# Sleep and Dreams > Sleep and Health >  >  Eyes open in sleep paralysis?

## Venomblood

Just a simple question.  When you're in sleep paralysis, are your eyes open?  Can they be open?

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## Mes Tarrant

No, they're not open. I think they _can_, but that would be a problem.

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## ninja9578

They shouldn't be, but REM strains the eyelids, sometimes they may be partially open, which is why for WILDs you may want a mask or have the covers over your head.

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## Captain Sleepalot

Mine are sometimes _partially_ open when I experience SP consciously.

I have been experimenting with trying to open them slightly when I first realize I am in the throes of SP, although I can usually only manage to keep them open for a short time. It feels physically draining to try and do that, plus I am bound to see some weird things as my dreaming mind kind of superimposes images onto the physical world that I can sort of see.

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## Rainman

Wow ninja, I haven't ever thought of that. Good idea, that might be a part of why when I'm lucid I see multiple "layers" of things, if you will. Heh.

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## Clairity

> Just a simple question. When you're in sleep paralysis, are your eyes open? Can they be open?



I actually knew someone who could sleep with their eyes open.. so I guess if you can sleep with your eyes open then you could have SP with them open as well.  But I would say that normally your eyes are closed during SP.

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## Artixknight

What? Your eyes aren't usually open? I can have mine open when in SP. I see funny things., Like shadow people and moving walls. Lol

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## Dash

It's one of my goals, but unfortunately, seeing shadow people / walls shapeshifting / strange creatures moving around your dorm room at 4:00 am loses its fun, especially after a nightmare.  :Eek:

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## RedDeath9

> It's one of my goals, but unfortunately, seeing shadow people / walls shapeshifting / strange creatures moving around your dorm room at 4:00 am loses its fun, especially after a nightmare.



+1.

I usually try to do it with my eyes closed, but I've done it with my eyes open (I think)

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## Robot_Butler

I know they are closed, it makes sense that they must be closed,  but I swear every time I'm in SP I am 100&#37; convinced they are open.  Your brain must just be really good at recreating a dream version of your sleeping environment. 

Does this go for sleep paralysis at the beginnign of a WILD also?  Could you get some paralysis and vibrations before you fully enter a dream, and therefore still be seeing your real environment?

I have kept my eyes open in a lit room, and witnessed the seamless transition from seeing my room to seeing a dream appear.  At what point do your eyes close in this scenario?  Obviously it must be before the dream starts to form, because I can watch the room dissolve around me.

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## Artixknight

> It's one of my goals, but unfortunately, seeing shadow people / walls shapeshifting / strange creatures moving around your dorm room at 4:00 am loses its fun, especially after a nightmare.



Well. At this point of time, I kind of laugh at those hallucinations. They can only make you stronger, plus they make great stories to tell. 

P.S. Hallucinations like shadow people/old hag are pretty rare. I haven't experienced anything scary enough to stop me from doing it. The worst was feeling like I was being dragged to the end of the bed, or when this one zombie/ghost girl was standing next to me and screaming. It was almost amusing; I knew it was all in my head and it wasn't very realistic.

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## Out of the Blue

When I was a little kid I got the feeling of being dragged to the end of my bed and it freaked me out so much I slept cross-legged for a few years...

Also hearing voices and the like disturbed me.

But now I almost hope to hear or see things, because then I'll know I'm dreaming.

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## I H8 Reality

Yes your eyes can be open during Sleep paralysis, but i wouldnt reccomend it cuz you might see stuff that will freak you out.

So better to just keep them closed

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## Artixknight

> When I was a little kid I got the feeling of being dragged to the end of my bed and it freaked me out so much I slept cross-legged for a few years...
> 
> Also hearing voices and the like disturbed me.
> 
> But now I almost hope to hear or see things, because then I'll know I'm dreaming.



Well, usually, when you enter SP, once you can't feel your body at all, you'll know you're dreaming. I will go into a dark room, and then I'll notice I can't feel my eyes closed. That's when I'll realize that my dream eyes are open. That's when I create some visuals, like a tree, and then once one pops up, I'll know I'm dreaming for sure.

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## DreamingGod

Hmm, it don't think so.

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## Taarna

it feels as though my eyes are open when am in a sleep paralysis, state as i can see and hear things around me, and when i awake from this some things are false what i hear or some are true as i thought my partner had came in from work and was talking and went to the toilet but when i woke up it was actually his mother that had gone to the toilet and he had never been there at all, i have seen such weird things when i am in this state.

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## Paigesaddiction

I sleep with my eyes open occasionally, i have done since i was a child. What does this actually mean?. I've scared a few people, My mum used to think i was dead, untill she got used to it of course.  ::roll::

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## yellowlight

I opened my eyes only once when I was in SP (and that with great difficulty). It was cool. It looked like thousands of bugs are flying around in the room...and the worst thing is that I could hear them too. I woke up after 10 seconds.

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## mrdeano

From what I am aware I have done this a few times now.

One morning, I was in SP with my eyes open and I saw my dad walk into my room, take an object off my desk and then walk out.
I asked him later on if he'd been in my room and he said yes, he went in there to pick up my phone.

(I let my dad use the light on my phone.. blah blah long story)

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## Arutad

> I sleep with my eyes open occasionally, i have done since i was a child. What does this actually mean?. I've scared a few people, My mum used to think i was dead, untill she got used to it of course.



Do your eyes ever hurt after sleeping with them open?

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## Paigesaddiction

No they never hurt?. I never even knew i did it till my mum said when i was about 6 years old. & i have done it ever since apparently?. I find it strange & Weird .. ♥

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## Shift

Yes, during SP your eyelids are just about the only thing you'll be able to control.

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## Robot_Butler

At what point do you stop getting input from your actual eyeballs?  I know it is not unheard of for people to sleep with their eyes open, but not actually see anything in front of their eyes.  I also have had lucid dreams where I know my eyes are slightly open, and can see images from my mind overlapped onto images from my physical eyes.  I don't think it is so simple as "eyes open or eyes closed."  I think there is more to it.

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## CaLeB-

As I recall from one of my first WILDs, I opened my eyes from the surprise of SP, but I was also able to close them back.

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## Stardrowned

mine always are. i know for a fact too because i've had sleep paralysis even when i fell asleep in class (which happens a lot) and i can see everything (well, usually just the desk..)

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## Taarna

i still don't know if its real what i see are my eyes open :s
i have had times were i thought i was moving but it was like quicksand pulling at me i was tangled up in my covers struggling to move like a force holding me back into bed, which to day i wonder if it really happened

<3 x

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## Paigesaddiction

I have always slept with my eyes open to. But i can't ever remember seeing anything??.. I find it strange because if i try to leave my eyes open in the waking state they hurt&I have to blink, So i really don't no how i do it?. I would think my eyes would dry up or something lol?. 

*"Dont follow your dreams, Chase them"* ♥

 ::dreaming::

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## lucidspark64

> or when this one zombie/ghost girl was standing next to me and screaming. It was almost amusing;



haha it's like your mind is trying to scare you but you just found it to be amusing.

 and i like your avatar Out of the Blue


anyway, when i experience sleep paralysis, my eyes seem to be open. Not sure whether to call them hallucinations or not. This one time I did have sleep paralysis, i was in my room and some guy just walked in and sat on my bed. I asked my family if they had came in and they said they didnt.

my girlfriend has had sleep paralysis and hallucinated that she was on an operating table be experimented by aliens. the only problem was that her cat was laying on her. she still jokes that she had an encounter with aliens but some people out there really believe they have been abducted by aliens being paralyzed and swear it wasn't sleep paralysis (<<<crazy...)

there maybe an article that studied sleep paralysis that might mention whether or not the eyes were open. I think they can be because i believe that i have.

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## Arutad

> No they never hurt?. I never even knew i did it till my mum said when i was about 6 years old. & i have done it ever since apparently?. I find it strange & Weird .. ♥



I thought that your eyes would hurt from having them open for 8 hours or so, but if not, you must be blinking. And in REM you're probably moving them all the time, wow that must look really weird  ::D:  Did your mum tell you anything about you about it?

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## Arutad

In SP eyes must normally be closed... I always see my room during SP but it's not exactly my room. And I see my body doing strange things, like shaking, surely it's not my physical body! Besides, if you remember having closed your eyes before SP, there's nothing to think about.

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## dreamingofdreaming

Hmmm so about half the people believe they're eyes are open [during SP] and the other half believe it's all in their head... Well, in my experience, I always sleep with a mask on, always. On two different SP occasions I was on my side, paralyzed, heart beating madly, vibrations and I could see a little of my bed and my walls. It looked very real, but I had my mask on. So, I feel that it probably is all in our head, but I'm curious, has anyone else had this, while having a mask on or were under their covers but still saw the room around them?

Also, Paige, I too have been told I sleep with my eyes open. However, its not like they are open 8 hours a night. And I'm sure your mom hasn't sat up and watched your sleep all night. Chances are your like me and your eyes never truly close. My siblings would say they would wake up in a room with me and my eyes would be open and then half open and then shake (its like my eye lids are too light or something?!)... Its weird, thats why I always have to wear a mask because the light annoys me, you must be a heavy sleeper  :tongue2:

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## Arutad

You people are so interesting, I wish I could watch you sleep  :smiley:

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## lucidspark64

> You people are so interesting, I wish I could watch you sleep




Maybe you should get into sleep medicine. I plan on getting into the psychology field of sleep  :smiley:

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## Arutad

Medicine doesn't sound exciting at all... Dealing with disorders, ugh! I don't want to be near sick people. You have to have a vocation for such things.

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## Taarna

they say there is no cure for SP.
my dad said he had it when he was younger but does not now 
i have been in one and imagined there was a big white ghostly blob image at the door, and once heard a voice like a presidents speech voice saying "CRAZY"
lol some very weird experiences indeed i had two encounters of SP last night fun fun, they do not seem to do many programs on this just mainly sleep walking.

<3 x

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## moonshine

Has anyone deliberately tried to open their real eyes from a lucid and experience SP? 

Is it that easy?

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## Robot_Butler

I always think of sleep paralysis like a false awakening.  On many occasions, I have had a clear view of my room in sleep paralysis, then "woken up" from it and realized I was hallucinating the whole thing.  It is surprising to suddenly open your eyes when you already thought your eyes were open.  Especially when you are seeing a fully lit room in your hallucination, then you open your eyes to a dark room.  Backwards!

I'm not saying sleeping with your eyes open is impossible, just that it is probably not the norm.  I've seen my girlfriend  and some roommates sleep with their eyes open.  They are not fully open, just half-closed in a relaxed way.

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## Shift

One of the cool things about SP is that people in it can look around and report accurately about what is going on in the room around them, what they see and hear. Even with the hallucinations.

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## Robot_Butler

That makes sense, Shift.  I never trust what I see during SP, because it seems hallucinations are layered on top of my actual vision.  The blind spot hallucination comes to mind as the simplest example.  Scary to think how we are so easily fooled.

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## lucidspark64

I don't really think Sleep Paralysis is a real sleep disorder. I see it more as a glitch. Something that's not suppose to happen but does.

 I think if it was a real disorder, it would interfere with your life. People with Rem Behavior Disorder (RBD) might sit up throwing fists at thin air until this person (likely male) accidentally hits their bed-mate.

People with Sleep Apnea have difficulty breathing regularly while sleeping.

Sleep paralysis is just when the sleeper is conciously alert and aware of the state they are in. It doesn't exactly interefere with their life. It's just something that happens accidentally (except for us lucid dreamers).

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## mrdeano

> I don't really think Sleep Paralysis is a real sleep disorder. I see it more as a glitch. Something that's not suppose to happen but does.
> 
>  I think if it was a real disorder, it would interfere with your life. People with Rem Behavior Disorder (RBD) might sit up throwing fists at thin air until this person (likely male) accidentally hits their bed-mate.
> 
> People with Sleep Apnea have difficulty breathing regularly while sleeping.
> 
> Sleep paralysis is just when the sleeper is conciously alert and aware of the state they are in. It doesn't exactly interefere with their life. It's just something that happens accidentally (except for us lucid dreamers).



Have you even suffered from Sleep paralysis without knowing what it is?

I have, for years I went through SP every night. And guess what... it did interfere with my life.
I was so scared of going to sleep that I would stay up all night trying to keep myself awake, I would then  go to school half asleep and do terrible in lessons. The lack of sleep built up over a long period of time and I ended up a walking zombie. My parents thought I was depressed and when I tried explaining to them what was happening during the night they didn't believe me.

There are thousands of people that suffer like this in silence. SP is a sleep disorder... hands down.

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## moonshine

http://www.dreaminglucid.com/articlejc.html

Interview On SP and Lucid Dreaming by an SP Scientist. Worth a read.

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## Arutad

> My parents thought I was depressed and when I tried explaining to them what was happening during the night they didn't believe me.



Horrible!





> There are thousands of people that suffer like this in silence. SP is a sleep disorder... hands down.



I heard that it's connected to disorders like narcolepsy and is not a disorder on its own... Maybe you had\have some neurological condition?

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## moonshine

Not so long ago I came across a religious forum dedicated to SP.
The poor bastards actually thought they were being attacked by demons. 
The general concensus was that sleeping with a bible under your pillow was the best move.

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## Shift

> I heard that it's connected to disorders like narcolepsy and is not a disorder on its own... Maybe you had\have some neurological condition?



Don't go crazy now. It's called Isolated Sleep Paralysis.

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## Arutad

I see. That's good for everybody who suffers from SP.

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## lucidspark64

> Have you even suffered from Sleep paralysis without knowing what it is?
> 
> I have, for years I went through SP every night. And guess what... it did interfere with my life.
> I was so scared of going to sleep that I would stay up all night trying to keep myself awake, I would then  go to school half asleep and do terrible in lessons. The lack of sleep built up over a long period of time and I ended up a walking zombie. My parents thought I was depressed and when I tried explaining to them what was happening during the night they didn't believe me.
> 
> There are thousands of people that suffer like this in silence. SP is a sleep disorder... hands down.



wow man i'm sorry... I have had sleep paralysis. I get it atleast once a month but I didn't think that it was such a big deal. this is why i said "i don't think..."

it seems to be a sure problem for this lady http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omzsLqbgRaU but i figured since it is called "Sleep paralysis" that you are still sleeping even though you are in a state of waking consciousness.

again i'm sorry.  ::bowdown:: 

by the way I just read about narcolepsy. Sleep paralysis is a symptom, but it is only a symptom and doesn't really explain you having it every night unless you have attacks of intense sleepiness during the day, then i'd see a doctor which he'll probably run some tests and my guess would be narcolepsy

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## Arutad

> by the way I just read about narcolepsy. Sleep paralysis is a symptom, but it is only a symptom and doesn't really explain you having it every night unless you have attacks of intense sleepiness during the day, then i'd see a doctor which he'll probably run some tests and my guess would be narcolepsy



If his problem was narcolepsy he'd know it, it's hard to miss!

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## lucidspark64

well i imagine some people don't know what it is until they get a diagnosis. sleep attacks for narcoleptics usually occur when they experience some arousal in emotion like excitement or some kind of thrill. 

this person says he was at one point like a zombie. i can't imagine he would be getting these higher emotions so often. I would still see a doctor because narcolepsy can be mild like just excessive sleep or taking too many naps. my girlfriends dog sleeps like 20 out of 24 hours of the day (exageration) but i dont wanna say she has this disorder because she's overweight and old (the dog ofcourse).

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## Dawnova

> At what point do you stop getting input from your actual eyeballs?  I know it is not unheard of for people to sleep with their eyes open, but not actually see anything in front of their eyes.  I also have had lucid dreams where I know my eyes are slightly open, and can see images from my mind overlapped onto images from my physical eyes.  I don't think it is so simple as "eyes open or eyes closed."  I think there is more to it.



I remember once i was sleeping on my couch and at a given time i noticed that i was dreaming with my eyes partially open and directed on my legs and it was weird because i could see images pass on my legs as if it was movie o_O....but still im pretty sure that everytime i have sp my eyes are open or at least my mind can just recreate the exact environement i have around me while im sleeping...ummm

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## nzguy

I've only ever opened my eyes once during SP... very strange experience. It was like I imagine being blind must be like - not totally dark and I could see the same weird colorful shapes as when I had my eyes closed. I got spooked of course and managed to shake myself out of it  :smiley:

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## G0MPgomp

> it feels as though my eyes are open when am in a sleep paralysis, state as i can see and hear things around me, and when i awake from this some things are false what i hear or some are true as i thought my partner had came in from work and was talking and went to the toilet but when i woke up it was actually his mother that had gone to the toilet and he had never been there at all, i have seen such weird things when i am in this state.



That is the start of any Awaken Dream.  :wink2:

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## bunny man

I remember once opening my eyes during sleep paralysis, it was a very odd experience. 
An orange couch I have in my room started floating through the room changing shape. As if it was moving towards me and attacking me or something. I felt great fear then, and it was extremely realistic.

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## proth

I sleep with my eyes open. And I experience sleep paralysis with my eyes open all the time. Often times I I'll forget that I'm in sleep paralysis and think i'm on some crazy drug and thats why I can't move (which is scary). Its always a really crazy and cool experience and often times scary. But even the scary ones leave me excited when I am done. Since I have been working on lucid dreaming and dream recall and stuff I have experienced this much more often. Not sure if I just remember it now.
If anyone sleeps with their eyes open and wants to try it the time I experience it most often is definitely during naps or in the morning when I've woken up and then fallen back asleep (this may be because it is lighter then and more obvious that I am seeing what is around me). Coolest thing ever. My twin brother sleeps with his eyes open too and experiences it sometimes too. Also things can come into your view that aren't actually there, like people and stuff.

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## proth

Also, it is very hard to control the dreams with that I talked about above without waking up, (for me at least).

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## Guitarman27612

Yeah, I do too, it's part of REM. You want to close your eyes slowly so it doesn't wake you up or you can wear a sleep mask :tongue2:

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## ibmeruu

Dreaming I woke up in an old bedroom.  Large LCD readout in the room.  Realized it was a dream.  Side of my face was paralized.  Realized I was dreaming.  Couldn't wake up.  Tryed screaming for help. "wake me up"  couldn't tried moving, couldn't.  Dream transitioned to a different old bedroom.  LCD in this room too.  Same problems.  Finally woke up.  Felt like one eye had been open for a while. Dry.  Right next to my alarm clock.  I must have been dreaming with one eye open because the LCD was the same as in my dream but about 30 mins later.  This is an awful experience.

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## Prontera

Half-open. Half-closed. Both eyes. I saw family moving around in a specific way. I asked them. Said yes. Twice i saw people doing stuff while I'm sleeping and twice they have confirmed my observation.

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## Kenneth

You have the inefficiency of the protein, you must use the healthy foods and fruits to fulfill this deficiency. Banana shake is best to get the high quantity of the protein.

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## outsourcefirm

I have been testing with trying to start them a little when I first recognize I am in the cycle of SP, although I can usually only handle to keep them start for a few months. It believes actually burning to try and do that, plus I am certain to see some unusual elements as my thinking brain type of superimposes pictures onto the actual community that I can type of see.

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## Trevorm7

I tried opening my eyes once when I had a false awakening, it was like I was between 2 parallel dimensions. The "false" one was really blurry and I had to open my eyes a couple times before I was sure I was actually seeing the real one and not dreaming that one too. I was actually able to open my eyes and see the real room and close them and see the "false" one again, I was able to compare them but it only lasted a few seconds and faded.

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## beijaflor

I have a problem with that.. always, when I'm doing WILD, my body starts to vibrate and my eyelids start to flutter so that I HAVE to open it.. but always when they start fluttering so much, I got awake..  I tried wearing a sleepmask, but that didn't help.. does anybody of you know that ?

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## Puffin

Most of my unintentional SP episodes I had before discovering LDing involved my eyes being open, but through my own conscious control and not because of flickering eyelids or REM (I actually have never experienced that before). In one case, my eyes were really wide open because I was terrified of the hallucinations.  :tongue2:

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## Capsisko

Finally someone who sees the same

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## anderj101

This thread is 4 years old and the those who posted here are not active on the forum any longer. It would probably be best to start a new thread.

 :lock:

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