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Confused and Paralyzed During Dreams While Waking Up

I don't know how to explain it, but a few times I have dreamt that I am laying there awake and paralyzed or keep going in and out of dreams, but I don't actually know if I am dreaming or actually awake.





Kevin's Response

It's like I keep waking up and trying to force my eyes open and move but I can't and if there is anyone else there I am saying to them thatI know I'm dreaming. Before I have dreamt i am laid there paralyzed while someone is breaking in to attack me.What I don't understand is what is going on and am I awake really or are they just freaky dreams??This is a really interesting connection you've hit on between sleep paralysis and dreaming. You see, experiencing paralysis as you are waking up is precisely linked to dreaming, because the paralysis you feel is left over from REM sleep, the period of the night where you do your dreaming.The body paralyzes itself during REM sleep (the paralysis is known as REM atonia) to prevent it from acting out the dreams that are going on in your mind during this stage of sleep. When you experience sleep paralysis it is often because you have awoken during REM sleep and the atonia is a little slow to goaway.Sometimes that is all that happens, and it is just a short bit of paralysis that people are left with as they try to wake up (that can be disgruntling enough though!). However, sometimes the dreams themselves can carry over into this paralyzed transition phase, taking on characteristics of your environment, and manifesting themselves in what are called. (Hypnopompic simply means it occurs when you are waking up. Hypnagogic is the opposite, meaning occuring when you are falling asleep.)What you describe sounds exactly like. The incident of you seeing someone breaking in to attack you is a fairly common hypnopompic hallucination. As long as this is only occurring when you are waking up and not when you are falling asleep, this is virtually always completely benign, more common than you might expect, and just a product of REM functions outlasting your sleep a bit--not something to worry about at all.So to answer your question of whether you are asleep or awake, you are essentially awake at this time but your body is still experiencing certain aspects of REM sleep. Pretty interesting, huh?I hope this helps shed some light on what you are experiencing. If you have any follow-up questions or comments please don't hesitate to submit them using the "Post Comments" link below!Warmly,