Thread: sleep paralysis

Originally Posted by gm23

i get sp every other night and my 1st reaction when i know i've got it is to concentrate on wiggling my finger to wake up, but is it right in saying that i could achieve a LD beacuse of this and if so what do i do? the only part of my body i've total control over is my eyes, so should i keep my eyes open or closed when i'm in sp?

Firstly, everyone goes into sleep paralysis every night when they go to sleep; you have to in order to fall asleep. I mention this because; are you asleep or awake when you are in paralysis? If you are awake every night as a result of paralysis, you have a severe sleep disorder which deserves immediate attention and study (as that would be very rare).

If you are awake during this paralysis, then nothing you can do would seemingly give you lucidity because you are stuck in conscious paralysis. However, in ther alternative that you are unconcious, then you could use it as a signal to become lucid very easily (ie. "when I can only move my finger, I am dreaming, thus, lucid dream now!").

Whether or not to keep your eyes open depends on your response to the above.
~

what do you mean am i awake or asleep? i assumed i was sleeping hence sleep paralysis. i do however find that when i try falling back asleep after wakening myself from sp i can drift right back into it again. my 1st post in the newbie section explains of auditory hallucinations and an experience i felt as real as every day life that obviously wasn't

Doing some WILD techs or, my favorite, a VILD can be quite effective that this point. The techs tend to be infinitely easier if you are already in SP.

I would agree with O'nus however that you should look into the cause of your SP. Natural SP is often a sign that there is something abnormal going on.

Originally Posted by gm23

what do you mean am i awake or asleep? i assumed i was sleeping hence sleep paralysis.

You can be conscious and in sleep paralysis. If you would like, I can find the specific article from the Journal of Neurology that describes these incidents.

i do however find that when i try falling back asleep after wakening myself from sp i can drift right back into it again. my 1st post in the newbie section explains of auditory hallucinations and an experience i felt as real as every day life that obviously wasn't

Either way, I would use these experiences as a means to signify the ability to become lucid. What is holding you back from doing this...?
~

sorry i misunderstood you at first, its the being conscious and 100% aware of it thats happening to me. the fear of the unkown/unnatural is holding me back i suppose, i mean, i know sp is natural but being conscious of it sure isn't. the feeling i get during it is discomforting as well and even after 2 years of it i still panic.

Originally Posted by gm23

sorry i misunderstood you at first, its the being conscious and 100% aware of it thats happening to me. the fear of the unkown/unnatural is holding me back i suppose, i mean, i know sp is natural but being conscious of it sure isn't. the feeling i get during it is discomforting as well and even after 2 years of it i still panic.

And this paralysis happens while you are technically asleep or awake? ie. are you dreaming while this is happening (because if that is the case, that is normal), or are you able to see the bed you are sleeping in (ie. waking-life. In this case, this is abnormal.)
~

i'm able to see everything, on one occasion i could see the bedroom door from where i was lying and heard footsteps so i closed my eyes through fear of what i might see

Originally Posted by gm23

i'm able to see everything, on one occasion i could see the bedroom door from where i was lying and heard footsteps so i closed my eyes through fear of what i might see

So, then, in this case there is no way to become lucid because you are still experiencing the external environment and am not dreaming.

In this case, I really suggest you go seep sleep therapy because you claim this happens every night. Consider the below results.

Edit:
Overall, 6.2% (5.7 to 6.7%) of the sample (n = 494) had experienced at least one SP episode in their lifetime. At the time of the interview, severe SP (at least one episode per week) occurred in 0.8% of the sample, moderate SP (at least one episode per month) in 1.4%, and mild SP (less than one episode per month) in 4.0%. Significant predictive variables of SP were anxiolytic medication, automatic behavior, bipolar disorders, physical disease, hypnopompic hallucinations, nonrestorative sleep, and nocturnal leg cramps.
(Journal of Neurology, http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/52/6/1194 )
~

0.08% are you sure? as i say sometimes it occurs MORE than once in a night for days then ease off to nothin in 3-6 days then back again. i also can't understand why i 'try it on' with my fiance and dont remember anythin the next morning(most of the time)

i sound f**ked up, eh!

Originally Posted by gm23

0.08% are you sure? as i say sometimes it occurs MORE than once in a night for days then ease off to nothin in 3-6 days then back again. i also can't understand why i 'try it on' with my fiance and dont remember anythin the next morning(most of the time)

i sound f**ked up, eh!

I was wrong in my statistic recollection. Please re-consider the journal article which I was originally trying to recall.
~

Originally Posted by O'nus

Firstly, everyone goes into sleep paralysis every night when they go to sleep; you have to in order to fall asleep.

Do you have a source for this claim? All the sources I've seen say that sleep atonia only occurs in REM sleep.

To my understanding, sleep paralysis occurs at the onset of REM sleep to prevent the body from acting out dreams. However, during all other stages of sleep (non-REM), one is still able to unconsciously move his or her body, and this is why we are susceptible to sleep walking and other muscular motions.

Originally Posted by Metaphyz1k

To my understanding, sleep paralysis occurs at the onset of REM sleep to prevent the body from acting out dreams. However, during all other stages of sleep (non-REM), one is still able to unconsciously move his or her body, and this is why we are susceptible to sleep walking and other muscular motions.

Thank you guys for pointing this out; sleep paralysis does/should only happen at the onset of REM sleep.

Thus my concern.
~