# Struggling to wake up

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struggling-to-wake-up/217128>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 5, 2003, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struggling-to-wake-up/217128 "2003-12-05T10:44:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![optimystique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b38774/32.png) [@optimystique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/optimystique)\
**Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struggling-to-wake-up/217128/1 "2003-12-05T10:44:12Z")

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Have any of your guys experienced this before? :

Often when I am sleeping I can seem to consciously feel that I am sleeping and would want to wake up. However, no matter how mentally hard I try, I am unable to open my eyelids and wake up… it’s like I’m mentally struggling to open my eyes and regain consiousness and it’s only after some time that I successfully ‘wake up’.

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**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\
**Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struggling-to-wake-up/217128/2 "2003-12-05T11:16:30Z")

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yes, theres a giant folk lore about it in many asian cultures. Theres a modern term, but I can’t seem to recall. I’m sure someone’ll be around with it shortly.

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**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\
**Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struggling-to-wake-up/217128/3 "2003-12-05T14:19:58Z")

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I can’t remember what it’s called, but it is the most terrifying experience—I have it every so often, and it is a _horror_.

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**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\
**Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struggling-to-wake-up/217128/4 "2003-12-05T14:25:29Z")

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[Sleep paralysis](http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/paralysis.html)?

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**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\
**Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struggling-to-wake-up/217128/5 "2003-12-05T14:25:42Z")

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It’s a form of sleep paralysis - your body shuts off control of motor skills, or at least it’s supposed to, when you are in a certain stage of sleep. Sometimes it happens when you’re still semi-awake. It can be incredibly disturbing. From what I can tell it’s fairly normal for people to experience it at some point or another, but not on a regular basis.

If you want more information there’s a great resource for all kinds of sleep disorders at [Talk About Sleep](http://www.talkaboutsleep.com) that covers sleep paralysis and many other disorders.