Sleep paralysis
The other day, while geeking it up at Wikipedia again, I came across a page about sleep paralysis. Quoth Wikipedia, "Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain is awakened from a REM state into essentially a normal fully awake state, but the bodily paralysis is still occurring. This causes the person to be fully aware, but unable to move."
Have any of you experienced this? I know I have, a number of times. I also recall reading about other people's experiences with this, but they usually describe it as a frightening, panic-inducing experience. I have never felt afraid during these episodes - I have merely recognized my inability to move or speak, and just felt rested and patient for my whole body to awaken.
I remember a sleepover at a girlfriend's house quite a few years ago - I had terrible trouble sleeping seeing as a lot of lights were left on overnight, and I didn't doze off until the wee hours of the morning. At around 10 in the morning, my girlfriends were wide awake and I really was too, only I was completely unable to move or speak. I knew one of them was right up in my face, making funny faces because she thought I'd open my eyes at any moment, but I simply couldn't. Again, this state didn't scare me one bit, although I guess it is kind of frustrating to not be able to speak to the people around you when you can hear them speaking to you.
It seems a popular belief is that a ghost is sitting or lying on top of you when you undergo this. It's a cute theory. What do you think?
PS: Is anyone else getting those red correction lines below their words while typing? Is this a new LJ feature or is it just my newly upgraded browser acting all fancy?
Have any of you experienced this? I know I have, a number of times. I also recall reading about other people's experiences with this, but they usually describe it as a frightening, panic-inducing experience. I have never felt afraid during these episodes - I have merely recognized my inability to move or speak, and just felt rested and patient for my whole body to awaken.
I remember a sleepover at a girlfriend's house quite a few years ago - I had terrible trouble sleeping seeing as a lot of lights were left on overnight, and I didn't doze off until the wee hours of the morning. At around 10 in the morning, my girlfriends were wide awake and I really was too, only I was completely unable to move or speak. I knew one of them was right up in my face, making funny faces because she thought I'd open my eyes at any moment, but I simply couldn't. Again, this state didn't scare me one bit, although I guess it is kind of frustrating to not be able to speak to the people around you when you can hear them speaking to you.
It seems a popular belief is that a ghost is sitting or lying on top of you when you undergo this. It's a cute theory. What do you think?
PS: Is anyone else getting those red correction lines below their words while typing? Is this a new LJ feature or is it just my newly upgraded browser acting all fancy?