'felt' something on the bed with me. In the second one, I felt the covers being depressed as though my dog was climbing up the bed towards me while I lay half asleep. I don't know whether I could move or not because I didn't try and the feeling was over very quickly as I woke up fully.

I think it was the wind, the window was open and it was VERY windy, so it could have been my subconscious feeling the air moving and ascribing it to my duvet, or just that my sleep was disturbed because of the weather.

I immediately thought of that film The Entity, and was quite proud that l remembered the title:

maximus otter

 

[escargot]

Spotted this on the Mumsnet spooky thread -

suffered with awful sleep paralysis.
The last one I had was really bad.
Got the kids to school,went back to bed.
Got woken up by loud talking downstairs.
It was my dp and kids.
2 things.
They were in work/ school
And I'm deaf without my hearing aids.
Then I saw something crawling up the stairs and opening my door.

I was scared shitless so I did what I always do.
Wiggle my little toe and slowly wake up.
That one really upsete as I was in the house on my own.

What interests me here is that toe-wiggling is mentioned on the Wiki page about sleep paralysis/Night Hag etc phenomena.
Latvians believe this must be done to counteract an attack.

 

[catseye]

Spotted this on the Mumsnet spooky thread -



What interests me here is that toe-wiggling is mentioned on the Wiki page about sleep paralysis/Night Hag etc phenomena.
Latvians believe this must be done to counteract an attack.

According to my girls, if you can rouse your body sufficiently to wiggle anything, it wakes you up properly and breaks both the paralysis and the dream. So the 'mysterious evil entity' vanishes. Maybe that's why.

 

[SimonBurchell]

According to my girls, if you can rouse your body sufficiently to wiggle anything, it wakes you up properly and breaks both the paralysis and the dream. So the 'mysterious evil entity' vanishes. Maybe that's why.

The problem during sleep paralysis is that sometimes you think you are moving, but it is an illusion and you suddenly realise you are still paralysed in bed.