When I was ten years old I awoke in the middle of the night from a deep sleep and to my terror saw what looked like a figure at the end of the bed moving slowly towards me. It seemed to lie down on top of me pushing my body down into the bed forcefully. I felt as if I was being held down whilst the apparition appeared to breathe down my neck. I tried to move and shout for help but I simply couldn’t, I was completely paralysed. The atmosphere was intense, almost malevolent. The only thing I could move was my eyes. The experience seemed to last forever. I was overwhelmed. I estimate I couldn’t move for about one minute but it seemed like an eternity. After the ordeal had resolved itself I lay awake all night with my head under the pillow. I was too scared to wake my parents to tell them what had happened. I had no idea what I had experienced and assumed it must have been a ghost. I was terrified and dreaded going to sleep for fear of seeing an apparition again. I developed insomnia because I was so fearful. This really is something a child should never have to go through. I was petrified.
In actual fact what I experienced is called sleep paralysis, a phenomenon that involves waking up out of sleep too quickly when your body is paralysed to stop you acting out your dreams. It can be absolutely horrifying. Aside from being completely paralysed there is nearly always an evil presence within the room. Most of the time I see dark figures or miniature ‘beings’ in my peripheral vision. It’s so terrifying I usually keep my eyes shut and wait for it to pass. Remember the only thing you can move is your eyes.
Sleep paralysis can occur in male and females of any age but it is particularly prevalent amongst teenagers.
What causes sleep paralysis?
Sleep paralysis occurs during rapid eye movement sleep (REM) when lucid and vivid dreams occur. Essentially you wake up too quickly out of REM sleep when your mind is completely alert but you cannot move. It is quite common for there to be a choking feeling, visual hallucinations and a sense of threat. The hallucinations that occur when coming out of sleep too quickly are called hypnopompic hallucinations. Sleep paralysis is a mixture of being wide awake but at the same time seeing alarming dream-like hallucinations. It is not understood at all why there is usually a scary presence felt within the room. If sleep paralysis occurs when you are falling asleep as opposed to on awakening you will be experiencing delusions known as hypnagogic hallucinations. Examples of this type are when you feel you are falling down or when you awake very abruptly without warning just as you are about to fall asleep. These effects tend to be very startling.
It is thought that those who suffer from mental health problems such as bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, PTSD, generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder are more likely to suffer from sleep paralysis. Whether sleep paralysis occurs more frequently in those who suffer from psychiatric conditions is a theory, but more research is needed. I suffer from severe bipolar one disorder and have had sleep paralysis hundreds of times.
Sleep paralysis may occur when you are extremely tired or fatigued. I used to work many long hours doing manual, repetitive work. I would sometimes work for 15 hours a day. When home in the evening I would be very tired and after I went to bed I would sometimes wake up confused where I was – was I still at work? Was I asleep in the factory? Was I asleep on the conveyor belt? These trance-like states lasted minutes and were disorienting. I also thought I had an out of body experience during this time. It felt like I was floating around my room and then I eventually returned to my body. During these intense hours of work my sleep paralysis occurred almost every night. Are these three phenomena linked?
How to stop sleep paralysis
Sleep paralysis seems to occur more frequently when you are lying in certain postures. Personally I find sleep paralysis is worse when lying on my front. I find it less prevalent when lying on my side, and I always sleep this way.
Sleep paralysis was particularly bad for me because I did not have the internet in those days to research it, I simply believed I was being visited by ghosts. Visit Sleep Foundation to learn all about sleep paralysis.
When it is occurring, try to say to yourself that it is not a ghost and that the time will pass. For instance I keep saying to myself ‘it will be over soon – it’s just sleep paralysis…..it will pass…it’s not a ghost’.
I have learnt to tolerate sleep paralysis. Why does it occur? I think it will remain one of life’s mysteries.
Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis? If so is your experience similar to mine?