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An Answer To My Frightening Experiences

by Myriam
(Portland, OR)

Since I was a kid I have been experiencing sleep paralysis, but I never knew what it was until I heard Dr. Sanjay Gupta talk about it on CNN.


In my case it occurred both when I have just fallen sleep and when waking up in the morning. The first time I can remember it happening, it was the most terrifying experience I ever had, and for years I was afraid to go to sleep.

There was a period in my life when I suffered these episodes several times during the night. Most of the time there was someone there but I could not see his face. As he was approaching me, I would start to scream and try to move but nothing happened. It was like someone had cut my tongue, and paralyzed my body from head to toes.

I struggled intensely, and just as I felt the man touching me, I would wake up covered with sweat and a racing heart.

Over the years I thought something was terribly wrong with me. After learning what it was and doing some research, I have learned to control it and be less terrified since I know that it’s just a bad dream and sooner or later I’m going to wake up.

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Welcome! This site is continuously being created by students of Dr. William C. Dement's Sleep And Dreams course at Stanford University.

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The Zeo

Track Your Own Sleep With Zeo

A revolution in personal sleep tracking, the Zeo is a wireless headband that transmits your brainwaves in realtime to a dock (pictured here) or your smartphone. The result? You can wake up and see exactly what stages of sleep you were in during the night! Unprecedented personalized sleep knowledge.

Sleep Paralysis: A Dreamer's Guide

Sleep Paralysis Treatment Book

Ever woken up paralyzed? A surprising number of us have, believe it or not. But few know the actual causes of this phenomenon, and fewer still how to exert control over it. Dream researcher and sleep paralysis expert Ryan Hurd shares breakthrough insights into how to do just that.

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