Have anyone experienced sleep paralysis while sleeping on your stomach?
And if not, could someone who experiences this all the time, try sleeping on their stomach and report back?
Reason I ask, is that while this article http://aeon.co/magazine/psychology/the-terror-and-the-bliss-of-sleep-paralysis/ links it to OBE's and lucid dreaming, all those things are blocked if you sleep on your stomach. So I'm curious....
I have had SP twice in my life, all in the last year. The second time I had it, I was laying on my stomach.
share8-ish years ago I had it for about 3 years, 3 or 4 times a night. It didn't seem to matter what position I was in. Stress was a big factor of my life back then but even when I took the source of stress away, they didn't go away.
I have other conditions that cause me chronic pain and I have noticed that if I am in moderate pain while I am asleep, that will trigger a nightmare, but if that pain builds to severe pain, it will wake me up and the nightmare is always uber violent and gory.
These kinds of triggers make me think that perhaps if someone who suffers from SP sleeps for too long in one position or has circulation cut off and the body then starts to be in pain that it might cause the SP nightmares.
I've had it laying down on my stomach and back....being on the stomach is the worst in my opinion. Think about being paralyzed and hard time breathing...then your head is face down on the pillow and you are struggling to move your head so you can breathe....i felt like I was suffocating myself.
shareI've had only one "sleep paralysis" type experience in my life, and it was when I was face down in my bed. It was one of the most horrifying experiences of my life. I could hear and feel someone or something walking around my bed, sitting beside me and then finally breathing agonisingly slow in my ear, but I was unable to see what it was. It was truly horrible and I'm so glad I've never experienced it since.
shareThanks everyone for sharing. I wasn't much aware of this before the movie; and didn't even know that my wife experienced this a few times. I assume there's support groups for this where people can share their experiences, that go deeper then an IMDB forum, and I hope people can find some relief there.
I'm reminded of cases where people who're undergoing surgery wake up and are unable to move, and are aware of everything that's going on. That's probably worse then SP though,as it least with SP, you're probably unsure whether you're fully awake or not... I assume.
The fact though that position is irrelevant during an SP episode is interesting. It kind of tells me that whatever the person is experiencing is purely internal, but I'm not an expert on these things, so this is a guess.
Again, thanks everyone for sharing.
It has happened to me in all positions, but at least the non-stomach positions are psychologically bearable for me. The few times it has happened when I was on my stomach, I was face-down on the pillow and could not move my face to breathe properly. It took so much out of me to just turn over. It's terrifying. But I've never experienced anything like voices or seen things during an episode, regardless of position, and I've experienced sleep paralysis many times. I do have a friend who heard someone/something talking to him, though.
shareI have had this happen to me several times, mainly while I was sleeping on my stomach. I would wake up, but be completely unable to move at all. It would feel like someone was holding me down, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn't even begin to try and figure out how long it happened, but it felt like someone had their arm on my shoulders, and I couldn't move. After a while, I could move, and felt like I was able to move my arm to trap whatever was on my shoulder in an armbar, but there would be nothing there. What's worse for me is that sleeping on my stomach is about the only way I can sleep. I have had it happen to me several times in my life, from in high school, to away at college, to in the army. It happened about 8 or 10 times in my life.
shareat least the non-stomach positions are psychologically bearable
Hello. I've had this through much of my life but in spurts and sometimes separated by years. Incidents dropped off significantly once I quit smoking (both cigarettes and the other). I sleep both on my stomach and my back. My position for going to sleep is on my back. And I seem to have this most often within minutes of first drifting off to sleep (on my back). Almost all times I have been on my back. However, I have had it in all sleep positions including stomach and side. Also, I have had it while napping in broad daylight with other people in the room. But I have never been in a position in which a person witnessed me waking up in this state. I have hallucinated. It does all seem very real. But understanding the condition has lead to more pleasant episodes than frightening ones.
In short, stomach sleeping would reduce the occurrences - at least for me. But this isn't how I prefer to sleep but I'm also not bothered or afraid of this because I understand it. That is, I've evolved past a point reached by the subjects in this documentary.
Ive had it numerous times to the point I fear going to sleep and made me question my beliefs and start to think demons do exist for a short period lol, and im sat there half laughing at myself for thinking such daft thing but it gets so bad its terrifying and messes with your head.
Anyway I get it in any position and it tends to happen when I am coming off the drink and getting withdrawals, I swear I have seizures... anyway I dont drink anymore lol:)
Oh Look At That Im Very Good
There might be something to this. I've had about six episodes of sleep paralysis in my life, and every single time I was on my back--I usually sleep on my side or my stomach, so this was unusual. But I have a feeling it's highly subjective to the individual. I have noticed in my life that I'm far more likely to have a bad dream if I sleep in an unusual position, like on the couch, in a chair, riding in a car, etc. So it might be that times when I sleep for extended cycles on my back increases the chances of this happening.
share