You wake up in the middle of the night and find that you can not move or scream for help. You are barely able to breathe, you even feel a heavy weight in your chest. You also perceive a presence next to the bed, very negative, but the most important thing of all is that you feel powerless to be able to react.

Have you ever had a similar experience? The symptoms written above are a classic example of what is known as the "Old Hag" syndrome. The victims wake up to find that they can not move, despite being able to see, hear, feel and smell. Regardless of the medical explanation or the paranormal theory for this surprisingly common phenomenon that affects thousands of people, it can not be denied that it is a terrifying experience for those who suffer it.

Paralysis of the dream, paranormal phenomenon?

Some of the victims of this horrible condition are able to convince themselves that the experience was nothing more than a dream or even a terrifying nightmare. Other people remain convinced that they have been attacked by a supernatural entity. The latter claim that their "aggressor" is actually an external phenomenon and not a state produced by their subconscious.

However, as always experts on dreams and psychologists dismiss this as a paranormal phenomenon, explaining that thoughts, images and sensations released from a person's subconscious are ultimately alien to the individual. But reality is much more complex, since the dream state is a phenomenon that currently has many unanswered questions. Throughout the world, and over time, the physiological aspects of sleep paralysis have been and remain the same, regardless of the race, religion or culture of the victim. They are the almost uncountable interpretations of these symptoms, which make sleep paralysis one of the most feared paranormal phenomena.

A brief explanation about sleep paralysis

Sleep paralysis is closely related to the natural paralysis that occurs in REM sleep (in English "Rapid Eye Movement") of the dream state. The victim is fully conscious and alert, however, the body remains paralyzed. In this state, the brain is able to manifest visions that are lived intensely, without the body being unable to react. The understandable reaction to this scenario is fear and panic, being a terribly real experience for the victim.

All the natural senses of the individual remain in full operation, that is, smell, taste, touch, hearing and sight, increasing the terror of the moment. During REM sleep the metabolism is slower, the heart rate is reduced, as well as blood pressure and respiratory rate. Along with all this comes the muscular paralysis, all these being a safety mechanism to avoid injuries during the sleep state. With the heartbeat and reduced respiratory rate the victim will experience the sensation of chest wall pressure and shortness of breath. In this natural state of fear and panic, the victim may feel a sense of weight in his chest.

Paranormal explanations

Many experts in the paranormal claim that some people who experience sleep paralysis are being subjected to negative entities. There have been many reports of strange experiences during the transition phase between sleep and wakefulness (called the hypnagogic state). It is well known that visits occur during sleep, as it is the most unprotected moment for our being and relatively easy for a spirit or entity to communicate with us.

According to personal experiences, there are spirits or entities that opt ​​for psychological or physical assault against the victim. Some people even claim to be sexually assaulted by an unknown force, commonly known as Incubus. An incubus is a demon in the form of a male who sexually assaults women while they sleep. (A succubus, is the female demon).

Extraterrestrial abductions

As we already published in Esoteric and Paranormal World, extraterrestrial abduction is another of the possible theories of sleep paralysis, because many reports of abductions usually begin when the victim falls asleep, waking up unable to move, feeling a presence in the room, seeing one or more beings standing next to the bed to wake up feeling very strange and with vague memories of what really happened.

Many of these people try to remember these experiences using hypnosis. During hypnosis, the victim returns to the beginning of paralysis or kidnapping. Most experience memories of being "removed" from their bedroom and taken to an unknown place. Some remember gray beings with large eyes and thin bodies performing experiments. When the victim wakes up, he goes back to bed.

Sleep paralysis and folklore

In many Anglo-Saxon societies sleep paralysis is known as the "Old Hag" syndrome, where the victim usually awakens with a sense of terror, with difficulty breathing due to an invisible weight in the chest and unable to move.

In Fiji it is interpreted as a being possessed by a demon. In many cases, the "demon" may be the spirit of a deceased relative who has returned to finish something pending, or simply needs to communicate important news for family members.

In Nigeria it is much more common among native Africans than in the white population and is often referred to in African communities as the "Devil in the back".

In Chinese culture it is known as "ghost over body" or "ghost in bed".

In Korean culture, it is associated with ghosts or spirits that are placed on top or pressing on the victim's chest.

In Cambodia, it is described as a person who is sleeping and dreams that one or more ghostly apparitions are near. The victim usually thinks that she is awake, but unable to move or make sounds.

In Vietnamese culture it means that the victim is held by a ghost or by a shadow.

In Iceland it is believed that an elf or succubus (usually a woman) causes nightmares.

Other European cultures have variants of the same folklore, but with different names.

In Mexico it is believed to be caused by the spirit of a dead person. This ghost in particular, lies on the body of the victim to sleep, without allowing the victim to move.

To consider

It is important to note that, if a person has the experience of sleep paralysis, the first thing is to find out all the details about the medical history, sleep disorders, lifestyle, etc ... One of the questions that we have to ask ourselves is if the sleep paralysis has started before or after your experiences. You also need to know how many episodes of sleep paralysis have been experienced, when they started and if someone from family or friends has suffered the same phenomenon. In many cases sleep paralysis may have a medical explanation, but in many other cases it has no scientific explanation, the unknown being our worst nightmare.