A Neurological Look At Sleep Paralysis In Relation To Abduction/Contact

No problem, it was a fascinating thread and I've found reading other peoples experiences interesting too. I do find it strange that its only ever happened to me once though, especially when I read the possible factors that increase it happening. Going by my lifestyle, I'm more likely to suffer it now than I was five years ago. Perhaps it was just a one off. I'm not so sure I'd like for it to be a common occurrence.....

[url=http://www.arts.uwaterloo.ca/~acheyne[/url]

I should clarify I do not feel I'm rising off the bed/couch, but forcing myself to sit up. I can feel myself struggle to sit up, pushing from within my body, I can also somehow dream that I see the room I'm in although my eyes are closed.

Someone mentioned being frightened by sounds. I'm aware of outside noises being filtered into the dream in the early morning sometimes. Another fairly frequent happening is what I believe they refer to as the hypnagogic state. Again, most of the time this happens during a nap or just as I wake in the morning. I will hear a loud and singular metallic "clang!" in that drowsy state.

Harry Creen,

Thank you for the link, I will take a more thorough look through the article later in the day.

Originally posted by Harry Creen
I should clarify I do not feel I'm rising off the bed/couch, but forcing myself to sit up. I can feel myself struggle to sit up, pushing from within my body, I can also somehow dream that I see the room I'm in although my eyes are closed.

Ah, understood. I misinterpreted what you had said before. However, since the feeling of floating does occur in certain individuals during sleep paralysis I will still stand by my very unscientifically based hypothothis.

It is nice that the misunderstanding happened as it allowed my mind to wander with some thoughts. So I still thank you for what you didn't really say.

Hello everyone,
I don't know if anyone will read this as this seems such an old discussion.
Anyway i have had sp for about 20 years. One night i caught the paralyisis, just as it was about to kick in.
Fist there was the buzz, then the bright white light and explosion in my head. I had only been i n bed a couple of minutes. I thought 'oh know here we go!' ' just ride the storm' At that point i refused to open my eyes and bloody hell did it hurt my eyes sockets! In a split second there was this click sound and my head started to kind of judder backwards and forwards as if in a mechanical motion.
The next thing i know my teeth started to chatter as if i was cold. I still would't open my eyes. Next thing i know i'm looking down from the ceiling at myself in bed. I had a yellowy/ white spotlight shining down on me and there was also a yellowy/ white beam of light shining down from my cupboard towards my face. My face was immereced in a bright white light
as was then back of my head. Bearring in mind i'm laying on my side facing my cupboard/ closet. My head was jarring backwards and forwards. I could see this and as well as this my jaw was in the form of an xray and i could see my teeth. I was in shock for months afterwards. I must add that this seemed to go on for about 20 minutes, until i blacked out! I have never ever in my life seen anything like it.
Has anyone had anything similar hapen to them? I have had many different tthings happen, but this was the closest i think to an abduction, tho i never saw any little green men.
I have only seen an alien once, that was enough! I thought i was gonna die that time i was so terrified i can't even begin to explain. That was many years ago, this one with my teeth was a couple of years ago.
I've probrobly posted this before, but it makes me feel better. It gets it off my chest so to speak. I feel so alone with it all. Even my GP can't help me. He tried to get me some counselling, but the psyciatric dept at the local hospital said they don't have a peg to put the subject on & refused to see me.

A close friend and myself have both experienced classic "alien abduction" type events - where we differ is in our interpretation of what happened to us. He is a UFO buff, and believes it was an actual close encounter. I am neutral on the subject of Alien Abduction and see what happened to me as a perfect fit for HSP. Here's a brief description of the occurrence:

I was asleep [face down] in the basement on a fold out bed... very quiet down there. Suddenly I awoke to an immense pressure forcing me down into the bed... I couldn't move, breathe, or cry out. I felt a presence in the room with me. There began an insect like buzzing which increased in volume until I could no longer think straight... then above the din I heard, clear as a bell , "You will not have this technology for another 2000 years". At that point it abruptly came to an end. I have no idea how long it lasted, but I'm guessing no more than 30 seconds.

The experience freaked me out, and for a long time I didn't know what to make of it. Then about five years later I read an article about Hallucinogenic Sleep Paralysis, and it all made sense to me.




Or maybe it was an Alien abduction. I should keep an open mind.


[edit on 26-8-2009 by draknoir2]

It would take me all day to tell you my experiences and yet even now, to this day i am open to suggestion.
I first saw a ufo when i was 7 years old in suburban London. It kind of niggled me for years, because no one believed me. The sp started about 20 years ago. I am now 46. This ufo i saw was in broad daylight. Suffice to say i had a witness that day. My neighbour from next door, but one. She was a year older than me. Guess what? The last few months i found her on Friends reunited. I had lost touch with her over 30 years ago and she still remembers the 'peculiar thing in the sky' and vividly, me running along the side of the house as it shot off at tremendous speed across the roof tops!

Originally posted by draknoir2
A close friend and myself have both experienced classic "alien abduction" type events - where we differ is in our interpretation of what happened to us. He is a UFO buff, and believes it was an actual close encounter. I am neutral on the subject of Alien Abduction and see what happened to me as a perfect fit for HSP. Here's a brief description of the occurrence:

I was asleep [face down] in the basement on a fold out bed... very quiet down there. Suddenly I awoke to an immense pressure forcing me down into the bed... I couldn't move, breathe, or cry out. I felt a presence in the room with me. There began an insect like buzzing which increased in volume until I could no longer think straight... then above the din I heard, clear as a bell , "You will not have this technology for another 2000 years". At that point it abruptly came to an end. I have no idea how long it lasted, but I'm guessing no more than 30 seconds.

The experience freaked me out, and for a long time I didn't know what to make of it. Then about five years later I read an article about Hallucinogenic Sleep Paralysis, and it all made sense to me.




Or maybe it was an Alien abduction. I should keep an open mind.


[edit on 26-8-2009 by draknoir2]

This is just classic HSP. I have a friend who gets it rather often, and everything you describe, aside from the voice, is consistent with what he experiences regularly. The buzzing sound especially.

The voice could clearly be a hallucination. I tend to get audible hallucinations myself sometimes when i lie in bed for too long without falling asleep, and i hear really random things being said around me. What i hear isn't really vivid though, it's kind of like dreaming, except that i'm awake.



Anyway, i didn't read the whole thread but i read the first post. I feel i have something important to add to this thread.

The human brain naturally produces a substance known as '___' (Dimethyltryptamine). Some believe this is part of the reason we dream at night (check out the link).

Now, '___' is known for causing some VERY vivid hallucinations. Unlike other hallucinogenic substances, like '___', in large doses it doesn't just make you see things in addition to what you see in reality, it can actually produce the effect of being in another world, just like when you dream. You can see, hear, feel, move around and interact with what your mind makes up.

I believe that heightened levels of '___' in the brain is the cause of things like lucid dreaming, astral projection, and in particular hallucinations during sleep paralysis. As the OP stated, sleep paralysis occurs when you wake up during the actual dreaming. If '___' is produced in larger amounts during dreams, it's quite likely that it's the cause of the hallucinations, and explains why the hallucinations are so realistic.

Originally posted by spines

Just to clarify: I never said that sleep paralysis was a result of hallucination. Rather, it is the other way around. Hallucination (auditory and visual) occurs during waking sleep paralysis in some individuals. After this time of hallucinatory sleep paralysis the individual either returns to REM sleep or becomes fully awake and able to control muscular contraction.

This rings true for me. As a teenager, I used to suffer terrifying sleep paralysis and even when screaming, paralysed in my bed with my family around me in various states of alarm. I could still see the dreams in my minds eye so powerful it seemed to be superimposed upon my vision though that is a crude comparison but I cannot adequately describe in any other way.

It was always the same dream. I would be transfixed high above the earth, looking down spread-eagled onto the earth in what I think would be in a low orbit as the horizon was stretching out all around me in a gentle curve. I recall incredible details right down to the sun blazing on the sea, gold far below on the distant clouds and meticulous laid out topography on land, so much visual overload I felt sick with it.

You might think this would be a great dream to have but not so. I was always transfixed, unable to move and at the same time, I was stretching into a thin line over the horizon like a rubber band until I felt that I might burst apart from just below my ribs. I have no idea what this recurring dream signified but what I do know is that when it happened I would always wake up screaming (and paralysed) so hard my throat and jaw would hurt for days afterwards. On many occasions, I would vomit too.

The human mind is incredible.

S&F thanks