Sleep paralysis is the terrifying feeling of being held down after just waking up or going to sleep. You can’t move or scream, and sometimes this paralysis is accompanied with the certainty that someone –or something — is in the room.
Quite simply, sleep paralysis is one of the most horrifying experiences in life, because we feel awake but can’t believe what is happening to us.
The truth is, sleep paralysis is a biological event and there is nothing to be worried about. You’re not dying. It’s a hiccup in the brain’s chemical soup as we transition from sleep to wakefulness.
Recurrent sleep paralysis can often be prevented by attending to lifestyle choices, but making new habits can take time.
So how do you wake up from sleep paralysis tonight?
Here I compiled 9 ways to get out now.
Note: Because this is such a personal thing, some of these tactics will work for you, and others won’t. Choose the ones that make the most sense to you intuitively. Think of these strategies as tools in a toolbox to bring out when the conditions are right. Make a plan and resolve to remember it for the next time you wake up in sleep paralysis.
1. Don’t Fight
If you feel like you are being held down and you can’t move, do not fight back. This actually will intensify the experience. Not only is fighting back likely to increase the feelings of being held down (so much that it may seem like you are being crushed), but fighting back will also increase the fear, thus triggering the emotional centers of the brain and strengthening this lucid nightmare. Controlling fear is the most important skill during these moments.
2. Surrender and Go with the Flow
Instead, try to relax when you notice SP starting to happen. Prepare an affirmation like “This is SP and I am okay.” If you feel pressure on your chest, see if you can “go with” the pressure rather than against it. It’s like winning a fight by having no resistance. For example, for me, I often feel like I’m being pushed into the mattress when I have SP. I let myself go, and mentally “pull” in the direction I am being pushed. What happens is I then “pop” into a full-on dream, or I can wake up directly.
3. Wiggle your Toe
Another excellent tactic that works for many people is to try to move an extremity, such as a finger or a toe. Most of the feelings of paralysis are in the belly, chest, and throat. So focus all you attention on the toe and try to move it back and forth. In many cases, this will break the paralysis.
4. Clench your Fist
This is a variation of the toe wiggle method. Clench and unclench your fist.
5. Focus on your Breath
An easy way to stop these nightmares is to do some controlled breathing. Controlled breathing does several things at once. For starters, it lessens the feelings of chest pain that sometimes accompany SP. Breathing is autonomic like the heart’s beating or digestion, so it’s not paralyzed like the big muscles in our arms, chest and legs. But breath can be controlled with attention or be affected by severe fear, which may be why SP sufferers “forget” to breathe when under attack. If you can control your breath, you can control your fear. Simply draw your breath in at a normal rate, and exhale fully, using all of your lung capacity. Notice that you can breathe fully without obstruction. This technique will keep you calm as the SP runs its course and then you will wake up without any trouble. A few moments of focused breathing with a strong intention to wake up is effective.
6. Lean into Love to Find Courage
Now is also the time to lean into unconditional love. For many, the surest path is in religious or spiritual beliefs. Regardless, focus on a figure that you admire and love. Think of someone who calms you down—someone who you associate with peace, love and safety. This could be Jesus, the Dali Lama, or someone you know personally. In my first SP nightmare when I was fourteen years old, I thought about the love and respect I had for a girl in my class. Embarrassing but true! It worked: the feelings of oppression and evil dissipated immediately. In this case, true love really does conquer all.
7. Getting Help from your Sleep Partner
If someone shares your bed, you can tell them about your SP attacks and what to look for when you are having a nightmare. For example, my wife used to shake me awake whenever I began to breath heavily and irregularly in my sleep. As it turns out, she was waking me up each and every time from an intense SP nightmare. Now when this happens, I tell her not to wake me up, because I actually use SP to go into a lucid dream.
You could also have your partner respond to a verbal request. This only works some of the time, because some people cannot speak in paralysis. But some can. Choose a short word that is easy to say. “Help” is a good choice. When you’re in paralysis, focus your attention on your throat and say “Help.” Don’t try to say it as loud as you can; what may happen is that your imagination will take over and you will only say the word in your dream. Instead, say it forcefully but without screaming.
8. Coughing for Help
A variation of using your voice is to try to cough into wakefulness. Like breathing, coughing can be autonomic or consciously regulated. By coughing on purpose, you can jar yourself awake.
9. Write out the Plan
The suggestions above all have helped hundreds of people get out of SP and get some sleep. Not every tactic will work with you. But having too many tactics in your mind can actually be counterproductive. So it is important to make a plan, almost like the fire escape plan you may have for evacuating your family home in case of emergency. Write it out; this will cement the plan in your mind and make it easier to remember when the paralysis comes on strong.
10. The Ultimate Method I know — I said 9 ways, but this is the single best way to wake up from sleep paralysis and it’s really in a class of it’s own. When you realize you are in SP, scrunch up your face. In other words, make a face like you just smelled something bad. Snarl and squint. Do this two or three times in a row and the paralysis will break IMMEDIATELY. I’m not sure why it is so effective, but unlike the pinky wiggle, this method is foolproof.
After you wake up, get out of bed immediately and turn on a light. Wash your face with cold water. If you just stay in bed, the chance of sliding right back into sleep paralysis is pretty high.
Want to break the spell of sleep paralysis? Download my free Sleep Paralysis Report below!
A couple nights ago I had a SP where I felt like I was rolling off of my bed. Just as I thought I was about to hit my bedroom floor, I started travelling quickly through a tunnel. It felt just like I was going down a water slide. Then I tried opening my eyes but I was back in my bed again and I woke up. I experience sleep paralysis almost every night but that was the first time that I have ever got an episode like that.
I am 14 and I have had sp 3 times over the last 6 months I feel all the symptoms I also hear ringing nd my ears I always assumed it was aliens I have also felt like I was floating around my house nd I didn’t know what too think last night I had sp nd i feel confident in what to do when it happens again but I have a question is it normal to feel as if yur floating around yur house? Conrad lopez… June 21 2012
This is the one I had yesterday morning. I was trying to fall asleep. Then I couldn’t move or talk. I was trying to scream for help. It felt like something was holding me from behind. Then I started floating around and I went through the wall like a ghost. Then it put me back in bed and held me for what seemed like 5 minutes and then I came through. I had this holding down feeling before, but floating had never happened. I was surprised to read you experience the same!
This is the one I had yesterday morning. I was trying to fall asleep. Then I couldn’t move or talk. I was trying to scream for help. It felt like something was holding me from behind. Then I started floating around and I went through the wall like a ghost. Then it put me back in bed and held me for what seemed like 5 minutes and then I came through. I had this holding down feeling before, but floating had never happened. I was surprised to read you experience the same!
I had this same experience why does this happen, its happens to me offtem
I had a somewhat similar experience. I saw myself in a car about to crash, and as we were at hitting point, I felt myself spinning around on my bed, and also having back and forth flashing images of the crash!
Thank you for this awesome step by step guide… This has been happening to me quite often as a matter of fact it happpened this afternoon and I thought I was alone. I get intense feelings of paralysis, and I can’t move or talk and when u said you feel like someone or something is in the room I was like YES! I feel that everytime I also feel like I am in grave danger from this person. I hope these will either stop or that I can use your guide to keep me calm next time this happens.
Thank you so much for all this info. I finally feel like I can overcome this. I feel like I’m not the only one now. We can all do this.
no problem Alejandro! yes, we are in it together !
Yes, it always helps to know that there are many of us out there.
I had an episode where I let myself fall into it (the paralysis) and I ended up feeling like I was falling into this deep dark tunnel (really freaky). It didn’t likke it so I forced myself to wake up.
And what about the other wierd things you hear during sleep paralysis? Like shuffling feet, footsteps, etc. What’s that about?
Lethu,
the range of visions and auditory experiences in SP is really still a mystery to dream science. Dr. Allen Cheyne has probably got the best theory — these are creepy sounds that are triggered because the mind is in high alert and sensing an ambiguous threat. it probably has some evolutionary/genetic threads to it because many people in many different cultures hear similar sounds — sort of like everywhere in the world the scariest dreams are more or less the same (being chased, falling from a great height, being embarrassed in public)
Sp is a b.s. name they gave this thing that they cant fit into a neat little box.never mind that cultures and pepole who have never met experience the same entities. Ive excepted this thing. This is all a placebo they’ll hope you’ll swallow.
I get Sleep Paralysis really bad & often, ill have it one night & will happen for about a week straight then stop for sometime.
I just had it 10 minutes ago, felt like someone was on top of me & pulling me & my blanket
I usually act calm & make myself jump, push my shoudler/arms or anything to make me jump.
Some of the worst experiences I’ve had, I’ve been pushed down really painful onto my stomach, felt as if I was being dragged off my bed, arm squeezed, seen a figure in corner of my room then by my shoulder etc. Scary stuff!!
Thanks for the advice, ill try it out!
ya that is really freaky, but so freaky it could even be more real then you think. I have heard of some of the deepest levels of sleep, your soul can leave your body and walk around your house or neighborhood, but while your soul is walking around, your body is at a vulnerable state for other souls and spirits to jump into. Whether they are good or bad. So for this it kinda seems like you were in a battle to keep your body.
but our souls have been with our bodies forever so we have a natural connection, but it is still possible for them to take control, so ryan if you ever have a dream where you are walking/running around somewhere close to your house try and go back to your house because the closer your are the stronger your connection is.
I’m sure no one believes me but i know its true…
How do you think exorcisms start?
Thank you so much for this advice! I’ve been having SP episodes very frequently, and ever since I can remember.
I usually feel like being crushed. My worst “experience”, however, was a dark figure in my room, that came and sat on the side of my bed and started burning my eyes out. Which felt as real as it can get, and it was indeed terrifying.
Also, when I was a kid, I wasn’t really able to tell if I was awake or asleep, because these episodes where so intense. I used to see my dog threatening to attack me (in reality it was a very good-natured dog), so I wouldn’t go near it for hours after. I finally came to share it with my parents, who of course told me they are just very vivid dreams, and that when I get them, I should think of a safe place. Which for me was knowing that they are in the next room. It worked, since I viewed my dad as a superhero XD But SP was and still remains frustrating.
Anyway, thanks for this. I usually fall asleep right after SP, and it does usually happen again. From now on, I will try to snap well out of it first. Now, I want to learn more about SP, and I find my self wondering why is this the first time I’ve looked into it!
I get sleep paralysis, what seems to bring it on for me is when I oversleep. Today I felt tired so I went back to bed for a couple winks. When I tried to get out of bed, my dream world starts again, I get out of bed, but I am sluggish, heavy, and my vision is blurry. The further I get the more it is a dream, and it turns into an apartment I’ve never seen, and I have conversations with my roomates.
Then suddenly I am snapped back into my bed again strying to get up. This can happen two or three times in a row. Each time I’ll get less and less mileage before I am snapped back until finally I can’t move. My secret move so far has been trying to rock my body back and forth, but I definately will try to remember the face scrunch.
Its so hard to tell which movements I’m actually making and which movements are a dream because my brain can so easily give me the feeling that I am moving until I realise I havent moved at all.
Its one of the most horrifying experiences thats ever happened to me . To me, Its a kind of a slow death. I used to be sacred when it first started. 7 years ago but i can now handle it. When it starts , i start swinging my head in a slow rhythmical motions, gradually it gets easter and then i wake up . Am happy am a survivor!.
thanks for the comment Arete. I also appreciate your “Freudian misspelling” of scared as “Sacred.” that’s what it’s about, flipping the anxiety into excitement and the scared into sacred!
Probably because i’ve xperienced it countless times, i enjoy it Now…i have full control over the dream…i know its SP and i can wake up anytym i like…even the transition phase is controlable for me…how wud u describe this?
Anjil,
I’d describe this as success, and I’d describe you as a dream master ! I hope your comment inspires others who struggle with SP.
I am worried for my safety. I have SP but I have pain inside my chest when I go into one not the feeling of being crushed. The pain is so bad That it hurts fOr hours after I wake. I also cannot wake myself from them because if I do anything wiggle a toe, try to talk etc the pain in my chest intensifys and I it feels like my heart may explolde. And as I get older they have been lasting longer each time. My most recent lasted over an hour because I slipped out of the first one rite Into another. And it only happens when I take naps during the day never at nite. Please shed some light on this for me. Thank you.
Jenntry,
if the pain is continuing for hours after awakening, I would make an appointment with a doc, and possibly get a referral to a sleep doc. the SP could be alerting you to larger sleep/breathing issues.
Thank you. I was thinking the same thing. I’m only 25 so I’m sure it won’t be anything serious I hope. Have you heard of this before? And have you ever heard of people having SP only while napping in the day? Thank you again for your insight. Before I read your article I thought I was losing it. Lol.
Mine do not happen often, and they only occur during the day when I am napping; I cannot recall a time when it ever happened at night.
This is so good I’m going to try this I be had this for the last six years or so and getting more frequent I was told just not to panic but it’s not easy I always feel there is someone standing behind me I can never talk or even move my lips but will definitely try the breathing technique next time thank you:)
Yes i feel about the same way.I never knew what sp was even tho ive gone through it sence i was 12 .Im 27 now i just learned to deal with it and found ways to control it. Alot of the ways i deal with it is the
same ways decribed here.But now i have total control i put myself from sp to dream i imagine myself flying and controling my flight i learned to have an amazing experience with it instead of a frightening one. It almost feels like u can control what u dream but in sp mode its hard to say exactly but it is truly an experience.
I just woke from a sleep paralysis and decided to get up and google it I have experienced this before. Each time I have a sense that somebody is trying to get in my house, is in, or is watching me. This time my daughter was trying to wake me during the lucid dream and in the dream I was trying to get up and thought I had and saw somebody and told her to hide while I picked up a hammer. I then woke up for real and felt so relieved yet scared to go back to sleep. I am a little more hopeful now that I know there are some techniques I can try and that all it means is I need more rest!
I am worried for my safety. I have SP but I have pain inside my chest when I go into one not the feeling of being crushed. The pain is so bad That it hurts fOr hours after I wake. I also cannot wake myself from them because if I do anything wiggle a toe, try to talk etc the pain in my chest intensifys and I it feels like my heart my explolde. And as I get older they have been lasting longer each time. My most recent lasted over an hour because I slipped out of the first one rite Into another. And it only happens when I take naps during the day never at nite. Please shed some light on this for me. Thank you.
I just woke up two hours ago from I’m 16 and this is really creepy. I was in my bed not even sleeping and felt myself falling like in a sea and the waves crashing against my ears i tried to call for my sister but no words came out so i tried to wiggle my toes and that woke me up but i was still laying down and it happened like six more times then i finally got up this is the third time the first i wasn’t sleeping the second i laid on my back and the third i wasn’t sleeping
hi Jody, it is very creepy but I assure you — you aren’t in danger. try to get some fresh air today, hydrate, take care of yourself and go to bed a little early tonight if possible to catch up on sleep — listent o some relaxing music before bed too — and no more back sleeping !
I decided a few years ago that there was no reason for me to be terrified by SP. Instead, I decided just to ride it through. A few nights ago I was tempted to “play” with the dream state and not only was I able to diminue the deafening noise that always accompanies these states but I was also able to tame the creatures that come to visit me. I turned a threatening gargoyle info a totem pole that in turn transformed itself into a stream of cool water vapor that began squirting straight into my face. Then the room became distortedn turned into a landscape that I was able to fly over at great speed. All this time I was very lucid, almost awake and completely aware that I was in SP. Wow ! I can’t wait for the next one !
I was asleep and during a really weird distressing dream I fell a long way and hit the floor hard. Then these other voices started saying that I was injured. I tired gently to speak or to move and I couldn’t. I was being lifted in the air by someone invisible and I could feel my heart pounding so hard!
I wanted to scream but I was just totally unable to move a muscle however hard I tried.
I then decided to make a “tutting” with my mouth and that got me to snap awake. My heart rate was about 30bpm and it took about a minute to get back up to 60bpm.
What do you make of that?
Fred, that’s a new one for me — the “tutting” sound to help wake up. very cool. some of these techniques are very personal, but that’s the most important thing: to find what works for you.
Not sure what to make of your heart rate comment. My understanding is that perceived heart rate in lucid REM or SP basically is equivalent to actual heart rate. if you’re worried about heart irregularities, not a bad idea to get a check up at the doc!
Lately it has intensified. A bout a month ago it felt like I was being drug off of my bed. I do not share the “being held down” aspect of SP, but I do hear some strange noises.
Last in fact was the most intense version I have had of SP. It felt like my entire body was shaking hysterically and I was being lifted out of my bed. I never experienced a trip such as that. Even when I was free of SP the inside of my body was still shaking. Rather weird.
For myself I will try your 9-10 steps for my sp wich I have experienced for a long time. I always ask every one if they heard me scream. No one ever does, but just the other night my 12 year old daughter went to bed but was in there for maye be 1 minute and she said she put her stuffy up off her bed and she swears she was awake I was in the kitchen and heard muffled noises and than a blood curdling xterm from her room. I tan in and she was freeking out screening that she was being held down choked and she said it was taunting her by telling her to breath. I was so scared that I grabed her of her bed and graves my 11 year old daughter how was sound asleep out of her bed and made them sleep in the living room. I gave my older daughter her rosery and she said she felt much better even though her and I didn’t sleep till the following day. I should mention we have had other creepy things we can’t explain happin in our place but for now I will keep in mind what you have said and let my daughter know as well as for the other creepy thing I will chalk them up as being our crazy imaginations
Thank you Ryan for your advice and all others for sharing your experiences. Most terrifying thing ever to happen to me. It has happened a number of different times but all within the last six months. One episode where it repeated 3 times in the same morning. 1st few like an evil spirit in the room, pulling the covers off and trying to lay into me…dreadful. When I finally woke up, my husband threw holy water on the bed. Other times foot steps and voices.
After the last episode I finally looked it up, and began making a conscious decision every night to sleep on my side, not my back. It has been over a month and I feel maybe that may have helped perhaps part mentally and part physically.
I always as for God to protect me (sacred 🙂 )
I will definitely try the face scrunch, if I am not too terrified out of mind. Hats off to those of you who face it or go with it….definitely not something I am willing to do!
I also felt the “evil spirit” and heard it talking! SO SCARY
I thought I was the only one with SP. I’vee had these ever since I could remember and always thought some evil spirit was out to harm me, (I still do believe that) but with time I began to realise when am about to go into one or when am in one already and so I recite the Lord’s prayer and it works. Sometimes I would curse the person(or whatever thats holding me down) as if we are in a fight. And usually happens when I sleep on my back, even during daytime. Glad to know am not alone.
I don’t get SP often, but when I do it’s really bad.
Sometimes I can’t breathe or open my eyes like most people can. I feel no pressure though, except in my eyelids. It feels like they’re being held down… The scariest part is not being able to breathe though. I hate that.
Yes. I sometimes have trouble breathing in SP and I find them to be the most frightening dreams. I also hate those intense frequencies and not being able to see behind you when it sounds like there is someone/something there.
I have had SP dreams for as long as I can remember but lately I have been able to slowly get up from my bed and move around with enormous amounts of pressure on me until I just collapse where I will either wake up or just be back in my bed starting the dream over.
John, have you even experimented with breathwork? A simple breathing meditation — easy in easy out — can reduce fear as well as show you that you have control over your breath.
This has happened a total of 3 times in my life, all three horrifying experiences. The first one was the most horrifying. It was in Fourth grade, I was having a normal dream where I was hanging out with some friends, and all the sudden I get sucked into this tunnel. I slide down and soon I wake up. I discover that I can’t move, although my eyes can move around freely. As I look into the top corner of my room, I see an entity that looks like a punching bag, and hear a word, “Utor” or something like that, pronounced like “You Tore”. I then heard an evil-type laugh and a crack, and suddenly the thing disappears. I regained movement, and went into the living room and spent the rest of the night on the couch. Is this a common experience? I had no compressed feeling, only fear. When I had it again today, I was having a normal dream, and all the sudden I wake up. I open my eyes, but I can’t move. I feel something shuffling around next to me, which I first perceive to be some sort of evil being. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a blurry face. This time, I do get the compressed feeling, and I cannot move. Both times I was lying on my back. I tried desperately to hit the thing, but my arm wouldn’t move. I tried wiggling fingers for a second, but I finally started swearing at it. I could just barely move my mouth, but only whispers came out. I swore at it for about 5 seconds, and the feeling lifted. My arm immediately snapped to the spot where the thing was sitting, and I got up immediately. I stayed up the rest of the night, not daring to go to sleep. This is weird. Just thought I’d share my experiences. Also, an effective technique is to swear constantly at the thing, granted you can make noises!
Frank — You Tore? maybe the entity was trying to tell you to to invest in YouTube.
I love your advice about swearing at the entity – this is a very old shamanic technique for dealing with harmful forces — it is empowering and can be effective (unless your belief system frowns upon swearing, that can be counterproductive and guilt inducing).
OMG!!!! I thought me and my daughter were the only ones who had this creepy shit happen! It scares the hell out of us! I have rode it out before, and it was pretty cool! Cartoonish, lol! But, why do we all feel the presence of evil? And the noises? Fire? I’m sure glad we’re ok, that we’re not alone:-) This took a load off of my shoulders I tell ya! Thank you:-)
thanks Melanie- I’m always happy to hear that my work is easing suffering! 🙂
Can you astral travel when your in SP?
Yes! check out this article Elijah: http://dreamstudies.org/2010/10/15/out-of-body-experience/
Over the past 6 years, I have had, which I can only relate to SP, about 10 instances. Each one worse than the one previous. It has been over a year since my last.. then just now, about 10 minutes ago. I’m still shaking.
I didn’t think I was that tired, but I shut my eyes and began dreaming right away. Then, I felt I should wake up. I heard a noise in the living room – like a door opening. It was too early for my wife to be home. I felt at this time, that it was something, or someone else – out to kill me. I could not wake up at this point. I started to fight it – tried to move my hands, my arms, my legs, tried to get myself to roll off the bed to wake me up … I doubt I was moving at all, but in my dream I was shaking violently, like a seizure. I still don’t know if I was asleep, or my eyes were actually open – but as plain as day I saw the door way, just staring at it.. I was certain, I was going to be killed, by something.
What scares me the most, is that it takes some time for me to figure out if I’m still asleep or not, after I wake up. I’m pretty sure I’m awake now (but I bookmarked this page so I’ll verify when I wake up that it’s still there). In the past, I have woken from the dream … this nightmare.. walked around, did normal things, and started to relax from not being able to wake up, only to find out later that I was STILL DREAMING – a dream, in a dream, in a SP??? When does reality and the underground darkened dream world mix together to the point you don’t even know what is real, and what is in your head? I’m just thankful that I have to work tonight, so I don’t have to look forward to sleeping.
Wow it has a name and an acrynam. SP 🙂 I love meditating and this happens after I meditated. Then I stopped meditating to a point where I cant get into the meditation state. After a very long time, I tried meditating again last night and low and behold I had a terriying SP again. I woke up a few minutes ago with a throbbing headache. My husband travel alot and i dont sleep in a dark room at all. I still get SP with the light on but I feel more in control when i am able to see during the experience. What actually cause this and why do only certain people experience it. Praying during this time helps me alot. But I feel good knowing that I am not actually ‘possessed’
Thank you. This article really calm me down it’s 3am and i just awake from what i think is this. Its been couples of times recently i do a nightmare in wich i know i’m sleeping and im screaming and panicking and yelling for someone to wake me up. Is that i feel im having a dream in my own dream… For example, id be dreamin im in a plane and then i realise im dreaming and i want to wake up so in my mind my real life body is at my brothers place so il scream (consciensly ) his name in my
Dream with the optic that in real life he will wake me up. So he does wake me up but thats what is the wierd part: me being at my brother s place IS still the dream cause in reality my real body/awake person is sleeping at my roomate house. Sometimes in the dream i awake after for real, sometimes i dont notice and keeep dreaming. Sometime i can see my real room and this time for the first time it really scared me cause i saw this women grabbing my hand to take me out of the dream and when i wake up i wasnt sure if it was the dream or she was in my room. Most time i wake up in panic, feeling as if i was lucid in a nightmare. As scared as i am, i am also curious about the whole lucid dream world. If i turn my fear into strenght, am i close to discover a new way to live dreams? Is panic dreams like that are actually an opening and oppurtunity to access to lucid dreams or are they only plain painfull dreamIng disorder experience? Thanks…
Did somebody already die because of SP?
Just curious.
I’ve had my worst experience just now and I am so scared that I can’t go back to sleep. At first something woke me up. I don’t know whatever that was but it felt like someone called me and I was awake instantly. Then I fell back into sleep. After that in my dream for some reason I wanted to wake up, but then I realised I was having sleep paralysis. I struggled to scream and shout but failed. Then I wanted to hurt myself, so I could wake up. I threw my arms around, hoping to hit the wall and wake up by experiencing pain. That failed. Then I tried to move my laying body out of bed, hoping to fell off the bed and wake up. That failed as well. Then I got out of my bed, still unable to speak. I went to my mothers room, tried to wake her up in my dream, so she could wake me up from my dream. I literally tried to wake her up, so she could wake me up. I also failed doing that. Then I came up with an idea in my dream (still realising I was in sleep paralysis), I texted her so she could read my SMS and would wake me up. After doing that still nothing happened and I struggled to wake up.
Weird parts in my experience were I was perfectly aware I was in SP and I needed to find some way to wake up (I don’t know if that happens to everyone) and I thought you cannot see writings and texts while you are in a dream. Are these two things normal?
Have a safe sleep everyone.
I have been experiencing SP for about 3-4 years now. When I first began experiencing it, it was very scary to me, which is why i think it was more intense. I am a Christian though, therefor, now when I have an SP experience, I begin to ponder on Jesus and say his name repetively. This is usually how I wake up. The episodes usually last about 1-2 mins. Thank you so much Ryan for this website. I hope it helps
I have been experiencing SP for about 3-4 years now. When I first began experiencing it, it was very scary to me, which is why i think it was more intense. I am a Christian though, therefor, now when I have an SP experience, I begin to ponder on Jesus and say his name repetitively. This is usually how I wake up. The episodes usually last about 1-2 mins. Thank you so much Ryan for this website. I hope it helps.
I’m so freaked out, and still feel like my arms and legs are weak and like I can’t breathe. Just glad it’s 7am and I don’t have to be freaked out all night alone.
I rolled over on my side and I feel like it happened instantly. I felt a sudden urge to breathe, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t breathe, move anything on my body, or open my eyes. I was facing the wall, and I felt as though someone (evil, of course) was coming up behind me and I was freaking out because I knew it was there and it was going to touch me. I remember in the “dream” I tried to open my eye using my fingers, and still couldn’t. What finally snapped me out of it was a made a really hard exhale breath. Cause I guess my body finally got frustrated with not breathing. I remember I was so scared cause I thought I heard a voice, of the thing, saying some about “dark”, and it had a really evil voice.
I’m pretty scared to sleep again.
This has happened before, possibly. But it’s when I’m drifting to sleep but suddenly wake up because I can’t breathe. The “person” is what’s getting to me.
🙁 I already deal with a lot of anxiety. So I hope this isn’t a reoccuring thing.
i have panic disorder so this makes my sp even worse i imagine. i just started getting it a couple months ago and its scary as hell. just last night i woke up around 4 or 5 times being well aware i was still asleep in some sort of way. but i kept experiencing the whole holding down feeling and dragging out the bed. i woke up to myself answering questions.. to which now i can’t remember. it was like something evil was talking to me. i also have visions of a man and a skull head. but my question is..is it hard to pull yourself out of this once it happens. i almost always fall asleep after the first and second time and it creepily repeats itself… so scary. i would like to try to control my dream though bc i am aware of the dream… hmmm scary ):
I just woke up from this and decided to google it> It only happens to me when I sleep in the day-never at nights. I am completely aware of my surroundings, and sometimes wake up from the dream to find that I didn’t really wake up, only entered another dream and sometimes another two before I actually wake up. It feels like my soul has left my body desperately looking to escape and I can scream at the top of my lungs and nothing comes out. Question: has anyone ever died from this?
this list is is fantastic like its very helpful to all of us, and actually I’ve been doing some of them already everytime I experienced SP.
though science have of course different explanations now, compared to spiritual or maybe religious beliefs.. but one big question is that, why all people who’ve had experience the same nightmare are all associated in this evil faces or figures or even strange noises etc??
this is somehow strange? weird? or maybe other called it supernatural/paranormal experiences..?
I dont really know…
well, one thing that we should not forget before going to sleep is to PRAY and BELIEVE on HIM(GOD), that’s proven! its very powerful when you mentioned his name, when you experienced SP.
Like i said SP is thier way of putting this phenomena in a neat little box. Ive had to except it dont swallow the b.s. placebo Its real!!!!!!!!
I want to induce sleep paralysis in the hopes of converting it into a lucid dream.all of this stuff are the most fascinating things I’ve ever heard of and I’m only 15.advice?
Mitch, check out this article: http://dreamstudies.org/2011/02/08/3-techniques-for-transforming-sleep-paralysis-into-a-lucid-dream/
I’ve experienced SP(so called) earlier and i was utterly terrified.I was layin on my bed i fell asleep for about less than a minute and my head suddenly felt light.I felt dizzy an i felt as though someone was holding me down.I couldnt move or talk.(But I’ve heard that it is related to the spirits of those who’ve passed on,whether they come to visit you or harm you)
I have had many sp experince one time I was staying with my cousin and it was like I was sleep but I wasnt when it happens I feel like a tingly sensation all over and I feel being held down and I cant move and I would feel like theres a presence in the room like a dark entity thats wayching me and trying to harm me then I would hear a voice saying either my name or saying im going to kill you then I would make my self wake up
Hi a cupple of years ago I had this thing where I woke up and could not move or breath and then when I could move I ran to my mom and tryed talking to her but all I did was mumble then I started to breath I could see but still not move ( I blacked out but was some what awake ) what happend???!!!
I HAD THIS EVERY NIGHT FOR LIKE A MONTH!!!! I’d have scary demonic dreams and i’d wake up and feel like i was being held down, I’d try to scream but nothing would come out. My eyes will be wide open and I can’t even move my head. I feel like if I give into it, (I know this might sound silly) A demon or satan will take over my body. So i feel like i’m trying to fight a demonic force off. I have to get up, turn my light on, and then i’m too afraid to fall back asleep because i literally feel like a demon is in my room. It seems that if i sleep with a lot of lights on, It happens less. Does anyone else have it like this? I’d like someone to comment please.
Hi Courtney. I’ve had many SP before but not as often as you. However, I’ve also realised that when I sleep with the lights on, it happens less. Until last night, it had never happened with the lights on. I hope it’s just not getting any worse, because I hate SP, it freaks me out.
Courtney, my step-daughter just had an “episode”. She went into detail about it and I immediately knew what she experienced. I’ve also experienced this several times before. Whoever suggested to “just go with it” is insane. Those shadow people, as I call them, were here for my soul. Praying as soon as you feel like you can’t move really does help.
I don’t usually mind sleep paralysis but I had a really weird one today after waking up from a nap: I kept shaking a lot and I felt like something was pressing me down (was laying on my back). At one point I actually couldn’t breathe at all and I started to freak out, then I let out a long groan and it stopped. It took me about 10 seconds after that for me to be able to move again.
That was the first time I actually felt like I was in danger during sleep paralysis, otherwise I actually think it’s kind of cool – after all I actually get them fairly often so I’ve adjusted to it. 😛
Yes Courtney, I have had exactly the same thing. I have felt absolutely terrified when I can feel the “presence” in the room, then it makes its way over to and pins me down. In my dream, I know it is a demon. I can’t scream, I can’t move. I feel pressure on my chest. One time this happened and the “presence” sexually assaulted me while he was strangling me. This was by far the scariest SP I have experienced to date and it still scares me when I think about it. Other times this has happened is when I have gone to stay in my old (and a little creepy) country house alone without my husband. When I start dreaming, I feel a dark presence in the room, followed by the sensation of someone sitting on the bed, then the pressure on the chest, then the hands around my neck. I try to wake up, and i think that i have woken, but the presence is still there. It is always an evil spirit. It is so terrifying. I’ve actually had to stop staying at the house alone because I can’t handle the dreams. The fear stays with me for days after. Hopefully some of these techniques will help.
This happened to me 4 years ago when my grand father passed away, I always have dreams about it and I’ve always had SP I can’t talk, Last night was the worst, I was with my husband at a hotel for our anniversary I fell asleep before him and he knew about it when it happened he woke me up, It’s like my first boyfriend who was murdered is holding me down trying to tell me something but I dont know. It’s gotten to the point to where I’m having panic attacks before I go to sleep.
I’m 12, this was my first time and it was a nap from waking up too early. I was in my bed and with my dog when suddenly i was woken by the feeling that my bed was floating, and I was restrained or pined by something. Then i got the feeling that something devilish was lurking, but I couldn’t open my eyes and I know a blanket was on top of my face to see if something was there. So I started thinking of praises like God was going to take the demon away (sorta like tip six). and after around five times it felt normal again. I thought the whole time though if i should be afraid, or not. This was my first time anyways so the emotions was not really there too.
I just woke up from one of these episodes, I’ve had it before but I have never been this scared.
I probably woke up around 8 times in my dream over and over again, feeling that something was inside and outside my room. My body was so heavy that I couldn’t move and I couldn’t scream for help. I actually saw dark shades of something coming towards me, grabbing me without being able to move. After a while I got out of bed, just dragging myself along the floor towards my bedroom door but couldn’t reach the handle, the next second I wake up in bed once again and this time I even managed to open the door and get into my housemates room not being able to say anything.
After that I woke up in my bed again, just wondering what the f was going on but still felt something there, haunting me – struggled to the door again, saw this dark shade just infront of me and then I was in my bed again.
The last time I actually thought I was awake for real, so all I did was reaching for my glass of water under the bed and a hand grabbs a hold of me, I tried breaking it’s finger but just felt the pain myself..
Then I finally woke up, hyperventilating, drooling, laying with my head on the bottom of the bed in total panic mode – now I can’t go back to bed and it’s 3.55am.
I know these sort of things happen but I never been through something that intense. Could this has to do with something special??
I was previoulsly informed that sleep paralysis is only just the precursor to lucid dreaming. The person merely gets stuck due to a sudden realization that they are dreaming (brink of lucidity), to which the reaction is commonly fear – which is what incites the feelings and images of terror. Think of the movie, Inception, when the dreamer begins to gain awareness of the dreaming state and the environment of the dream turns hostile. The remedy this person offered me, is just to tell yourself you are dreaming, and that it’s ohk. Your mind will then either give in and return to a peaceful state so you can take control of what should now be a lucid dream, or you will wake up (still, hopefully, less terrified). Any thoughts Mr. Hurd?
Is it possible the presence people fell is another person experiencing SP and going to visit that person in a lucid dream?
When ever I go lucid, I get SP. Every time. 🙁
I have SP I never new it was a sleeping problem until my boyfriend found out the name for it and I found out more information about it. It happens to when I sleep on my back that’s the worse or when I get rest in the day till about early morning and i
Till early morning and when I try to go back to sleep and I do fall asleep its hard to get up I have to struggle to open my eyes move my head back and forth and just try to get out of it I’m scared that if I just relax or stay asleep it can get worse or fall into a nightmare but I will try the tecniques listed I followed a few listed and it did help its like I know my body and know its gonna or can happen if I do things like sleep on my back or get to much sleep. Thanks
I had a serious case of SP a while ago but didn’t know what it was. I was having a crazy dream about being stuck in my bedroom with the girl from the ring in my walls and tormenting me. I was bashing on the walls and floor for my mum to help me but she wouldn’t come help me in my dream.
I then woke up in bed with the ring girl standing at the foot of my bed. I was so terrified I started crying without meaning to and closed my eyes. This warped me straight back into my nightmare in my room but now she was reaching out of the walls to try and get me and I awoke again to see her still at the foot of my bed. I tried so hard to call out or anything in real life but couldn’t and was still crying.
This continued for 4 or 5 times waking up with her still there before I finally sat bolt upright, tears pouring down my face, breathing heavily and terrified. Was the worst moment of my life and even the memory of it sends chills down my spine.
ohh maybe u just saw the film! i had an sp with the grudge women in it ;s because i saw videos of her before sleeping!….oh and i once had a dream that i was trying to get out of my room to reach my sis as i saw her in the hallway (the door was open) but when i got closed to the door it closed and someone told me that we are coming for you and then sp started!! isnt it scary??? :O i think this is happening because i love to watch horror movies alot! :s
Hello Ryan, I first want to thank you so much for these advises, that helped me wake from my SP today.
As we are in Ramadan (I am Muslim) we have a meal just before sunrise and then we pray and then we go back to sleep, in order to be able to fast all the day long until sunset. And during this time when I go back to sleep, I get SP, I don’t have hallucinations but I feel like my soul is going to separate from my body or something, it is scary.
After reading these 9 ways, I used the one that requires moving fingers and I was able to move my pinkies, and I tried to control my breathing and it worked !
But I am so curious about the feeling that ‘my soul is going to be separated’ thing. Please can you explain that?
Also how could I make this SP into an enjoyable experience, you talked about Lucid dreams, what is it and how can I get it?
Im 21 and ive been having sp since i was about 13 and i never new why it happened to me and i never told nobody about it but i see now that its natural and thanks to the 10 steps i feel better and i know its not a demon but just to be safe i prey before i go to sleep and it doesnt happen to me but when i forget to pray thats when it happens to me…… Its wierd and scary