'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Clyde, Memphis, TN. — Fri, 09 May 2008 23:49:50 GMT

I must say, I have experienced this for many years while growing up, my mother would call it,"Witch on your Back" one week it happen to me every night almost. I would awake at night and see a figure with a dark or blank like face in a hood walking toward me dress in a glowing white attire. This realy did scare me for years until I stop having this condition. It's no joke and can be very frighting, my last episode was about four years ago. I would pray at night this would not happen to me.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

J.C., Newark, DE — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:08:26 GMT

I quess it all depends on your state of mind (no pun intended). I find these moments enjoyable, while initially I had to deal with "the feeling of dread", I've always recognized them as "not reality", and appreciated the show. You would have to pay big bucks at the theatre or theme parks to see what I've seen, if it could even be reproduced. Maybe you have to have the predilection to succumb to the fear of an obviously outrageous situation? A weakness of mind? (not meant to offend, just descriptive term)

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

BJ, Franklin, TN — Sat, 10 May 2008 01:05:16 GMT

I've not had the spiders, snakes or other creatures in my "episodes" but I do think that I am pushing back the blanket and getting up - but then I realize I'm not so in my mind I go back and do it again...and again...and again until something finally clicks and I really wake up, move the blanket and get up. Very disturbing and very frustrating!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

stephanie, san diego, california — Sat, 10 May 2008 01:49:50 GMT

i went to vacations to mexico last year and when i was trying to go to sleep one night i stared hearing foot steps in the streets. i got scare and i couldn't move. i was trying to cover my face but i felt like somebody was kind of hugging me really hard. what would this be

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

John Lackey, Singapore — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:17:47 GMT

I've experienced this on and off for years and finally know what it is. Thankfully no spiders, though I do have odd dreams. I'm also fortunate in that I can typically tell when the paralysis is coming; at times I can fight it off, other times I simply have to let it run it's course.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Marc, Monrovia, Ca. — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:29:47 GMT

My wife has been in bed with me when this occurs. She is wondering if she should move me? My eyes are open, and I'm trying to speak (moan).

Thanks,

Marc

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Janet Ciriello — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:37:15 GMT

To whom it may concern: I have had this happen to me. It is the weirdest thing I am awake but can't move a muscle and I am being pushed into the mattress barely able to breath and I have to force myself to jerk my body awake. It is scary and very real. It is comforting to know that other experince this same phenomenom. Thanks for this Janet Cirello

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Lynn Ontario, Canada — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:44:50 GMT

I have had sleep paralysis for years. It took 7 years for a proper diagnosis, and then I was started on imipramine by a neuroligist. I rarely have it any more. To say, sleep paralysis is "Frightening" would be an understatement.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Chrystal Thompson, Berryville, Arkansas — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:50:18 GMT

This is weird and I had many instances of this when I was a child. I was paralyzed and I couldn't breathe and I thought each time this happened that I was going to die because nobody could hear me and I couldn't talk. I remember being so frightened and waking my parents afterwards but they told me to go back to bed. I had these in college too, especially when I stayed up too late studying. I don't get them much anymore...

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Sleep Paralyzed, General Washington, DC area — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:03:17 GMT

I've had occasional bouts of sleep paralysis since I was in high school. The episodes usually occur when I am napping, as opposed to sleeping at night. As I am waking up, I realize I can hear everything going on around me, but I can't move or even open my eyes. I feel as though I'm straining with all my muscles to become conscious. Sometimes, when I'm finally fully awake, I feel exhausted, as though I've just been exercising.

Can't wait to see others comments.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Sleep Paralyzed, General Washington, DC area — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:03:54 GMT

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Sal, Greeley, Co. — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:16:24 GMT

I've never been diagnosed of this but I've had it happen. At first the fear kicks in when I can't breath. But I found that if I could focus my thoughts on a small body part (fingers or toes) and move it, I wake up from the trance.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Rich Brown — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:22:21 GMT

This has been happening to me since I was a child. I can ask to be woken up, and my wife knows what to do when she hears me say, "wake me up!"

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jaon H — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:24:48 GMT

This is actully a very good way to learn lucid dreaming. I've personaly had this happen to me a few time, wakeing up, not able to move. It was only after some research that I learned that if I could train myself to reconize it was happening, that I could then "control" what the dream was.

It's not easy, and frankly it's quite scary. I suggest anyone who sufferes from this look into lucid dreaming however.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Kathy ORourke Mt Prospect, IL — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:46:19 GMT

Sleep paralysis is so terrifying to me that I do not sleep in a bed unless traveling and have no choice. I think that it only happens when I am sleeping on my back so I have been sleeping in a recliner for years. I can sleep on my side and if I should move onto my back during sleep, I am not lying flat on my back.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Bill Schultz, St. Louis, Missouri — Sat, 10 May 2008 04:30:44 GMT

Leave it to doctors and psychologists to make things up when they really don't have a clue. Sleep paralysis is caused by your soul consciousness being halfway in and halfway out of the body, stuck between the physical world and the astral world. It can be a terrifying experience and your natural instinct is to fight it with all your might, which causes your body to wake up. It happened to my quite frequently while growing up.

One day I stumbled across a book called Journeys Out of the Body which explained exactly what was happening. The next time it happened, instead of fighting it I relaxed, allowing myself to go with the falling sensation. Suddenly I heard a loud pop and felt something bumping against my back. It was the ceiling and I was floating above my bed looking down at my body. I thought of places I wished to go and soon I was flying through walls. It turns out that falling sensation is just you travelling without a body. Fear turned to excitement and wonder and just as quickly I was back in my tingling body.

It never happened again after that. I guess because I no longer feared it or death.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Chrissy Cassidy, Philadelphia, PA — Sat, 10 May 2008 04:37:12 GMT

Thank you for this article on sleep paralysis on msnbc.com! Mine started when I was very young- for some reason it always happened when I was sleeping on my back, and I always had this terrifying falling experience. It was like I was falling through the air. No amount of trying to wake up would make it stop, so eventually I learned to relax my mind as much as possible until my mind fell asleep, too. It only occasionally happens to me now (I'm 27). When I tell people about it, people who have never heard of it say I must be astral projecting or having an out-of-body experience. To them I say, whatever it is, it is not a pleasant feeling and I'd love for it to just stop. I figured out at a young age what I thought was happening, which is that my body was "stuck" in sleep and my mind was wide awake.
I am really glad to hear so many people go through the same thing. I'm also glad I don't see spiders, and I feel badly for those who do!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Cheryl Haynes, Mead, Wash — Sat, 10 May 2008 04:46:24 GMT

I had this happen to me many years ago after an accident when I was taking vicodan. It never happened again after I stopped taking the drug.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Katie D. Austin TX — Sat, 10 May 2008 05:19:33 GMT

I have this sometimes. Maybe once every year. I am awake but can't get out of bed. Sometimes I will drift in and out of sleep and dream that I am getting up over and over but am never able to truly wake up. It doesn't sound to be but, it is very terrifying. It seems that it will never end.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Diane Lehr, Shingle Springs, CA — Sat, 10 May 2008 05:23:36 GMT

I have the hypnogogic disorder now and have for years. I have seen spiders, flying bugs and spots on the wall. It is strange but after reading about it and doing research, I have come to accept it.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Truel Kehl, Pearl City, Hawaii — Sat, 10 May 2008 05:29:16 GMT

I have had this happen in the past, and thank God it was a few and far between thing. It has only happened when I've been under a great deal of stress. I didn't have visions of spiders or anything like that, it was just very frightening being awake and not being able to move. I would definatley get help if this was an on going thing. I'm glad you did this article. I thought maybe I dreamt 'these episodes'. Thanks for enightening me!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jack in MD — Sat, 10 May 2008 05:57:58 GMT

I usually experience sleep paralysis when I don't get enough sleep on a regular basis. No matter how many times I've gone through it, every time I get sleep paralysis, my brain doesn't seem to realize (or remember) it, otherwise I'd be nonchalant whenever it happens. It's always a terrifying moment.

My symptoms are pretty much like the ones described in the article. I'm aware of my surroundings, but cannot move. Sometimes I hear voices, as if my body was possessed. My mind is racing, my heart seems to be pounding as I'm struggling to break free. Even with my eyes open, I also experience the visual images. After a few minutes, I usually wake up for real. It was liking having a nightmare within a nightmare.

Whenever I have sleep paralysis, I'm having nightmares, never dreams, otherwise the experience would probably be a little more enjoyable.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Todd Cameron, Thousand Oaks, California — Sat, 10 May 2008 06:21:28 GMT

I don't wish to appear humorless, but I think if your reporter Ms. Mapes had ever experienced a bout of sleeping paralysis she would not have chosen the lighthearted headline "I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!" As a 48 year old man who began having these episodes a few years ago, I can guarantee you they are anything but humorous. The feeling of being completely paralyzed, and the often violent hallucinations (being stabbed to death is a common one for me) that accompany it, can produce a fear so great one wonders whether one will even survive it. Ms. Mapes also provided very little information about the subject in her article – for example, the fact that the disorder is extremely rare in people over the age of 40. If one is going to write an article on a serious subject, at least respect it, and try to inform us a little. “I’ve read MSNBC, and I can’t get smart!”

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Joe, Los Angeles, CA — Sat, 10 May 2008 06:23:59 GMT

I 'suffer' from sleep paralysis from time to time. Though it's not as frequent as when I was in my teens. But it's been very scary, from visions of a person standing over me to me transforming into another person and being stabbed in bed. It's something that people don't understand unless they go through it.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jay, Albany, NY — Sat, 10 May 2008 07:20:51 GMT

I've had a few of these episodes, one in class. I couldn't move or talk. I kept telling myself to wake up. It can be a scary experience.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Will Stitt, Shoreline, Washington — Sat, 10 May 2008 08:04:47 GMT

I hadn't heard of this before. I have had experiences with fear paralysis. I thought I was the only one to experience this. It's been a long time now. When I was younger I had one or two spider episodes. When I got older I had what I can only describe as demonic possesion episodes. Those were the worse. I was able to shorten and dissapate the episodes by saying ... or rather thinking (with all my might) ... in the name of Jesus. ... it worked, I was able to wake up completly and take control of my fear. (well mostly.) It isn't any fun ... at all. I could ask were they really demonic attempts at possesion. I don't know. That's not provable one way or the other. I do know it got rid of my fear. I'll take what works.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Lindsay Parsons, NSW, Australia — Sat, 10 May 2008 09:40:43 GMT

I've experienced this horrific state when napping. I'm not able to move or cry out and I'm fearful that I won't be able to breathe. Thankfully, I've not had the visual hallucinations mentioned in this article.
This is a frightening state, but it happens to me only when sleeping during the day. Guess what? I haven't had a nap in years....

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Robin W., Northern Michigan — Sat, 10 May 2008 10:24:27 GMT

I have been plagued with sleep paralysis disorder (about once a month) for over twelve years. It IS terrifying, even though I have never hallucinated. The "events" always occur when I lay down in the afternoon to catch a catnap. I've noticed they seem to last longer when I struggle to overcome the paralysis. Because your mind is so lucid despite your inability to move or cry out for help, I have learned to recognize when I'm having another episode. Now, I simply council myself to "go back to sleep," and hopefully I will wake up normally the next time.

I suspect the reason I am prone to experience the events during an afternoon nap is because I feel a little guilty sleeping when I've so much I should be doing--starting supper, catching up on chores, etc. Perhaps the part of me that wants to get up and get busy is in conflict with the part of me that desperately needs some sleep.

I had never discussed the phenomenon outside my immediate family. Then two months ago, I happened to talk about the freakishly weird events during a larger family gathering. Imagine my astonishment when I learned my brother and sister have also been suffering from the disorder for years.

A genetic connection definitely sounds plausible to me.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

gbrs@cove.net — Sat, 10 May 2008 10:36:47 GMT

I used to have occassions of sleep paralysis (did not know for years later that there was a name for it) but after realizing that they only happened when I would take an afternoon nap and upon awaking I would fall back into sleep and tried to get awake after falling asleep the second time. But I never saw bugs, etc. but thought my husband was in the room-I saw him, thought I was talking to him and asking him to help get me up, felt he was pulling on me to get met up--all seemed as real as if it were! I felt like I was going to die-felt I couldn't get my breath and that my heart was going to stop. I fought between allowing myself to go back into a deep sleep and the fear of dying if I did. Finally I woke up and realized none of what I thought was real, wasn't. Since I stopped going back into that second "nap" after awaking from the first nap these episodes haven't happened.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Sleepin good now, Ohio — Sat, 10 May 2008 10:43:05 GMT

I used to have this experience...a lot. Then I realized that it only happened when I laid down on my back with my face straight up. When I started sleeping on my side these episodes went and away and didn't come back. I did try laying down on my back years later and the paralysis came back the first time. So for me, it is related to the position.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Phil Ft. Drum NY. — Sat, 10 May 2008 10:45:53 GMT

how about when you fall asleep and dont wake up for ten, twelve hours or more? when i normally sleep 6 hours or less

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

The Wallflower — Sat, 10 May 2008 11:07:16 GMT

Sounds like a promising lead for explaining alien abductions as a symptom of a sleep disorder.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Tom, Madison, WI — Sat, 10 May 2008 11:52:11 GMT

I remember back in college, one night I opened my eyes because I heard a strange, growling sound in the room. I laid perfectly still and heard it again. Only mid-third snarl did I realize that I was in a state of sleep paralysis (as we know it to be called now) and was actually listening to my own snoring!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Ava Bernana Auburn NY — Sat, 10 May 2008 11:52:31 GMT

Been there, done this - and there must be a heritability factor because it's happened to my daughter as well. Very scary the first time it happens but once you realize what it is, and it won't last, it's easier to handle. Of course, I never had spiders or other weird apparitions at the same time to deal with.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jamie, Cincinnati Ohio — Sat, 10 May 2008 12:15:36 GMT

I've had this for years, and it's not a paranormal phenomenon, it's a symptom of narcolepsy. It also sucks!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

emily, ellerbe nc 32 — Sat, 10 May 2008 12:27:07 GMT

wow, i really thought i was just losing my mind. im happy to know that im not really insane, i have been suffering from this as long as i can remember. i assumed i had some kind of neurological disorder, thanks for this article.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

MarkRouters — Sat, 10 May 2008 12:48:29 GMT

This used to happen to me a lot. Not so much recently. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and I would not be able to move or even open my eyes. I would be completly awake and aware, just not able to move or open my eyes. I eventually realised that if I focused on the tip of one of my fingers and I tried really hard to wiggle it that I could. I would then shake my hand and then the rest of my arm and shake myself awake. It was very scary but nothing ever became of it. I never did have any hallucinations.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Genise Martin, Columbia, South Carolina — Sat, 10 May 2008 13:30:41 GMT

Wow....I am so relieved to see an article on this condition. Even though I have not experienced hallucinations (and pray to God I don't!!), I have often experienced waking up and not being able to open my eyes nor move my legs or arms, nor scream out. On a few occasions, I have heard a chain-like noise over my head, probably on the head-board and that would scare me to death. At one point, this paralysis would happen so often, I would dread falling asleep. One way I could tell it would happen before going to sleep is when I start falling asleep, I would feel as if I am sinking down or floating down into my mattress. I would then quickly shape myself awake to avoid falling asleep. THANK YOU FOR ASSURING ME THAT THIS HAPPENS TO OTHER PEOPLE!!!!!!!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

LJ, NY — Sat, 10 May 2008 13:34:35 GMT

I have had sleep paralysis as far back as I can remember, as young as 5 years old. I was advised long ago that it is realated to post dramatic stress I exeperienced do to a bad childhood. My dreed is that something evil is after me. It usually last about 2 to 3 minutes and I break it by trying to move some part of my body, such as my toe.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

josh, Wisconsin — Sat, 10 May 2008 13:54:59 GMT

My name is Josh and i live in Wisconsin. I have this! I thought it was just me and when I told my mom when it first happened ( I was about 9 or 10) I don't think she believed me. Then I told my wife ( I'm now 34 ) I don't think she believes me either. Thank you sooo much for this article! I would wake up and not be able to move and have the feeling of dread like I was going to die and I would be just begging in my head for someone to come and shake me to snap me out of it. I never saw anything other than what was there and it hasn't happened now for about eight years so I hope I grew out of it or something because it's very scary. The last few times it happened I was able to will myself to make one of my arms move ( jerk really) and snap myself out of that state. Good luck too all who have this and especialy the ones that get hallucinations ( that would really suck ).

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Photobug, Upperstate, USA — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:08:39 GMT

Other people have this condition! I thought it was just me. Wow what a relief.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

C. Johnson , Baton ROuge Louisiana — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:16:51 GMT

I have experienced this. Usually when I'm overtired. My experience does not include spiders or snakes, but is equally disconcerting. Usually I feel like I'm awake, but I can't lift my head off the pillow to get up, I'm unable to move. It seems like an eternity until I can actually "get up"

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Casey Chandler, Huntersville, NC — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:16:54 GMT

I have had sleep paralysis for almost 30 years. The first time I had sleep paralysis I was 17 and in the back seat of a car. To this day and I'm 45 I still remember the unbelieveable fear and terror I felt.

Over the years I have come with a little trick that has allowed me to break the hold of the sleep paralysis. I concentrate very hard on one part of my body and then try to move that body part. Sometimes this strategy can take a few minutes but eventually I am able to move and in most cases the bond of sleep paralysis is broken.

That being said it never gets any less terrifying it just becomes managable.

My Wife has been schooled to shake me if she sees signs of the sleep paralysis. On one occasion she heard me whispering the almost unaudiable words "Help Me".

For me personally I have never experienced the hallucinations which would make this affliction that much more terrifying.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

D. Herren Hannibal, MO. — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:20:08 GMT

Yes I have experienced this problem but thought it was a spiritual happening not a physical one, I haven't had an episode for years,but I do know for a fact that my mother had the same experience.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

spellsb@windstream.net — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:24:36 GMT

I used to have this disorder and it really was scary to go through. it started when I was about 12 years old and continued for a long long time. don't know what caused it not enough sleep or something. I don't have it but once in a while now. but glad to find out what causes it.I am now 69 years old.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Rick L., Medford, Oregon — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:36:39 GMT

Wow, and I thought I was one of only a few people who had ever had that experience. I can call out for my wife to wake me when she is laying next to me, and evidently I am not making any sound. It is a very unnerving experience. I have found that it will normally happen when I am laying on my back only.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Encyclo — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:51:27 GMT

A couple of days ago, I became very tired all of a sudden but now with a little more excercise and improved diet, I'm alot better. Speaking of hallucinations... I have had the dream/hallucination (whatever you call it) of being abducted by aliens. It was so real that I literally woke up in a sweat the next morning. Over the course of my life I have had some amazing yet truly bizarre experiences which I do not wish to repeat here. However, I would just like to say to all of those people who I have made fun of in the past regarding the twilight zone, I am so sorry ;) Please forgive me.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Diane, Baxter, TN — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:52:50 GMT

I have had this happen a few times, and is terribly frightening! After the first time, during which I was convinced someone had broken into the house and was coming for me, I was able to realize what was happening and concentrate on waking up. I have a fear of spiders anyway, so I don't know how I would handle seeing them crawling towards me!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Sarah Gupton, Decatur, AL — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:53:30 GMT

re: 'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

I've experienced this for years. I have learned that when it happens, if I just relax my body, I will awaken fully. The worst aspect of it is that I cannot breathe until I awaken. Thankfully, it doesn't happen often.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jeffrey J, Columbia, SC — Sat, 10 May 2008 15:18:31 GMT

This has happened to me! Many times...I thought I was losing it or reacting to medication or lack of sleep. My paralysis occurs pre-sleep as I am dozing off...I will immediately hear people whispering behind me and imagine that they are slowly walking through my front door to surround me...and I am positively paralyzed. My body feels like it is pinned down and there are heavy weights on my limbs...as though I was injected with a paralyzing agent. Thank god this is a condition and not just my brain going freaky on me!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

jane doe, ny, ny — Sat, 10 May 2008 15:24:54 GMT

Actually, this happens to me, it used to happen on a more regular basis, and I learned to grunt, now I can actually yell help, also, I can see my sourroundings around me, I know that this is not something we are imaging because I have been attacked by someone before, and from the looks of this person, I know it was not of this world. Yes, I did wake up with a huge scratch on my back. If this happens, all you need is for someone to touch you, it brings you back, don't have them call your name, it does not work, you just need a human touch. I would also liek to get some more info on this.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

ducky, Mesa Arizona — Sat, 10 May 2008 15:28:03 GMT

It is great to see this discussion start: people with narcolepsy and many more who are chronically sleep-deprived, keep the HH dreams secret! We have been misjudged, mistrusted and misdiagnosed our whole lives, and really fear just being sent to a rubber room.

Sleep processes are being understood better at last, and the effects on mental and physical health are easy to mistake for depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, Parkinsons, Alzheimers and dementia.

If a tubby, disoriented and sleepy person has staggered up to you talking to dream people before... then we have met! Email "ducksinthewind" at yahoo if you would like more information on Narcolepsy.

This just makes my day. Thank you, Diane Mapes.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

L Kile — Sat, 10 May 2008 15:48:30 GMT

This usually happens to me when I wake up in the morning and think "I'll just lay here a few more minutes" and I fall back to sleep. Then I "wake-up" and try to get up but can't move. I keep thinking I have to get up I've been laying here way too long. I hear my name being called telling me there leaving and I struggle to move. Eventually I am able to snap out of it. I realize no one had been talking to me either. It's both frightening and amusing.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

BoneRack, San Antonio, TX — Sat, 10 May 2008 15:57:58 GMT

Sleep paralysis is responsible for multiple culture's mythology of beings coming to them at night to terrorize them... from the sea hag in Japan, to Irish trolls, to little grey aliens in the western world.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

toni anderson, collierville tn 38017 — Sat, 10 May 2008 16:47:18 GMT

i've wondered for years if i was a nut case because of these dreams. in mine i hear someone in the house and i feel like i'm awake, i can hear everything around me and i then i start screaming for someone to wake me up and no one hears me. if i relax i feel that i am drifting into a state of death or that i will never wake up. i wonder if people in a coma feel like this? i have to try really hard to make myself wake up. and then of course i yell at my husband for not hearing me scream. i hate to say it but i am glad someone else does this.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Relieved, Columbus, Ohio — Sat, 10 May 2008 16:52:09 GMT

Wow! I never knew about this but its happened to me. I felt like someone was pushing down on my chest and I couldn't move and I heard what I thought were my keys jingling and a person talking to me from near the top of my bed, but I couldn't see them because I couldn't move. I was so scared and I started to scream. But then I realized I was only screaming in my head; not out loud. It was awful. It only happend a few times- always the same way. I honestly thought a ghost or something was attacking me. I didn't feel like I was asleep at all. Good to know there's a scientific explanation.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Vickie, Killeen TX — Sat, 10 May 2008 16:55:24 GMT

I have experienced this periodically, for many years. I had no idea it was a medical condition. I have also heard people describe it happening to them in a much more severe way than I myself have experienced.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Lisa. Colorado Springs, CO — Sat, 10 May 2008 16:59:40 GMT

WOW!!! I'm so thankful I came across this story. I have suffered from this in my earlier years (not recently...not on wood), and knew that I was about to be possessed or something!! My question is....why does the mind have the aweful visions of something horrifying coming to get you when your in this stage. Where is Johnny Depp or George Clooney????

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Rene, Seattle, WA — Sat, 10 May 2008 17:11:50 GMT

I've had this condition off and on since I was a child. Great to know there's a name for this. I thought it was just a case of creeping myself out.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Anne, Milwaukee, WI — Sat, 10 May 2008 17:17:46 GMT

I have had this for years. When I told my doctor in 1977 he thought I was having seizures and I had all kinds of tests done including an EEG. I thought I was the only person in the world who had this, so it's nice to know I have company! I never got to the spider stage, so I am grateful for that!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

BV, Joliet IL — Sat, 10 May 2008 17:35:37 GMT

You know, that explains a lot. I've had quite a few times when I've woken up thinking for sure I heard my mom calling my name, clear as day. It'll wake me out of a sound sleep. She denies it. It's not a nightmare (I love my mom), it's just the uncanny feeling like I'm being called. I've had times too when I'll wake up in the middle of the night briefly and be unable to move for a few moments if I want to turn over or go to the bathroom. I guess you can say I have it very mildly.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Rene Gutteridge, OKC, Oklahoma — Sat, 10 May 2008 17:52:15 GMT

I've had this since I was a teenager. My mom had it too. It is so terrifying, but once I learned what it was, it has helped me not to panic so much. I try to calm down and move either my mouth or pinky. It seems like it lasts forever, but probably only lasts about a minute. It only happens when I take naps during the day or sleep extra late in the morning. It used to happen a lot, but not as much anymore. My mom doesn't have it at all. A sleep doc can prescribe meds to help with this. I took them until I had kids and couldn't take them while pregnant. I have this about five or six times a year now.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Paul Kopp, Cleveland, Ohio — Sat, 10 May 2008 17:57:28 GMT

I had these as a teenager. In my case they were not triggered by lack of sleep. I remember the images were terrifying but at the same time my body was in an extremely relaxed state. The images were in vivid color and always in the setting of where I was sleeping. I would partially wake up from one occurrence only to go into subsequent occurrences. They would keep on recurring until I forced myself to wake up completely. The state was so physically relaxing that I decided to force myself to remain in it no matter the mental fear. Eventually in some way I was able to control the images to the point where they were no longer terrifying. After learning this control the occurrences reduced in frequency until I stopped having them altogether.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

missy conklin — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:31:09 GMT

So thats what its called . I have never seen spiders but I have had theese type of episodes and yes, they are very frightenning.Once, I was asleep face down and sideways when I awoke and realized i couldnt move, so I had to lay there in the face down position . I had to try super hard to callout to my husband but nothing came out! Finally I tried again and summoned up all the strenght i could , and my husband was able to hear me .Later he says it sounded like a whisper, but he nudged me and shook me and i was able to snap out of it .I never knew it happened to other people .Thankk god it doesnt happen all the time !

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

oceanhawk39@msn.com — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:53:54 GMT

I have suffered from this condition most of my life. It is a very scary thing because it always involves violence, danger, aliens, or evil spirits from the other side. But for me it also includes pain. There was a time when it would include wild dogs/animals who were attacking me and I could feel EVERY SINGLE BIT of it. Sometimes I would stop breathing as the episode started. More often than not I know from the start that I am having an "episode" and try to keep my wits about it.

I learned a few things over the years in dealing with this. I have mastered the ability to focus on my big toe (yes, this sounds funny) and can wiggle it. Once I can do this the rest of my body will wake up. I also rationalize i.e. if a home invasion is REALLY happening, my dogs would be barking up a storm so then I either focus on that big toe or wait it out knowing it will end soon. I will also continue to go back into the episode after getting out of the first one so the best thing to do would be sit up in bed for a bit to fully come out of it.

For me it seems to be chemically (brain) induced. It happened way more often when I was on certain anti-depressants (I couldn't tell you which because I can't think of the names) or if I took a nap during the day (that seems to almost always trigger a nightly episode). So it seems to have to do with like seratonin levels.

Hope my two-cents helps anyone else who suffers from this or any researcher/doctor who studies it.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Ed S., Logansport, IN — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:09:13 GMT

Wow after all this time I never knew what it was. I always called it Daymare's, because I never felt like I was asleep at the time. My fiance has witnessed me have a few of them. I thought I was just crazy! It always seems like every ounce of you weighs a ton, and something extremely bizzare is happening and you just can't move. I have seen such things as zombie looking people coming at me, to the feeling of some thing/one breaking in my house and not being able to respond. The craziest thing of all is that you know if you can just move...you will be ok, but you can't. And after the episode is over and I can move, I feel like my mind/body has let me down in the flight or fight mode. Like my mind and body just plain shut down.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Bonnie, Utah — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:20:56 GMT

I started experiencing this after chemotherapy last year. It was disturbing....and no one believed me. Thanks for the info.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Lisa Austin, TX — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:28:19 GMT

I've experienced sleep paralysis from time to time since grade school. The experience of being paralyzed is frightening enough, but the hallucinations certainly make it worse (in my case, there is usually someone standing in my bedroom, in the doorway, at the end of my bed, etc.). Fortunately, knowing what is happening can have a tremendous effect on managing the situation. When I have an episode, I remind myself that it is sleep paralysis, that the hallucination is not real, and that if I can just fall back asleep, I will be able to wake up properly a moment later. Like the article said, I've had no ill side effects and usually have a really interesting story to tell that day.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Beck Duer — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:38:16 GMT

I had this happen when I was in college. It was the weirdest thing EVER! I "dreamed" that I was watching my oldest (and favorite) brother being eaten by alligators, but I was conscious that was a dream, and was aware (in a clinical way) of the addreniline rush going through my body and what affect it was having on my heart, my skin, my breathing, all that. I've not experienced it since, but it definitely strange! I'm guessing it was caused by lack of sleep.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

missy conklin — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:42:56 GMT

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

laurie springberg — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:51:24 GMT

have had these of and on, pre and post all of my life. often terrifying but that goes away and its all good again.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Beverly, Waltham, Ma — Sat, 10 May 2008 20:47:33 GMT

This has happened to me for years. I remember seeing a tiger upside down on my bedroom ceiling one time as I was falling asleep . The scariest thing is when I fall asleep on my stomach and start waking up and can't move. It also makes me feel like I am suffocating.
All of the strange things that happen to me are not surprising. My sister, niece, and daughter have all been prolific sleepwalkers. Things are definitely not boring in my family when it comes to bedtime!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Kate, Arlington, VA — Sat, 10 May 2008 23:23:46 GMT

I've had this problem since I was a teen and it is so frightening. A few years ago, on the recommendation of a friend who works in a sleep clinic, I stopped sleeping on my back and it stopped happening. I'm 40 now, and it's been more than 5 years since I've had an incident.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

debbiepitman,nj — Sun, 11 May 2008 02:35:29 GMT

i can not sleep at nighttime even if i take sleeping pill untill early morning hours i have tried getting up eary and not takeing a little nap during the day and i still can not fallasleep. ever one says i have my days and nights mixed up any suggestions debbie

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jane Doe, Heflin, AL — Sun, 11 May 2008 02:54:42 GMT

I have had this happen to me several times. It is extremely frighting. You can't move or scream, it always seems (for me) like someone is in the room. No matter how hard I tried to move or talk to wake my husband I couldn't. Now when this happens I just tell myself I am okay and to go back to sleep. This works for me and the episodes seem to not come as often.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Katie, NY — Sun, 11 May 2008 03:27:24 GMT

I've had that happen before - you try to move, things are happening around you but you can't. It's freaky.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jay, Austin — Sun, 11 May 2008 03:46:10 GMT

Had this happen to me two or three times in my life time (40 years). Never had anything coming me, but is scary as H***.

Glad to know there's a name for it.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

AaronS, Florida USA — Sun, 11 May 2008 03:46:22 GMT

Finally! An explanation for what I have experienced in the past. In my particular case, I not only cannot move, I cannot breathe! I suppose it is a combination of sleep apnea and sleep paralysis--of course, it might be that being unable to breath is actually an "hallucination" of sorts.

I have combatted it in multiple ways. First, I now sleep on my side (not for sleep paralysis, but sleep apnea reasons). Second, I sometimes "psyche myself out," telling myself what I will do if this or that.

The way I have handled this in times past is nothing special. I simply find a part of me that CAN move (usually my toes, say), begin moving them, then as the momentum builds, I finally "kick out of it." I have learned to IMMEDIATELY turn over, for usually I am so sleepy that I will fall right back to sleep, and go through the same thing again.

Thank you so much for sharing this. It's a relief to know that it is a known problem.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Michael Joslyn,Paducah,KY.42001 — Sun, 11 May 2008 03:49:14 GMT

I have experienced this several times in my life. I want to wake up but can not. It is scary when you are captured in a zone that you can't get out of.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Dan, Issaquah, WA — Sun, 11 May 2008 03:54:38 GMT

I have had episodes of sleep paralysis all my life. They are terrifying and I never get "used" to them. I always have the feeling of impending death. When I snap out of the episode I need to get out of bed for a few minutes or I will go right back into the paralysis. I dread it.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Steven Langston, Murray. Kentucky — Sun, 11 May 2008 03:57:20 GMT

Sleep paralysis is normal. If humans were not 'immoblized' during sleep we would thrash around a lot. Especially when we dream. However, most people are not aware of it. A few of us wake up before we can move. I have it, my mother had it and my son and granddaughter have it. We don't like it but it is fairly harmless. It is just frightening to be aware and not be able to move.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

G.H. Spokane, Wash. (ghall1950@hotmail.com) — Sun, 11 May 2008 04:56:58 GMT

Sounds rather scary. Don't think that has happened to me, but I have gotten out of bed during a dream and run straight into a wall, because I was seeing a doorway. Two black eyes and a bloody nose. Worse than a nightmare!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

amy, montana — Sun, 11 May 2008 05:59:53 GMT

wow. i never realized what this was. i have this. it's nearly always that there are people in our room coming to get me. i can't open my eyes and wake up. when i was a kid it was a snake in my room and i couldn't move. who knew other people have this too? it's very scary. sometimes i make a noise and my husband wakes me up. and because it was so vivid, he goes through the entire house. by the time he comes back to bed i'm awake enough to realize that it was just a dream. crazy.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Bebus Jameson, Baltimore Md — Sun, 11 May 2008 08:18:35 GMT

This type of thing has been happening to me for years. Sometimes I am able to make noise to try to get my wife to wake me up. It is so uncomfortable that I have told her that she needs to do whatever it takes to wake me up when it is happenning. As crazy as it sounds I have told her to slap me or push me out of bed if I will not wake up. She's never experienced the true horror that I go through when this is happening so her attempts to wake me up are not as potent as I would prefer.
I know this sounds strange, but it really is an uncomfortable and truly terrifing position to find yourself in.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Alex, Toronto, ON CANADA — Sun, 11 May 2008 08:28:29 GMT

I experienced this once when I was about 22. I noticed that I could not move and that I was on what I perceived to be a giant hand because I felt very small in this hand that I thought was the hand of God. I still remember how I felt at not being able to move at all. It felt awful because I wanted to move and I could not. I then went back to sleep.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Mike, Kansas City, MO — Sun, 11 May 2008 18:06:12 GMT

This used to happen to me more often than I cared for when I was little (5-11 y/o). There was always someone coming down the hall calling my name; coming to get me. I screamed and screamed, yelled for my parents but I couldn't open my mouth or make a noise. I can't remember which was more maddening, not being able to move, or not being able to scream. Sometimes it was like looking at a transparency being placed over the waking world. I always felt I was halfway between sleep and consciousness but no one would ever believe me when I told them what I experienced. It's been so very long since my last experience I had almost forgotten. I feel a little less crazy today. LOL

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Natalie L. Fayetteville, NC — Sun, 11 May 2008 18:25:54 GMT

I have had narcolepsy for about 33 years, following being struck by a car. Once I knew what triggered the attacks, I was able to better control it. I haven't had a sleep attack in decades, but if my sleep pattern is thrown off (staying up too late), I experience the sleep paralysis. I do not hallucinate, however; in fact, I'm very cognizant of my environment. I can hear people talking to me, and can see what's going on. It was really quite terrifying at first; but once I knew what it was, I was fine with it.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Kristine, Chicago, IL — Sun, 11 May 2008 23:15:20 GMT

This happened to me a few weeks ago. It was really scary! I woke up and thought I could feel a cat walking on my bed next to me...only I don't own a cat. So I tried to will myself awake. But I couldn't move! Then I felt all the feeling go out of my body. I thought I had become paralyzed during my sleep. I live alone so I panicked and thought nobody would find me. I focused really hard on pulling myself and finally was able to. It was such a strange experience!!! One I hope I don't have again...

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Seattle, WA — Sun, 11 May 2008 23:51:36 GMT

My younger brother and I both experience sleep paralysis when we are over tired. The only thing I have found to stop this from occuring so I can finally get some rest is to sleep on my stomach.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

David, Halifax, NS — Mon, 12 May 2008 01:18:16 GMT

I get this all the time. It's no big deal for me. I've had it long enough that when it happens, I know what's going on and I try not to worry about it. I've never had crazy hallucinations... but sometimes I do have this sense that someone is in the house. Then I remind myself that there is no one in the house... I'm just being paranoid because I'm in sleep paralysis. The most logical thing to do of course is to just close your eyes and go back to sleep... but of course you're usually too freaked out to do that. I've actually gotten to the point where I can snap myself out of it and wake up. I just have to focus every ounce of energy I have into making a small movement of my neck / head. It's really hard to do... but most of the time I can actually do it. Even a tiny movement of a few millimeters is enough to snap myself out of it. I wake up. Look around. Feel a sense of relief. And then generally roll over and fall back asleep and then wake up normally a little later.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Dawn Lavely, Newport News, VA — Mon, 12 May 2008 01:54:55 GMT

This happens to me on pretty much a nightly basis. I will be lying in my bed and partly awake, but still groggy. I feel as if there is an intruder creeping up on me and I try to awaken my husband but I am unable to move or speak. So I begin to try screaming! There have been some nights when I try so hard to scream that I actually so scream and scare the pants off of everyone in the family. What can help this to stop happening so often? I get plenty of sleep, in fact I fall asleep many times during the day. This will happen during the day if I fall asleep on the couch.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Vickie E Eaton Guntown, MS — Mon, 12 May 2008 03:29:42 GMT

Besides sleep paralysis, there are many other symptoms of sleep disorders like narcolepsy with serious consequences. For instance, automatic behavior can be dangerous for both the narcoleptic and those around him/her. Automatic behavior combined with hypnogogic hallucinations has the potential to result in injury to the narcoleptic or others, depending on the activity the narcoleptic is automatically acting out.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Sherry Menser, Madisonville, KY — Mon, 12 May 2008 04:32:03 GMT

I suffer from hypersomnia. It so frustrating because without taking provigil it is near impossible to stay awake unless I'm constantly moving. Since I do not have insurance and there is no generic form of the medication I battle the uncontrollable urges to fall asleep. People don't understand how debilitating these sleep disorders can be and how they can affect your life, work and relationships.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Alorah ohnson — Mon, 12 May 2008 05:25:46 GMT

that is just creepy!! i think I would have a heart attack if that happened to me

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Tresha O, Lewisville, Tx — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:49:20 GMT

Wow--I've experienced some of this for years!
The whole sensation of not being able to move or talk, knowing I was asleep or trying to be awake and not being able to move or talk is absolutely terrifying. I've gone through several cylces of thinking, "whew, now I'm awake--nope still can't move". I cannot adequately explain how disturbing this is. It's been happening to me for about 20 years. I thought it was all mental-had no idea it can be soley physiological. Good to know!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jon M., Tampa, Florida — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:00:10 GMT

Strange - I've had this happen to me before but never knew it was a known condition. It is very frightning to be awake but unable to move. The only thing I can control is my own breathing, so I make myself breath really fast to try to wake myself up. Works sometimes.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jim, Naples, FL — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:13:17 GMT

This happens to me. A lot, actually. They used to terrify me, but I sort of trained myself to become more aware during them, and to try to 'enjoy' them. When one happens now, there's the initial terror (mine is almost always the feeling that there's an evil intruder present in the bedroom), followed by a few seconds where I get my bearings, remind myself where I am, tell myself there's nobody in the room, then lay still while my body un-paralyzes itself.

FWIW, these episodes--which happen about once every two weeks--last probably 15-20 seconds.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

kathy statesboro ga — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:44:47 GMT

I used to get these.In mine- the bed would violently shake and something would start coming out from under the bed. You were awake,but you couldnt move or scream.It got to the point that I was afraid to go to sleep if I was alone.Thankfully I havent had this in a couple of years!!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Deb, Thurmont Md — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:52:15 GMT

I have terrible "vivid" nightmares every night and have found myself sleeping walking and making phone calls to family and even 911.
I've had these episodes all of my life- some nights are worse than others where most nights are easier to deal with. Why does this happen? What can I do to stop these terrible nigth visions?
deb

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Cristina Peralta, Midland, TX — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:04:49 GMT

For a long time I've wondered what was happening to me when I had my first sleep paralysis. Im so happy to have found this because now i know i wans't dreaming, and now maybe my family will believe me. As I layed in bed, just waking, I saw a shadow on my ceiling and then felt a sudden hard thud on my chest. I couldn't move, I was afraid I tried screaming really hard but only sounded like a whine. My ears had pressure..the whole time it felt like someone was over me breathing on me and whispering with all kinds of voices surrounding me. Then it let me go, and I finally could breath. I closed my eyes with tears, then agian it came back and hit me on the chest with the same things happening. What causes this?

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

John Montgomery, Boulder, Co. — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:48:38 GMT

I've had this happened to me only a handful of times, but the feelings of helplessness and dread sound familiar. The last time this happened to me was about 8 or 9 months ago. It's usually as I'm falling asleep. I'll hear a sound like there's someone in the next room pounding on the walls and throwing things. When I try to speak, nothing happens except a croak or a moan. The last couple of times this has happened, I've realized what's going on and I'll take a couple of deep breaths, relax and go back to sleep.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

LB, Oklahoma — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:59:54 GMT

I'm one of the 'humdrum' sleep paralysis sufferers. I just 'dream' that I'm trying to get out of bed, but can't. Occasionally, I'll be able to open my eyes for a second. It's frustrating and makes me feel even more exhausted.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

b new york — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:36:46 GMT

i have had this problem all my life, at first when it happens i panic, wich always makes it worse. once in a while i can move my toes slightly. after the panic goes away i try to relax and go back to sleep, usually i can wake up. a few times i have had hallucenations, even ones of my dog becoming pocessed and flying at me.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

g. Gentry, Dallas Texas — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:39:00 GMT

My dream is recurring and frightfull. I am always driving down the freeway and I am unable to open my eyes. I even try pulling them open so I can see where I am going. I have this same dream 2-3 times per month.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Robin, Birmingham, AL. — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:37:58 GMT

I have experienced this for 14 years. Its a part of my narcolepsy. Very terrifing for a single parent to wake up paralized and hoping you come out of it before your child wakes up.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Sean Wilkins, Portland, OR — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:38:52 GMT

I agree with someone above who said that sleep paralysis is a precursor to an out-of-body experience (OBE). If you can get past the fear (took ten years for me) you can completely leave your body and travel anywhere, even to any time, including the future. Or at least those travels seem just as realistic as the sleep paralysis episodes described above do. Check out online OBE forums to learn that almost everyone who has these fantasic & fun OBEs also had sleep paralysis before they learned to tame it. A medical condition? Makes me laugh. All the docs did was name it and describe it. Other than that, they don't have a clue.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Phil Houston Texas — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:39:27 GMT

I wish I could (remember?) dream at all. At the age of 57 I cannot remember the last dream I had!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Amanda Houson, TX — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:39:30 GMT

I have had this for about 4 years now. The first time it happened I had a scary moment...it felt like something was in the room with me and pressing on the bed around me, moved thru me, and I could hear whispering as it moved around. I couldn't move at all and it was horrible. Now when it happens it is normally during naps and while I lay on my back as well (most of the time). I now can recognize it and I have to stop and think about kicking my leg to get myself out of it. Sometimes though I am still stuck in a sleep mode and doze right back to sleep which eventually turns into the paralysis again forcing me to once again think about kicking my leg to get myself up, and once I get up it like I have been excercising...my heart is running a little faster and I am breathing a little harder. Even though I know what it is now...it does not make it any less scary.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Brandi, Dallas, Texas — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:00:11 GMT

I generally have the feeling that someone is in my room and try as I might I just can not yell or say anything and I can not move. It is so creepy. Thank God it does not happen very often.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Kirsten, Dublin, CA — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:02:39 GMT

This is happening to me. I have refused to sleep on my back for years. Everytime I sleep on my back, I feel a heavy weight on my chest and I cannot breath. I have to force myself to wake up. It does not happen when I am on my side or on my stomach.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Murray T., Chicago, IL — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:20:07 GMT

Jason H. is right about the lucid dreaming. I've had instances where I've been awake but unable to move. Someone once told me about lucid dreaming and how to kind of train yourself even in your waking hours to dream lucid dreams. You can turn this frightening experience into something extremely pleasurable. I usually start just flying, dream I'm flying in a beautiful place with birds, sounds weird, but actually is a lot nicer than spiders or strange animals trying to harm you. Look into it.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Tim, Nashville TN — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:22:59 GMT

I've always just thought mine was a recurring dream... Basically, I will be driving a car in the dream and can not open my eyes or move, mostly it just feels like I have to wake up and can't... I'm not sure if it's the same or not, again I've just always thought it a recurring dream.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Laurie Desjardins, Moscow, TN — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:12:54 GMT

I have had this happen to me throughout my life. I used to be scared thinking someone was coming to attack me in my own room just feeling a presence. Eventually i would get scared for a moment then, I would lay back and concentrate on moving a leg or arm one at a time and eventually I wasn't paralyzed anymore. I talked about it with people I didn't want to know i was crazy. No one seemed to know what I was talking about. Never could find anythin out about it. My doctor had never heard of it either. thanks for the article something to let me know, I wasn't alone.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Mary Dover, NH — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:17:14 GMT

I had this a couple of times as an early teen, no hallucinations but what a scary experience. I learned to feel it 'comintg on' and learned avoid it. Some times now I have the dread upon just falling asleep and after reading this artical I think it is the sleep paralysis and not a panic attack. I'll work on this and maybe can link the event to a sensation. Thanks.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jamee Bravo, Seattle, WA — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:34:10 GMT

Oh my god! Janet Ciriello that is exaclty the experience i have on occasion.Itis very scary! I'm so happy to know i'm not alone and what it is!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Marissa L, Raleigh, NC — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:55:13 GMT

i started experiencing sleep paralysis when i was in high school. i would hallucinate that one of my friends was in the end of my bed talking to me, i would see flashing lights and images, like something from the blair witch project... one night i even hallucinated that i went through the window and i was floating above the ground.
the only way i've found to get out of it is to lay there and calm down, it passes much quicker than if you tried to fight it.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Yaira, Newport News, VA — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:57:41 GMT

This is very interesting, I've been aware and reading about my sleep paralysis and sleepwalking episodes for years. They did start when I was a kid, back then there were so many superstitions around it, they made my fear ten times worse. Once I found out what it was and how much it made sense, it became easier to manage, and I hardly have them now at 31. For sleep paralysis I usually calm down and go back to sleep... then wake up properly a few moments later. :) The one hallucination I have is that someone has crept up on my bed and lied down right on top of me, holding me down while I'm sleeping on my stomach. I thought I was going crazy for the longest time...

Now a question for other readers: Has anyone had an episode when you're fully awake, usually somewhere other than your bed and you can close your eyes and see images projected on the back of your eyelids like a movie? This is actually kinda cool, but hard to keep... they fade quickly. I wish I knew the name for it or someone who has had the same experience.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Christine, TN — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:41:25 GMT

I can't tell you how glad I was to read about this and finally have a name for what I have experienced all these years.

I think I've outgrown this because it rarely happens to me now. But it happened a lot when I was a child, almost always when I'm napping (not sleeping at night). No spiders or hooded figures for me, but the mere experience of not being able to move when it feels like my mind is fully awake, is terrifying.

Forcing myself to wake up was so exhausting and frustrating, but I was so terrified that I would end up dead if I don't. But I finally learned to relax and make myself go back to sleep whenever it happens.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Carey, Camarillo, CA — Mon, 12 May 2008 21:40:45 GMT

This sometimes happens to me when the room is too hot, if I'm taking a nap in the middle of the day, or if I'm sleeping on my back. The other night it happened and my wife felt me moving my foot around, trying to snap out of it. She thinks its pretty weird.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

D, Connecticut — Tue, 13 May 2008 00:09:15 GMT

I am so happy to read this report - finally I understand what I used to experience as a teen-ager! At the time, my family put it down to trauma.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Debbie — Tue, 13 May 2008 04:29:37 GMT

As an adult, I have had several experiences where I could hear or was aware of someone around me and was paralyzed and couldn't wake up. I would try to move and speak. Sometimes I would try so hard to scream or moan. Like LJ of New York, I've had a traumatic life. When I was little, my dreams would be of something chasing me, coming at me fast, and I could only go slowly. Then I would also have the moments of wanting to wake up and being unable to.

I have only had one experience like Stephanie's of San Diego where I felt I was being hugged and had trouble breathing. I told my husband about it, but he was not in the bed at the time. The interesting part is that I was lying on my side when this sensation occurred. The other occurrences, where I heard or sensed someone, I was lying on my back. I mostly lie on my side now and haven't had an episode in awhile. Really hope it doesn't happen again. Shudder.

TRULY, no one can understand how terrifying an experience this is, the total loss of control in these situations. I am going to try that little trick about concentrating on one little part of my body and progressing from there. Thanks to all who shared their stories.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Paul W. Kittery Me — Tue, 13 May 2008 07:02:53 GMT

I have had this hapen to me everyonce in a while, it has never bothered me too much. It usually happened after having a "ghost dream." I'd wake up, and just chill for a few seconds untill i could move again.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

frank klepeiss bethlehem pa — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:45:32 GMT

I am 59yrs old and have had this burden most of my life. The experience is total body paralysis the inability to wake up to speak or call out no matter how hard you try. This experience is totally terrifying and in every episode I wonder if I will survive it. While in this condition I can hear other people speaking if they are in the area .I can see my surrounding and I can think about the current predicament that I find myself in. I struggle to get awake with no success I sceam out loudly but cant be heard . MY wife is aware of my struggles and by pusing me this will snap me out of the condition. On one occassion I have seen insects. On one occasion I had heard someone breaking into the house. At times it seems that demon like being are in the area. There were days when I feel I just dont want to go to sleep anymore. As far as being harmless and painless just wait till you have an episode in which your arm is being sawed off and you wake up with unimaginable pain in your arm lasting for many minutes.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Pat E., Houston, TX — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:47:49 GMT

I have experienced this since childhood and just thought it was dreams. I do not connect the feeling of fear with the experience, but I do notice that it occurs when I am overtired. I have experienced the spiders and bugs and even once I thought it was fishhooks going for my toes. Fortunately, I have taught myself to just keep on floating and the sensation goes away and I either awaken or sleep on with no problems.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Sofia - Loma Linda, CA — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:19:09 GMT

Amazing. I have a hard time explaining this phenomenon to others, but I have a history since childhood. Most people look as if you are having some type of psychosis which makes us fearful of sharing or even thinking about this after you have an episode. Sometimes it happens twice and for sure if I sleep in a supine position. I know is not a nightmare. Is different.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Krystal, Cambridge, MA — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:47:55 GMT

My mother calls it "a witch on your stomach." I just lay there and feel like I'm getting up and doing something - usually getting into the shower - and then I start getting sleepier and sleepier until WHAM! I realize I NEVER really got up and I start to try all over again, and again, and again... It happens every few months and when it does, lasts for what seems like 1-2 hours, and I'm pretty shaken up when I do come out of it for real. I'm glad I'm not alone!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Susan Milette, Ft. Pierce, FL — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:37:48 GMT

I have actually enjoyed this floating sensation while asleep since I was a child and wondered if anyone else experienced it. As a child I experienced the floating and watching things happen like "a fly on the wall" that was very cool.

As an adult I have the sleep paralysis which at times feels scary because you are uncertain you can come out of it.
I am relieved to know it is not just me.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Danna, Radnor PA — Wed, 14 May 2008 19:54:15 GMT

I've had this happen for years and always attributed it to some sort of sleep/wake state, it's good to know that there's a name and other people have experienced it too. Generally what happens is that I partially wake up (I don't wake up completely, I always sense that I'm stuck between sleep and wakefulness) and feel paralyzed and also that I can't breathe, that if only I could take a deep breath or move I'd "snap out of it". The sense of struggling to draw a breath and not being able to is really frightening and I must sometimes start to jerk a bit because sometimes it'll wake my husband up and he'll ask if I'm OK...I usually just say, Oh I was having a bad dream. Maybe it is a dream but it feels incredibly real and is so scary. Like so many others I find that it happens when I'm laying on my back, so I now sleep on my side but I must turn over in my sleep. Fortunately it only happens occasionally.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Anita Parys, Sierra Madre, cA — Wed, 14 May 2008 20:28:10 GMT

Yikes! I have suffered from this for years. Sometimes I make small noises hoping my husband will shake me. I truly feel like I am dying--I don't go back to sleep but continue to struggle in my mind. I think it is the closest I will get to death until I actually die. Is there any cure???

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

lisa, Seattle WA — Wed, 14 May 2008 20:39:39 GMT

Wow - I had no idea there was a good explaination for this. I've had this off and on for years, the last one being a few months ago. Mine always involve someone/something coming into my bedroom. Last time it was an odd gorilla monster. I'm laying there, trying to yell and can't. HATE when it happens, I don't realize at the time that it's a dream, it feels so real.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Paula Boyle, MD — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:59:33 GMT

Sleep paralysis is a real condition but one also needs to rule out "periodic paralysis" which is an illness caused by thyroid conditions or potassium problems.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Bubba — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:52:53 GMT

I think this has happened to everyone at one time or another.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Stephenie, Clearwater Florida — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:11:30 GMT

I first experienced this 4 years ago (I am 31). It tends to only happen if I am sleeping or napping in the mid afternoon and only once has it happened at night. It is a horrible, terrifying experience. I have never experienced the spiders but I have felt as though I was being pulled or dragged by a black "spot", if that makes sense. The last time it happend my neck and shoulder muscles were sore for days because of the "pulling" feeling. The feeling of tightness in your chest and not knowing if you can breathe is horrible. People should not make lite of this - it is seriously disturbing to anyone who has experienced it.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Amy L, St .Louis — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:16:54 GMT

Nice to see this addressed! I have this problem everyonce in awhile. Seems like its during periods of great stress. I have a fear of clowns (yeah, I know!) and I see their red bushy hair out of the corner of my eye and I am unable to turn my head or speak at all. All I can do is try to breathe really heavy to awaken my boyfriend so he will wake me up all the way!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Diane Benz, Melvin, Iowa — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:29:53 GMT

I've experienced this off and on for several years while napping. I wake up to someone walking into the room but I can't open my eyes, talk, or move. The person walking into the room does not seem to be menacing and turns around and walks out, but the struggle to move or talk is very frightening.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Carolynn Clark, Salt Lake City, Utah — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:33:44 GMT

This has happened to me since I was young. No vivid hallucinations, but I have often "awakened" only to find that I can't move or speak. The worst scenario is when I "awake" face down (I usually sleep on my stomach) with my face in my pillow and I can't breathe, but I also can't move my body to roll over, or scream or anything. It's really frightening and I'm afraid I'll suffocate.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Fred - West Jordan, Utah — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:37:14 GMT

I have had hundreds of such experiences through the years. I found a way to come out of sleep paralysis, if I felt a need. All I had to do was start coughing. That wasn't paralysed. By the third cough I had control of my body. Even more importantly, my sleep normalized with methylcobalamin, a natural form of b12 and I haven't had an episode in almost 5 years.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

See, Minneapolis, MN — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:08:57 GMT

Usually when I get these AND they morph into a sort of nightmare (Goblins) I concentrate on wiggling my toes. Once I physically wiggle my toes it wakes you from your dream/trance. I agree with Sal in Greely, CA. I was told this when I was younger, and it's worked on nightmarish sleep paralysis.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

SheilaE,Dolton,Il. — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:53:00 GMT

I've experienced this many times as a child/teenager, not so much as an adult. I remember going to sleep at night and then waking suddenly, although I knew I was still asleep. I could not move or call out. I could sense the "thing" moving down the hallway of our apartment. It stop at the doorway just out of my sight-building the terror in me. Then it would slowly move into the bedroom and towered beside my bed. A blank-faced thing, sheer, airy, and incandesent. Sometimes if I had my head under the covers, it would mentally force me to look. It terrorized me for years-until someone told me that it was me. I decided to confront it---everytime I felt it coming, I would stare at it defiantly until I fell back to sleep.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Harvey Jones, Spokane, WA — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:02:35 GMT

Many times the sleep paralysis is caused by a side effect of pain medication (oxycodon and its relatives). For those afflicted look at the post by Casey Chandler above :

"Over the years I have come with a little trick that has allowed me to break the hold of the sleep paralysis. I concentrate very hard on one part of my body and then try to move that body part. Sometimes this strategy can take a few minutes but eventually I am able to move and in most cases the bond of sleep paralysis is broken."

I have found that by relaxing then stare at your hand or "what you believe to be your hand" then try to move it. Try to open and close your eyes at the the same time. It is a little trippy at first because you will move your hand and it will be in front of your face then you close and open your eyes and the hand dissapears. Don't worry just do it again till you wake up.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Cindy, Great Falls, MT — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:05:12 GMT

I started having these episodes when I was a young child. I couldn't open my eyes or breathe. When I finally awakened I would be terrified to go back to sleep. I was sure that I would not wake up again. It rarely happens to me anymore. I did not know it happens to other people, and I am relieved that I am not crazy. Thankfully, I don't see any spiders or bugs. I am sorry for anyone that goes through this as it is terrifying!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Joye, Asheville, NC — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:36:44 GMT

I am happy to read that others have experienced this paralyzed feeling. I have tried to explain it to others and they just give me a blank stare. When this happens to me, I hear people in the house and beleive that they have broken in the house and are robbing me. I is very frightening.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Brenda Van Scoten Leesburg Va — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:56:14 GMT

I experience sleep paraysis only occasionally now and can sometimes stop it if I feel it coming on pre-sleep but about 20 yrs ago I went through a time of very frequent episodes where the paralysis wasn't accompanied by hallucinations of spiders etc. (thankfully) but of the (very unpleasant)sensation of my entire body spinning very fast and I couldn't stop it, move, or call out. This usually happened post sleep when I was trying to wake up. It probaly didn't last more than seconds but it felt like a long time to me and was very frightening. Finally after all these years it's a relief to know what was happening. I haven't had that horrible spinning sensation since then but I do experience the paralysis and like many of you have found that if I relax I can get myself awake and moving.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Rick P., Kingsport, TN — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:04:20 GMT

We have an extremely comfortable Lazy Boy recliner in our bedroom which we use for occasional napping. I have found that sometimes, when first awakening from a very sound sleep in this chair, I get "stuck" in a not-awake/not-asleep state where I experience sleep paralysis. I can open my eyes part-way, but usually can't move anything else or talk. I always imagine that non-local relatives are visiting downstairs and that I can hear them but cannot respond. My wife has said that sometimes I moan . . . I relate that to my attempts to communicate while sleep-paralyzed. The feeling of paralysis is frightening while it's occurring, but I find the whole experience to be rather enjoyable once fully awake. This only happens to me in that chair following a very deep nap.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Coty Burke, NC — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:10:43 GMT

This has happened to me but no spiders, no snakes, nothing like that. Its only occured once, last year. The day after my 15th birthday. During my sleep i could see myself(From my Ceilings view). I had no clue what was goin on but there was a darkness slowly consuming my room, i couldnt run, i couldnt move i just had to watch it. and eventually i woke up right before it hit my feet

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

KJM, New York, NY — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:43:22 GMT

Thanks for this article... I started getting sleep paralysis a few years ago. At the time, I renting a basement apartment in a 250 year old building and was convinced that ghosts were attacking me! I never told anyone for fear that they would think I was nuts. That was about 6 years ago and it still happens and it's still terrifying. I once read that the more you fight it (trying to move or scream), the scarier it gets. Now when it happens, after a few minutes, I realize what's going on and relax.. then slowly snap out of it. I truly believe this is behind alien abduction and ghost stories. It's such a strange sensation. I'm so thankful for articles like this, or I would never have know what was happening to me.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

C.R, lititz pa — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:46:23 GMT

This is totally crazy, i was never aware that this is a condition! i didn't think that this was really something that happened to other people. When it happens to me i see a demon standing in the doorway just staring at me. I can't move, i can't wake up my husband, i can't scream, and all the while this thing just comes closer to me. I eventually wake up, but its the scariest thing when it happens because it is so real and hard to tell if its really happening or not!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

LB — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:46:56 GMT

I've had many epiodes of sleep paralysis over the years. For the longest time I always thought it was my body telling me "You're still tired go back to sleep!!!!!" since I could never open my eyes. There were a few times I hallucinated about using my hands to pry my eyes open so I could wake up but since I couldn't move I always thought my eyes were not allowing me to open them, hence the thought of my body telling em I'm still tired lol.

The last time it happened I fell alseep with the TV on too loud and during the sleep paralysis I kept thinking "why doesn't someone turn that damn tv down!". I could even feel the cat's warm body sleeping on me. I woke up when he jumped off me to go get food.

There was only ONE time I ever had a scary experience and I don't know if it was the sleep paralysis or something else. I was staying in a creepy hotel in St. Louis and from the moment I got there I had a feeling of dread anyway. Well I woke up at about 2am and couldn't move. I fell alseep with my arms curled under my chest and on top of the sheets. It felt like someone was holding me down on the bed. I was terrified because of the feeling of something very evil being in the room. I could see my cell phone on the bed and thought "If I call my mom everything will be ok", some logic uh? But I couldn't move my arms to get the phone. I could hear people in the hall and the next room but couldn't call out for help, then all of a sudden the force holding me down zipped into my lower back and shot into my body in both directions, to my head and feet and then was gone. It was like a tingle or a chil and very fast and then I could move. I jumped up and turned all the lights on. I didn't go to sleep after that. I still can't decided if it was typical sleep paralysis ot if there was something truely evil in that place but I had never been so scared in my life, I couldn't wait for my business trip to be over so i could leave that place.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

tjl, Boston, MA — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:54:28 GMT

Great advice that another post - "Look into Lucid Dreaming". If you realize that you are dreaming when this happens you can either control the dream, cause yourself to wake up or at least not be afraid. The basic technique is to train your mind to always ask "Am I asleep" if I have trouble moving. check around for more detailed advice.

I have these types of experiences about once a week - last night infact. I am rarely afraid and it can actual be kind of fun once you learn to control.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Pat J., Memphis, TN — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:55:06 GMT

I've experienced sleep paralysis and hallucinations most of my life as well as being plagued by "excessive daytime sleepiness". I can fall asleep at the drop of your hat AND be dreaming in less than 10 seconds. Finally FINALLY after all these years of stuggling with this and being accused of being lazy, I have a diagnosis! I have Narcolepsy. I thank God that I never had a wreck but I sure came close many times. My children took turns watching me when in my car to make sure I didn't fall asleep. I don't have the sleep paralysis often and still have that problem. Yes, it's still frightening. At least now I know what the problem is and am taking care of that. There is a non-narcotic medication now that wasn't available before and it's made my life a lot simpler. Now I worry about my kids. All four are displaying the same symptoms I have and Narcolepsy is mostly a genetic disorder. I think my mother and oldest brother had the same problem. Unfortunately, they're not here for me to pick their brains! I'm just relieved to know there's a reason. It's down-right embarrassing to go to sleep at work, talking to people, during dinner, WALKING! Now I can live a normal life.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Christina, Sacramento, CA — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:04:42 GMT

I don't remember any visions but this happened to me many times during my high school years. My mom would come in and flip on the light and tell me it was time to get up. I would then become conscious but I was paralized. She would get annoyed and keep telling me to get out of bed. The best I could do was make a moaning sound. I had to explain to her what was happening so she would know if i didn't move but made a noise I really was awake and she could leave me alone.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

LB — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:11:56 GMT

I just posted and I realized there have been a few times I've woken up and still had elements of my dreams playing out in front of me. Once I woke up in the middle of the night and thought the bathroom light was on and thought I saw my youngest son go in and change his clothes. He used to wet the bed and knew the routine when it happened so I figured it was him just doing his thing until... I relaized my kids were with the ex DUN DUN DUN!!!!!!! I freaked out and jumped up and walked around the house , the light to the bathroom wasn't even on. FREAKY!!!

The other time I can remember was I had a vivid dream that I was back in my home town of Somerville MA where I grew up and that I was Wolverine from Marvel Comics (I know I'm a dork!). Well in the dream my freind and I were attacked and I had to fight like Wolverine well when I woke up i saw some guy where a tall top hat standing in my doorway staring at me and wiggling his fingers at me like he was trying to taunt me. Well I blinked a few times thinking it was a waking dream and when it didn't go away I screamed and threw a pillow at him to give me time to turn and grab my bat. I turned around and he was gone. I'm a 32 year old dude and I screamed like a little girl lol. I was freaked out.

My favorite sleep issue has nothing to do with sleep paralysis though. My gf used to take Ambien and yes people do strange things on it. She would shop on ebay and not know until stuff came in the mail, she cut her flowers, she would call me and talk to me for hours and not remember it and my favorite would be we'd be laying ther in bed, me watching tv and her alseep and then all of a sudden I was like "HELLO!!!" She would frisky with me and would do certain things she'd NEVER do awake. lol. The best episode though was she was asleep and i was awake and she satup really fast and I asked her what was wrong and she glared at me and said "Did you leave the F%^&in kitchen light on?!", then she got up and started to walk out of the room and I asked her where she was going and she shot me "the look". then she goes upstairs, and I freaked thinking she would fall. I go after her and she's up there adjusting the thermostat and i said "Babe what are you doing come back to bed?" and she yelled at me "DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!". Then she comes down, hugs me and says "can I have a popsicle?" so I get her one, we get back in bed, she takes three bites and says "mmm I'm done and falls over" (she's also gotten popsicles and eaten some and fell back a sleep and woken up to find a stick and a colored stain on the bed lol). The funny thing is she will have no recolection of these things unless you bring it up the next day, then she thinks for a few minutes and says "OMG That did happen didn't it?". She no longer takes Ambien but we still laugh about it. She used to say, "Are you coming to bed? I just took an Ambien *wink wink*" lol

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Katie Doe, Austin, TX — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:32:56 GMT

I've had these before, and yes they are horrible. Usually someone is knocking at my door saying threatening words, and calling my name and trying to get in...nothing as crazy as huge spiders and the like. Now when it happens, I don't force myself to try to wake up, but rather just get back into regular sleep.
As for Mr. T. Cameron, I think you need to lighten up and learn to laugh at yourself once in awhile!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Bob Dufour, Ottawa, Canada — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:04:11 GMT

I too suffer from sleep paralysis. It started when I was 15, and happens about once a month. I don't have the dreams or hallucinations, but literally wake up "frozen" - I'm cognizant of my surroudings, but I physically can't move anything - I can't even open my eyes. I am able to breath heavier & faster, and sometimes my wife will hear. She knows to give me a push and then I'm fine.

Two of my uncles & my mother have experienced the same thing. I'm not aware that it is genetic, or coincidence.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Layne, SLC, UT — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:37:13 GMT

Re: “Paranormal investigators may want to start asking people, ‘Have you ever been evaluated for a sleep disorder?’” says Ash about these strange bedside visitations."

The same question may be asked for those who claim to have had "spiritual" visitations. Many people have been deluded by what they thought was a "divine" visitation.

I've experienced this as well. In college I learned about hypnopompic and hypnogogic states of consciousness. It's never bothered me again, now that I understand what it is. If anyone is still scared, go to 'Wikipedia' for more complete information.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

BLESSED ONE Columbus Oh — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:48:03 GMT

What we have been experiencing is demonic attacks. These demons are very small and harmless. Some say they look like spiders others say snakes or wild animals. The truth is that it is a little harmless demon. If it ever happens again look onto your shoulder and you will see it. The best thing you can do is call on the name of JESUS and they will leave you alone.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

R.M., Melbourne, KY — Fri, 16 May 2008 00:04:09 GMT

This happened to me 2 or 3 times between 12-14 yrs. old. I would try hard to kick my legs and yell out for my sister to wake me up--we shared a room. When I finally did wake, she said I was moaning and my legs were barely moving. She figured it was just a dream, so didn't want to 'bother' me, lol.Thankfully, no hallucinations or breathing trouble. Scary!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Mary E. Hockaday, Texarkana, Arkansas — Fri, 16 May 2008 02:17:45 GMT

I have had this sort of experience for as long as I can remember. Also, for as far back as I can remember I had horrible, scary dreams. I lost my only sister when I was almost 4 years old and she was almost 8. I don't remember having these dreams before that time, but do remember starting with the bad dreams in the next few years after. Sometimes I experienced the 'paralysis'; sometimes not, but I was always 'out of breath' when I woke up. I thought that the scary dream caused the out of breath feeling. I have been diagnosed with at least two separate sleep disorders - sleep apnea and excessive daytime sleepiness. I have struggled with the excessive daytime sleepiness for as long as I can remember. Cylert was prescribed for me in October of 1993 and I took it until it was taken off the market in December of 2005 (I think) In the meantime I had been fitted with a Bi-Pap Machine in October of 2001 and it has been such a wonderful help for me. My sleep apnea is caused by both obstructive and central nervous system - in other words my brain does not always tell me to breathe. I know, I know, breathing is supposed to be automatic, but that is why I have a problem. My pulmonologist asked if I had ever been in a bad accident - auto or otherwise. I have not, but I told him I was dropped on my head when I was 3 weeks old - on the hearth of our fireplace. I remember my mother saying that I was sleeping so soundly that I did not even wake up! My doctor says I was undoubtedly "knocked out"! This was in 1931 and we lived in a very rural community and since I "seemed" to have no ill effects I was not taken to a doctor. The fact of the matter is, if I understand correctly, it would not have mattered where I had been taken to doctor there had been no studies made of sleep problems. The good thing about all this is that since I have been sleeping with the Bi-Pap machine I do not have the terrifying dreams or paralysis unless I happen to drift off to sleep without putting my mask on! I would strongly urge anyone having this sort of problem to be evaluated in a sleep study.
Mary E. Hockaday, Texarkana, AR (Thursday, May 15, 2008)
marell@cableone.net

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

sass, hou, TX — Fri, 16 May 2008 03:06:29 GMT

wow, i have had many experiences while growing up, i was not paralyzed, i would see some thing and usually it was a figure of a person with sharp knives comming towards me , i could talk and move and luckly i was not alone when this happened, my husband heard me scream when i woke up i screamed at him to get me out the room b 4 the guy killed me, he said there was no one there , thats when i realised they were not real, its happend about 5 times each time something different but so scary, another time it was massive spiders comming down from the celing, another time shadows with eyes on the walls comming closer and other tings like that, its weird cause horror movies dont scare me, but these things do, when it happens now, i just close my eyes and lay down and wait till i feel i am properly awake, some times u dont feel normal till the following day.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Elizabeth, Tennessee — Fri, 16 May 2008 03:08:45 GMT

I have experienced this since childhood. I would lie awake and just cry because I couldn't move or speak. Sometimes I would hear voices or feel like I was falling. Soon, I learned that if I just quit fighting it, I could relax into it and fall back asleep before awakening again in a real state.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Wierded out in Minnesota — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:08:18 GMT

I've had this happen to me also. I hear someone call my name and feel like someone is in the room with me, but I can't move to look for them. When I wake up no one is there. I also suffer from sleep apnea. I wonder if they're related conditions.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

anne, eunice, louisiana — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:38:09 GMT

I'm 30 and have experienced this for as long as i can remember. i am never scared. most of the time i hear people talking around me, or i hear someone walking, or feel the presence of someone around me. i know that my mind is awake, but my body is still sleeping. i can usually just jerk myself out of it by concentrating on shaking my foot or my leg. when i am dreaming, i often become aware that i am, and i try to control my dream. even if i can't, it's still a better experience realizing that it is just a dream...especially when it's not a very good one.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Sharon, Denver, CO — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:40:40 GMT

I had this happen a few times when I was in college, I would sleep with the TV on and I could tell everything that was on TV but terrifying things would also be going on in my room. I would have to strain and concentrate to move one finger because if I could just move one thing I could break free. I've never heard of others having this until now.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Kandi T. Bentonville, AR — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:51:36 GMT

Oh, wow! This is really cool. I didn't know that other people did this too!

OMG! To Rick L., Medford, Oregon-it only happens when I am lying on my back too!!!!! WOW!

I have had my "demons dream" a million times. I am paralyzed, can't speak or move and the demons are right there; close enough to touch (if I wanted to....and, um, I don't). I will be trying to scream and instead will be breathing really hard. My hubby has "awoken" me from that more than once.

I have also had moments where I thought I was being electrocuted, burned in explosions, and was stuck in sand in a desert unable to get out. I also felt no pain, I just knew that I was dying. Once I thought my youngest daughter was there (during the electrocution) and all I wanted to do was push her away from the danger; it didn't matter that I was dying, I just couldn't let HER die. And it was SOOOOOOO real that I truly was surpised when I came fully awake and realized that it WASN'T really happening.

Although it doesn't make it go away, it makes it a little better knowing that I am not the only one that does this! I just thought it was stress or something and thought I was totally alone!

I'm glad I saw this and the comments!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

vannie — Fri, 16 May 2008 07:11:43 GMT

I read about a psychic demon buster who talekd about this who had been studying poltergeist actitiy in a hosues for over three decades. Its not hear d of in the US. But he was able to help everyclient through his knowledge. IT was very interesting to hear. THis ghosts wil paralyze you and show youa projection of ideas or "film" negative usually. and then it will jsut affect your whole mental state. iN one case baby sleeping whne entering the house had a "negtive energy" come to it it just stiffened up liek a prune. They had to wash him lwith warm water

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

DeWitt, Phoenix Arizona — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:36:34 GMT

This may explain an occurrence that happened to me a year or two ago. I thought until now that this scenario had really happened.
I remember waking up in my bed but all I could see was something like a white raster, similar to what you see on your TV when it is not on an active channel. I remember desperately trying to open my eyes but I couldn’t move a muscle. Then I realized (or at least thought) that I wasn’t breathing. This scared me and I put every effort into moving my diaphragm to pull air into my lungs. At last I succeeded in taking a breath and after that continued to wake up. This bothered me for some time for like I said, I thought that I had actually stopped breathing in my sleep and was going to die. This blog has shed new light on this experience. This is the only time I have ever experienced this.
Thanks.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

DJ, Houston, Tx — Fri, 16 May 2008 11:52:01 GMT

So THAT's what it is! I haven't had much in the way of visual, but I have experienced sounds of knocking, footsteps or someone calling me. Now I know why.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Anna Fort Worth, TX — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:58:24 GMT

I had these kinds of sleep paralysis many years ago as a child and now that I have been diagnosed with sleep apnea and wear a CPAP to sleep in I don't experience this anymore. Instead I get awakened by my husband trying to tell me something and I respond to him but then I don't have any recall of it the next day. So, I don't know which is worse. I do wonder if the people who do experience it may end up with sleep apnea?

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jeff Muller WA — Fri, 16 May 2008 21:47:27 GMT

The trick to comming out of the paralysis is to focus all your energy in making a jerking motion. This will snap you out or it.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Chris, Kansas City, MO — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:45:29 GMT

I've had this happen on and off for years. I don't have these vivid waking nightmares like some people. I do end up waking up enough that I realize I cannot move. I am usually conscious of things going on around me, but sometimes my mind will play tricks on me. For example, it might be the middle of the night, but I am convinced it is a bright, sunny day outside. Usually I can win the battle by simply relaxing and then I fall back to sleep. If I try to wake myself up or "snap out of it", then I become frustrated because I cannot move.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

BrandiE, Bountiful, Utah — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:16:51 GMT

I am so happy to read this, until now, I knew of no one that could understand. I am different, but very similar, I don't usually have any weird things besides waking up paralised, which can last until someone comes and moves me. It's horrifying, and something most people can't fathom at all, or believe. I am often afraid to go to sleep, and after days can make it worse, or just sick yet knowing I could wake up stuck is scarier than being tired. I have woken during anesisia too so I can wake from very deep sleep, suddenly. I am the only member of my family to have this, and although they help it has been very lonely. This will definately help me though, next time I am scared knowing I'm not alone in this very odd problem, as I see there are so many.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Letha C. Chamberlain — Sun, 18 May 2008 04:33:13 GMT

While not having had this problem, I can feel the palpable relief in the words of many people. This is why I so appreciate the "web" and the chance to interact with so many people... thank you for all you do, msn...

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Rachel D, Seattle, WA — Sun, 18 May 2008 06:17:03 GMT

This sounds very similar to some of the effects that people with PTSD from traumatic events experience, although in that case it usually involves a reliving of the event or a mixture of memories that is horrifying. I wonder if the same treatments would work? It would certainly offer a lot of relief to a lot of people.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Robert McNair, Spokane, WA — Sun, 18 May 2008 23:26:44 GMT

I've been experiencing this since I was 15 years old, 65 years old now. I love it, it is even better than real life experiences. I always have beautiful women, completely naked walking towards me obviously wanting me, seems to be triggered by women I have seen during the day either in real life, movies, advertisement or TV.
They pin me down and have their way with me almost every night, the most beautiful women in the world with me every night, wow, I sure don't consider this a problem and would recommend that everyone male or female, try to nurture this brain activity. No way would I describe it as a "disorder" haha, no way!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Peter Tassani, Carmel, Indiana. — Mon, 19 May 2008 01:32:41 GMT

I have been experienced this also! Its happen to me some in a while! Its really feel like some kind of force that pushing on you! and you trying to wake up and the more you try the more it pushing on you! But if you stop trying to fight againt it and try to go back to sleep that well help a lot, but when you wake up you feel really tired!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

ichiro suzuki, bellevue, Washington — Mon, 19 May 2008 02:53:55 GMT

i have not have any of these but it sounds strange

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Mark, Staten Island NY — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:18:12 GMT

I'm so glad I found this discussion board and that i'm not the only one experiencing this. This has been occurring to me since I was a teenager and now I am 28. Last night I couldn't move and saw an old lady in front of my bed getting up out of a wheelchair and coming towards my bed. My wife heard me whining and she was able to wake me up before the lady was about to reach me. It was just like my other episodes, very frieghtening. Hypnagogic, which I just learned the name of it, happens to me approx. twice a month. As I'm falling asleep, I feel myself almost becoming paralyzed. Sometimes I can get out of it right away and sometimes I can't. I always feel the presence of what ever it is getting closer and closer to me with the noise getting louder and louder. I keep telling myself that the next time this occurs, I will just relax my body and see what happens next. However, I get so scared as i'm becoming paralyzed that i try to do anything i can to get out of it. What will happen if I do just relax my body? I guess one day I will find out, if only I can face my fears.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

José Carlos — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:34:39 GMT

When I can´t move my body I try to move my eyes and my mouth. During this time I can hear many things hapenning araund me even my wife talking with my daugthers. Other times I see an old woman sitting on my bed seeing at me while I can´t move my muscules. This kind of things happen when I read a book before sleeping. I need some one like me to learn more about us.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Brandon Williams, Lumberton, NC — Thu, 22 May 2008 18:10:01 GMT

Yeah i must say that i have to been through this and sometimes i think im in a cumma but im awake and clearly aware of my surroundings but cnt open my eyes or even my head like its being help down so i just lay there for like a minute and then slowly my body comes back to me .

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

JuneauKimberly, Juneau, AK — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:59:24 GMT

Wow! I am so glad I read this! I have had vivid waking dreams. I try to cry and scream and nothing works. After I finally am able to wake myself and get up I am exhausted! My awake dreams frequently have many snakes in my house; in the curtain rods, on the floor, in the cupboards, and even in my pockets! I am very grateful that I found this story! Thanks!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

kimberlykg@hotmail.com — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:00:45 GMT

Wow! I am so glad I read this! I have had vivid waking dreams. I try to cry and scream and nothing works. After I finally am able to wake myself and get up I am exhausted! My awake dreams frequently have many snakes in my house; in the curtain rods, on the floor, in the
cupboards, and even in my pockets! I am very grateful that I found this story! Thanks!

JuneauKimberly, Juneau, AK

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

David C. Maughan ( Grantsville, Utah ) — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:19:35 GMT

This is funny, very funny. I have been dealing with this for maybe fifty years now. And though the first few times is was a wee confusing it did not take long for me to begin enjoying this odd condition. It was always like an adventure. I have never seen bugs or bogeymen but it does allow my mind to wander into places that I cannot normally go.
I found that when it happened to me in the bush ( in the army ) is was usually a signal of approaching danger. A warning of sorts. Another sleep phenomenon that happens to me and was quite common also in the bush was waking up in the dark and being able to look around me as if a bright search light were attached to my eyes and pointing every where I looked. It only lasted for a few moments but it was real. I could see in the dark for those few seconds and tell you every thing is saw. This was usually a signal of danger also and quite frequently followed immediately the first one the "sleep paralysis. This does happen to me yet but not as often is younger days.

David C. Maughan
myspace.com/thewallruss

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jessi, Nashville, TN — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:30:28 GMT

This happens to me! I'm glad to here that there are so many others. My first experience was when I was probably 10 years old. A purple glowing rabbit was in my room and it hopped around and then disappeared into the mirror on my dresser. I was terrified but couldn't move. Now that I am older, these occurences are alot less exciting. I am either floating and can't move or feel like I am in a small room,hearing everything around me(i.e. TV, my husband talking), shouting at myself to wake up. Once i got used to it, I lost that feeling of being scared and it doesn't really bother me anymore.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Roberta Hageman, Hibbing, MN — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:31:58 GMT

Wow! I thought I was crazy - now I know what it is. It is extremely frightening to have this happen - not funny at all!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

David, Charlotte, NC — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:33:33 GMT

This happened to me once when I was around 16. It looked like several people were standing around me just watching me. I could not move for what seemed like a minute or more. I swear I thought it was ghost!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jenn, Cincinnati, Ohio — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:01:08 GMT

THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME TWICE.I'M 24 YEARS OLD. ONCE, WHEN I WAS 11 YEARS OLD.I REMEMBER THAT I COULD HEAR MY GRANDMA IN THE LIVING ROOM AND I WANTED TO WAKE UP, BUT FELT TOTALLY PARALIZED I TRIED TO MOVE MY FINGERS OR ANY PART OF MY BODY, BUT IT DIDN'T WORK. MY GRANDMA EVEN WALKED BY ME AND I WAS TRYING TO SPEAK AND WORDS WERE NOT COMING OUT. I WAS FREAKING OUT!! NEXT THING I KNEW I GOT OUT OF IT SOMEHOW AND I TOLD HER WHAT HAPPENED AND SHE THOUGHT I WAS MAKING IT UP. MY 2ND TIME WAS IN OCTOBER 2007 I WAS NAPPING IN THE CAR ON A ROAD TRIP LAYING ON MY HUSBANDS LAP, NEXT THING I KNEW I COULD HEAR MY FAMILY TALKING AND I WAS TRYING TO GET UP AND ONCE AGAIN I WAS TOTALLY PARALYZED I TRIED TO SPEAK AND MOVE MY FINGERS TO MAKE MY HUSBAND MOVE OR TOUCH ME, BUT I COULDN'T. I HAD TO RELAX AND THEN I REMEMBERED THAT THIS HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE AND THEN IT WENT AWAY.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Kyle P. , Springdale, Arkansas — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:01:45 GMT

This seems very familiar to me. Though I can't say that I've seen hallucinations, I have been mentally awake but physically asleep. It seems to happen most when I'm just about to fall asleep, then feel the need to do something before allowing myself to crash. I was intruigued by the odd sensation, after getting over the initial shock, and found that I still had control over my breathing and could move my extremities (mostly just the tips of my fingers). By changing my breathing pattern, I was able to awaken myself. For others that have experienced this condition and have that control, it seems like a logical solution.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

CRay, detroit, mi — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:22:46 GMT

I didn't know they had a name for it. Mine also occurred rarely but felt I was awake but couldn't move. No spiders but an occasional nightmare only during a nap. I thought it was because I slept too hard and too long. I felt exhausted when I got up.Just take power naps now not over 30 min. No problem.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Julia, Bowmanville Ontario — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:43:57 GMT

Woah thats creepy! I'm 14 and this has happened to me so many times! I feel really scared and I think I might be hallucinating, but it feels like the air is draining out of my room or it gets really hot so I can't breath or I see other people moving around... I asked my parents but the didn't know what it was.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Stacy Parker, Tampa, FL — Thu, 22 May 2008 23:13:34 GMT

This has happened to me several times as I am waking from a nap. Never during regular night time sleep. It freaked me out to not be able to move or wake all the way up. I would believe that I was making an effort to slide off the side of the bed, which would wake me up, but my body wouldn't move. Eventually I would finally come out of it, or an external noise would snap me out of it. Never had any hallucinations though. I am kind of glad to know this is real and it doesn't just happen to me.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Wendy, Ogden Utah — Fri, 23 May 2008 00:09:35 GMT

I am a 46 year old woman and have experienced this my whole life. It is no less frightening now than it was when I was a child. I always see demons or monsters in my room; feel them pulling at me or sitting on the bed. There may be some genetic connection because I have siblings that have experienced it as well.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Tiffany-age 13, Miami, FL — Fri, 23 May 2008 00:10:22 GMT

Wow! This has happened to me only once before, luckily, with no hallucinations.
Astonishingly, I was only eleven and correctly guessed the cause, reading this article.
Power to the sixth grader.
ANYWHO....
I remember being able to open my eyes are staring around psychotically afraid. I couldn't move and I even stopped breathing completely for a minute or so. My entire body felt so exhausted that by that moment, I had even accepted death.(Yes, I was a precocious eleven year old). I didn't even try waking up, I just fell back into unconciousness as soon as I gave up. When I woke up about three hours later, (even if it was an afternoon nap and I had seen the time during the episode of sorts, which had been about two hours previous) I was still exhausted to the point of fainting. Five hours and excessive tiredness...No wonder this natural phenomenon is so hated. Besides the hallucinations, of course.
I'm so happy that I learned to an absolute what it was exactly, and that I didn't have a stroke or something. Thanks, Diane Mapes. :]

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Malcolm L. Oxon Hill, MD — Fri, 23 May 2008 01:29:43 GMT

I Have been experiencing this for years! But it happens while I'm falling asleep. I can tell it's coming when I start to hear an audibly low but high pitched whine and it feels like someone just sat at the foot of my bed. I have no choice but to fight it. It feels like if I do nothing then it gets stronger and I don't want to know where that will end up. I had a golden bull floating over my T.V. the other night.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Tina Woodville, Ohio — Fri, 23 May 2008 02:32:14 GMT

Well I know have a name for it. I just thought it was the most vivid nightmare I have ever had. I always think someone is outside trying to get in to hurt myself and my family. I can get up, I am trapped and I can't do anything about it. I was able once to think while I was in this state. I convienced myself I was just dreaming but it didn't help the fear level. I never told anyone about it and never realized other people had this happen to them. Thanks for letting me know I am not alone.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Patricia Slayton, Moore, Idaho — Fri, 23 May 2008 03:39:09 GMT

I've experienced this phenomenon since I can remember. It tend to occur in clusters, sometimes two or three times a night, so I don't want to go back to sleep again. Then I may not experience it for months. I recognize it, know what is happening, but it is still impossible to simply relax, go back to sleep to wake up normally later. I can see everything around me, but cannot move or speak. I will try to lift my arm--feel it lifting but when I look at it, it isn't moving at all. I will sometimes halucinate that someone has come in the room and I try to ask them to "wake me up." Any real stimulus will do this. But I can't speak, and of course they don't hear me, and aren't real, anyway. At the time, I know all of this. I know I'm halucinating, as well. After what seems like hours of struggling, suddenly I'm fully awake, fully alert, and can move again. After that, I'm always reluctant to go back to sleep again. It's a terribly frightening, helpless feeling, even when you are well aware that it is essentially harmless. I think of it as the controlled thinking part of the brain waking up before the sleep/dream state. For years, I thought I was alone with this experience, because when I mentioned it to people I knew, they didn't know what I was talking about. It's been only recently that I've discovered it is a known phenomenon, although not experienced by everyone.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

ParalyzedDreamer, Terrell, TX — Fri, 23 May 2008 05:44:49 GMT

OMG! I can't believe there is a name for this. I too have been experiencing this for a long time. After reading all these post, I have come to realize that this does seem to occur when I am lying on my back. This usually occurs when I am starting to fall asleep, I would feel as if I am sinking down or pinned down into my mattress. I will generally be trying to escape from a terrifying situation in a dream. The last episode was around Halloween. My husband woke me up as he said I was yelling in my sleep. He figured I was having a nightmare. I was in actuality trying to get him up to get the "ghouls" out of our house. I am so relieved to know that I am not crazy. I am going to have to keep better track of when these episodes occur and the condition I am in (sleep deprived, stressed, medicated, etc) when it is happening. Thank you for making me aware of this condition.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Marshall, Las Vegas NV — Fri, 23 May 2008 06:03:32 GMT

OK, this is great to hear so many others actually experience the same thing I do. But, in everything I've read, I don't see any actual explanations, only theories. Is there a neural or neurological basis for this phenomenon?

Also, is there any actual danger when one of these episodes occur? For a while, I started to actually "challenge" myself to NOT fight, to NOT try to shake or worm my way back to full wakefullness, just to try and convince myself that I wouldn't die if I just stayed in this state. But then, I started to get scared again.

Finally, like another reader posted, these paralysis events ALWAYS come amidst a nitemare or at least an ominous or danger-filled dream, but I've also noticed that these dreams are almost like "double dreams". I would be in a true dream, then THINK I was waking up (this is where the spiders/monsters/irrational danger or the inability to communicate would occur)...and I'd then have to convince myself that I was still dreaming before I finally woke up in the safety of my own bed.

A few times, this would happen in public (ie. napping on a plane), and I would swear that I must've looked to everyone around me that I was having a wild, animal-like seizure...yet, no one has so much looked at me with any indication that I was exhibiting any weird physical behavior.

Again, I'd like this to stop...and I wish I could read more about the true etiology of these paralyses and true risks (if any).

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Mark, Las Vegas, NV — Fri, 23 May 2008 06:42:38 GMT

It's not the spiders that are scary...it's the bug eyed aliens coming to abduct you that scares the bejeebers out of you.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Deanna Jean, Danvers, MA — Fri, 23 May 2008 19:28:01 GMT

Thanks, I have been experiencing this for years. I went to a psychologist and he diagnosed it as being related to my anxiety disorder. I started taking weak anxiety medications before bed and it seems to help. It doesn't happen when I do this. Glad to finally get a name to it. I would be laying in bed and wake up and I'd hear things going on around me and people yelling in terror and I couldn't get up to see what was going on or call for help. Very Scary

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Karen — Fri, 23 May 2008 23:31:19 GMT

This has happened to me on a few occasions years apart starting when I was young. I did not have nightmares as some have described, but I did feel as though I would die if I didn't force myself to wake up. I am now wondering if sleep paralysis is what causes SIDS in babies. I'd like to know if any research has been done on this?

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

sparky 7 coastal carolina — Sat, 24 May 2008 11:03:02 GMT

I'm so glad that I stumbled across this article because I thought I was nuts. This has been happening all of my adult life. I "awake" with thousands of spiders coming after me crawling on my comforter and I actually sit up and scream and my hubby has to calm me down and assure me that nothing is there and then eventually the spiders just disappear. This is very terrifying.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Martha Brown, Portland, Oregon — Sat, 24 May 2008 13:20:03 GMT

I have experienced sleep paralysis for decades. The latest ones I have really enjoyed as I had pleasant visitations/dreams?--Angels. I had been through some traumatic experiences in the last few years so I've wondered if my mind was creating these Angels or if they actually came to comfort me and were not dreams. I have had premonitions/visions lucid dreams and telepathy so as a Christian I believe in these sort of things and felt very happy with the Angel visits. I felt such love and joy. I never had an out-of-body and would be scared to, but I felt like I was floating above my mattress trying hard to grip/grasp it to stay down with the Angel right by me. I learned about sleep paralysis in my psychology class in the 1970's so that helped me to not be too scared though being paralyzed can be pretty freaky.I have had mostly good sleep paralysis episodes and I give the credit to Jesus who loves everyone including me. He saved me when I was 14--I was getting into drugs as I had very low self esteem.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Virginia in DC — Sat, 24 May 2008 13:25:19 GMT

I've had this happen periodically throughout my life and it is reassuring to know that it happens to others. As far as hallucinations, I've only heard my name being called or sometimes a knock on the front door. I feel truly terrible for those who see frightening things.

I wonder about the genetic predisposition for having sleep disorders in general. As a child, my younger sister had what we called "Waking Nightmares". She could physically move (ei. sit up in bed, wave her arms, and scream) and yet she was mentally not awake. I don't think these still occur, but the experience was frightening for her and those of us who were awakened by her screams.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Melanie Esperanza Sacramento Ca — Mon, 26 May 2008 01:58:27 GMT

When I first had this happen to me I thought I was having a heart attack. I tried to scream to my sister in law who was in the livingroom but the best I could do was groan a bit. My heart felt like it was thumping directly in my head or ears. My head felt very presurized and i had a hard time breathing (fast shallow breaths) I honestly thought I had had a heart attack or stroke or something when I snapped out of it. Then it happend a few more times and some one I told about the episodes, told me what it was. Now I may get them 1 time or 2 times a year. This last one I had was different because I could see the remote control on the bed in the middle of my episode and in my mind I was grabbing for it so that I could throw it and get my husband to realize I needed help but it was like I was a ghost and my hand would just go right through it(I could not pick it up). I must have just fallen alseep after that because I woke up later (Beat and worn out)like I had just run a marathon. My husband said hed been up stair for a half hour and he didnt hear me breathing rapidly so for the first time I did not snap out of it and wake up, I just went to sleep and when I woke up I looked to see where the remote was and it was right where I was trying to grabb for it. Almost makes me wonder if I had some sort of out of body experiance. Maybe my eyes were just open or maybe my brain just somehow seen it before I fell asleep and the vision stayed there. These thiongs can be sooo freaky.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

shyann, moncton, NB — Tue, 27 May 2008 04:57:19 GMT

Nice to kno that there are others who are going through the same thing.. Ive been haveing these a lot .. waken up i can styll breath but i cant move.. and its always plp i see or things.. ive seen plp coming to get me and i cant move and then right before they get to me i wake up.. ive been in it where i was lifted off my bed and im in the air( sounds crazy) ive had one where it looked like a creature that was comin for me i would wake up instintly and then fall asleep and it would start right away.....when it happens i kno its happening.. but sometimes it takes me a while to tell my brain to get out of wht its doing

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Chole, Anchorage AK — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:33:28 GMT

Years ago when I was working graveyard shift at a busy hospital and going to school full time in the daytime, I had laid down on the livingroom sofa for a nap while waiting for the cable repair man. (Being the cable repair man, I figured it would be a long wait :) ). The sound of someone walking from somewhere in the back of the house into the livingroom woke me up. I had made some kind of noise like "Hey!" but it came out as a grunt. I then felt something leap onto the back of the sofa, shaking it. I was terrified. I realized I couldn't move, and felt this THING staring at me from above. After several moments I worked up the courage to shout "GO AWAY!" but it took several tries to get the words out. When I finally was able to speak I woke up fully. After this experience I got into paranormal research, and was so releived to find a scientific explanation. I was terrified to go to sleep for 5 years, hearing voices in the shadows of my room and seeing darkness creeping up the walls during this horrible experiences. Now, coworkers and even strangers to me hear through the grapevine that I know about this stuff and come to me for answers! If only there had been someone there to tell me whats what so many years ago when I went to take a nap.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Freaky, LC, NM — Thu, 29 May 2008 17:36:00 GMT

I have had this happen to me since I was about 7 or 8. My mom has it, too, as do both of my daughters. My parents explained it to me as sleep paralysis when it first started happening back in the 70's. I have used it as a tool for lucid dreaming. It can be frightening, but if I catch it in time, I can control where my mind takes me. I have told both my girls about it and given them ideas to help them deal with it. My 15 yr. old has pretty much mastered it and tells of her vivid dreams. My 13 yr. old is still practicing. We all enjoy it, for the most part. Except my mom. Luckily, my dad is a light sleeper and wakes up when her breathing changes. He gives her a nudge, she snaps out of it and all is good. I wish there was a sleep disorder institute (a real one) nearby. I think my family would be a great case study on sleep paralysis, especially the genetic causes.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Amanda in Wisconsin — Thu, 29 May 2008 18:11:11 GMT

Thank you thank you for this article. I have had this since I was about 10 or 11. Back then I did get the spider vision -it was horrible and no one believed me. Many of the times in my teens were simply that I was paralyzed and couldn't move. Now in my 20's it's that I can't breathe and it's quite intense. I had asked my doctor about it and explained that it happens when I was laying on my back. She told me it was happening because I have a large chest. Again, I am very thankful for having read this article.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

wake up dreaming in Alabama — Thu, 29 May 2008 20:11:14 GMT

When this happens to me i feel like if i could just kick something or yell i would wake up. It's truly scary for me because i feel like something could really be wrong, my house on fire or my son calling my name, anything and i really don't think i would be able to move. This is a problem that only happens about 3 to 4 times a year, but causes me not to sleep for several days after for fear of happening again. In other words i have to let myself get over it. I really did not realize that this was common. In a way it is a relief that this is not just me ...............

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jim Jacksonville, FL — Thu, 29 May 2008 20:48:58 GMT

"Suddenly I heard a loud pop and felt something bumping against my back. It was the ceiling and I was floating above my bed looking down at my body." .... its a hallucination, as real as it seems, dreaming with your eyes open. Its the nature of the beast. The Journey Out of Your Body is all in the head.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Haunted, Dallas, Texas — Fri, 30 May 2008 06:11:54 GMT

This can be cured with Melatonin, a natural hormone available at the local herb store.

As far as being genetic, I don't think so, but it si familial - in other words, it occurs in families because they are raised in the same environment. Children who are put under great stress growing up, particularly those with perfectionistic parents, seem to develop this - it is called a lack of sleep caused by stress.

The spooky thing is that if one has a gift called precognition, like I do, this condition is very similar to hypnosis. It allows the brain to tap into a different wave length. In my case, the silhouette that haunted me for 15 years of my youth, eventually showed up in the form of a kidnapping and attempted murder. The stranger and his crime played out identically to the hallucination. I am thankful for this insight because once it occurred, it saved my life. I new the killer's next move and was able to outsmart him, finally escaping. I think he was more spooked than I was since I knew so much about him and his family life from my dreams.
The cure was Melatonin. It also cured other of my family members. I am the only one in my family however with the precognitive abilities. It is as if my spirit is allowed to wander while I am in these states, visiting places far away from my home. I am thankful to have found a natural remedy that now allows me to get a full night's rest.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jason, Seattle WA — Fri, 30 May 2008 19:08:44 GMT

I had my first occurrence a few years back while taking a nap on the couch. I thought I was still awake but could not move a muscle. It was stone quiet and then out of the kitchen came a fuzzy shadow moving toward me. I tried moving but couldn't. I finally told my mind to wake up and jerked into movement. At the same time the flood of normal noise and shadows came back to me. I read into this and found out it was a common occurrence and now try to do it. I enjoy the control I have of putting myself in and out of the state.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Cesar G, Kingsville, Texas — Sat, 31 May 2008 04:04:44 GMT

It seems like this is one of those things that people are too self-conscious to talk about- possibly fearing that they are going to be called 'crazy'. (That was the case for me) I'm glad that it's not just me, though I don't wish it upon anybody! That feeling of yelling in your mind and telling your body to move yet to no avail is beyond frightning. It's also neat how we all have similarities on how to handle it. I do the finger concentration thing, that if I can make my finger move I can escape it. (I read a comment from somebody who also does the same)

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Andy, WI — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:07:30 GMT

It's happened to me many times and it's scary. I'm a 56 male and it still happens though not as frequently as when I was younger. I've noticed it more when my neck is bent instead of straight, like when I doze off sleeping in a chair. I now use a travel pillow to hold my head straight when I sleep (in a car or chair, not the bed) and it seems to help. I haven't mentioned it to anyone because I had never heard of it before. Many thanks for a good article.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Chris Allison, Bellevue, Wash — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:49:40 GMT

I vividly remember one instance where I was paralyzed in bed and had a feeling of dread. I was conscious, but knew I was asleep.. I screamed in my mind "Wake up.. you have to wake up".. woke up drenched in sweat.. was actually kind of cool remembering it afterwards. Not sure if I would want to go through it every night though.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jose, Beaverton OR — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:53:16 GMT

I have these dreams too,
it a frightning thing to see. I am deep asleep, suddenly i see something at a distance. I go towards it and stop. Look around then I look up, i see a frightning horrific mask kinda looking, opening its mouth and screaming. This is really frightning for me and everytime that happens, I can't scream, move or do anything. Every single time I have these nightmares, I wake up and im laying on my back. Does this have anything to do with the nightmares? It probably does, that is why i feel uncomfortable sleeping on my back. Once I had a dream where I was sleeping then suddenly something appeared. I was shaking trying to move but I couldn't. Then I stopped shaking and only focused on moving on part of my body. I was than able to move my right arm. That "thing" was trying to escape, but I managed to somehow grab its arm. We made some sort of a deal. I didnt have nightmares for 3 months. Than I started to have these nightmares again. It was frightning, I thought I got rid of this. Does my nightmares have to do with the way I sleep? My current nightmare like this happened yesterday. That 'thing' looked like an alien kinda looking. I was strapped into a thing where I was layed down.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jose, Beaverton OR — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:19:01 GMT

I read through some of these comments. Apparently some of those comments had the same reasons as why they were having the nightmares. Same thing goes for me, whenever i sleep on my back with my face looking up I relive those nightmares. Me theory is that the more you sleep on your back, the more you will have those nightmares. My advice, is not to sleep on your back.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Kathy, Toronto, Ontario — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:34:53 GMT

Oh my gosh I have experienced this about 3 times in my life when I was a teen. I would wake up and see a dark shadow come near and then sit on my bed, I would feel pressure on the bed next to me and I would feel the pins & needles sensation in my whole body. The only thing I could move was my little baby finger. I tried to yell out for my mom but I couldn't talk. Then I'd quickly pray and I'd get out of it, wake up fully, and be able to move. I always thought I had something demonized in my room... lol... then a few years later I found out about sleep paralysis. Now I know. Phew!! But it is sooooooo scary!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Alex, Queens, NY — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 09:51:04 GMT

Wow, all these times of SERIOUS FEAR AND UNCOMFORTABLE SLEEPING I'm so very relieved that i found a logical explanation for this. I've been very afraid to even mention this to others (except a select few) because i was afraid they'd call me crazy, or think i was just "dreaming", but although its still a scary experience especially for the fact that i half the time i can't breathe, I guess I'll feel a little better now about not having to force myself to fall asleep on my stomach or in very uncomfortable positions all the time.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Mary, Ireland — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:45:45 GMT

Went searching the internet because this happened to me today. Had worked hard for hours to meet a writing deadline and lay down for a little nap afterwards and then 'woke' unable to move a muscle, not even open my eyes. In my head I was calling out for my husband telling him I had a stroke but of course he wasn't home and anyway I couldn't make a sound. I must have slept again and eventually when I woke and was able to move, it was three hours after I had gone for the nap! Awful experience. Am a bit scared to go to bed now. Sometimes my husband shakes me awake in the night because he thinks I have stopped breathing. I had one similar experience years ago when I fell asleep face down on a big old squishy sofa and did have the creepy feeling of a not benign presence around - I thought then it happened because my breathing was compromised but I forced myself to wake up. Couldn't force myself out of it today. Anyway, glad to find these comments. Was sleeping on my back today when it happened, with window closed, so will make sure to be on my side tonight with window open. Peaceful sleep to all!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Olivia Young, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:48:23 GMT

I get this all the time and have had it every night for the past week! I am starting to get used to it but it is still quite terrifying! I always seem to hallucinate as well, last night I saw a cat walk past me - not very scary, but sometimes i've woken up with a face screaming at me from the side of the bed. It's horrible but I just have to wait it out until I can move again.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

nadia, Washington dc — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:59:42 GMT

This has happened to me often in the past. I would hear a noise or see someone entering the room (sometimes my college roomate.)It would appear in my "dream" that the figure would watch me struggle to move and would either soothe or suffocate me. My roomate would tell me that she could hear me mumblingI usually experience this while napping. My mother would refer to it as the "devil on your back", an occurrence her immigrant family associated with secrets and troubled pasts. Luckily it hasn't happened in a long time. *knocks on wood*

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Susan, Lyons, KS — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:02:28 GMT

Thanks so much for this article. I have experienced this infrequently over the years and it terrifies me. I sometime experience it when I am going to sleep, particulary if I am spooked about something when I go to bed. My mind is awake but my body is in a state where I could not move if I needed to and that is what terrifies me. I find myself fighting to wake up my body so I can stop the fear. I only remember the times I actually can wake myself up. If it happens and go on to regular sleep I don't remember it ever happened.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

vbrady, Denver CO — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:46:54 GMT

I nearly CRIED when I saw this! I have NEVER told anyone I had these and was afraid someone would call me crazy!!!!! Thank GOD I am not.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

S. Plainfield NJ — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:00:55 GMT

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I have been have this since I was 8 years old. It usaully happen when I oversleep. I was scare that it might get bad enough that I would be decleared dead but aware of it. the scarest thing is that I though I was alone. Not that I am happy this dreadful thing happens to anyone but that I can relate to others. THANKS for this article. (I am so relieved that I feel like crying).

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Lisa L, Dallas, OR — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:03:00 GMT

Bless all your hearts. I don't seem to have what you all have, but I am, at times, jolted awake by a man yelling my names from my bedroom doorway. I've not experienced the paralysis. I've also jumped out of bed and ran into the middle of the living room and have had to force myself to stand there until I could see and figure out where I was. This usually happened when my children went to visitation with their father. He was not a nice man and I worried constantly.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jhamil VT — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:11:05 GMT

I have experienced sleep paralysis through out the years.I usually think I am awake and then try to scream when I can't move.I can usually break out of it by trying to move one of my fingers. My husband occasionally hears my try to say something and he wakesme up.
I also sleep walk. I get up and rearrange things in the house. Couple instances included taking things out of the fridge and putting them in the closet. I rarely wake or bump into anything. I usually wake up sitting cross-legged on the couch. Does anyone else sleepwalk in addition to havign the paralysis?

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Lori, St. Peters, MO — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 21:00:10 GMT

I used to get this quite often and was always terrified while it was happening. I would try to "jerk" myself awake. One night I had an episode when I was ill and I was just too tired to fight it. So I gave up and just concentrated on falling back to sleep. I woke up the next morning and I was just fine. The next time it happened, I just concentrated on relaxing and going back to sleep. I haven't had another episode in quite a long time.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Stephanie K, MN — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 21:05:45 GMT

I've had this since childhood...though it happens less and less as I get older (I'm 26 now). But I find that this occurs to me, at least in the second half of my life so far, when I get too MUCH sleep -- for instance, when I lay down in late afternoon for a short nap but end up sleeping through...then
this will occur in the very early morning hours after I've gotten 8 hours of sleep. And I think it is the mind that is still asleep during these episodes not the body; I think the body is the thing that's attempting to wake. Also, if there is a light on, it is easier to snap out of it. The scariest incident was when I was about 10...I "woke up" with my sheet laying over my face. I felt a prescence standing at the side of my bed and then it screamed very loudly in my left ear. It still gives me the creeps to think about it...eesh

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Sherry, Warsaw, MO — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:40:14 GMT

I've had sleep paralysis with terrible nightmares for years. They became worse as I got older. I would wake up and get a drink of water and fall back asleep into the same nightmare. My heart would pound and I would be in a cold sweat. I was finally diagnosed with narcolepsy and the treatment has been a lifesaver. I wouldn't wish that condition on my worse enemy

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Katherine, Long Island, New York — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:46:40 GMT

I always wondered if it was just me but i guess not. I had these sorts of dreams sometimes once a week, everytime not being able to breath with someone smothering me with a pillow, everytime i screamed for help i heard the sound in my mind but no sound came out if that makes any sense. Thankfully i haven't had those in a while but now at least I know that there's actually a medical term for it and it's not something paranormal.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jane Doe - Chicago Area — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:23:00 GMT

I suffer from sleep paralysis for many years. Even though I know what it is it still doesn't diminish the fear that can be overwhelming when it is happening. I don't see spiders but I feel "shadow people" around me and feel a great sense of impending doom and physical danger. Other times I feel as if someone is standing over me with a knife and I know if I would just open my eyes they would vanish. The fear is real as is the knowledge that it could end if I could just wake up.

It is like dreaming that you are falling but you don't wake up - you actually crash and then you keep experiencing the dream.

I've had some episodes last for almost 45 minutes. I was fully conscious but unable to move one time when paramedics were called and I clearly recall their use of amonia, chest pain rub, finger nail pain compression and other techniques trying to "wake me". It was a horrible experience.

Almost all my episodes happened related to napping so I never nap anymore. It's not worth it to me to nap.

I do have sleep apnea and narcolepsy. I've had sleep paralysis since about age 13. I am now 46.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Trisha, yucaipa Ca — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:43:49 GMT

Wow, just like everyone else I thought it was just me. I actually do have hallucinations, usually they are auditory with a horrific sense of dread. Most of the time I dont know I am dreaming and will try to wake up and sometimes I will believe that I am awake and it starts to happen all over again.Like a dream within a dream. Funny I read this article because it happened to me just last night. I am 30yrs old and i can remember this happening since I was about 5.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Amanda, Kansas — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:01:06 GMT

The last time this happened to me I was in college. I dreamed that my roommates were having a party in the next room and I was trying to sleep. When I tried to get up, I couldn't move. And when I tried to yell at them to keep it down, I couldn't talk. Of course, there was no party, and, to this day, I remember being conscious of the fact that I was paralyzed and could not speak, but I was "seeing" my darkened room quite distinctly.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

CK, San Diego — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:31:04 GMT

I had this recently - I felt like I was partly awake and could hear my mom calling my name (she does not live with me). Then I could hear her tell me something about her medication, and then I awoke all the way. I called her right away and found out that at the same moment I was dreaming I heard her, she was on the phone with her sister discussing her medication! So trippy! Maybe there is some merit to the comments about out-of-body experiences.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

I, Canada — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:51:34 GMT

It happens very rarely with me. One time, in college, I was napping on my side and I thought there was a large purple jelly-like monster pushing on my back preventing me from getting up. I started praying in my head and my then roommate came to knock on my door and that's when I snapped fully awake. I must have been praying out loud because she came to see if I was OK. That was 5 years ago. It hasn't happened again.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

pjohnson07@zoomtown.com — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:20:01 GMT

For me, I found that I would have night mares, If I were to eat before I went to bed. I don't do that anymore. It worked for me.

Princess Johnson Cincinnati, Ohio

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Mishel, Austin TX — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:41:14 GMT

I'm a graduating Psychology major and can tell you this is called sleep paralysis. This lucid dreaming often occurs amidst sleep cycles. We are in limbo between sleep and consciousness. These episodes, as you know, can be quite frightening, worrysome and exhaustive.

I myself have had a few of these episodes. The trick is to realize it is sleep paralysis, not anything out to get you or suffocate you. As hard as it is, find a way to relax and let yourself settle back into sleep. It takes a few seconds, but you won't "freak out" the next time it happens.

Dreams and sleep are crazy things!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

KarenRMiller Indiana — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:58:35 GMT

I began experiencing sleep paralysis in high school and have always felt like it was a very evil ominous presence hovering over me. Thankfully they are few and far between now, but when they come on I try to thrash my way out of them. (of course I can't move..but I put up a good fight) My brother has since told me he experiences them also, though he relaxes and can move into an out of body experience. I have two children in their early twenties who also experience this phenomenon. My son sees the hooded dark specters at his bedside and feels his covers moving. My daughter feels the presence. My third child is approaching 16 and is she is petrified that she is going to be next. Does this have a genetic component?

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Stacey A., CA — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:22:20 GMT

Me too! Very scary. I do have the hallucinations sometimes and sometimes it's the other variety. Very scary both ways. Usually someone is coming up the stairs to get me and I can't move. I have also learned the trick of moving one finger to snap out of it. I used to try and shout my way out but I could never make any noise.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

CLW, Royal Oak, MI — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:05:14 GMT

Unfortunately every single time this has happened to me I've been sleeping alone, usually with the whole house being empty as well. And if that wasnt scary enough I always have the hallucination of a man coming at me, no "shadowy figure" either, detail! I could pick this guy out of a line-up! Made the whole experience that much more terrifying. And if THAT wasn't enough every single night I'd have regular dreams (nightmares really) that ended up with me dead in a violent fashion....for years going to bed at night would literally be HELL on earth for me. Luckily both have subsided for the last 2 years. //Knocks on wood\\

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

patricia dirocco,cornelius,nc — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 01:56:14 GMT

I dont know if this is the same or not--I fall asleep, and if I go into a deep sleep,I dont seem to be able wake up for many hours. If by some slim chance I do wake up briefly I cant seem to get out of bed

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Abhishek Rathi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:53:51 GMT

This has happened to me many times also. Though i dont get any scary dreams, Im conciously awake and cant move while being aware of it. Sometimes I cant breath but I try to move my hands and once I get control of them, I snap out of it followed by extreme exhaustion in the head. It happens rarely but is very scare when you feel that you cant get out of it.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Ruth S, pALO alTO, ca — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:33:43 GMT

Hi i had my first experience about 9 years ago when i was pregnant with my son. i always thought it was a demonic thing and i would pray in Jesus name and within seconds i managed to snap out of it. i had them often during those nine months and then they stoped until last night. it is an awful feeling . i hope they go away for another 9 years at the least. i have a brother who had something similar happen to him about 2 years ago. But it isnt until now that i think it might be related. you see he gets the same thing were he can be sleeping and then cant moved anything but for him it lasts up to several hours later. My mother took him to the doctor and they told him that it is an potassium deficiency.that he has an over active thyroid and that when he uses up all his potassium then thats when he gets those symtoms. i have had my thyroid checked often and there is nothing wrong with mine. but im wondering if my problems and his are associated.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Beth, Mill Valley, CA — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 05:35:52 GMT

I have experienced this strange and terrifying phenomenon for many years. I struggled with trying to figure out what this "thing" was. Years ago, I truly felt that it must have been astral projection, as it matched all of the sensations of the episode. I have heard voices, which I thought was my guide. I have had the floating and/or sinking feeling, the feeling of severe pressure on my chest, the vibrations all throughout the body, and the humming noise in my head. It actually stopped occurring regularly about a few years ago when I moved across country.
Now that there is more information on the net, I believe that I experience sleep paralysis, though a part of me wants to believe that I am going into the astral world.

It's interesting that SO MANY people go through this in their life and never know what is is and are even embarrassed to share. Even if this article wasn't the most informative as an above reader stated, it at least created an open forum for us to share our experiences :)

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Stacie M — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 09:21:55 GMT

Thank god I'm not the only one this happens to. I'm only 13 and I've been having this for a while I just had to look it up. As for me I like anime like "Naruto" "Blood+" and all that. I would wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom or something and when I go back to bed I can't sleep. It happened to me today. Some would be like red eyes are looking at me coming near me. Or I feel someone is in the room,someone or something evil. Today I sleept on my belly and not to be mean but the only how I can say it is...it was as if something fat was laying on my back. I hope these stop soon.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Stacie McCalla — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 09:35:33 GMT

My graduation from JHS is in 2 days. So I hope it does not happen to me then. When it first happened I though a way out of it was to sit up but it happened like that too. When I did sit up I saw Kakashi, a shinobi in the 'Naruto' anime. He was telling me something about his dad and he was being evil he turned into his dad, white fang, but the weird part is I've never seen his dad before when I looked him up he looked just like what kakashi turned into. Then this BIG spider came up my stairs bigger than the spider from 'Harry Potter'. Because of my 'sleeping problem' I was a little scared to sleep. I'd often see men figures with red eyes or something big laying on me. Never knew other people went though this so I just had to look it up. If your kids have it help them because I have tryed to kill myself while it was happening before because I can't move I hold my breath.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

NJ, St. Charles, Missouri — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:41:53 GMT

Ok..so this can be viewed in a scientific way, but what about the spiritual part of it?? Yes..I have noticed that it usually happens when I am exhausted or when I am laying on my back, but I don't believe this should just be classified as a sleeping disorder. Also, not everythings you see during these episodes should be classified as hallucinations. I agree with what Bill Schultz wrote above. Many of you fail to realize that this experience is your mind separating from your body or your soul separating from your flesh. Sleep paralysis is the 1st stage. If you don't try and fight the sleep paralysis you can allow yourself to experience something supernatural. Your body will begin to tingle and you will hear a loud buzzing noise in your ears..if you let it go..you will end up out of your body & floating around in your room. You will be able to see things, hear things, and feel things you normally would not. I have seen, heard, and felt ghosts or spirits and I have my own evidence that God has given me prove that this is something spiritual. So the next time you are overcome with sleep paralysis..do not fight it and you will be able to experience life in another dimension.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

hopefully helping, sf, ca — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 01:11:28 GMT

my boyfriend gets these really really bad and the poor thing is so terrified every single time. he is scared to go back to sleep alot of the time because he just can not get used to it. eventually i started noticing when it was happening to him while he was asleep and i wasn't-- he would be laying very still but moaning quietly with a scared look on his face, and maybe his fingers might be just barely starting to wiggle a little, and i can just tell he is trying to jump out of his own skin-- and i am happy to wake him up those few times and spare him the terror for that one episode. i wish i could be there to wake him up everytime it happens! it has happened to me before too but i can only imagine how horrible it would be for it to happen to someone repeatedly like that. i will definately tell him about the trick to try not laying flat on your back because now that i think of it, he is always flat on his back everytime i see it happening to him. thanks for the tips everyone!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Chris, San Diego, CA — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:28:18 GMT

I used to have this all the time when I was in college, most frequently when I would nap in the afternoon. No bugs or snakes, just a freaky feeling of not being able to move. It's definitely a creepy feeling. I would usually try to bridge the disconnect between mind and body by trying really hard to move my toes or just falling back asleep. I'm 99% sure that this is related to sleep deprivation/stress.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

K H (chicago area) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:57:47 GMT

Hypnogotic hallucinations and sleep paralysis are probably the most frightening things I have experienced in my life. I have been diagnosed with narcolepsy and sleep apnea and am under the care of a pulminologist. Even with medications to help regulate my sleep (insomnia) and wake cycles (excessive daytime sleepyness) the hallucinations and paralysis continue to be an issue at bedtime and if I don't wake to an alarm or wake before the alarm and try to go back to sleep.

These episodes are incredibly frightening and while you know that they aren't real you can't help but respond to them as if they were real. Their memory can linger with you for hours afterwards.

My pulminologist is excellent and is working with me on using different medications to find one that will reduce the frequency and severity of the episodes.

These episodes are not related to religion or different dimensions or aliens...they are connected to your body's sleep cycle and chemicals and can be treated with medication.

You are not crazy and you are not alone. Talk to your doctor and ask to be referred to a sleep specialist (pulminologist). Other sleep issues could be occurring that could be life threatening or impacting the quality of your sleep without you even realizing it.

Remember: You are not crazy, you are not alone - It is such a relief to be able to talk to the pulminologist about the new hallucination of a giant fly that kept dive bombing my head at bedtime and I couldn't move my head to avoid getting hit and how the fly barely missed me. She doesn't look at me as if I am insane. She understands. That is priceless.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Angelo Gonzales, Albuquerque, NM — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:11:59 GMT

This has happened to me as well. I fell asleep on the couch mid day to take a nap. Across from me was one of my buddies asleep as well. Before I fell asleep my roommate was having a discussion with his girlfriend. When they left i fell asleep. Then all of a sudden I was in awake, but my roommate was still talking with his girlfriend, my buddy was on the couch asleep and it felt like i was awake, but couldn't move or talk. I could hear the discussion and see around the room but couldn't move anything. Then it felt like someone was poking me with a sharp instrument on my back from beneath the couch. In my head it felt like the devil. I tried getting up, I tried so hard I could actually see my soul trying to get out of me. I was so frightened I couldn't get up. This went on for a few minutes so I think. I never looked at the clock. I finally got up and my roommate was not there having the conversation with his girlfriend. The weird thing is it was the same discussion he had with her right before he left. My buddy was still asleep on the other couch. And when I woke its like I took a huge breath and sigh of relieve.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

tony, atlanta, georgia — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:21:13 GMT

it happens to me sometimes when im jus laying on my bed or napping. i want to get up but i cant, my body tingles all over, but i cant yell out for help or move. my mother says it happens to her to, but i would really like it to stop.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Yaqub, Cardiff, Wales — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:05:08 GMT

Thanks for this article so It happens to me always before i sleep or during sleep. I wake up abruptly and i can't move but i can see my room and i can feel that i'm awake after that i see shape of somebody in front of me so my hand shakes sometimes. One day the shape(it's like ghost) it moved my leg up and down. It is so terrifying and it's still happening to me.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Sherry, Phoenix, AZ — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:11:43 GMT

For those of you taking this lightly... try having nightmares every night, night after night for years. Like 30+ years. Sound like fun? Even worse, it's not a dream sequence - you are awake but immobile. It's devastating and terrifying. Sleep is the one place we want to be safe, and for some of us it's the worst part of the day, where you are constantly under attack. After reading the posts, I'd like to know what useful treatments professionals have found to work, as in sleep therapy, medications, etc. Are there physical conditions that sleep therapists have found? ie. something seen in CT scans? Although suggestions of using holy water, salt on the windowsill, out of body traveling, aliens, praying to Jesus, etc. are amusing from the posts, the article should have definitely been more useful and talked about treatments. Ambien can only be taken for so long.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Katie O, Dallas TX — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:50:46 GMT

I've had this since I was a teenager and it's usually more frequent when I am under great stress or not getting enough sleep. I've told people about it and they just look at me like I'm crazy! I've had nightmares where I have been killed by being pushed off a cliff and (vividly) smashing into the ground or by being dragged down to the bottom of a lake by a huge monster. Once I am "dead", I realize it's a dream and I need to wake up, but I am totally unable to move and get out of bed. Sometimes I have weird visions or hallucinations during the time I am "frozen" and trying to get out of bed. One time when I was younger I saw a an old man with a long beard and wizard hat that was glowing with white light and floating through my bedroom. Recently, I fell asleep on the couch in the living room and, as I was trying to wake up, I saw a huge (one foot across) black hairy spider climbing up the living room curtains. I was actually able to yell out to my husband that "there's a giant spider on the curtains!!" although I could not move. When this first happened to me, it was the most intense feeling of fear I have ever experienced. Now, it doesn't scare me anymore and is not a big deal, although the giant spider episode really scared my husband!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Boniface, San Antonio, TX — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:12:37 GMT

Yep, I've had these all my life. I finally learn to relax and go with it. As others have said here, I began to "lucid dream" and control things completely. I also learned many other things, like astral travel (with verifiable information collected) and how to enter another person's dreams, controlling their dream for them, and both of us remember the common dream.

I believe this type of experience is the source for ancient witchcraft beliefs, but that doesn't make them untrue, just explained in a different way than we would today. Too bad scientists aren't objective enough to experiment with these type of experiences in an open honest way, rather than just seeking validation for their pre-conceived "scientific" notions.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Victoria Grothoff, Columbia, Mo — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:54:59 GMT

I've had this experence three times in my life. Once In my senior year of High School when taking the AP tests, once in my Junior Year of College while working to get an internship in the State Department and once very recently (last May) while taking the bar exam. For me it seems to be brought on by lack of sleep and high stress situations. I never saw spiders, but I did have a sensation that people were in the room with me, hiding. It was horrible and I do NOT wish to repeat the experence.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Dee, NJ — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:37:03 GMT

I've had this happen to me since the tender age of about 5. It used to happen to me several times a week, then less frequently over time. As one blogger put it, my mom called it "the witches riding my back." As I got into my teens, I started sleeping with a bible under my pillow and praying VERY HARD whenever the paralysis came on. Like most others, it really only happened to me when I slept on my back. Too, like others, I am able to recoginize it as starts to happen and I've been very successful in stopping it. During the times that I wasn't successful in stopping it (or not yet skilled enough to do so), I'd just relax my mind and let it run its course. For years, though, I STRUGGLED to talk, move and or scream (usually HELP ME), but nothing worked. Once, though, my sister was in the room with me and although I was screaming to the top of my lungs for help, she didn't hear a sound. She did, however, see that my eyes were wide open but tht I wasn't moving.... at all. She called my name and when I didn't respond, she shook me. I can't tell you how releived I was to "wake up." I asked her if she'd heard me screaming for help, and she said not. She'd suffered a few episodes over the years (not nearly as many as me), so she was able to recognize what was going on... thankfully.

I've never had the spiders, but I've certainly had other "visions." I'm 31 and haven't had an episode in several years. Not being able to talk or move, though you're fully conscious, is TERRIFYING!! I'm glad to know that I'm not alone!!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

leeds england — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:11:30 GMT

iam tired of this and i want
to sleep in peace

david

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Aaron, Boston, MA — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:52:18 GMT

Wow, reading everyone's experiences has me creeped out all over! It's made me think of the times this happened to me in college, and one time in particular.

The more generic times would be when I was extremely tired, as seems to be a common case. I would be sleeping on my stomach, and would become aware of being unable to move at all, then would 'wake myself up' over and over again until I was finally for real awake - kind of like waking up from a dream inside of a dream inside of a dream, almost like nested Russian dolls. The same attempts to break the spell that others here have mentioned (wiggling toes, trying to speak, etc.) would usually do the trick, but each episode was just as terrifying as the previous one!

Now, here's the specific incident - the most frightening thing that has ever happened to me and even though it's been 19 years now, I think of it often and it haunts me:

After my college commencement, I stopped overnight at a friend's college on my drive cross country. He was subletting a place for the summer term, and I had to sleep on a futon on the middle of the living room floor. It was extremely muggy, and I slept on my back with my feet towards the door to the room. I awoke, paralyzed and in utter terror, to see a young man about my age, standing about 10 paces beyond my feet, near the entrance to the room, just staring at me. He wasn't particularly malevolent, but what freaked me out the most was wondering how long he had been watching me! I finally looked at the digital clock - I could move my eyes, that's all - it was 4:15 AM. At about 4:35, as the first early light hit the sky, he started to vanish, but he never took his eyes off me. I finally found I could move, rolled over and pulled the sheet over my head and eventually fell back to sleep.

I couldn't wait to hightail it out of Oxford, OH a few hours later!! My friend wondered what was wrong with me. It honestly took a couple weeks to shake the feeling. Thank god it never happened again. Just knowing it's not me alone is something of a comfort I guess. I still fear that one of these days...you never know...

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Donna, Memphis,TN — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:31:43 GMT

I have experieenced being awake but not being able to move or speak. I would be fighting to open my eyes, but could only see vaguely. And I have also been falling into a bottomless black hole only as a very young child. This is something that I have dealt with from being a very young child on in to adulthood. I have always known it to be a spiritual happening. As I got older I learned that calling "Jesus", or rather thinking it very strongly in my mind breaks what seems to be something holding me in a paralyzed state. I have not had to deal with it a while now. The black hole dreams just stopped when I was around 6. Thank you for this article and allowing me to share my experience and see that I am far from being alone in this. I have asked many people If they have had the same experience, but they never have.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

ivory,dallas,tx — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:57:12 GMT

im 16 and this has been happening to me for at least four yrs, its werid because i see everything around me, i can hear everything but i cant move. my chest feels heavy and sometimes i try to scream but no one hears me but myself, im glad i know what it is now

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Giovanni Dallas Texas — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:47:31 GMT

This just happened to me, i was laying on bed at 6:43pm with my back up so I started to feel really sleepy, i turn my head to the other side and open one eye then all of the sudden i cant move my body and my eye is trying to close as im trying to keep it open. I can see the light, the computer that is just right in front of me, im trying to move really hard but i just can't. Until it passes and Im able to move, and feels like a dream. I have had this pass a few times with lapses of years in between, but last night i had to stay till 6am and i drank 2 sodas so that might had to do something with it since i haven't eated anything. It is true you allucinate, because i felt like somebody was sitting next to me or climbing, but i guess it was nothing. Just my body sleeping and my mind awake, as i said before, i was starting to get really sleepy when i decided to wake up, i coulnt move. Really frightning even during day

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

ifysticaenyo@yahoo.com — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:00:56 GMT

am really happy to hear people do have this sleep disorder as i do in my country they call it witch craft they say witches want to inflict you with a kind of disease if you have such experince. i do have them only in the afternoon and my mother also experince them too when it. happens to me if i dont struggle to wake up its as if i will die that why i fight to wake up whenever i experince this disoder.eno e africa nigeria

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Nevaeh Tristen Thuen, Minot, North Dakota — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:00:04 GMT

It's only happened once...but I never want to experience it ever..ever again.
I'm waking up(well obviously not completely,) and one of my fears of my room, being that it's quite large, is something hiding behind my tall foot board and then slowly standing up, something standing in the corners of my room, something standing by my bed, and me looking into the mirror and seeing someone behind me or something that's not in the room(most of the "things" I imagine would do these things are shoe less, little girls with black hair and dirty white dresses, little boys who resemble the kid on the cover of Angela's Ashes, or dead things.) Well I went to bed that night everything was fine, my puppy next to me...I had school the next day so i wanted to sleep a lot. I had woken up in the middle of the night and not been able to fall back to sleep. I take sleep aid pills that don't necessarily keep me asleep but just get me there and I really wanted sleep, so I took another pill, turned out the lights, and turned over. That was 2:15AM. Cut to 5:30AM...I'm laying in bed looking at my room, completely out of it, not being able to move, I thought I was just super tired...then it happened. I saw something at the bottom of my bed(my bed is against a wall, and it was at the bottom of my bed but facing the wall...so I was seeing a profile view of it)...if any of you have seen Silent Hill, Pulse, or The Descent, picture the creatures...gray skin, so skinny you can see EVERY bone in their body, hunched over, but this was different, he(I assume it was a male) he had no face, just a slit as a nose. Then he disappeared and reappeared in the corner of my room. Then again, he disappeared and reappeared at the bottom of my bed post but in the other corner of my bed. Then again, disappeared and reappeared by my bed. Then disappeared and reappeared on my bed holding my chest down, I felt like this creature was blocking my air. My eyes kept closing but I had to have them open to make sure I knew where this thing was. I started to move my hands...not a lot but a little enough to TRY to grab for anything, realizing I couldn't scream for my parents, I found my dog and grabbed his head...I could feel my self trying to scream and no words...then I woke up in a cold sweat screaming. My mom kept telling me it was a night terror, but most people don't remember their night terrors...let alone know the entire story. Reading all of your guys posts reassured me that this is what happened to me. It explained why my eyes were open but I was quite there(which, in my opinion, was the scariest part,) why I remember it, and why I couldn't breathe and now it makes sense. Thank you guys and...well...enjoy my novel I just wrote.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Kelly, Woodbridge, Va — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:55:57 GMT

The first time this happened to me was about 5 years ago (I'm 42). I could hear the radio flipping stations (or so I thought?) I was also elevated off the bed, couldn't breath, speak, nothing. I was so freaked out and terrified that when I told a close friend about it, I was almost hysterically crying. We did some research, came across sleep paralysis. I was very much relieved to find out that I was not losing my mind (or being abducted by aliens) and that others have had the same experiences. I have somehow learned to recognize when this is in the beginning stages and can "most times" bring myself out of it. I don't know why I started having these episodes and they rarely happen now. I think knowing that it is a real condition and that other people have had similar experiences helps me a lot.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Gen — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:26:26 GMT

I have had sleep paralysis and the accompanying hallucinations for a few years (mostly teen years). They mostly lasted for 1-2 minutes and I normally saw aliens/creatures I had seen in movies a few days before. I can tell you there is nothing scarier than being completely paralyzed and awake... but seeing that girl from 'The Ring' with her hand extended towards your neck with every intention of choking you. I haven't had an episode in 4 years and I pray I never do again. Although I am glad other people have gone through the same thing. Most people don't understand the concept that you are completely awake and dreaming at the same time. They think I am crazy.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Gen — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:30:40 GMT

I just want to add that I have also noticed that this only happens to me when I am lying on my back. I also think that it might have a genetic predisposition. My father and brother have the same thing.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

LB,New Mexico — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 15:43:25 GMT

Yes,alot of us have this condition.
But please please do not confuse this condition with sleep apnea.
INFORMATION

"The Greek word "apnea" literally means "without breath." There are three types of apnea: obstructive, central, and mixed; of the three, obstructive is the most common. Despite the difference in the root cause of each type, in all three, people with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during the night and often for a minute or longer."

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

marco F,lima,Peru — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:42:19 GMT

when i was twelve i remembers sleeping and then i woke up opened my eyes and i couldnt move i would hear a strange sound and see an alien at my right i would start to levitate and from fear i closed my eyes and pray it feltso real and i opened them and it was over. this is my experience

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Anne Kay, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:10:16 GMT

Happens to me almost everyday. It's really tiring and exhausting. I always waste my energy on trying to get up but i can't. I feel that my head seems to be vibrating when I am in that situation. I have seen my left leg being pulled up by no one and being swung left and right, but could never do anything to stop it. I also saw myself floating and going up very fast and then being dropped down to my bed, and then up and down again so many times. Also have felt of falling down with my bed. Always felt a weight on my chest and a weird feeling of stress behind my neck, in my head, and on my shoulders. Tried to scream for help but it seems my screams were never heard by anyone although i could hear my screams very loud. Other people could never hear me even when they are actually near me. And when i managed to wake up, everything looks fine and untouched, my blanket's still covering my body perfectly untouched by anyone. When i succeeded to get up, i will feel really tired, will be sweating and also catching up for breath, my heart pounds rapidly. My nerves behind my neck are stiff and i could hear the crack sounds as i massage my neck after the incident. As for me, sleep paralysis often not to just happen once in a night. It will repeat again and again even until morning and I won't get enough sleep and feel tired. Furthermore, I am an insomniac, so I sleep very late but could never get a good sleep.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Tyler , Phoenix, arizona — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:13:53 GMT

okay, it just now happened to me and immediately got on the internet to see ....what the heck is going on lol, wow....My worst fear is not being able to breathe or my heart stopping, and that's exactly what seemed to occur, My mind was COMPLETELY awake but my body was paralyzed, resperation rate ( seemed to be shallow ) but then i woke up and began to breathe fine. I immediately thought it was just my body being tired, since i wake up early for the gym every morning i thought it was just my muscles trying to repair themselves because i had been sleeping for 10 hours, i thought it was just my mind saying ALRIGHT!!! LETS GO, WE GOT STUFF TO DO, sounds pretty weird. I am going to look into this and possibly mention it whenever my next physicians visit comes up. wow, very scary experience.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Emily, Vancouver, Wa — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:47:12 GMT

This happened to me once, and it was one of the scariest things I've ever experienced. I remember being able to see everything around my room very clearly- including a shirt hanging on my doorknob, and I could hear perfectly well, but I couldn't move and I couldn't speak. I had an awful feeling that something dreadful was going to happen to me, and my heart began beating faster and faster as I felt the danger closing in. This lasted for several minutes. At one point I thought I might be dying or perhaps already dead. After a while I told myself I had to fight it, and I started chanting to myself, "Wake up, Emily! Wake up!" I screaming at myself in my mind. Finally I woke up and realized I had been sleeping with a mask over my eyes the whole time, and the shirt I had clearly seen hanging on my doorknob wasn't really there after all. The fact that there was really no shirt there was the only thing that made me realize I was just dreaming. Sooo scary! I really hope I never have to go through that again.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Kevin, Los Angeles, California — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:22:29 GMT

It happened to me twice in the last 5 years. The first episode, about 5 years ago was not quite the same as "I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!' but I was in a half dreaming state and half awake for about 10 to 15 minutes. It was about 5:30AM, when I was in the middle of that confusing state, my wife woke up, talked to me and learned that I was mostly incomprehensible so she took me to the hospital. The hospital staff kept me there for 2 days for observation. They gave me aspirins & blood thinner medication because they thought I might have had a minor stroke. The hospital ran all kind of tests on me in those 2 days but couldn't find anything wrong. Then last year, I experienced a very similar experience as described in this article : that night I got a flu so I went to sleep on a couch in the living room (didn't way to spread the gems to my wife). About midnight, I woke up but couldn't move any part of my body. I desperatelly tried to move my arms, my legs, my fingers but I was totally paralyzed ... suddenly I saw one man with a blank face, wearing a long coat and a hat,
and even with a blank face, the man stood right at my feet at stared at me the whole time. I was scared to death ! In my mind that man I was a ghost or a symbol of death (actually I never believe in ghosts) so I panic and desperatelly struggled to wake up because I didn't want that man to harm me or take me away.
It was a very scary experience ! after that episode, I started to think that there may be some kind of supernaturals or ghosts after all.
Eventhough that thought didn't stay with me long
(I still believe that there is no ghosts), I think these kinds of scary experiences have turn many people into believers since the dawn of time.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

John O., Milwaukee, WI — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:25:00 GMT

I've had spider nightmares for years that end with me paralyzed with fear and expecting death. It is pretty terrible. When it seems I will die from the spider or spiders in the dream, and the fear has become overwhelming, I awake. When I have had the presence of mind to pray to Jesus during the nightmare, He wakes me up immediately. Eating before sleeping ususally provokes these nightmares, as does alcohol.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

catherine, seattle, WA — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:16:38 GMT

When I was a child, I would fall asleep in terror, as the devil would pull me down into his dark hole. I was terrified and unable to fight. I found out later that my brother would have a similar way of falling asleep, but for him, it was a wolf that would come to eat him...Years and years later, I woke up one morning to find myself paralized with fear again. The devil was standing next to the bed on the left...He was looking down and laughing at me...In my mind, he was absolutely real. I was petrified with fear... After a while, he was gone and I really woke up...I was so scared by the experience, I moved out! Never had this happen since...

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Boo, Atlanta Georgia — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:19:20 GMT

I used to experince this sleep problem for years. I always thought it was my room mate comming into attack me. Then after years of this I had his baby. He assures me its not his it was a case of mind over matter. Im unsure

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Mike, Guam. myk008@yahoo.com — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:22:36 GMT

This has occured to me several times that I am waiting to completely die. It is so terrifying and the more I tried to fight it the more I feel
stuck on the bed. I will try to scream and and hoping to wake somebody up but no avail. So much hallucination that is hard to explain that I am feeling that I would have a heart attack or something.

This is what I found I needed to get away from this nigthmare. I consulted my doctor and explain
to him my bad sleep expirience, followed by the feeling that I am dying anytime. He gave me some
enxiety medicine and I begin to live again and no more nightmares. I almost commited suicide not knowing what else to do.

Hoping this won't happen again. I am pretty cool person and does not get excited easy.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Remy Langley, San Diego — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:28:32 GMT

A previous commenter mentioned the idea of incorporating this into lucid dreaming, and at about the age of twelve, that is exactly what i had done, mistaking my sleep paralysis for a failed lucid dream. Because of my study of it, and constant training (this happens to me about four nights a week), i can now consistently have lucid dreams.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Susan, Bainbridge,GA — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:46:55 GMT

I have a related problem. I sometimes go directly into dreams(usually dark dreams--death, fights, murder, sex, monsters, etc.) when I close my eyes. When this happens I am paralyzed but I can still hear myself breathing and my heartbeat. I try to move but usually can't or I'll fight to open my eyes, several times I have heard my heart almost stop. These dreams usually occur after long periods of depression, stress, lack of sleep, excessive work.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Ann Capelin--Newfoundland, Canada — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:41:52 GMT

In Newfoundland...we call that kind of dream "hag dreams" and it is prevalent in folklore as being chased by an old 'hag'. Although most of these dreams do not involve an old hag, the name still sticks. I have had several of these dreams, the paralysis and the feeling of being wide awake--this article was very well done.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Golden — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:06:39 GMT

I remember watching a show about this kind of sleep disorder, and it freaked me out, and scared me. I feared the day it would ever happen. One night I slept down in my living room, and I fell asleep,and ten I was awake, but I couldn't move, I was so scared I couldn't scream for help or anything. Until a few weeks ago this had never ever happened to me, I am so scared.

Last night, it happened to me for the second time, twice in a few minutes of me dosing off . I fall asleep but I was lying there paralyzed...I didn't sleep at all last night because I'm so afraid of experiencing this over and over again through the night. I am terrified and frustrated and I don't know what to do.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Nora, Jacksonville, FL — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:54:41 GMT

I have had these experiences on occasion, and they are really frightening. I feel like they really could be some form of paranormal phenomena. The symptoms described in this article are similar to the ones I have had.

After Im trying to wake up, I find my eyes are open, but that my breathing is very limited, and I cant move or speak. I felt like something is sitting heavily on my body, and that I can't get up.

Sometimes, I would see hallocinations. I once was taking a nap during the day, and when I woke up, I felt that paralysis feeling, and I saw some creature, that was transparent and reddish in color.. seemingly starring at me... and then I said God's name.. and then it left my body instantly.

I use to have these experiences every other week or so..

It was so weird becuz the times that I had these experiences... was when I was researching about paranormal phenomena (reading scary stories and such)... and the more interested I was in the subject.. the more I had those scary incidences.

When I stopped reading those scary stories related to paranormal phenomena.... then I didnt get that paralysis feeling while waking up.

I feel so bad for those who see spiders or that someone is stabbing them.. that must be horrifying!!

I believe that there is a "world" that is unseen.. and that these strange experiences could be caused by some supernatural force... I wouldn't complete dismiss this theory, in my opinion. Just because there is no specified proof that its a supernatural cause.. doesnt mean that its not.

I hated that feeling, and I really hope that i never experience that feeling again..

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Nicholas Bush, Atalanta,Ga — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:51:13 GMT

This still happens to me. Like somebody said, you can hear people talking to you but you cant respond. Once, being the religious person that I am, I just screamed Jesus and I was lifted out of that trance-like state.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Sue, Tulsa, Okla — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:21:54 GMT

Iuse to have dreams a man in a red plaid shirt was standing over me. I could scream then and my mother would come wake me up. I was in high school then. This continued until I married. Then i started having paralizing dreams. Now a real Senior my husband sleeps in another room since I snored. On three different occations I felt a man slide in next to my body (no, it wasn't my husband) and put his arm over my chest. Can't scream for my husband but only a sputtering sound comes out. I try harder and harder until he hears the noise. Wakes my up and I'm OK. Another time the same thing except I try to call for my Mother who has been dead for years and she comes to stand over me and says, "It's ok homey. You are only having one of those bad dreams. Go back to sleep". So, I relax and feel everything is OK and then I feel the mans arm flop over me again. I can feel the hair on his arm. I really start screaming for my husband which he says came out like a loud grunt. He has had to wake my lots of times. When I found out what this was, I now,upon going to bed, say, "alright, don't come to me anymore. I know what you are now to stay away". It has been about a year since it's happened again. Also, I really think loosing 25 pounds made a difference also. I don't snore any more. So my husband says.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

jess — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:38:43 GMT

This happens to me quite often but I've never seen anything bad.. although I have had the fear that something was coming to get me.

My fiance has them sometimes too. It was strange too- one night we were both having them and he finally woke himself up and said to me 'its happening again' he helped me out of it. i said 'me too....' we both got up walked around and they stopped. you have to actually get up and walk around or sit up for them to stop i've noticed...

veryy scary. but sometimes if you just go with it its alright (minus the hallucinations i wouldn't know anything about that)

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

law of vibration — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:42:45 GMT

I have experienced this many times, in fact just last week sitting in my massage chair, I fell asleep and woke up, but your not really awake, you are in a lucid state, that appears to be waking consciousness, it is not. It also appears you are being suffocated, you are not, you are breathing, your muscles are not responding and you begin to fight the experience. I can tell you that what is happening is the following. During the sleep state you are experiencing, you are being visited, worked on, abducted by etheric parasites, or aliens. They move thru that wavelength where we go during sleep, delta mindsets. As you sleep, you are being taken over by these fourth dimensional entities, sometimes they rape you, experiment on you, interact with you and the like. One way to prevent this if it really bothers you is to do the following. Fill yourself, surround yourself with BLUE FIRE, BLUE LIGHT, before you fall asleep. Fill your place with this fire, and the visits will stop. Then start to incorporate YELLOW FIRE during waking hours, and blue before sleep. This wavelenght you live in, is one of billions right next to it, you just think this is all there is. If you use drugs, live a low vibratory life, are sadistic, or drunk, these alien, etheric parasites will make many visits to you, as you are the energy that feeds them. WWW.WAKEUPTOYOURDIVINERIGHT.COM.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Donna D, Omaha, NE — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 22:36:16 GMT

I have a history of several sleep disorders including the sleep paralysis w/ vivid dreaming, usually when I lie on my back (which also causes obstructive sleep apnea & hypoxia to my brain). I have awakened several times to find I was
"being operated on" while paralyzed, "pronounced dead and autopsied" while trying to talk the doctors out of it, and other really bizarre stuff. Realized long ago this wasn't real, so most of my life have been able to talk myself out of a panic attack until it's over.
The one where I dream I'm awake, up, & getting ready for work over & over while still asleep, is the most frustrating of all, & I usually wind up late for work.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Nick Phillips, London — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:29:08 GMT

I too have experienced this. When I was younger I was actually late for school once where I was in that state of paralysis for almost 10 minutes. I do not have any hallucinations of anything specific, I am normally just in my bed, in my room, however sometimes my body can feel although its levitating, and spinning. It can be merely frustrating, but can also be very scary when there is the sensation of shortness of breath and tenseness all over. I can also confirm that I only experience sleep paralysis when laying on my back.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Faisal Rauf, East Brunswick, NJ — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:08:21 GMT

I am having this since my childhood. During childhood when I woke up and had sleep paralysis, I say some hairy monster standing on my chest. Then this stopped happening when I was 12. It started happening again when I was in late 20s; and still happening. But now I don't see any monster; its just paralysis and feeling that I am going to die sinec I cannot move.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Damian, Webster, MA — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:32:59 GMT

Thanks for this information, it just happened to me... I was lying in my bed trying to nap and suddenly I thought my dad was in my room, and I couldn't move my entire body, nor speak, but I was very much awake. Kind of scary but also and interesting experience

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Daniela, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:40:23 GMT

i had this experience today... i fell asleep and my mom woke me up to eat, i opened my eyes but i couldn't move an inch of my body... it happened to me before, (i remember having this dream of someone getting in bed with me, i thought it was my sister, suddenly it happened, i started praying and it stopped); before i opened my eyes i heard a voice, like a whisper, i started to panic, but i realized if i panicked i was only making it worse, so i calmed down and i started to try and move just a little, try to have a hold of my body, i finaly was able to open my mouth, when i did i could move again....

i red about the spiders... i havn't seen any, i hope i don't...

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Kelly, Atlanta GA — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:09:11 GMT

this happened to me today...and honestly it's got me afraid to go back to sleep again. i knew all of my surroundings perfectly well...my friend was sitting on the bed next to me talking on the phone. i heard everything she said, (i repeated the conversation to her later) and all of a sudden when i tried to wake up, the left side of my body wouldn't move. i felt my lungs clench up, i could hardly breathe. i could see what was going on out of my right eye, hear everything, but i was trapped in my mind. it was scary as hell. i kept trying to grab my friend, trying to scream at her to tell her i couldn't breathe, couldn't move, but she couldn't hear me. she told me later i made a few sounds, but looked asleep. i thought i was going to be stuck that way forever! i also felt like if i let myself go back to sleep i would stop breathing and die. so i had to keep fighting. it was like...a charlie horse. your frozen and in pain when you get one and when it finally starts to loosen up again, if you move to quick it'll lock into position again. i kept trying to wake up, but i just got more paralyzed.
finally a phone rang and something snapped me out of it.

anyways...it's scary as hell. i wonder if it's some form of a seizure. i'm just glad there were no spiders. :)

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Pam Des Moines, Iowa — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 07:28:49 GMT

I've had sleep paralysis episodes in the past... when they first occurred over 15 years ago I thought it was something evil. I felt as if an evil spirit was holding me down with tremendous pressure and I would look up and see the shadows from cars driving by in front of our house so I knew I wasn't asleep but I couldn't move or scream etc. It wasn't until I was being tested and finally diagnosed with Narcolepsy 10 years ago that I found out what these episodes were. I was prescribed Prozac at one point and they seemed to lessen but when I stopped taking it, they didn't increase so I haven't taken that Med for a long time. I haven't had any for quite some time. I do have the hallucinations from time to time but never really feel the severe sensation that I could not move during them.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Dametria P. — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:47:51 GMT

I have been having this experience over 20yrs.I have recently been having these experiences every night for the past week or so.I can feel a since of falling when I'm about to have this experience and you would think within the 2oyrs.I would know how to deal with them or that they wouldn't be as frightning but it hasn't got any easier to deal with.Last night after having the since of falling I began to feel as if something was laying on top of me I then began to try to move and couldn't so I tried to calm down and just go through the experience but for some reason it was lasting longer than usual so I began to pray and ask to be released and nothing happend then I could hear me calling on the name of Jesus over and over again in my head then I woke up screaming Jesus and sat straight up in my bed.I'm not sure what this experience is all about but one thing I do know is I don't like it.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

cassie F, san antonio, tx — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:54:08 GMT

The first time this happened to me, I was 5. I too saw a hooded figure sitting next to me followed by whispers and my kindergarden teachers voice.this would also happen while I was on my back.I finally learned to stop fighting it and allow myself to fall asleep. It works, its just very scary.I'm now 23 and expierence it from time to time.now I have a better understanding.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Panama city,panama — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:26:10 GMT

Ive been experience all these symptoms and much more since i was a teenager, now im 22. At first , when a teen, I would feel my bed slightly vibrating followed by a stage of fear in me.After time passed, in my later experiences, I felt my whole body very heavy while my state of mind being completley awake. I experience this in very diferent ways. I have also felt like if someone would be ontop of me while not leting me move. I have also felt squivvers downs my back and up as if someone were tickling my back. You cant move, however you try your best and sometimes you feel as if you were being able to move your arms and legs but without being able to wake up until you finally do ,after doing you best to force you body to wake up. This is very scary, I pray till Im able to wake from this horrible feelings. Many people think and believe that there is some kind off spirit haunting you while you sleep, others say that is sleep paralysis, but no one really know for a fact what it is. Just yesterday I had my latest exprience and the most vivi of all. It all started by knowing I was about to fall asleep, then I tried to open my eyes, however it was impossible cause my journy into this feeling had just begun, I then entered heaviliy into this feeling of almost goint to sleep deeply but not letting yourself because it elt very strange, then after knowing I was experiencing thi feelings, I started to feel tickles down my back, I started praying as hard as I could, when suddenly, and this had never happened to me, I felt my body leave as if somone or something elevated me like half a meter high, then slowly my body descended again onto my bed, and finally waked up. This creeped the hell out of me, but after giving this alot of thought, all this might relate with stress and the awareness that you have theses experiences in the past. Hope someone can reply with comments, sorry if I did not express my self very clearly but spanish is my first language. Wish u all luck to the one who experience this as myself because I know that its a very scary and uncomfortable feeling.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Ms. M Indianapolis — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:50:25 GMT

Short version....
I have had similar experience to Bill Stitt, Shoreline Washington. When I was married ‘spiders’ would drop on me and I'd awaken screaming when they hit, and I was paralyzed prior to awakening. I had a particularly awful series of experiences when married to an unfaithful man in my youth. 3-4 times I would awaken both of us screaming when something evil in the corner showed up when I was nearly asleep. There were pulsating waves of hatred emanating toward me, which caused great terror and paralyzed me. It tried to enter my body through my head or mouth. I would hear myself in my sleep struggle out the words, "I plead the blood of Jesus Christ"...then a blood curdling scream (from me) would awaken me and my spouse after I said those words and the paralysis immediately ended. It happened three or four times and the minute my mind focused on the evil thing that came in my room when I was paralyzed and between waking and sleeping--I wouldn't be able to tear my mind away, but after the initial time I would fight very hard to visualize a cross in the middle of two other crosses on a hill, and then I would hear myself pleading for the power of "the blood of Jesus Christ", then the scream and wakefulness. I was very afraid to fall to sleep after that. After those episodes stopped thereafter I dreamed of spiders etc. from time to time, falling on me. I am now divorced from a very controlling man who liked masculine military women (I am not masculine or military) and after the divorce the paralysis and night terrors ceased.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Bobbi von HamHam, Columbia, MD — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:05:12 GMT

I suffered through this for years, but was ashemed to tell anyone. Coincidentally, (or not) my greatest fear is of spiders, and that is what I see. Terrifying, until I realized I was hallucinating.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Evan Sacramento — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:20:01 GMT

wow i didnt know other people had this!! i just had one right now and i typed in google to see what it was. im 19 and i have one of these episodes about once a month. everytime i feel like im awake but i cant move or breathe and i feel like im going to die so i focus trying my hardest to move a muscle until i break out of it. nice to have some info about it

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Johnson, Byron Bay, Australia — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:02:33 GMT

I am 24 and had my first experience last night, I honestly thought I was going crazy. I heard very loud consuming noises (like hundreds of people running in a hall), then I sensed somone over my gf who was sleeping behind me, I wanted to turn around but I could not move. I was really crapping myself. I was to scared to go back to sleep but when I finally did I had an amazing lucid dream where I could fly and i flew down to a lake where I grew up and and swam like a dolphin both in the water and in the air. Amazing.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Von Ryan del Rosario , Manila , Philippines — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:41:58 GMT

I've experienced this several times like 5 years ago. I thought I was gonna die. I knew that I'm already awake but I can't seem to move my body and i can't even breath then i will wake up at the last breath. I tried everything i could to move. I tried to shout coz I'm hoping someone will hear me and help me but I can't do anything. It's really scary. I thought I have problems with my lungs or whatever part of my body. I even thought that i was cursed. I'm just so glad it doesn't happen to me anymore.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Crystal B , Jamaica NY — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:00:20 GMT

Hi my name is crystal, this happens to me all the time, since i was about 9 am now 23, and it still happens... this is my first time seeing these message post on this site, am so happy that am not the only one just for the fact that I know am not going crazy.... I need a break its really draining and honstly scary, feelings that your seeing, hearing things, also feeling you can't breath, things are someone is after you.. its really not a good feeling, I just wish it can all stop, for every one, I never let myself go with the flow of trying to sleep it off, cause it feel's like you honstly never ever going to wake up. I always try to fight it, like we all do :(

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

wendy east concord ny — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:31:42 GMT

wow i thought it was only me,it has happened for a while,every now and again,no spiders ,i can breathe,im hearing everything around me people talking ect.. but i just cant move,i have to really try hard to snap out of it
glad im not alone

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

natasha grimes southampton the uk — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:06:14 GMT

only this morning when i woke i relized that my body wouldnt move i was telling it too but it wouldnt listen! this has happened many times but its still as scary as the first i thought i was the only one or that maybe my brain wasnt functioning as normal! is there anything that can prevent this from happening@ could it be the kalms nights ive been taking?

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Big — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:53:25 GMT

I have experienced this for years. I am so glad to know that I am not alone. I thought I was the only one in the world to have this kind of experience. I am curious is there anyone out there who can also manipulate or control their dreams also? Do people who experience sleep paralysis can manipulate, change, or control their dreams? I have the ability to do this.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Big — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:54:37 GMT

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Medusa Prime Phoenix, AZ — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 02:29:18 GMT

I too have fallen victim to this. I've had them since I was a child. When I was younger, it was increadibly frightening. I used to hear myself in my head screaming for help, but there was no noise in my ears. The visions are increadibly vivid and real. Later on in life, I decided to go with the "buzz" as I called it before I knew it was a problem for many people. After I gave into the "buzz" it became less scary because I felt more in control. My husband wakes me up when he feels a finger move or a jerk. The slightest movement on my part brings me out of it, but I have to struggle against it to fully wake up. I have had this happen while waking up and right after my head hits the pillow. As an adult, it has become infrequent. The last one I experienced, I heard crashing and saw a hammer over my head, as if someone had gotten into the house and were going to bash my skull in. I've also thought my husband was someone else, I even thought I was someone else.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

DanielW, New Mexico — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:26:49 GMT

Thank you very much for this article, and also for the posts from so many of you who have shared this experience.

I have experienced it, myself. The clearest time was when I was about 15 years old and staying at my maternal grandparents' house. It started with an awareness of a dark spot in the far corner of the ceiling. It slowly grew like a volcanic cloud approaching me, threatening to envelope me. I sensed it as an evil presence and was terrified. When it was on the verge of covering and killing or taking me over, I managed to squeak out the words, "Jesus Christ?" as a plea for help. Instantly, the black cloud/presence vanished and I sat up in bed fully awake and afraid to go back to sleep. That awakened my mother had been asleep in the same room. She still remembers it 35 years later.

This occurred shortly after I saw the movie "The Exorcist" at the theater--illegally since at 15, I shouldn't have been allowed in. A friend of a friend who worked there let a group of us in. That movie had a negative emotional impact on me that lasted for months.

As an aside, as a father and school teacher, I'm amazed at how often I see young children watching R rated movies. Two of my 3rd grade students were relishing the details of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," previously. I'm amazed at the insensitivity and irresponsibility of many parents in allowing their children to watch such things whether in the theater or at home. I also fault theater owners and managers for allowing this.

As for sleep paralysis, that's the clearest case that I've experienced. When I was a young child, about five years old, I would frequently stay at my paternal grandparent's house and sleep on a sofabed. My grandfather would wake me up for the drive to the local hospital where my grandmother worked until 11:00 pm. After returning home to their home, I'd "wake up" during the night convinced that I was asleep on the seat of his pickup truck in their driveway. In each case, there was a "bad guy" outside. I was afraid to get out of the truck because the bad guy might get me, and because of their hunting dogs would bark. In each case, of course, I would awaken in the morning, safe in bed.

I experienced this many times and have always attributed it to the imagination of a child away from home. Now, I wonder whether these were recurrences of sleep paralysis.

I had many occasions of nightmares, some recurring, and of occasional sleepwalking as a child. When I was about six years old, I dreamed that I was outside watching a group of male soldiers urinating on the road. When my mother woke me up, I was standing on top of my bed urinating into the middle of it.

I found as a child that if I prayed not to have nightmares that I didn't. That seemed to relieve my fears of both nightmares and of falling asleep.

As an adult, I've experienced insomnia for years. At present it's 4:34 am and I've been up for two hours. Stress definitely increases the insomnia, for me.

At 50, I rarely experience nightmares and I'm not aware of any adult cases of sleepwalking. I do, however, enjoy lucid dreaming on occasion.

To help with sleep, I sometimes take a GABA supplement, purchased from a local nutrition and health supplement store. GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid) is a substance that occurs naturally in the human brain. It's sometimes referred to as "Nature's Tranquilizer." The GABA, along with a small bowl of cold cereal with milk before bedtime, helps me to fall asleep calmly and sleep in a relaxed manner. On most nights I'm able to sleep throughout the night. Regular physical exercise helps me, as well.

Anyone considering taking GABA or any other medication,should consult their physician first. My physician has approved it, along with the other food supplements that I take, for me.

In addition to the calming effects of the GABA, a "side benefit" that I've enjoyed is occasional "lucid dreaming." These have been both entertaining and enlightening open a world of "experiences" and awareness that exceeds even my favorite books and movies.

Again, thank you very much for this article and the many posts. After a lifetime of sleep difficulties, I have what may be a rational explanation for at least part of it. I'll consider discussing the experience(s) with my doctor and consider visiting a sleep clinic for an evaluation, as well.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

J.F Providence,Rhode Island — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:41:20 GMT

I cannot believe this...i cant believe there are other people that are going through the same thing i've been going thru for years!! It scares me so much when this happens to me and when i finally get out of it..i sometimes am afraid to go back to sleep! I've been looking into seeing a doctor about this and soon will!! But thank the good lord i haven't seen any spiders(and hopefully never will)!!!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Robert Coleman, Nuneaton, England — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 00:30:15 GMT

I have been having this problem for years since I was a child and over the years its been getting worse, somtimes i wake up 3 or 4 times a night with a paralyzed body and I can't talk and i always see a dark ghostly figure standing beside my bed, this first happened to me when I was about 7 years old and it is a very scary experience, i'm 29 now and it still scares me to go to sleep does anyone have the proper name for this sleep disorder.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Sarah, Canada — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:22:56 GMT

Wow, it's amazing to see so manyh posts responding to this. Apparently this is not an infrequent experience. I used to have this all the time when I was younger. I did suffer from insomnia since I was eleven years old.
One time I had this dream I was walking through a scary basement with door leading to door leading to another door, and on and on...My anticipation grew with each door. A fearful kind of anxiety; like I knew that behind one of these doors was something to be afraid of.
When I finally reached the climax of my anxiety, the final door, I opened it and something shocked me so bad it woke my mind.
I could feel my heavy body. I felt like each appendage was a billions of pounds. Like all the exhaustive effort I gave would not lift one pinkie. I could open my eyes slightly. I could tell I was in my room. My mind was totally lucid, but I could not move my body at all.
I felt as though if I could move any one finger, just the slightest bit, I could move the rest of my body.
I concentrated so hard on moving my pinkie within my eyesight range. I was able to finally move it. Doing so I could finally move the rest of my body. It was scary but facinating all at the same time.

I think I might have been slightly lucid dreaming also during my dream with all the doors, since I could remember every moment of that dream,even the colors of the walls.

I was able to reproduce this effect many, many times since then. On purpose. I tried because it made everything seem so surreal.

All I seem to have to do to achieve this state is to build anticipation and anxiety in my dream. I seem to be able to influence myself slightly in my dreams. I usually remember them.
I built up the anticipation in my dreams over and over again until the climactic moment came. This would sometimes be only the opening of a specific door, or looking into a specific hallway.
When the sudden shock, or whatever it was took me over, it would shock my mind awake before my body would wake... or that is my theory.

I know this is a lengthly post, but this has been a great mystery of my life, and I wanted to share and see if I can get any input. Why can I controll it?

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

d34ndedrick@hotmail.com — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:09:35 GMT

Its good to read everyone elses experiences. I have had these for a very long time "immbobolisation" "immobolised" It is the most frightening thing i Have experienced. The only way I can fight it of is to except defeat and drift of then I get a moment where I can wake but its very hard to actually get up. I find if I can stop my self from drifting back into it and get up out of bed and go to the toilet or somthing im able to go back to sleep like normal.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Victoria,Winnipeg,MB — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:07:08 GMT

My experiences were terrifying at first because I didn't know what was going on. I could only open my eyes a little bit, but I couldn't move anything else or talk. As weird as it sounds, it felt like my skin and whatever is beneath it is rolling, like waves. It usually happens when I am lying on my back, but sometimes it happens when I am on my side. I feel this weight on my stomach, like something heavy is lying across me. I have never seen anything scary like spiders, but I do feel like I am on the brink of falling into a dream because I am thinking so hard.
It doesn't scare me anymore, but I find it rather annoying when it happens frequently in one night. But sometimes I just love the feeling.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Jeza - Knoxville, TN — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:11:30 GMT

I've experience sleep paralysis since I was about 5 years old. Unable to move or speak but fully aware that I was "awake" and eyes open. I tend to have the impending doom feelings and almost always sense someone/something in my house or room approaching me. I feel as if hands are on my body, very scary. Not as often, I do have the sensation of floating to the ceiling or coming out of my body. As I've gotten older, I recognize when it's coming on. Lack of sleep or a disrupted sleep schedule will almost always bring it on. Curious, do any of you have migraines? Not necessairly before or after, just in general? I'd absolutely be a good candidate for a sleep paralysis study!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Teresa, Leavenworth, KS. — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 22:57:37 GMT

I've had these experiences for years and never knew what they were until recently. They are terrifying. I call them "boogey-man" dreams because they generally have an evil presence involved. Not only am I trapped and hallucinating that he's there to kill or rape me, but my mind runs this dream on a loop where I escape (or awaken) only to find him waiting for me again. My husband has tried to wake me before and that is even more terrifying because then it feels like the boogey man really has ahold of me. I'm afraid of my kids hearing me trying to scream and coming to my rescue. I would hate to hurt them. My best recourse so far has been to try to move my eyes when this starts to happen and tell myself it's not real. Just knowing that it's a disorder and I'm not crazy is a big help. Good luck to all.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

winfithb@aol.com — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:35:59 GMT

I can really relate to this article and would like to say thanks for the enlightment. I've sufferd from this for as long as I can remember, and like some older people in my family called it" the devils riding your back." But it happens so often now that I realize I'm dreaming and just wait until I can get up. But the paniky feeling you gets not cool at all. It still freaks me out no matter how I know whats going on.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

johanna — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:04:49 GMT

this terrible experiecne happens all the time but i call the name Jesus! save me! and withing seconds it goes away

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Lindsey E., Lowell, MA — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:06:25 GMT

I get these all the time. And while for some it's a great experience, it is absolutely terrifying for me. I'm 22 years old and I was diagnosed with narcolepsy last year. Most of the time when I have them, it feels like someone has just sat on my bed next to me, or is laying on top of me. I don't have many visual hallucinations because I can barely open my eyes, but I'll have the auditory hallucinations. So scary. It's hard to describe to someone who has never had it, probably 'cause they'll think you're crazy or it's just so scary you can't describe it. Sarah Gupton, I know what you mean by not being able to breathe! Awful experience!

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

chanda chishimba,birmingham , england — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:15:12 GMT

i have yhis and its like im awake but noone cn hear me iv had this for so long i know how i fix it i pretend to go to the bathroom and splash water on my face then i wake up and breathe a sigh of relief . i used try fighting it offf by straining my eye muscles so they would open that was a helll of a fight like it would take you to the limit to wake yourself up and sumtimes you jus have to relax and you will fall back to sleep

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

M, NL, Canada. — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:02:34 GMT

for about 3 months during the age of 20, I would be asleep in bed, and see a spider walking across the blankets, coming closer and closer to my face, I would finally wake up standing on my bedroom floor after my father would hear my screams, curses, and the noise of me jumping around my room and into the hallway trying to get away from the spider. He would yell at me from his room to stop cursing. I would snap out of it, and be quite embarrassed, then go back to bed for a full nights sleep. He would be quite mad at me, as the words I would use out of fear were not acceptable in my household. This would happen every night for months, until one morning, my mother got up to get ready for work, and found a large dead spider on the floor of the hallway where I woke up to the night before.....the dreams never happened again...thank god.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Quita, Augusta, Ga — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:59:05 GMT

i'm 25 years old and have been experiencing this since i was about 12 years old... the most recent abnormality happened while i was sleeping and i saw myself walking into the bathroom... i was always told that i was from poor circulation to the brain.. the question is how long is this supposed to happen???

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Lonnie Hise, Huntington Beach, Californis — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:11:37 GMT

I have been living with this for 35 years. Scares the hell out of you.I realized that when this starts happening that I know whats going on.Once I come to that conclusion I simply relax and fall back to sleep and wake up normal. First happened when I dreamed seeing the headlines in a paper that had news of my own death.Front line, Bold Letters.When I tried to move after waking up and couldn't I thought i was dead. It's kinda cool now,brain wakes up and the body doesn't.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Yeneisy M, Miami,fl — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:27:04 GMT

It wasn`t until now that I realized I had repeated episodes of sleep paralysis. It happened when I was fifteen years old, my mother would leave the house to go to work at six in the morning and I had to stay by myself sleeping. I remember feeling a great force coming up on me and later opening my eyes and looking around my room and trying to scream and move in order to wake up, but nothing worked. When I felt like I had succeded I would quickly realize I was still paralyzed. It was a horrible feeling even though I never saw anything freaky at all. It has never happened again since then, I have no idea what was triggering it and what made it stop.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Erin, Atlanta, GA — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:44:19 GMT

I've been having these episodes of sleep paralysis since I was in kindergarten. The usually only follow a bad dream, where I am startled awake. After dealing with them for over 20 years, I now know to just remain calm and eventually I will regain control over my body. I feel better about it knowing that a) I am not the only one who has this happen to them and b) it could be a lot worse, as I never get the hallucinations to go along with it

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Nicole, VA — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:41:27 GMT

This has happened to me many times and now i finally know what the actual name of the disorder is! It usually happens if i'm taking a nap or if i just happen to fall asleep . It almost always happens if i fall asleep on a bus for some odd reason. I will be fully alert and can hear everything going on around me but i am unable to move. At first it used to scare me, but now i have experienced it enough to where i can just focus on trying to move my toe or hand and it will usually work most times. Very unnerving.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Nick, Nashville, Tennessee — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:52:14 GMT

I've had this for quite sometime, I am 24 and have been through this since I was a child. The most common thing is usually a black mass, forming a shadowy figure. Like most other people who has this, I cannot move, only maybe an inch if I try my hardest. I cannot speak, whenever I try it is like muffled moans. I also feel heavy on the chest and the harder I fight it the more pressure it builds. Occasionally I will see random things, or hear sounds like a bell ringing. At first I was very frighten by this, but once I realize what was going on it doesn't bother me much since I am able to differentiate reality from fantasy. It doesn't occur as much as it used too. It appears to happen more often when I fall asleep instead of sleeping on my own accord.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

Doubtful — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:42:54 GMT

It would seem that for the 5% of the population that has this condition, most of them have posted here. How many of you actually have\had it, and how many are making it up to sound smart?