Sleep paralysis- paranormal occurrence or medical condition?
Sleep paralysis is a phenomena which is scientifically explained as when a person is '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.' (https://www.m.webmd.boots.com/a-to-z-guides/sleep-paralysis). Sleep paralysis is thought to be caused by a disturbed R.E.M. (Rapid eye movement cycle) during sleep. Many people who have experienced sleep paralysis tend to report seeing demonic or scary beings in the room with them but not being able to move or scream for help. The reason that a person cannot move or speak during this time is said to be caused by signals in the brain which shut down movement to the body and almost paralyse the body at this stage of sleep to prevent people from potentially acting out their dreams in real life. Some people however, are not convinced by this scientific theory and suspect that much darker, supernatural forces are to blame for this much dreaded occurrence. Although I cannot personally speculate as to whether or not the scientific theory is completely valid or not, I can confirm that my own experiences with sleep paralysis seemed very real and haunting at the time. I am also a firm believer in the supernatural and have had many experiences that hopefully I will share at a later date. Here are a few of my own true life examples of sleep paralysis.
Since I was a very young child (around the age of 3 or 4) I have reported strange occurrences in my sleep to my parents. One of my mothers earliest memories of this was when I was about 3 and I was living at my old home. My mother would wake up in the morning and ask me about my sleep the night before (I was a very active sleepwalker). I would always report the same events to my mother in the morning, and that was that the night before I went through a door in the wall where I would enter a room and talk to an old lady in a rocking chair who had a dog. I also used to tell her that I would see a man on the stairs who would ask me how my mother was doing. When I explained this man to my mother, it sounded a lot like the description of a friend of hers who had died some time before and who she had never spoken to me about. These people always seemed friendly but it is safe to say that hearing a three-year-old tell you this every morning must have been pretty unsettling.
My first real experience with actual 'sleep paralysis' began to occur when I was about 6 or 7. Almost every night without fail I would begin to scream and wail in my sleep, sometimes even fighting hard to move my arms and legs to (as my parents described) fight something off of me. I vaguely remember the dreams that I had at that time and I remember feeling breathless and seeing strange beings in the room with me.
Photo source (https://www.google.co.uk/amp/yournewswire.com/sleep-paralysis-study-spirit-world/amp/)
However, the most memorable experience of sleep paralysis that I ever had occurred when I was around the age of 15 or 16. I remember falling asleep in the darkness in my bedroom and then suddenly 'waking up' but not being able to open my eyes or move at all. Inside I felt awake, I could hear and sense the room around me but was unable to move or open my eyes. I was immediately overcome with an intense feeling of panic and I had the feeling that I could sense an almost alien being right next to me, although I could not open my eyes to view this supposed being. I felt the fear and panic rising as the light in front of my closed eyelids seemed to appear darker, as if something was standing over me, looking right down in front of my face. I was in intense fear at this point. Then, as unbelievable as it may sound, I felt as though I was being lifted a few inches off of my bed, I could swear that I felt my head being lightly banged against the wall three times, all of the time still sensing this presence looking down on me. I willed myself with all of my might to wake up, and I felt myself being placed back down and then finally I was able to open my eyes. The room was black and rang with an eerie silence. For a few seconds I lay there, too froze with fear to move, until I ran as fast as I could out of the room and down the stairs. I slept on the sofa that night. Whether it was just a 'dream' or not, it felt so real, and there was no way I was sleeping in that room alone that night.
Photo source (http://weekinweird.com/2012/08/27/time-reflection-mirrors-folklore-superstition/)
Another very memorable experience of my own occurred when I was around 20 years old. I was sleeping alone that night as my current boyfriend at the time had gone home for the night. I had a full sized mirror at the bottom of my bed at this time and I remember feeling as though I had completely woken up. I glanced into the mirror and saw the menacing face of a man smiling back at me. I immediately ran over to the door of my room. Everything seemed so real. I could have sworn that I felt the carpet under my feet and my hands on the door handle. However, as I approached the door and put my hand on the handle I suddenly heard a hushed voice say 'don't worry you're just going to sleep now' and then it almost felt as though I had been tranquillised and as though I was slowly falling backwards, and that something unseen was slowly catching me until I was laying down on the floor with my eyes closed. I heard speaking and then almost seemed to black out for a while. The next thing I remember is feeling myself back on my bed, laying on my back. My eyes were open and I could see the room and the tv but I still couldn't move. I remember reading on a blog post about sleep paralysis that if you call out to 'God' then you seem to instantly wake up, so I tried calling out in my head, and it worked. I was awake. I don't know what happened on this occasion either, maybe it can be explained, but that doesn't change the fact that it felt so real.
Photo source (http://thequietus.com/articles/05668-cultus-sabbati-interview-album-download)
The third and final sleep paralysis experience that I've had to-date was only roughly a year ago. I was laying in bed asleep and all of a sudden I felt myself wake up. My eyes were open but I could not move my head or body. From the corner of my eye I could see a tall white hooded figure, almost dressed like a person of the occult for example. I could see it coming closer to me, and the white cloth moving nearer and nearer to me. I could sense its presence close to me, just as one can sense another human being in their proximity. The feeling of panic began to arise in me. I desperately tried to move my head to get a better view of this tormentor, but I was froze. Now I don't class myself as a very religious person but again I remembered the so-called escape remedy that I saw online and called out to God in my head. Again it seemed to work and I was released from the grasp of sleep-paralysis. Again, I'll never truly know what happened that night, but it seemed very real.
So there it is, three of my own most predominant experiences with sleep paralysis. So what are your thoughts on this phenomenon? Can this be scientifically explained or are unseen, dark forces to blame? I guess that we will ultimately never know for sure in this lifetime. Thanks for reading and feel free to share your own experiences :)