Sleep Paralysis

Sleep Paralysis - According to the Mayo Clinic web site

Sleep paralysis. People with narcolepsy often experience a temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or upon waking. These episodes are usually brief — lasting one or two minutes — but they can be frightening. You may be aware of the condition and have no difficulty recalling it afterward, even if you had no control over what was happening to you.

This sleep paralysis mimics the type of temporary paralysis that normally occurs during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the period of sleep during which most dreaming occurs. This temporary immobility during REM sleep may prevent your body from acting out dream activity. Not everyone with sleep paralysis has narcolepsy, however. Many people experience a few attacks of sleep paralysis, especially in young adulthood.

I have suffered from Sleep Paralysis since I was about 16 years old. I remember my very first episode. I could "see" everything in my room, but I could barely breathe and was unable to make any sounds or movements. I felt as if I had to hold my breath, or at least slow my breathing, in order to store up enough energy to scream or make any noise at all. I was finally successful in my attempts to wake my body up. My heart was pounding.

Since then I have had countless Sleep Paralysis episodes. A lot of times my episodes are back-to-back. This means that I awaken from an episode only to fall immediately back to sleep, back into sleep paralysis... Sometimes this happens 5 or 6 times before I am able to wake up long enough to change positions.

You see, I have found that if I change my sleeping position, or get up and go to the bathroom, etc., that I will most likely not return to sleep paralysis.

Besides trying to force myself to wake up during a sleep paralysis episode, I have also tried "just going with it." This has resulted in even more frightful experiences for me, though many people say they actually control their dreams in this state and quite enjoy it. Rarely have I been able to control my dreams while in sleep paralysis, even though I know I'm dreaming. More often I feel like I'm free-falling for an eternity, wind in my face, stomach-turning and everything. Not fun. Perhaps I need more practice at "letting go" and/or taking control.

The frequency of my Sleep Paralysis episodes is sporadic. I'll have them several nights in a row... and then it will be a week or two before my next episode(s). I'm not sure what causes them.

I have started this blog to try to document my dreams and sleep paralysis episodes to see if I can find any connections between them and what's going on with my self/environment/life.