Third Eye Blind wrote a song about it, called Narcolepsy. Although narcolepsy is a different disorder, (i think it was Kevin Cadogan) was on interview saying he wrote it after suffering sleep paralysis.
El Gui:
I’ve had exactly that same sensation. I even felt the friction of the sheet beneath me as I rotated and then began to float.
** Agropoli78**
Yes. And I suspect that fear is the reason that most at least on this thread appear to want reassurance via an empirical explanation . But these experiences may be a form of personal proof that we; you and I are more then our bodies, or what we take ourselves to be.
Or that we are not these bodies at all,-----but the awareness of them.
Welcome to straightdope, Agropoli78
Since out of body experiences have been triggered in the lab, I’d have to say that the neural research is on the right track: prosaic causes are the culprit. Which is a shame, isn’t it? The exotic causes would be so much cooler; if only they could be better backed up.
That was a great comeback, to a comment that was tongue-in-cheek buzzz_kill
Colour makes it bettah!:rolleyes:
Not in this forum. Personal attacks are tolerated only in the BBQ Pit forum. Don’t make the same mistake again.
bibliophage
moderator GQ
everyone has mentioned that sleep paralysis elicits feelings of terror and fear. i suffer from what i assume to be sleep paralysis maybe once or twice a week, i wake up [usually from a heavy dream] and am mostly cognizant, but i cannot move. however, i never feel terror in this condition, just general irritability and crabbiness which i always feel upon waking.
I have had something like this happen a few times, but it was never terrifying. It only happens when I am asleep on my back, and I get this incredible rushing feeling like I am accelerating at a very high rate. It is almost a religious experience.
>> I “woke up” in a state in which i could see out of my eyes, and even move my eyes…but i was unable to move any other part of my body.
Did this also prevent you from giving this thread a descriptive title? Or is that a separate issue? 
WOW, I have had this happen numerous times. Enough even though it still freaks me out when it happens, the fear does not hang around after waking (unless I hallucinate something happening while I am paralyzed).
I have tried to explain what this is like to people, but have never been able to do so. I had no idea that it actually had a name, I just thought I was messed up.
I have never met or communicated with anyone that also experiences this before. Usually if I can ust make some part of my body twitch, I will snap out of it. The worst is when you feel the presence of a stranger in the room, or actually hallucinate that there is someone there. I try to scream for my wife to wake up, or to protect her in some way, but absolutely cannot move. If this has never happened to you, consider yourself lucky. it is the worst kind of nightmare.
Thanks for theinfo on this. I thought I was crazy, now I know I am not. My wife thinks I am crazy when I bring this up too, now I can show her that it really happens.
rofl, smam