Sleep paralysis: What causes it, and how do i get rid of it?
916285
I don't think there's a way to get rid of it.\n\nBut don't worry about the suffocation thing. Your nervous system will always wake you up before you die. When you start running low on oxygen, your body naturally produces adrenaline. This isn't anything your brain controls, it is an automatic reaction of the glands that produce it.
1072615
1.Lucid dreaming (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dreaming) is a way of controlling your dreams. \n2.I know that you are tired of the nightmares but they are great to ‘work out’ the negative aspects in your life. Welcome them and they may go away just because you changed your attitude.\n3.If try all but they are still there I would contact perhaps say a  good psychologist. \n4. Have been exposed to some chemical lately or take certain medication? \n\nGood luck or actualy have fun
714737
this is called sleep paralysis.  it happens when your mind wakes up faster than your body, and it is still stuck in sleep mode.. paralyzed so that you don't act out your dreams.  you will find this almsot always happens near the morning rather than earlier in the night, and you will usually be sleeping in a position with your back flat on the bed.    it is indeed scary, whenever this happens to me, i try screaming and am unable to, i also feel like i am suffocating sometimes because i try to breathe and it doesn't come regular
327233
I am not to sure that you can ever actually get rid of it totally. There is however medication and some go off of their medication and make it a long while before having another seizure. Try the Epilepsy Foundation and there Heroes Among Us section on stories of people dealing with epilepsy...mine is there too.
17037
You should see a doctor.  This could be narcolepsy or another significant neurological problem.
469883
Bubblegum,\n\nI attended an interesting presentation on the relationship between Parkinson's disease and restless leg syndrome, back in March.  I learned that scientists used to thing that they had similar causes, because the medication for Parkinson's helped a lot of patients with restless leg syndrome.  However, now they think that the two diseases have less in common.  \n\nAfter the presentation, I blogged on it at :  http://myparkinsonsinfo.com/index.php?p=169\n\nMy advice is to start keeping a journal of your symptoms.  Just a few words every day about what is happening.  Take that journal into your next appointment with your neurologist (preferably one who is even more specialized in movement disorders).  She or he will try to match therapies and medications with your symptoms.  It is imporatant to go for a match for you, rather than  what you see on TV, or whatever they "typically prescribe."  Good luck.  Email me if you have more questions.  Thanks!
391292
From my experience, the only way to stop them is to analyse every part of the dream and try to really understand it.  When you have broken it down and got rid of the fear by understanding it, you will then be less likely to have the dream again.
264571
I have the same thing, but only when I close my eyes.  It is very bothersome when I'm trying to go to sleep, but it eventually goes away.\n\nBaseCurve needs to read the whole question as well as the additional details.
247451
I am not medically trained; I am not qualified to give\nmedical advice.\n\nHowever, twice in my life I've been afflicted with \nBell's Palsey.  One side of my face was "paralyzed" much\nlike you describe, which is why I'm writing.\n\nThis first happened 20 years ago, and the doctor told me\nthat the medical world suspected that it was caused by\na viral infection of facial nerves, and the swelling\ncaused the paralysis.  At the time, my doctor suggested\nthat it would probably get better in about 3 weeks, and\nthat's pretty much what happened.  Within a couple of\nmonths, there was no trace of the paralysis.\n\nThe second time it happened was more recent, but the\nexplanation from the doctor was consistent.  This time,\nthey gave me steroids and an anti-viral, but the doctor\nsuggested that he didn't really expect the medication to\nmake much difference.  For whatever reason, my recovery\nhas been much slower.  It took well over two months for\nmost functionality to return, but even now I have a\nslight asymmetry to my smile, I can't move my left eyebrow\nquite as much as my right, and I've pretty much lost the\nability to whistle :-)\n\nI do consciously exercise my face in hopes that the \nphysical therapy will help, although it is "self prescribed"\nand frankly I have no evidence that it has made any\ndifference.\n\nIn any case, if the doctor described your friend's \nproblem as "Bell's Palsey", then you might wish to visit\nthe web site in the reference below.  It discusses\nwhat to expect and what the current treatments are.
41930
it is what is called sleep paralysis, you can wake up with the feeling of heaviness and a presence.\n\nit is actually a common condition and i DO believe heavily in ghosts and spirits, so if i thought it was something, i would tell you.
654026
In my case, i'm actually fully awake and can hear everything that's going on around me, i just can move, speak or open my eyes.  The first few times it happened, it scared the whey out of me.  I still find it frightening.\n\nI did some research on it and while the people on here that have said it is part of our defense mechanism to keep us from acting out dreams and thereby harming ourselves or others, are correct, the sleep paralysis is actually different in that we are not dreaming when it happens.\n\nYou can use any and/or all of the search engines available and find quite a bit of information on it.\n\nOne of the things i find most helpful is a tip i read on one of the sites.  It said to rapidly move your eyes back and forth or to try moving your feet.  While these don't always work, i have found that sometimes they do and when they do work, i can bring myself out of it.\n\nAnother thing i do is try not to sleep during the day if i'm home alone.  In my case, it happens if i nap; but, because of some other health issues, i nap a lot.  So, if i have to sleep during the day, i will either do it while my husband is home or i'll call my sister or a friend ~ in any case, i ask someone to either come in or call after an hour and wake me up.\n\nThere are some that associate sleep paralysis with narcolepsy, so you might want to use the available search engines and do some research.\n\nFOR THE PERSON WITH THE NECK PROBLEMS:  Could you please explain how it is related to your neck problems?  I, too, have neck problems and i'm always wanting to learn more about the sleep paralysis.
755617
It sounds like you are suffering from sleep deprevation of what is called REM sleep which is the sixth level of sleep!  It IS caused by RLS and sleep apnea!\n\nYou are falling asleep during the day right!  Tired.\n\nSee our brains need sleep they only get to unwind on the level of sleep called REM for rapid eye movement!  At this level our breathing and other functions are on automatic. They are handled by the lower brain!  Our upper brain is free to unwind!  During this time our eyes dart around!  Now if our legs twitch,  This causes the brain to receive a stimilus and it drops out of REM!  Likewise if our breathing either stops in the case of central apnea or is blocked off in the case of obstructive apnea  the lack of oxygen in the brain causes it to signal the lungs to gasp for air! Now it does this while we are still in level one thru five of sleep!  So we do not know what is happening!  But our poor brain is not sleeping!!  Our body can get 10 hours of sleep and yet we are TIRED!\n\nI really think you should inquire about a sleep study!  That I think Apnea is the cause of your Hypersomnia!  I ABSOLUTELY KNOW ONE HUNDRED PERCENT THAT RLS ALONE WILL DISTURB YOUR SLEEP AT REM LEVEL!!!!!\n\nYOU NEED AN OVERNIGHT SLEEP STUDY TO SEE WHAT IS WRONG!  I DO NOT THINK MEDICATION IS NECESSARY EXCEPT FOR THE RLS!  THERE ARE SEVERAL DRUGS AVAILABLE FOR IT!  IF YOU GO TO A SLEEP CLINIC THEY WILL FIND OUT THE SPECIFICS!\n\nI GO TO A NEUROLOGIST AND A SLEEP DOCTOR BOTH!\n\nYOU NEED TO GO TO A SLEEP SPECIALIST !\n\nI am 61 and I feel like I am 30 I am using a CPAP device nightly and I wish I had gotten it earlier!  See I did not go until I actually DIED for a few minutes on the operating table in a simple operation! Within a month I was at one of those Sleep Clinics and I met my best new buddy my CPAP machine which I use nightly!  God only knows how my life would of come out if I would of had it earlier!  I have so much more energy than I ever did!\n\nI am telling you you really need to get checked out!  It makes all the difference in the world!  The RLS is one pill just before bed!\n\nGo to a clinic please! It will take care of BOTH YOUR PROBLEMS\n\n\nAPS\n\nTHIS IS FROM MERK MANUALS:\n"Hypersomnia may also be a symptom of sleep apnea or a psychologic disorder (such as severe anxiety or depression). Chronic hypersomnia that begins during adolescence may be a symptom of narcolepsy. Hypersomnia may also result from overuse of sleep aids.\n\n\nWhen evaluating a person who has become excessively sleepy, doctors ask about the person's mood, sleep-wake schedule, and use of drugs. Often, a sleep partner can describe the person's sleep abnormalities best. These abnormalities may include snoring and breathing pauses (which suggest obstructive sleep apnea) as well as grinding of teeth, kicking, and sleepwalking. Doctors "
787419
You need sleep time so the body can repair the damage done in the day.  You will suffer from all kinds of symptoms through sleep deprivation.  If you are not sleeping there is a reason and you should see your doctor straight away.  Lack of sleep is very dangerous to our bodies and can even cause hallucinations.
96217
There isn't a proven method to stop.  I still talk in my sleep, and i still even sleepwalk(allthough mostly I've grown out of this!!).  I've done both since I was about 7, and now I'm 26.  Good luck.  If you find out how to stop, let me know.
525154
These are classic symptoms of sleep paralysis.\n\nI average about two episodes a year.  I've found that my sleep paralysis happens most often when I fall asleep on my back, or on my side if my head is at an odd angle (like sleeping on a couch with my head on the arm of the couch).\n\nI used to be quite frightened when this would happen.  Now that I know what it is, and tht it will go away soon enough, I just lie there and wait it out.  Maybe I'm weird, but I find the 'out-of-body' hallucinations sometimes accompanied with an episode kind of cool.  Also, I have used these episodes to actually control and direct my dreams (called 'lucid dreaming') by allowing myself to fall asleep again while I was undergoing an episode of sleep paralysis.\n\nLucid Dreaming,... now THAT is truly a wondrous experience.\n\nHope this helped...
338758
Sounds a bit like restless leg syndrome\nsee a doctor.. it could be something serious. and you not going could really mess you up.
17377
I have sleep paralysis, but that isn't what a night terror is.  I am a registered sleep technologist, and know what these two are.  One is completely different from the other.  Sleep paralysis does make me awfully scared, though, even though I know that it won't hurt me!  If you are having either of these two disorders, you need to speak to your doctor ASAP and have a sleep study done.  The sleep study doesn't hurt, or anything- worst it does is makes ya look silly!  :)           Sleep paralysis is when you go to bed and just fall asleep when all of a sudden you didn't even realize you were asleep and now you can't move.. ANYTHING... your heart races, you sweat, you breathe like you were just in a marathon- you can't speak or blink at will- it stinks. It can also happen when you are woken up in the middle of the night.       Night terrors are when you wake up screamin in the middle of the night and don't remember doing it. Usually only kids have it.  Adults usually get it when they've been abused ( but not always true- it can happen to anyone).