Oh snap! I can’t move | Sleep Paralysis

Let me tell you a tale today, well, actually  a real phenomenon stranger than fiction.  
 
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“I can’t move … oh God I can’t move!!”, panic was slowly gripping my heart. 
“Why can’t I move?”
 
Lying on the bed, I tried to shake my hands one more time, but not even the fingertips responded. I lay there still, silent, listening to the loud whirr of the ceiling fan. The last thing I remember doing was snuggling in the blankets and going to sleep, but it seems now my body was still resting while the brain was awake. Terrifying thoughts started bubbling in my mind, starting from Ghosts to Coma.
 
“What if I tried going back to sleep?”
 
After few moments (which felt like eternity) I was sleeping again. The next thing I remember was waking up in a jolt. I shook my arms and legs, blinked a couple of times. 
 
A vague sensation of helplessness and fear was still registered in my mind, but I couldn’t tell if the incident was real or a nightmare. I ignored the feeling, thinking it to be a lone scenario. Until it repeated, the next afternoon and kept happening, inconsistently though, for a year or so.
 
After that I did what every person on earth does, Google. It’s a condition called Sleep Paralysis – happens when the body is unable to smoothly transition between stages of sleep. 
 
“Sleep paralysis is a feeling of being conscious but unable to move. It occurs when a person passes between stages of wakefulness and sleep. During these transitions, you may be unable to move or speak for a few seconds up to a few minutes. Some people may also feel pressure or a sense of choking. ” Source
 
That was about 5 years ago and is the reason why I stopped sleeping during afternoons or oversleeping in general. It happened during times when my stress levels were beyond normal.
 
I wish it had given me some supernatural power, similar to reading mind or moving things like Magneto, but sigh… nothing like that happened.
 
Did you ever experience anything like this?
sleep paralysis
Blog-A-Thon Prompt – Stranger than fiction

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69 thoughts on “Oh snap! I can’t move | Sleep Paralysis

  1. Oh wow ! This was stranger than fiction. Personally, I haven't experienced it yet or maybe I have, and I haven't taken notice. Thanks for sharing though. Will be watchful next time. 🙂

  2. I too have experienced this, and it happened twice in the same week when I was really young! I was so scared I never spoke about it to anyone, till I read an article about it in the newspaper! I was so relieved to finally feel normal 😀

  3. That sounds so scary. I sleep like there is no tomorrow but fortunately haven't experienced this. Phew! Though my body often goes into won't respond mode when I am busy doing nothing 😉

  4. I experience that too often for my comfort. Conscious yet not awake. Sometimes it is terrifying! I am jealous to see your day 2 post already up! Heheheh.

  5. NO, it hasn't happened to me, but I have heard about it. Sometimes, even when someone is awake, suddenly, her/his limb would feel so light that feels it doesn't exists. Such conditions, happened once, are scary but hopefully harmless.

  6. Ok. This is weird for a different reason. I was researching for one of the next posts due in this challenge. And I stumbled upon this phenomenon online for the first time in my life barely an hour before reading it here… wow.
    A famous female Hollywood celebrity has it too.

  7. I wake up sometimes and am unable to move, scream or run even when someone is trying to catch me. I have this sensation of falling from a great height and I wake up with a jolt, afraid of hitting the floor with a thud.

  8. Err..no. I remember experiencing something closer to this feeling. I was down with high fever and a Zumba number kept playing out in my mind. I wasn't entirely awake or asleep but just couldn't shake it off. Very weird 🙁

  9. Woah…that sounds freakishly scary. The only paralysis I've experienced is after going to the gym – I once got stuck between ab crunches and then was rolled up as ball unable to move. No pain, but body wouldn't respond.

  10. Gee! Is that what it is? I have it too then! My limbs absolutely refuse to move, my neck refuses to turn…hmm, I thought it was poor circulation. It is scary indeed!

  11. Nope.. not happened with me and i'm hearing it for the first time! Strange it is!
    Good that you now know you shouldn't stress yourself!

    Interesting take on the prompt Raj!

    Cheers
    Geets

  12. Never heard of it. Scary. The only thing I experience is numbness in my hands. I guess that's related to blood circulation and rheumatoid arthrisis that I have been diagnosed with.

  13. No I haven't and it does sound a bit scary. But sometimes the dreams seemed so real that I go back and try to remember whether it really happened.

  14. Yes, I have had this happen — it is usually because of a terrifying dream which was the result f eating pizza before bed! But at the time it happens, it is scary

  15. Yep it happened to me too. I was in Rajouri(J&K) and was quite tired after a 6-days long chase. Wasn't lucky enough though but got a dump of cache. I could barely slept during the chase and hadn't eaten much. But there was something which kept me on the track. Anyways,when i came back to my room, i slept for couple of hours, before my eyes opened. I was able to see my room and stuff around but wasnt able to move. I know i wasnt dreaming. I decided to sleep again for a longer stretch this time. That memory is still fresh in my mind. The fraction of fear i felt that time was unfamiliar to me. Just hope it never happens to me or you again.

    1. Hey Sumit, nice to see you here on my blog 🙂 Hope you are doing well 😀 Thank you for sharing your story too. I know it's a terrible feeling. But I am somewhat relieved that I am not the only one {That's just selfish me 😛 }

  16. Yes. It has happened to me. I would be lying in bed. My mind would think lot of subjects. But the body is unable to move. It is not a dream situation.

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