a member here…LaJa, has done a lot of research on this subject.

He doesnt come around often, but hopefully he will see this and stop by.

Sleep paralysis usually occurs just before sleeping or just after waking up and still in a dream state if you are wide awake and just lying in bed it could be paranormal but most likely sleep paralysis

Having been 'there' SP a few times myself over the years .. I did study this and even talked with my doctor.

First thing -> There is nothing "Paranormal" or "Spiritual" about this. It's actually rather common then not.

Here is a link to WEB MD

SLEEP PARALYSIS

I would also suggest a read over on Hypnagogic Dreams .. and Lucid Dreams which are very closely related to SP.

Side Note:

I had a web friend contact me recently about being under "Psychic Attack".

I asked her these questions:

… Did you piss off someone recently on the net or where you live that have self-proclaimed Psychic Attack Powers?

…. ANSWER: NO.

Then the answer is clear … you are not under Psychic Attack. Because in the rare cases that one is actually – verifiably under Psychic Attack .. they know exactly WHO and WHY.

We found out through, what I call "20 Questions" … that her life style had changed a lot, from FOOD – FLUID – EXERCISE and even hormonal .. Post Menopause changes. Plus her hubby was gone for 2 weeks (business) during this time. Now even one of the above would cause 'perception issues' – but put them all together …

She thanked me, because she realized all this made sense …

Now how does this related to Sleep Paralysis? Well the same sort of issues .. STRESS .. Lack of sound sleep .. diet .. games … what you've been reading/studying, ie: UFO's – Abductions – Psychic stuff – Paranormal stuff … can all have a play in sleep paralysis and the related dreams.

When my own attacks happened .. I found:

Yes – I was sleeping straight on my back.

(Do you know what happens when you stand too long with locked knees? You pass out. I know, (red faced) it happened to me!) /tongue.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />

I also found that during these times .. there was stress going on with various projects and/or what I ate before going to bed, (bed time snacks are NOT always a good thing!) /wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':mellow:' />

Hope this helps?

I have only had sleep paralysis once in my life and it was totally not frightening. I woke up in the middle of the night and for just a minute or so I was completely paralyzed (other than my eyes being open). I had heard about sleep paralysis so I just concentrated on moving my right hand until I could actually move it. It was a weird sensation, but not frightening because I knew what was happening.

My mother, on the other hand, had the bad kind of incident. She couldn't open her eyes but felt like there was something horribly dreadful standing near to her and that if she could only open her eyes and turn her head to look at it, everything would be okay. She said that it was horrible and truly terrifying but we are both certain that it was sleep paralysis.

On the other hand, there are people who actually see something like the Old Hag when this happens to them and it actually feels like something is physically holding them down rather than just feeling paralyzed. I'm not so certain that those experiences can be explained away simply by sleep paralysis. I really think there may be more going on with those experiences and it may be paranormal. Maybe something is holding them down. Perhaps something paranormal startles them out of sleep so quickly that it takes a moment or two for their bodies to catch up with their brains and perhaps that something takes advantage of that moment somehow.

I'm just speculating, but I really don't believe in one size fits all answers for anything, even so-called sleep paralysis. There are just so many differences in the experience.