Night Terrors / Sleep Paralysis?

Vanessa1969

I'm just wondering if anyone here suffers from either of these conditions, and if they were successful at determining what triggered them. I know that both are supposed to subside as you get older, but I have just gone through a run of them recently and I have just turned 40. They have not gotten worse the older I have become, but they haven't gotten any better either.

I don't have night terrors, but I have always suffered from sleep paralysis. It seems to be the same type of condition, with the same possible triggers and causes, but is slightly different in what happens. I recently took a survey for Waterloo University online, and have been reading up a lot on what causes them and what I can do to alleviate them. Several websites will list different possible triggers, but I cannot pinpoint any that would apply to me because the circumstances are not the same all the time when I am experiencing my run of them.

Although they say that sleep paralysis also is a condition that people will usually grow out of, I am now 40 years old and they just seem to be getting more frequent the older I get. In my case I will go a long time without experiencing them, and then have episodes nearly every night for weeks on end. Then they will subside again. They are very cyclical, but I cannot pinpoint what triggers a run of them.

My sleep paralysis experiences are very common, most people will experience the same thing that I do. I will be in deep sleep, I will be having a dream or nightmare, at some point I become fully awake but completely paralyzed and be trying to scream or cry out. During this time I will feel as if there is something in the room with me, and I will often hear voices. Sometimes they are muffled and I cannot make out what they are saying, sometimes they will whisper my name in my ear. These voices are always terrifying, so terrifying that they are beyond description.

When I have tried to explain them to people, the best I can do is say that they are literally from the bowels of Hell. That is the closest I can come - they defy description. The terror that I feel is unbelievable. Sometimes I will feel a hand on my shoulder, but most times it is just the feeling that something terrifying, beyond my comprehension, is in the room with me and about to do me a great deal of harm.

This usually lasts between 30-60 seconds, and then my body catches up with my brain and I am able to move. If I go back to sleep immediately, it will happen the minute I close my eyes again. I usually switch on the light, sit up, walk around a bit, maybe go to the bathroom and that break allows me to go back to sleep without another episode. Sometimes I will have more than one a night, but that is rare.

I have this one recurring dream that always ends with an episode, which is also very common to the condition. It is very clear, and I can remember every detail of it. I have been having this same dream for decades, but each time I have it I never realize throughout that it will end badly.

It is a gorgeous summer day and I am driving through a small town in the mountains. I am in a convertible with the top down, and I am driving through a residential area with beautiful homes with lots of flowers and trees. Birds are singing and I can smell the flowers. Nothing to indicate how the dream will end.

I am heading to a party at a chalet, and I can see the chalet in the valley as I am driving. It is gorgeous and absolutely huge. It is dark wood with a balcony that runs the entire length of the building. I arrive at the chalet, and it is dark out. The whole place is lit up and everyone is having a fabulous time, music playing and people partying. I get a drink and head out to the balcony, where I sit down on the floor with my back up against the wood frame. Lots of people are chatting to me, we are in a big circle. One of my friends comes to the sliding glass doors, with a telephone in his hand, and tells me that I have a phone call. I take the phone and say hello and the most hideous voice is on the other end. I become paralyzed with fear, and I am looking at all the people around me chatting and laughing and I am thinking to myself... 'What the hell is wrong with you people, don't you see what is happening to me? Hell is on the phone and talking to me and I am just about to drop dead from fear.'. These are never 'real' people in my dream, no real friends or family, but I am close friends with them.

At that point, I wake up paralyzed and lie there trying to scream my head off. I think I might make real noises, like moaning. It seems that I can hear that, but I just can't open my mouth and really scream. Good thing too. Whatever horror was on the phone in my dream, has now followed me and is in my room inches away.

The difference between sleep paralysis and night terrors is that I don't feel like anything is actually sitting on my chest or trying to smother me, which is typical of night terrors. Very rarely will I feel anything touch me, it is just a feeling that someone is very close to me. Sometimes I will see shadows directly in front of me that resemble people shapes. I don't have a feeling of falling or moving either.

The cause of both is pretty simple. The receptors in your brain usually switch on at the same time after sleep - you wake up and are able to move simultaneously. With night terrors and sleep paralysis, your movement receptors are disconnected slightly longer than your mind is active and it takes a few seconds for them to catch up. Nobody knows why that time in between is filled with horror for most people. Some people actually experience good feelings, and they are sometimes even erotic, but the majority feel terror.

People who have claimed to have been visited by aliens are often diagnosed with one of the two conditions.

I think it would be worse for children, mostly because I don't think a lot of parents know about the condition and they don't realize that it is a physical issue and not psychological. I think many dismiss their child's strong reactions as being too many comic books or scary movies or that piece of cake they ate before bed.

I have never been violent following an episode, and as an adult I quickly reason that it is not real and I don't lash out because of that. Reading and learning about it helps a lot too. A child would not be as reasonable because they don't understand what it is and that it is not reality.

I bet a lot of boogeymen under beds and monsters in closets can be attributed to the condition.

Vanessa1969

I'm just wondering if anyone here suffers from either of these conditions, and if they were successful at determining what triggered them. I know that both are supposed to subside as you get older, but I have just gone through a run of them recently and I have just turned 40. They have not gotten worse the older I have become, but they haven't gotten any better either.

I don't have night terrors, but I have always suffered from sleep paralysis. It seems to be the same type of condition, with the same possible triggers and causes, but is slightly different in what happens. I recently took a survey for Waterloo University online, and have been reading up a lot on what causes them and what I can do to alleviate them. Several websites will list different possible triggers, but I cannot pinpoint any that would apply to me because the circumstances are not the same all the time when I am experiencing my run of them.

Although they say that sleep paralysis also is a condition that people will usually grow out of, I am now 40 years old and they just seem to be getting more frequent the older I get. In my case I will go a long time without experiencing them, and then have episodes nearly every night for weeks on end. Then they will subside again. They are very cyclical, but I cannot pinpoint what triggers a run of them.

My sleep paralysis experiences are very common, most people will experience the same thing that I do. I will be in deep sleep, I will be having a dream or nightmare, at some point I become fully awake but completely paralyzed and be trying to scream or cry out. During this time I will feel as if there is something in the room with me, and I will often hear voices. Sometimes they are muffled and I cannot make out what they are saying, sometimes they will whisper my name in my ear. These voices are always terrifying, so terrifying that they are beyond description.

When I have tried to explain them to people, the best I can do is say that they are literally from the bowels of Hell. That is the closest I can come - they defy description. The terror that I feel is unbelievable. Sometimes I will feel a hand on my shoulder, but most times it is just the feeling that something terrifying, beyond my comprehension, is in the room with me and about to do me a great deal of harm.

This usually lasts between 30-60 seconds, and then my body catches up with my brain and I am able to move. If I go back to sleep immediately, it will happen the minute I close my eyes again. I usually switch on the light, sit up, walk around a bit, maybe go to the bathroom and that break allows me to go back to sleep without another episode. Sometimes I will have more than one a night, but that is rare.

I have this one recurring dream that always ends with an episode, which is also very common to the condition. It is very clear, and I can remember every detail of it. I have been having this same dream for decades, but each time I have it I never realize throughout that it will end badly.

It is a gorgeous summer day and I am driving through a small town in the mountains. I am in a convertible with the top down, and I am driving through a residential area with beautiful homes with lots of flowers and trees. Birds are singing and I can smell the flowers. Nothing to indicate how the dream will end.

I am heading to a party at a chalet, and I can see the chalet in the valley as I am driving. It is gorgeous and absolutely huge. It is dark wood with a balcony that runs the entire length of the building. I arrive at the chalet, and it is dark out. The whole place is lit up and everyone is having a fabulous time, music playing and people partying. I get a drink and head out to the balcony, where I sit down on the floor with my back up against the wood frame. Lots of people are chatting to me, we are in a big circle. One of my friends comes to the sliding glass doors, with a telephone in his hand, and tells me that I have a phone call. I take the phone and say hello and the most hideous voice is on the other end. I become paralyzed with fear, and I am looking at all the people around me chatting and laughing and I am thinking to myself... 'What the hell is wrong with you people, don't you see what is happening to me? Hell is on the phone and talking to me and I am just about to drop dead from fear.'. These are never 'real' people in my dream, no real friends or family, but I am close friends with them.

At that point, I wake up paralyzed and lie there trying to scream my head off. I think I might make real noises, like moaning. It seems that I can hear that, but I just can't open my mouth and really scream. Good thing too. Whatever horror was on the phone in my dream, has now followed me and is in my room inches away.

The difference between sleep paralysis and night terrors is that I don't feel like anything is actually sitting on my chest or trying to smother me, which is typical of night terrors. Very rarely will I feel anything touch me, it is just a feeling that someone is very close to me. Sometimes I will see shadows directly in front of me that resemble people shapes. I don't have a feeling of falling or moving either.

The cause of both is pretty simple. The receptors in your brain usually switch on at the same time after sleep - you wake up and are able to move simultaneously. With night terrors and sleep paralysis, your movement receptors are disconnected slightly longer than your mind is active and it takes a few seconds for them to catch up. Nobody knows why that time in between is filled with horror for most people. Some people actually experience good feelings, and they are sometimes even erotic, but the majority feel terror.

People who have claimed to have been visited by aliens are often diagnosed with one of the two conditions.

I think it would be worse for children, mostly because I don't think a lot of parents know about the condition and they don't realize that it is a physical issue and not psychological. I think many dismiss their child's strong reactions as being too many comic books or scary movies or that piece of cake they ate before bed.

I have never been violent following an episode, and as an adult I quickly reason that it is not real and I don't lash out because of that. Reading and learning about it helps a lot too. A child would not be as reasonable because they don't understand what it is and that it is not reality.

I bet a lot of boogeymen under beds and monsters in closets can be attributed to the condition.

adopt4

I can't offer you any help, except to wish you luck.

Do you keep a daily diary of food, drink, where you went, emotions you felt, etc etc to see if there was some triggers there?

LostinCali

My son used to have night terrors and eventually grew out of them, but they were extremely scary when he had them.

I have no advice but do wish you the best of luck with this. I hope that you can find a solution and rest peacefully soon.

Tri_Dad

I have been there and man it's not good.

I suffered from both when I was a kid. The first time it happened to me when I was 3 my parents had to take me to the ER because I wouldnt stop being hysterical. It's definately hard to deal with as a child and adults can usually reason there way out of it, but it doesnt make it fun. I was a teenager when I last had an episode so in my case it would seem that I have grown out of it. My father however had them much later in life than I did. His have since stopped. Both my father and I had one thing in common that seemed to coincide with our episodes stopping and that was weight gain. I started to get bigger during my teenage years and have been well overweight since. One thing that I have read is that being in a deep sleep and acheiving a steady sleep state is a major part of putting your brain receptors in a mode that will contribute to this condition. However being obese is notorious for causing sleep apnea which doesn't often allow you to reach a good deep sleep or dream state so often weight loss and it's effect on curing apnea can often trigger episodes as you being to sleep more soundly. I've dropped 92 lbs and am sleeping much better and thankfully no signs of night terrors yet. I wish there was some way I could help diagnose your triggers but alas I can't Just thought it might me nice to know that I know where your coming from and I hope you can find the help you need.
:drinker:

Phoenix_Rising

My daughter suffers from night terrors. Like Spyguy's story, I almost took her to the ER, fearful that something was killing her from the inside out. She was hysterically crying, couldn't focus on my face, and wasn't able to speak. (This was around 18 months and she was able to communicate with me clearly, when awake.)

Once I stumbled upon information about night terrors, I realized she'd been experiencing night terrors (both at night and during naptimes) since she was less than a year old. Recognizing the night terrors helped ease my fear, as a parent. She does not remember the episodes, and as long as I maintain my cool, I can work through them and get her calmed in a matter of minutes, nowadays. Use to take much longer. I have cried from fear during many a night terror episode, unable to console my (unaware) daughter. They can be tough to work through, but I am always so glad she never remembers them.

Night terrors are closely related to sleep walking, which my daughter also does. My daughter's trigger is irregular sleep. Disruption to her sleep pattern causes her night terrors. While she has less and less episodes of night terrors (she is now 3.5), she has increased her sleep talking (mumbling). She's a mess.

I know that information doesn't help you much, Vanessa. Just posting cause I understand.... secondhand.

MisoSoup79

I probably can't offer you much in the way of advice... When I was a kid, Awareness during Sleep Paralysis (ASP) used to scare the crap out of me. My mom told me it was Satan trying to scare me... so for years I would cry every time it happened - and that was pretty often.

Since then, I have read everything I can find about it. I have found for me, I am most vulnerable when I take a nap mid-day and also if I go back to sleep in the morning after being awake for more than half an hour. (There are exceptions) ASP typically happens most during the end of the night, as your REM cycles get longer, but you are also likely to experience them during a nap if you are overtired. Getting enough sleep on a regular basis can help decrease the frequency.

I learned several years ago to stop fearing ASP, even though the sensations it typically causes can be unsettling. They are strictly hallucinations and cannot harm you. If you can convince yourself during an episode that you are not going to fear whatever you see, feel or hear, you might actually come to the point that I have, where ASP episodes have become amusing and sometimes very pleasurable. You can conquer your fear if you wish to do so...

My fear went away during one particular episode that I remember so well... I had awoken from a dream and could see the room around me, but could not move. I felt that "presence" that is so common during ASP and saw a dark figure looming in my doorway... and then I began to feel the sheets moving beneath me... "He" was pulling me off the bed by pulling the sheets under me. At first I was frightened, and then I thought, "wait a minute... what if i just let him pull me off the bed?" I thought that might be really amusing. So I lay there and just let it happen. Just when I felt I had reached the edge of the bed, I sort of braced myself for the impact of falling on the floor.... but it didn't happen! Instead, I had a floating sensation! It felt amazing and so real. I know it was just my half asleep body having hallucinations, but now I am able to just enjoy every time it happens... and sometimes letting go of the fear leads me into a lucid dream - which is another thing altogether. (I now crave ASP episodes and sometimes intentionally try to bring them on.)

The point is, this is a natural thing that is happening to you. As long as you KNOW that what you see, hear and feel are not real, you can allow yourself to let go of the fear, because you won't get hurt. Once you can let go of the fear, you will not have to jar yourself awake and have that almost sick sensation that usually follows. Instead, you can drift back into a dream.

Falcon

I completely understand where you're coming from as well. I have dreams, nightmares, I see ghosts, sleep walk. Wake up and have trouble moving for a minute or two, and at times it feels like something is pressing down on me and the more I attempt to move the feeling gets worse. I can't talk or breath, all I can do is think.

I do know that one time I was in a middle of a nightmare, and my dad had woken up and was spoked completely, he said it was the first time he was ever felt that way like something was in the room with him. Not hard to believe because the road my dad lives on is haunted. The dog I had at that time was in complete distress over what was going on at the time. He was sitting on the floor and whimpering. I didn't know he was until my stepmom told me. I've seen orbs, shadows, a weird blue looking thing that resembled a female, people dressed completely in white, a naked old lady walking in the bathroom, a lightning bolt in front of me but with no effects at all to suggest an actual hit. I have identified two different spirits. A dog, I've seen my dead stepbrother standing beside my dads white berch tree the night before the funneral. I have been able to predict things in the future, have dreams from the future. One time I seen a pair of green eyes underneath my computer chair, my cat seen it and he was looking from me to him back to the pair of eyes underneath the computer chair. I had come back from work that morning and the cat was so spooked he raced out of the apartment on me and it took him a minute to realize I was standing there. If the cat can see it then my stepmom has told me that's usually a bad sign and that it's an evil spirit.

I know this isn't going to help you much. But that's from my experiances.

Vanessa1969

Thank you for your feedback and for sharing your experiences. It has helped me a great deal to know that so many other people suffered from them as well. It has also helped me to read up on the condition and to understand its physical cause.
This topic was brought up on another forum that I am on recently, the person who posted has a room mate at university who has them very badly and actually lashes out violently upon waking up. Luckily I have never done that, I have been able to quickly reason upon waking up and just turn on my light and walk around a bit. I can understand why someone would lash out - especially young children.
I have read that you can control what happens, there are tips that you can try, but I just can't seem to be able to do that. Maybe if they happened more frequently I could train myself, but thankfully they aren't that frequent.
I have read that stress and anxiety seem to play a role in the condition, and I have plenty of both. I would like to believe that they will be less frequent with weight loss, I definitely understand how weight can affect sleeping habits. I am familiar with sleep apnea, but am not sure if I suffer from it. I don't seem to have any of the symptoms of it.
Another motivation to keep me on my weight loss journey, I would be glad to be rid of it.

arewethereyet

I wasn't diagnosed with this, but now realize it is what I suffered from, among other things.

I have always gotten anxiety attacks, or panic attacks.

I never slept through the night. My mom used to say I awakened at the pop of a toaster from birth.

I realized in my early 20's that I would wake up 6-7 times thru the night and finally my body would crash at 4 am, only to awake at 6am with a big black bear chasing me throught the woods, up a tree, and having my foot in his mouth trying to rip it off. Sometime the dream went as far as removal of my leg and then I would 'wake up"

I couldnt move, I couldnt scream, I could see myself at the top of the room hovering. I thought (due to my religious upbringing) that I died on these nights, but God wasnt ready for me so he sent my soul back to my body.

When I was in my late 30's I diagnosed with the anxiety disorder, I was placed on a low dose of xanax at bed time. Viola, never had this happen again.

arewethereyet

I also had a terrible dream 1x week from 15 thru 32 yrs of age.

I was in the hall at my highschool, heavy books in my hand, searching for my locker. The hallway would get longer, adding more lockers as I walked down it, alone, afraid and confused. My friends standing at the end, laughing at me.

If I would reach the locker, I would open it only to find it was empty-and I would feel lonely and dispondent.

I had this dream for 17 years. I EXPECTED it each week or so.

When I recieved my GED at 32 years old, the dream disappeared!

I just always found that so amazing.

12by311

If I sleep on my back I have horrible dreams. They are not violent or not really scary at all, but I have the same overwhelming panic feeling every time I fall asleep on my back. The dreams almost always involve something going really fast and something going in slow-motion. Strange.

Phoenix_Rising

If I sleep on my back I have horrible dreams. They are not violent or not really scary at all, but I have the same overwhelming panic feeling every time I fall asleep on my back. The dreams almost always involve something going really fast and something going in slow-motion. Strange.

One reason hypothesized for panic attacks during sleep is the build up of carbon monoxide, causing in some people an instant sensation of suffocating. Lying on your back increases the carbon monoxide collection. Eh, sounds like it could be likely in your situation.

paddlemom

If I sleep on my back I have horrible dreams. They are not violent or not really scary at all, but I have the same overwhelming panic feeling every time I fall asleep on my back. The dreams almost always involve something going really fast and something going in slow-motion. Strange.

One reason hypothesized for panic attacks during sleep is the build up of carbon monoxide, causing in some people an instant sensation of suffocating. Lying on your back increases the carbon monoxide collection. Eh, sounds like it could be likely in your situation.

I can believe that! I have sleep apnea and sometimes when I nap without my CPAP, the same thing happens to me!

flcaoh

I've experienced sleep paralysis off and on my entire life (I'm 26). I too have had cycles of paralysis and I notice an increase when I am under a lot of stress in my life.

Sometimes it's hard to get stress out of your life, but eating healthy and exercising daily to release it can certainly help. I haven't had an experience since I started eating healthier. When I do start to have problems with the sleep paralysis I try to make myself aware of it when it happens. I think positive thoughts and calm myself down and I am usually able to pop out of the terror pretty quickly.

Good luck

KatWood

I have had episodes of sleep paralysis and I know how unpleasent it can be. However, from what I have read, although admittedly limited, I was under the impression that although you feel like you are awake you are actually asleep. Anyways, when I have them they are always nightmares and I sometimes hear voices although usually it is an overwhelming feeling of being awake but not being able to move. I wake up covered in sweat.

I also suffer from restless legs and recently have started occassionally sleep walking and talking. Last week I had a full conversation with a girl I worked with while I was asleep (or asleep enough that I didn't recall having it in the morning).

I have spoken to my doctor about the sleep paralysis and constant nightmares. His solution was to put me on sleeping pills which I declined. As for the restless legs, the side effects from the medication is worth than the symptoms of the disease. Plus, my husband is a deep sleeper :happy: and we have a big bed :laugh:

Anyways I just wanted to say that I sympathize and wish you luck.