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Sleep Paralysis

Have you ever suddenly woken up at night and realized you couldn’t move? Except for your eyes and breathing, you’re unable to move any part of your body? This state is called sleep paralysis. About 30% of the population repeatedly experiences sleep paralysis. For most of the "affected," however, sleep paralysis is associated with something more. Many feel the presence of something terrifying in the room. Sometimes they just hear footsteps, sounds, or see shadows, ghosts, demons, aliens, or other beings moving around their room. Sometimes they cannot breathe, feel like they’re suffocating, or feel as if “something” is sitting on their chest. This can last a few seconds or even a few minutes.

In the past, this phenomenon was attributed to evil spirits. In virtually every culture, we can find stories of sleep paralysis. Old Hebrew legends mention the spirit of the evil Lilith, Adam’s first wife, who tries to remove the soul from a person’s body. In medieval Europe, this phenomenon was attributed to demonic entities that sit on human bodies and try to control their soul.

What actually causes sleep paralysis is still not entirely clear. Even experts cannot agree and are divided into several opinion groups. Some specialists are convinced that all these symptoms point to alien abductions. An American website dedicated to sleep paralysis cases receives a large number of submissions from its readers every day. One of them is the case of Gerald from the United States:

“I’ve been suffering from sleep paralysis for several years. Of course, it’s not pleasant, but at first, I didn’t make a big deal out of it. However, it started to get worse. I have to tell you about my last experience. Like always, I woke up that night paralyzed. But this time I saw some beings in my room. There were several of them. They had dark blue skin, maybe gray. They were performing some kind of surgical procedures on me or something. I couldn’t make a sound or move. They looked at me like I was some kind of animal. In the morning, I woke up drenched in sweat and completely mentally exhausted. I thought it was just a dream, but I’ve never experienced anything like that before. I was afraid to go to sleep for several days. When I finally managed to fall asleep — three days ago — it happened again. I don’t know what to do, I’m desperate.”

Another group of people affected by sleep paralysis includes those who are convinced they’ve been attacked by a demonic being, or experience sleep paralysis directly connected to the presence of unknown shadows nearby. One such case is Jeff from California:

“It was back in the ’80s, we were living on a farm in Texas. That night, I was sleeping as usual in bed with my current wife. One day I suddenly woke up and I swear I saw a black figure standing at the end of the room. It was a dark figure and looked like it had no solid outlines. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, it was standing next to me and kept getting closer. Like in a movie. Finally... it entered me, or whatever you want to call it. I couldn’t breathe and started suffocating. I don’t remember anything else. In the morning, I woke up thinking it was just a dream. But I had no idea what was coming. My wife told me first thing in the morning that she had a horrible dream. She dreamt that an unknown black figure paralyzed her during the night. I didn’t tell her about my experience — I didn’t want to scare her even more.
But our then 5-year-old daughter Lucy told us right after waking up that she had seen ‘some man’ standing in her bedroom doorway. She was scared of him and hid under the blanket. Today our daughter is 28 years old and still calmly swears that she saw the figure watching her that night.”

Medical explanation

Those who find the supernatural theory of sleep paralysis unlikely will surely lean towards the medical explanation. According to doctors, there are two main types of sleep paralysis.

1. Common sleep paralysis

This is the most common form of sleep paralysis people experience. According to research, nearly every adult has encountered this type of paralysis at least once in their life, even if they don’t remember it. This type of paralysis lasts only a few seconds, a maximum of about a minute.
To understand how sleep paralysis arises, we first need to understand sleep cycles. The sleep cycle is composed of five stages, which are divided into Non-REM sleep and REM sleep (REM = Rapid Eye Movement).

  • Stages 1 and 2 (Non-REM phase) – light sleep

  • Stages 3 and 4 (Non-REM phase) – deep or slow-wave sleep

  • Stage 5 (REM phase) – during this phase, our eyes move rapidly and it looks like we are blinking quickly in our sleep. The brain works almost like it does during the day, with the difference that it’s not influenced by external stimuli, willpower, or decision-making. The majority of dreams occur during this phase.

These stages alternate during sleep, and a full cycle lasts about 100 minutes. 90 minutes of the cycle is Non-REM, and only 10 minutes is REM. According to experts, it is in the REM phase that the human body is in a state of complete paralysis. It is believed that this prevents the body from physically acting out dreams. The brain sends signals to suppress all muscle movement.

Sleep paralysis occurs when a person wakes up during the REM phase. The brain takes a few seconds to "unlock" the paralyzed body. As a result, the person becomes aware that they’re awake, but cannot move.

2. Hallucinogenic sleep paralysis

This is a very rare and extremely unpleasant form of sleep paralysis. It is also known as hypnagogic hallucinations. In this case, common sleep paralysis is accompanied by the feeling of evil beings near the affected person. Many suffering from this extreme form claim that someone is sitting on them or even choking them, often with the sensation of imminent death.

What’s most disturbing about this form is its duration. It usually lasts much longer than common sleep paralysis — often several minutes.

According to experts, the causes of sleep paralysis can vary. The most likely causes include lack of sleep, irregular sleep schedule, and excessive stress. Getting enough sleep is very important. An adult should sleep 7 to 8 hours per day. Sleeping alone may cause some people stress or fear (of ghosts, etc.) even before falling asleep. In such cases, some specialists recommend not sleeping alone.
Many people have also discovered that if they sleep on their back, sleep paralysis occurs much more frequently than when they sleep on their side.

The “Old Hag Syndrome”

In connection with sleep paralysis, we must also mention the so-called Old Hag Syndrome. This is the most widespread form of sleep paralysis in the world. The victim wakes up and realizes they cannot move, although they can see, hear, and feel. Often, they feel great weight on their chest and sense the presence of evil forces in the room.
The term "old hag" comes from stories told by our ancestors, who believed a witch would sit on the chest of the person, causing them to be unable to breathe. Although nowadays people don’t interpret this phenomenon literally, the bizarre and unexplainable nature of these events still leads many to believe that supernatural or malevolent beings such as ghosts or demons may be involved.

All of these cases are extremely unpleasant, mainly because the victim, although paralyzed, has fully functioning senses. Many reports also mention a strange smell, the sound of approaching footsteps, the appearance of strange shadows, or the previously mentioned weight on the chest, which makes breathing difficult — or completely impossible. All senses tell the person that something unusual is happening.

After such bizarre experiences, it’s no wonder that many people fear they were attacked in their bed by some malevolent spirit, demon, or even extraterrestrial visitor.

So the final decision is once again ours.
Do we lean toward the medical explanation of sleep paralysis?
Or are beings from another world really involved?