Is This Just a Nightmare or Something More?!
Question: I get this episodes (usually with the same scenario) about once every few months.
Last night, I went to bed at 9:30 and was extremely exhausted. I started dozing off (I was partly awake, though) and then suddenly couldn't move my body, i opened my eyes and some guy (a robber b/c he kept yelling in my face "i'm going to rob you" over and over) and he was holding me down. i woke up, freaking out, tried to sleep again about 20 minutes later and then would hear strange noises like chains and rattling and such coming from my office area by my bedroom and i couldn't move and had to shake my head back and forth (which gave me a huge headache) to try and wake myself up. it was just a lot of loud, disturbing noises. finally, after an hour of this i got up, grabbed my stuff and left to drive 40 mins for my parent's house to sleep..it was that bad.
anyone know what all this could mean? i'm 21 btw. can't remember bad things like this while growing up; just the past 3 years.
Answers: I get this episodes (usually with the same scenario) about once every few months.
Last night, I went to bed at 9:30 and was extremely exhausted. I started dozing off (I was partly awake, though) and then suddenly couldn't move my body, i opened my eyes and some guy (a robber b/c he kept yelling in my face "i'm going to rob you" over and over) and he was holding me down. i woke up, freaking out, tried to sleep again about 20 minutes later and then would hear strange noises like chains and rattling and such coming from my office area by my bedroom and i couldn't move and had to shake my head back and forth (which gave me a huge headache) to try and wake myself up. it was just a lot of loud, disturbing noises. finally, after an hour of this i got up, grabbed my stuff and left to drive 40 mins for my parent's house to sleep..it was that bad.
anyone know what all this could mean? i'm 21 btw. can't remember bad things like this while growing up; just the past 3 years.
if you couldn't move your body...it can be "sleep paralysis." It's pretty common.
When we sleep, our body is temporarily anesthetised//paralized (a substance is produced that creates this effect). This is so that we don't act our our dreams (unless u sleepwalk).
Usually, the brain and body wake up in the same time.
But sometimes that doesn't happen and the brain becomes awake first. It's then that you can't move your body, can't feel it, can't speak, can't do anything but..you're awake. It's scary:) But harmless. Eventually after a few seconds or minutes (or longer) the body wakes up too.
Some people describe feeling presences in the room, feeling like there's some evil thing, like someone is applying pressure to their chest or trying to suffocate them.
Now I don't know if that's your case..but anyway, you might wanna check it out.
i know there is a period while we are sleeping that are body is paralyzed; the other stuff I am not too sure about. Maybe it's just a dream state you are in while it's happening.
OK, so you're still very young at age 21 and you're obviously not living at your parents' house anymore (whether you're in a dorm or apartment). Perhaps you're just a little scared of being on your own without your parents there to protect you. Think about it. I'm assuming the nightmare stopped once you were in your parent's house and that you slept quite comfortably. Not to worry. Separation anxiety when you first move out is normal. It will go away and you will learn to love your freedom eventually.
Ok, from what I know, it sounds like you just had some type of sleep paralysis, very common, nothing to worry about. If it happens on more of a reoccuring basis, it might be a some sort of sleeping disorder, I'm not sure what though. As for the strange noises, upon further investigation I can't say what it would be. BTW if thats you in the avatar, you're very hot and I would gladly keep you company while you sleep, trust me, after a night with me, its nothing but sweet dreams! =P