Have you ever woken up and can’t move? Can you barely breathe? Do you have heaviness on your chest, and there is someone in your room? Could be a dark figure, an alien, a beast or whatever but there is something there? A presence a darkness? You are dreaming, you are having a hallucination that is associated with sleep, and you have woken up in what is described as sleep paralysis.

This is common, sleep paralysis happens to a lot of us, we just usually don’t wake up during this time. So, if this happens to you it is okay there is not actually a demon, it’s your brain dreaming and as you dreaming you have woken up. You’re not actually being abducted by an alien, there is not actually a demon at the end of your bed, the fact that you can’t move is due to sleep paralysis and the fact that you are seeing things is because you are still dreaming. Since you are still dreaming you can close your eyes and know that it is a dream.

Having knowledge about sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations can help so that when these things do happen you will know not to panic. There is a long-documented history of this phenomena, this happens to many people and if it happens to you just know that you’re ok, your safe, your brain is just dreaming, and you have woken up during that time. Hopefully this doesn’t happen to you but if it does, YOU’RE OK!