Waking up Paralyzed

There are two theories about this. The first and more practical one is that your brain has not sent brain signals to your muscles. The second and more controversial idea is called "Scissors." It's the idea that a demon is on you holding you down.

Now I have woken up momentarily paralyzed twice. The first time I tried to get up but I couldn't move. I basically freaked out in my head and started praying to God like crazzzy. After a few seconds my body suddenly jerked straight up. It was the strangest sensation. I can't really remember what happened the second time... I don't know what to believe, I'm just glad it didn't last long.

Has this happened to anybody else?

 

Hm... Something like this happened to me once.

I woke up, and just all of a sudden, just like you described, I just jerked right up. I dunno why, maybe a bad dream or something. I can't remember if I couldn't move or not... It was a long time ago.

 

Umm, this has been somewhat proven already in many psychological research studies. "Proof" only from MRI scans of the brain during many sleep tests that psychologists conducted originally to study the formation of dreams.

It's often called sleep paralysis. When you enter REM sleep, your body is actually in a state of paralysis to prevent movements during sleep. Studies have (and for lack of better phrasing, I shall quote directly) highly suggested that it may be linked to post-synaptic inhibition of motor neurons in the pons region of the brain. In particular, low levels of melatonin may stop the depolarization current in the nerves, which prevents the stimulation of the muscles, to prevent the body from enacting the dreamt activity (e.g. preventing a sleeper from running when dreaming about running).

Essentially, when you awake--usually suddenly from REM sleep--your level of consciousness returns back to its normal beta wave frequencies (which signifies awakeness and alertness), but your body has yet to shake out of its REM sleep condition. This is most likely due to a relapse in the continuation of pre/post synpatic communication between your neurons.

Many cultures--usually Eastern ones--have had their own beliefs on sleep paralysis. The most common among these is that it occurs when a spirit is nearby or if you've been temporary possessed for an unknown reason. This demon theory is probably one of these cultural superstitions.

As a Psychology major, and having read about sleep paralysis through the Biological Basis of the human brain, naturally I side with the scientific explanation.

 

Wow thanks. I feel... relieved. :D

 

This happend to me too!I tried to yell to my dad for help but nothing came out.I was freaked out.

 

Oh this happened to me once too. I was just like "Well this is odd." xD

Imagine waking up after an accident and you really were paralysed.. That would suck so much.

 

it's happened to me a few times, like i'll be in my lying on my bed & i cant move then my body kinda jerks, well kinda jumps up by it's self. i freaked the first time but i'm use to it.
hehe my sis saw it happen once, she's like "You ok" giving me a funny look.

 

I've experienced this many times myself. It's an unsettling feeling, but usually either I just go back to sleep (if it happens in the middle of the night when I wake up), or I count to three and then try flail my arm (or leg) as hard and as fast as I can.

Usually it fails the first time, but by the third I'll get it to move.

 

Chances are your bed or wherever your sleeping is pinching your spine, after you give a few attempted rolls it will usually unpinch and you can move again.

 

This has happened to me millions of times. Literally. :/

I don't make much of this. Theories I've heard...are some like... your soul isn't awake, but your body is. That's one. Another one is like the one hannah stated about the muscles not being able to move yet. This is a peculiar thing because it happens so frequent with me it's almost consistent now.

I doubt this is a 'Devil' cause. I don't believe in it so I don't think that's a plausible answer. However, I do believe it's that my brain hasn't sent signals, that's far more logical.


Sometimes it happens twice in one morning as well, for me. OH, and has anyone noticed that when this happens they end up gaining their mobility RIGHT before you run out of breath? I mean when this happens to me I tend to lose all my air at a certain point. But I always gain my ability to get up right when I'm about to lose all my air and pass out.

It's the strangest thing. :/

 

that's happened to me a lot. btw, is REM mean that ur dreaming?

 

It can happen if your drunk and you get really hurt. You wouldnt know, the booze dulls your senses. Then the next morning you can wake up with a severed spine. And be paralyzed.

 

REM sleep means Rapid-Eye-Movement sleep. It's the deepest form of sleep an individual can sink into. Dreams are usually more vivid and feel more real when you're under this kind of sleep. What's interesting to know is that during REM sleep, your brain readings give off beta waves (or elevated alpha waves)--which are somewhat the same waves you give off when you're alert and awake. This is probably why dreams feel and seem more real and vivid when you're in REM sleep and thus easier to recall.

 

If you take zma during this time of sleep you will get really vivid dreams.

 

wow, that is interesting. beta waves, no clue wat that is but still, nevertheless very interesting

 

this happened to me once too but i've seen reserch that says at least40% of people who experince waking up during REM sleep say they are abducted by aliens....weird huh? when it happened to me i only heard voices more like shouting cuz iwas in my moms room and my mom is the pastor and owner of a church so the expreince had to do with demons. i heard my mom say:"Look there it is!" i was in prarlysis so i coudn't see if my mom was awake or sleep i could only star at the ceiling and i guess i saw what she was talking about it was a dark vortex hovering over the bed and the i tried to move and wiggle my way out of it and the movie "Hidalgo" was playiong so i had light but i still wasn,t able to breakout till a few minutes later! weird huh?

 

Umm... highly doubt the alien abduction thing. It's already been established as a biological glitch/mishap. What's still unknown is what *causes* it. I doubt there was really a dark vortex over your head, but if you claim to have seen one, it was probably an illusion your eyes were playing on you.

By the way, your name wouldn't happen to be Soheil would it? <.<

 

no my name is D'angelo why?

 

REM sleep...

I have that quite frequently, actually. Funny how the only dream I remember having it with though is the dream I had when I was laying poker with a shark. Haha.

 

Happened to me once.......scared the hell out of me.