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Weird Dream-like State Right After Sleep Onset

by Cu
(Ireland)

Occasionally (a few times per year) after what seems like only minutes after going to bed I will have an intense sensation (I assume a dream-state) of either falling or laying on an inclined surface and sliding down off the end. I am 41 years old, male, and chronically sleep-deprived. It is not clear if, while I am in the dream state, this falling/sliding is caused by someone acting on me in the dream or if it happens independently. My attempted reaction is to lash out, grab at, or attempt to hang on to whatever is perceived to be there. In these cases I also cannot "see" very well while in this dream state. It is an intense feeling, and one in which I can hear myself breathing very heavily in what feels like an attempt to shout. I have negative emotions during and afterward, mainly due to my concern that this attempted lashing-out will actually occur and I may hurt my wife who is laying next to me. I always ask for her perception of what had happened and she has never noticed any signs while I am in this state.

Comments for Weird Dream-like State Right After Sleep Onset

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Dec 13, 2010
 You're not the only one!
by: Laura

I have a very similar problem though mine seems to be myself rolling off the bed. It happens right after I fall asleep and feels very vivid. I expect it to hurt when I hit the floor.
Jul 13, 2011
 ANNOYED
by: Anonymous

I always feel annoyed and frustrated when i wake up from one off my experiences. Once during a paralysis my partner woke me up, turns out my whole body was shaken. I now find the best way to get out of them is just lie there and let it pass. the more u try fight against it or scream out the worse it gets and longer it last.
Jul 07, 2013
 feeling of falling or flying NEW
by: Anonymous

yes i have this feeling aswell,where i will literally feel as though my bed is tipping right up and i will feel myself rolling off it,yet while i physically feel this happen i know that im frozen in place in my bed unable to do anything.and i sometimes will feel an intense feeling like my bed spinnig round real fast or sometimes ill feel like im falling down iv had sleep paralysis a long time but its nice 2 hear from people having similar experiences

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