The following is a visitor-submitted question or story. For more, you can submit your own sleep story here, or browse the collection of experiences and questions other visitors have shared here.

Driving Off The Road, Falling Asleep, Wake Up In Morning Completely Paralyzed

by James Maxey
(Houston, Texas)

In April of 1968, I was driving a 2 1/2 ton truck while in Germany. I ran off the road in the middle of the afternoon. While stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky, I would drive up to Cincinnati and would have problems staying awake. This happened in 1969-70. While on recruiting duties in 1975, I woke up one morning completely paralyzed, could not move at all I could only blink my eyelids.


On November 25, 1976 while driving on the Ohio Turnpike in the mid afternoon I ran off the road. I sit there in the car for about a half hour trying to wake up. I got back on the turnpike and proceeded to go back to the office. While driving I have to stop at the toll gate and give them my ticket and then I would go about a 1/4 of a mile and get off at exit 15. I do not remember going through the toll gate. When I woke up I was nine miles from the Pennsylvania line I had to get off at exit 14 and come into the office the back way.

In October of 1983 while on a field exercise I had to go and pay my car insurance I did not want to drive and could not get anyone to drive me. So I went to pay my insurance while at the light I was going to make a left turn and the car coming from the opposite direction was going straight when the light I turned in the path of the on going car and total my car. I have had incident to happen later in life. It seem to effect mostly during the mid afternoon.

Click here to post comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Driving With Narcolepsy Thoughts.




Enjoy this page? Please help us pay it forward to others who would find it valuable by Liking, Sharing, Tweeting, Stumbling, and/or Voting below.

About This Site

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

We made this site as a call to action for people all over the world to live healthier, happier, safer, and more productive lives by learning about their own sleep. We have faith that reading the information provided on this site will motivate you to be smart about your sleep deprivation and strategic about your alertness in order to live life to your fullest, most energetic potential.

In fact, we challenge you to do so! What do you say, are you up for the challenge?


A Note On Visitor-Submitted Questions:

Publishing sleep stories and questions from our visitors is meant to create a forum for open and proactive dialogue about an extremely important portion of our lives (one that occupies 1/3 of it and affects the other 2/3) that isn't talked about enough. It is not meant to substitute a trip to the doctor or the advice of a specialist. It's good to talk; it is not good to avoid consulting someone who's profession it is to help you with this kind of stuff.

If you are in any way concerned about your sleep health, don't wait for an answer on here, and don't necessarily rely on them. See a sleep specialist in your area as soon as possible.

More Questions:

Ask | Answer

The Stanford Sleep Book

Stanford Sleep Book Picture

Dr. Dement's pioneering textbook has been the core text for Sleep and Dreams since 1980, but it has just recently been made available to the wider public for the first time.

In it you'll find a more detailed account of the most important things you need to know about sleep, alertness, dreams, and sleep disorders. Studies, statistics, plus plenty of Dr. Dement's classic anecdotes painting the history of sleep medicine.

Preface | Intro | Contents | Get A Copy

More Sleep Resources

The 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.

Important Disclaimer

Please Note:

The information found on this page and throughout this site is intended for general information purposes only. While it may prove useful and empowering, it is NOT intended as a substitute for the expertise and judgments of healthcare practitioners.

For more info, see our
Terms of Use.