# Is This Common Dream Happening? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-common-dream-happening/628887 "2012-07-20T21:11:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-common-dream-happening/628887/1 "2012-07-20T21:11:49Z")
Last night, I had a strange dream. I remember very little of it, except that I was aware that my body was asleep! I was perfectly conscious, and I knew that I had to leave the area (something bad was chasing me). It was as if I was trapped inside my body-I kept rolling back and forth-praying that my body would awake. What causes this sense of being disconnected from one’s body? Is it common in dreams? ---
**Author:** ![StarsApart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@StarsApart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarsApart)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-common-dream-happening/628887/2 "2012-07-20T22:08:49Z")
It sounds like [sleep paralysis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis) to me. I don’t know much about it, but maybe Wiki can help. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-common-dream-happening/628887/3 "2012-07-20T23:01:08Z")
Lucid dream? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-common-dream-happening/628887/4 "2012-07-20T23:09:57Z")
Sleep paralysis. Sucks balls. It means you’re not getting enough REM sleep for some reason - according to my doctor. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-common-dream-happening/628887/5 "2012-07-22T05:19:13Z")
Very common dream. Remember people claiming centuries ago that a hag was sitting on their chest? Same sort of dream. Some theorize that’s what’s going on with people “visited by aliens” too. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-common-dream-happening/628887/6 "2012-07-23T19:33:47Z")
It doesn’t sound like true sleep paralysis, because the OP seems to have been genuinely asleep (though in the dream, aware that he was asleep). ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-common-dream-happening/628887/7 "2012-07-23T19:49:43Z")
I used to get this from time to time: aware I was asleep, wanting to move and not finding a way to do it. I would try to wake up, and could not convince my brain to break out of sleep mode and into the real world. It’s frustrating as hell, and when I did manage to finally wake up my heart would be racing. It hasn’t happened in a few years. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-common-dream-happening/628887/8 "2012-07-23T20:25:44Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I used to get this from time to time: aware I was asleep, wanting to move and not finding a way to do it. I would try to wake up, and could not convince my brain to break out of sleep mode and into the real world. It’s frustrating as hell, and when I did manage to finally wake up my heart would be racing. > > It hasn’t happened in a few years. Yes, I was aware that my body was asleep-I could also hear my voice-it sounded like it was from far away. As I say, this happened one night-and it was as if I was stuck inside my sleeping body-very strange. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-common-dream-happening/628887/9 "2012-07-24T00:13:48Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Yes, I was aware that my body was asleep-I could also hear my voice-it sounded like it was from far away. > As I say, this happened one night-and it was as if I was stuck inside my sleeping body-very strange. Yes, that’s it: “stuck inside my sleeping body” is a perfect description. Weird, ain’t it? ETA: Usually this would happen to me after a long night of drinking, and then sleeping in very late the next day in order to avoid the morning hangover, and perhaps go straight into a peaceful afternoon. YMMV