# Sleep Paralysis-ever experienced it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 31, 2013, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546 "2013-12-31T05:29:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546/41 "2014-01-07T23:21:48Z")
> [@Inna\_Minnit](#): > > They are called dreams. You weren’t fully awake. Everyone experiences sleep paralysis. It is why most people don’t physically act out their dreams. Kinda sorta. Sleep paralysis with hypnogognic hallucinations is believed to occur when you enter REM sleep while you’re still awake. That is, you lose voluntary muscle control and begin dreaming, but you’re eyes are still open. Many people find them terrifying because in addition to hallucinating scary children and vicious animals like dogs or bears, you can’t make yourself move. Or breathe. You won’t stop breathing just like you don’t stop breathing when you sleep normally (apnea aside), but you can’t make yourself breathe. Sleep paralysis along with hypnogognic hallucinations are two of the four indicators of narcolepsy (the other two are excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy). If you suffer SP and HH once in awhile, it’s not so bad. If you have these episodes 2 or three times a week, it starts to affect your health. For one thing, you’re going straight to REM sleep instead of going through the stages of sleep. Without that Delta sleep for a few nights you start getting a little punchy. For awhile, I took a light dose of Prozac to prevent these. Now I take Xyrem. That may seem extreme to some people, but being able to work all day without the words on the computer screen changing or falling asleep driving is pure gold. Yes, SP is most definitely a possible indicator of a sleep disorder, but FWIW, narcolepsy is NOT characterized by sudden sleep attacks. The people you see falling asleep in unusual places usually have severe obstructive apnea. ---
**Author:** ![Purin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Purin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purin)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546/42 "2014-01-08T00:29:25Z")
I have never had sleep paralysis as far as how i’ve seen people describe it, aside from feeling like there were people from my dreams in real life, however I have never seen anything or anyone, and as soon as I opened my eyes, nothing was there. However, since I was a toddler I would have extremely horrible night terrors. I would feel like I was sick to my stomach, and what I would do to get it to go away is walk in a circle to wake myself up along and get my mind off of things. They would last for well over 20 minutes! In an instant, I would go from sobbing and clutching my stomach, to completely better and ready to go back to bed. I also have sleep troubles, I don’t think i’ve ever been fully energized since 7 or 8 years old. I haven’t had a sleep study, maybe I should have one to figure out what the heck is wrong with me, but it seems to me I can’t ever enter REM sleep. But wow, sleep paralysis sounds _/horrifying/_. I don’t know how you can get used to that stuff! ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546/43 "2014-01-08T05:24:18Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > In what respect do you think he is wrong about this one? Probability. Though many narcoleptics experience sleep paralysis, that does not mean it is probable that someone experiencing sleep paralysis has narcolepsy. Sleep paralysis occurs in [4 in 10 people](http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/sleep-paralysis?page=2). Narcolepsy occurs in [1 in 2000](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcolepsy#Epidemiology) people. Likewise, hypnagogic hallucinations are only rarely associated with epilepsy. What Cecil wrote is the equivalent of saying, “You feel tired lately? Could be nothing, but it sounds like you have scurvy.” ---
**Author:** ![Cold\_Dish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@Cold\_Dish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cold_Dish)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546/44 "2014-01-10T00:53:23Z")
Had it happen one time. I actually thought I had died and went to Hell. This was my eternal damnation ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546/45 "2014-01-10T01:06:58Z")
I experienced sleep paralysis once. It was interesting, because I was in a 20028 year old inn that was (supposedly) haunted. What I recall was that I went to sleep, and seemed to awake-but I could not move. I tried to scream, and I heard my voice …very faint , as if from far away. What was terrifying was that I was conscious…but could not move. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546/46 "2014-01-10T03:29:30Z")
> [@Cold\_Dish](#): > > Had it happen one time. I actually thought I had died and went to Hell. This was my eternal damnation That is a perfect description of my first two experiences. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546/47 "2014-01-10T09:56:49Z")
> [@Purin](#): > > I have never had sleep paralysis as far as how i’ve seen people describe it, aside from feeling like there were people from my dreams in real life, however I have never seen anything or anyone, and as soon as I opened my eyes, nothing was there. > > However, since I was a toddler I would have extremely horrible night terrors. I would feel like I was sick to my stomach, and what I would do to get it to go away is walk in a circle to wake myself up along and get my mind off of things. They would last for well over 20 minutes! In an instant, I would go from sobbing and clutching my stomach, to completely better and ready to go back to bed. I also have sleep troubles, I don’t think i’ve ever been fully energized since 7 or 8 years old. I haven’t had a sleep study, maybe I should have one to figure out what the heck is wrong with me, but it seems to me I can’t ever enter REM sleep. > > But wow, sleep paralysis sounds _/horrifying/_. I don’t know how you can get used to that stuff! You are young, my friend - you get used to whatever there is to get used to. IIRC, you are 15 - a time of many (horrible (just kidding)) changes. If your sleep disorders persist, you might look into a sleep analysis. I have puberty-onset insomnia - cannot get to sleep without drugs. Fun. The sleep docs did nothing, but I didn’t sign up for the whole electrodes-everywhere-now-go-to-sleep-while-we watch-and-record analysis. I’lll just keep the drugs handy, thank you. Of course, if your disorder started about the time girls hit the per-pubescent growth spurt, you might end up joining the club. You are most certainly getting to REM and dreaming - people who can’t will go insane and die. Yes, really. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546/48 "2014-01-11T19:04:37Z")
> [@armedmonkey](#): > > Probability. Though many narcoleptics experience sleep paralysis, that does not mean it is probable that someone experiencing sleep paralysis has narcolepsy. And it is definitely only “many” narcolpetics. My dad has never experienced it. I thought he had, the last time this came up, but he set me straight. His hands and legs just often go to sleep, so he doesn’t want to wake up. I also wonder if the hallucinations are inherently scary, or if it’s because you are scared at the time. Dreams seem to correspond to your current emotional conditions. That said, I’m not sure how easy it would be to experience this and not be at least somewhat frightened, even if you know what it is. The initial response to not being able to move at all may be instinctual, your body ramping up to try and get you to move. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546/49 "2014-01-11T19:12:44Z")
> [@armedmonkey](#): > > You know what? This may sound like heresy, but I just don’ t trust Cecil. His first thought on this phenomenon was a sleep disorder. His second was epilepsy. Just no. > > I hate to say it, but Cecil is more frequently wrong than he is right. I think you read it wrong, unless he’s edited it. The first possibility he mentions is described as just “relatively harmless,” not a sleep disorder. > [@Cecil](#): > > Jeepers, P., I dunno. Could be it’s a relatively harmless phenomenon called “early sleep paralysis,” which occurs in about 15-20 percent of the population. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546/50 "2014-01-11T19:37:25Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I think you read it wrong, unless he’s edited it. The first possibility he mentions is described as just “relatively harmless,” not a sleep disorder. You cut off my parallel, and missed my point entirely. The part you cut out was "What Cecil wrote is the equivalent of saying, “You feel tired lately? **Could be nothing** , but it sounds like you have scurvy.” I bolded that so you could catch it the second time. What Cecil did is forget Occam’s Razor. That’s why I don’t trust him. He hand waved over the most likely explanation (which I think would have been more interesting anyway) in order to write about something that was much, much less likely. Maybe calling him “wrong” is a bit harsh, but he sure wasn’t fighting ignorance there. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546/51 "2014-01-11T20:10:29Z")
Addendum to the above, in Cecils’s single sentence handwave, he said 15-20 %. It’s not. It’s 40. I linked to that. “Cecil Adams” is just an amusing columnist at a newspaper. For the vast majority of the columns, he doesn’t do enough research and just tries to fill paragraphs. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546/52 "2014-01-11T20:39:23Z")
Could you give us some more examples where he doesn’t do enough research? ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546/53 "2014-01-11T20:59:24Z")
I could maybe look some up, but we are getting way off topic, here. This is supposed to be a MPSIMS thread about peoples experiences - not a thread about Cecil Adams. I think I’m probably to blame for the hijack, but I don’t want it to be a highjack, so let’s just stop it here. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546/54 "2014-01-11T22:34:08Z")
So start a new thread about the ways in which Cecil is wrong (as you said, in “the vast majority of the columns”). Otherwise, what you’re doing is asserting that it’s O.K. for you to make inflammatory off-topic remarks, but it’s wrong for anyway to ask you to back up those statements. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546/55 "2014-01-11T22:39:00Z")
Alright, I apologize. Mea culpa. Whatever. I don’t want to start a new thread because I haven’t read his column in years due to criticisms already stated. If you want to pit me over this you can, otherwise, let’s move on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-paralysis-ever-experienced-it/677546.md?page=2)