{"id":19990,"date":"2020-02-05T06:12:07","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T06:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/besthealth.guide\/?p=19990"},"modified":"2021-10-15T03:49:06","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T03:49:06","slug":"14-symptoms-of-sleep-paralysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/besthealth.guide\/14-symptoms-of-sleep-paralysis\/","title":{"rendered":"14 Symptoms of Sleep Paralysis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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There are many different health conditions out there that can be related back to sleep, and even though sleeping too little (insomnia) or sleeping too much (hypersomnia) is the most common one’s most articles and guides think of to tell you about first, it’s not the only sleep-related health condition that might affect you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sleep paralysis is one of the most common sleeping conditions out there: It can be terrifying, and it can sometimes make people imagine that they’re being trapped in their beds by some invisible force when all it is, in reality, is the body going through its natural processes (and firing neurons off at random) in order to relieve tension before the body falls asleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it’s normal, it can have associated symptoms like nightmares, temporary auditory and visual hallucinations, numbness, tingling and an overwhelming feeling of panic. Sleep paralysis can sometimes also indicate the presence of other sleeping disorders that need to be diagnosed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are 14 common symptoms of sleep paralysis that you should know about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. A feeling of tingling in the limbs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the first symptoms that you might be experiencing sleep paralysis appears as the feeling of numbness <\/a>or tingling in the extremities which spread to the rest of the body from there.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accompanying symptoms might also be felt at the same time, including a feeling of being “weighed down” by a person sitting on the chest or a weighted blanket even though there is nothing there to match the imagined weight. Other symptoms of sleep paralysis are likely to happen a few minutes after the first tingling and numbness is felt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the feeling of numbness or tingling in the legs also occurs during the time you are awake, you should consider it a potential sign of something more than sleep paralysis – and make an appointment with your doctor to find out what else the symptom might mean for your health. There are many things that can cause numbness in the limbs, including heart or circulatory conditions or diabetes. All are best diagnosed early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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2. A feeling of being “pressed down” by an invisible weight<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

People who experience sleep paralysis <\/a>will often describe the experience as feeling like they were being pressed down by a heavy, invisible weight like a heavy person sitting on their chest and restricting their ability to move or breathe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, there’s nothing there, but the brain interprets the signals it receives from trying to fall asleep as something else, and this leads to a combination of being both awake and asleep at the same time – which can blur the line for anyone who experiences it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sleep paralysis often starts with the feeling of tingling or numbness in the limbs, but the feeling of “weight” on top of them is the most common symptom experienced after this (or sometimes at the same time).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many classic paintings that depict this invisible weight as demons or other creatures: Even though there’s nothing physically there, these paintings do a good job of describing what this symptom can feel like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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3. A feeling of overwhelming anxiety and pani<\/strong>c<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A quick look at any paintings, sculptures or other art with sleep paralysis as the theme will tell you that the one thing most people who go through sleep paralysis<\/a> will experience is fear. When most people wake up from a dream (or they’re falling asleep for the first time) and switch into sleep paralysis, most people don’t realize that they’re dreaming – and the things you experience, see and hear can make it feel like you’ve just woken up into your own nightmare.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Panic attacks and an increased heart rate are very common during sleep paralysis. Most people who experience sleep paralysis will experience accompanying fear when it happens, even when they know that what they’re hearing, seeing and feeling isn’t really there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, experiencing the panic and fear of sleep paralysis is a byproduct of the body and brain trying to “switch off” instead of being actual terror: And it’s a lot scarier to people who don’t know that it’s really sleeping paralysis they’re going through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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4. Seeing an assortment of colors when your eyes are closed<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever closed your eyes and pressed your palms against your eyes just a little to see the colors on the “insides” of your eyes happen? While nobody should do this too much, it illustrates one of the other symptoms that you are likely to experience during sleep paralysis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When sleep paralysis happens, the brain <\/a>is trying to induce a sleep state while the rest of the body tries to adapt to the idea of being asleep: This causes a conflict in whether the brain realizes that it’s awake or asleep – and it leads to experiencing things that make it feel like you’re in a dream state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the first things you might experience after tingling, numbness and the characteristic invisible weight of sleep paralysis is seeing “colors” on the backs of your eyes, almost as though you were pressing into your eyes with your hands even though you aren’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s your body trying to switch over into “sleep mode” and other symptoms like an increased heart rate are likely to happen with it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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5. Increased breathing speed and heart rate<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An increased breathing speed and heart rate <\/a>can be common symptoms that go together with sleep paralysis, and it’s very likely to go together with some of the first few other common symptoms that were mentioned on this list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When most people experience sleep paralysis for the first few times, they don’t know what they’re going through. It feels like a horror movie or a very bad dream at this point, and this is part of what induces the panic and anxiety that’s felt during most episodes of sleep paralysis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Panicking in this state can push the body into what it interprets as a “fight or flight” response, which your body (in a state of sleep paralysis) can’t get up and run away from. This leaves it with only the “fight” response and means that your heart rate and breathing are likely to increase as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To stop this, all you have to do is to stay calm for as long as sleep paralysis goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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6. Spontaneous jerking of the muscles<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you’ve ever just fallen asleep and then suddenly felt like you were tripping or falling, it can be one of the other symptoms <\/a>that go along with sleep paralysis.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s common, and it happens to many people. There are plenty of myths surrounding why it happens and what can happen to the body when it does. But most of the myths are false (and no, you can’t die if you have the same dream and hit the ground while you’re dreaming).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truth about the phenomenon of jerking in your sleep is that it’s another byproduct that happens when you are falling asleep (and your body is trying to switch off nerve responses). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jerking in your sleep can be uncomfortable and it might sometimes happen accompanying sleep paralysis, but it’s not generally dangerous. It’s just considered a “misfire” by the body when it’s trying to induce a natural sleep state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s also one of the main reasons why sleep paralysis happens in the first place. If you weren’t paralyzed in your sleep, you could “act out” your dreams and potentially hurt yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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7. The feeling of being unable to move<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the common symptoms that can tell you that you’re experiencing sleep paralysis is the feeling of being unable to move; it’s likely to happen together with some of the other symptoms that have been mentioned earlier on in this article – including numbness, tingling and auditory or visual hallucinations that make one feel as though you’re stuck in a half-dream and half-waking state, which is exactly what sleep paralysis is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s natural for the body to be paralyzed during sleep, and it’s what keeps your body from physically acting out any of your dreams while you’re asleep. It’s just that not everyone remains conscious <\/a>and actively thinking through this “switching off” process – and people who do are the ones that experience it as sleep paralysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s normal and it’s natural, but it can feel terrifying to most people and that’s why they don’t realize this when it happens to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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8. Experiencing auditory hallucinations<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As you enter the beginnings of sleep paralysis, you will experience most of the symptoms on this list – but you might experience them in a different order than everyone else does, or you might only experience some of the most common symptoms and others not: How you experience sleep paralysis can be individual except for a few markers that are the same for many people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, it’s common for people to experience auditory hallucinations when their body enters sleep paralysis. Along with numbness, tingling, anxiety <\/a>and a physical feeling of “weight” on the body, legs or chest, anyone going through sleep paralysis might hear things that aren’t really there.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exactly what you hear can be anything: Some people hear heavy breathing, other people have reported hearing crying children – or even rain that isn’t really there. For some people, it can even be laughing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s scary, but anyone in the state of sleep paralysis should remember that it’s not real: Your brain is in the process of trying to figure out whether it’s asleep yet, and this is the result of firing neurons. Nothing more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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9. Experiencing visual hallucinations<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Auditory hallucinations <\/a>(that is, things that you hear as a result of sleep paralysis that isn’t really there in reality) aren’t the only type of hallucinations that you might experience, and the appearance of spontaneous colors when your eyes are closed aren’t the only things that you might see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes sleep paralysis can also go together with very vivid visual hallucinations: Things that you see that aren’t really there. They can range from simple shadows to full human figures that appear just as real as if someone was really standing there – but again, it’s not as real as it appears. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The body is switching into a dream state, and visual hallucinations where the brain isn’t really “sure” whether it’s awake yet is considered very common. Don’t be alarmed by what you see if you’re experiencing visual hallucinations with sleep paralysis. It’s not real – and it does go away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you experience hallucinations or see “auras” when awake, see your doctor: There’s likely another (potentially serious, though treatable and manageable) medical reason for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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10. Experiencing phantom smells that aren’t really there<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The types of hallucinations that accompany episodes of sleep paralysis don’t always have to be visual or audial in nature, but they can also take a few other forms. This can make sleep paralysis even more terrifying if you don’t know what you’re experiencing and if you’ve never experienced it before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes people who undergo sleep paralysis will experience the feeling of being touched, pressed or stroked as well: These are physical hallucinations and they’re also just another byproduct of the brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This still isn’t the end of the potential senses that could be tricked into believing (or feeling) something that isn’t there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people who report sleep paralysis will also experience phantom smells that aren’t really there for the duration of the episode. What type of smell they report will vary greatly, but it’s usually one that’s highly unpleasant: Smoke, burnt food or burning hair <\/a>– although perfumes and other sweeter smells have also been amongst them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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11. Sometimes night terrors in sensitive people and children<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Night terrors are one of the many conditions of sleep that someone might experience, and experiencing sleep paralysis might be a tip-off that someone is really suffering from repeated night terrors due to something else instead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually, night terrors occur in children and they’re considered entirely normal up to a certain age. Children often wake up screaming from a nightmare or might end up sleepwalking as a result – and then wake up in a panic when they aren’t sure why they’ve woken up in an unfamiliar environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If they continue happening with age, see a doctor: It’s an official sleep disorder that can be diagnosed, managed and treated with the right medical help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When night terrors lead to sleepwalking, they have the potential to lead sleepwalkers – both adults <\/a>and children – into dangerous situations without them realizing it. Again, this should emphasize the importance of seeing a doctor when the need for it becomes obvious.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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12. Episodes of insomnia due to fear of sleep paralysis happening again<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Insomnia can manifest in thousands of different ways, and it can have just as many different causes behind it. Sometimes the reason for sleeplessness can be traced down to the wrong pillows or mattress for your body; sometimes insomnia might be because of the wrong diet or drinking the wrong caffeinated beverage before you go to bed – but insomnia can also be something that people force on themselves when they are too afraid to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any nightmares, night terrors, emotional trauma, sleep paralysis or form of fear (whether for something real or imagined) can be a potential trigger for insomnia<\/a>, and this might last for years or decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fear of sleep paralysis is a surprisingly common cause for insomnia: Just like sleep paralysis, it can be managed and treated. Try falling asleep with a different routine if this describes you, or see your doctor should either the sleep paralysis or insomnia become a recurring health problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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13. Pain and tension in the body upon waking up<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sleep paralysis can be one of the most terrifying things that you ever experience: It’s made worse by the fact that a lot of people don’t realize why sleep paralysis happens – or why it’s actually a completely natural part of falling asleep that’s experienced differently by a large part of the population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you should be able to see from the symptoms that have been described in the rest of this article, sleep paralysis can affect the body in a few different ways: The panic felt during an episode of sleep paralysis can lead to increased breathing and a high heart rate – and yes, it has led to heart attacks<\/a> from sheer shock, but these are extremely rare.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you experience sleep paralysis, stay calm and see it for what it is: The brain playing a trick on you, and that’s it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sleep paralysis can also tense up the entire body: This can mean that you experience bruxism (grinding of teeth) and might have muscle pain when waking up. Change your sleeping routine if this describes you to see if it makes any difference to how you feel in the morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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14. Switching over into dreams or nightmares<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sleep paralysis isn’t just something that happens to your body when you fall asleep: There’s a practical point to it – and there’s a good reason why the body goes through this process to get the body and brain to switch off before it goes to sleep (while keeping the brain firing with dreams throughout certain stages of the night).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not everyone is awake or aware during the phase where their brains <\/a>switch over to “sleep mode.” People that are experiencing sleep paralysis and its symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A handful of people will remain both awake and aware through the entire process of sleep paralysis – and for what comes after this. Suddenly, the colors you see might become full-on shapes and things, and you might realize that you’ve “walked into a dream.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is called lucid dreaming: All it means is that your body is awake and aware in the dream state. It also means that you can have a lot more fun in your dreams – and often decide what the outcome of a dream will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\r\n

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