I have cured my own sleep paralysis, and you can too.
I no longer fear waking. My entire life, I have dealt with sleep paralysis. If you don’t know, sleep paralysis is a condition where you wake, terrified, unable to move. Wikipedia has a good article on it, as usual. I just learned to live with it up until a few years ago. I was living with my future wife, who would see me hyperventilating, and shake me awake. At this point, I was just happy I didn’t have to lay there in fear. Time passed, and I began to feel bad for those who didn’t have wives to wake them up. I also worried it would happen on a business trip or vacation. The answer, as usual, was staring me right in the face.
Everyone should get married! Ha. No, the clue was the sound I always heard when this happened. The sound of my own terrified heartbeat. That was it. When in the throws of sleep paralysis, your heart rate increases.
I immediately went out and bought a cheap heart-rate monitor with vibration. I bought mine here in koreatown cheap at an import store. They are also available cheaply online for around 30$. Oregon scientific makes an excellent one thats around 40$. I would have paid a fortune. It works like a charm. My heart rate increases, the vibration alert goes off, and IT JOLTS ME AWAKE. Bam. I thought about patenting the idea, but you can’t really patent the use of a device that already exists, so I’m posting it here and letting the world know. I don’t know if it will work for everyone, but it works for me.
Awesome. I am really suffering with sleep paralysis right now. I am going out first thing tomorrow to buy a heart monitor. Thank you.
Good luck. Let me know if the stock heart monitor doesn’t work for you, as I’ve been meaning to do a tutorial on adding an additional vibration motor to a heart monitor.
What a neat concept. If this gets rid of the night terror I’ll wear it to bed.
That sounds brilliant. I suffered from sleep paralysis for about 5 years.
I changed to a less stressful job.
I changed my diet to a lot less sugar and a lot less carbs and made sure to drink a lot more water – which also had a correlation with my episodes – but that just might be my own personal metabolism.
If it ever returns (NOOOOOO) that I’ll try out your device!
That’s quite interesting! I switched to a (slightly) less stressful job recently myself, and have not yet noticed a change in frequency of occurrences. I have not considered it may be metabolism related, though that is a good premise and it’s got me thinking. Thanks for the hello.
I have been suffering from sleep paralysis since as long as i can remember. If i had to make an educated guess it would be at the age of eight. Now I am 16 turning 17 years old. It has recently become more frequent and more serious. I never thought of using a heart rate monitor. Sounds like a good conclusion. I’ve done some research on it and have found you can out grow it in some cases. The reason we have sleep paralysis is because of delays of brains receptors. One is a wake receptor and the other is a dream. Could explain our trouble sleeping. Before you awake the dream receptor is still active and the wake receptor is not full active. Therefor you hallucinate and see things that are not real.
Thank you so much for posting this, I’ve never suffered from sleep paralysis but some of family has and I’ll be telling them about this tactic as soon as I finish commenting. Thank you so much.
I dont know why you guys dont like sleep paralysis, its a wonderful gift, people spends months and years trying to attain it as it is the first stage of O.B.E or out of body experinces. which is also closley related to lucid dreaming. if you learn to turn the bad energy into good nergy you will be very happy.
Pretty sure it’s not.
Yea, what we’re talking about here in the most uncomfortable and extremely terrifying feeling. There is no way to turn it into something positive. When in that state of mind, there’s no thinking, only panic.
Omg. The feel of something evil sitting on my chest. Can’t open my eyes. Because I have heart valve problems, my heart begins to beat irregular BIGTIME! No thanks! Won’t be playing with that misery. Will get the heart monitor! Thank you Hunter!
Mine started in my teens. Didnt have it for about 20 years…at all. Then as I started peri menopause ,it has returned. I’m also like the person who mentioned naps triggering it. Also, if I take Benadryl several nights in a row for sleep, and then stop taking it….that will trigger it. I hate it!
Carmen,
I hope that it works well for you! Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Best
/Hunter
Very interesting, going to give it a try. I’ve suffered from sleep paralysis for about 5 years now. Mostly when I nap during the afternoon or wake up early and drift back to sleep), and it’s gradually becoming more frequent. I often catch myself in it, struggling to wake up.
My question is kind of complex and I wanted your opinion on it, I just what’s been ruled as “benign PACs”, we the atrium chambers of the heart produce extra beats and mis-fire occasionally, but I’ve had every test imaginable done and everything came back clear, there’s nothing wrong with my heart. I’ll occasionally feel a skip, followed by a hard thud in my chest, then heart rate is back to normal almost before I even realized what happened. Anyways, now I think this is do to the “dream receptor” effect as aforementioned, but on two separate occasions now, while in sleep paralysis, I have felt (or convinced myself) that I was having an irregular heartbeat. Where my pulse was rapid and all over the place, I even felt the fluttering in my chest. But both times when I awoke, my pulse was completely calm and normal, leading me to believe this was caused by a dream. This has never happened to me when I have been awake, never more then one little skip, but during paralysis it felt like it was ongoing for 30 seconds or so. I’m wondering if you think this was just me dreaming (because I constantly think and worry about the PACs, even though I’ve been told nothing is wrong with me), or if you think there’s a chance that during sleep paralysis I could be going into irregular heart rhythms?
Thank You,
Mike
Hey Mike,
That’s a tough question. I can’t say whether your heart is skipping or not (or whether you’re dreaming it or something else is occurring) with any certainty.
Let me ask you this, do you have an iPod or Android phone? If so, I say drop some cash on a heart rate monitor attachment and find out for certain what is going on. It may take days or weeks for you to get a definitive statistically significant answer, but then you’ll have one and you can share that data with your doctors if need be.
Best of luck!
/H
I have it alot. Like frequent. Its like weird buzzing in my brain , i dont want any evil spirits or anything. No OBE. I do in fact practice lucid dreaming. Which is harmless. But i will try these methods
Hi,
I’m trying to help my aging dad with sleep paralysis…my mom has to kick him every night to help him ‘move’ and it’s taking a toll on her health from inadequate sleep. I’m Hoping this will be the cure!
I’m purchasing the Oregon scientic SE102 monitor for him and have a few questions:
1. What setting should it be in (walking,jogging or run are the only available choices)?
2. At what rate/range should he set it to be for the vibration to come on (since the rate during sleeping is different from when one is awake)?
3. Is the vibration strong enough to wake up?
4. He doesn’t like wearing the chest Belt so is there another heart rate monitor that’s chest belt free you can recommend?
Thank you!!!
Hi Missy,
I have not personally used the SE102 model exactly, but here are my best guesses for the correct settings.
1. I would assume walking. Sleeping heart rate is ~58-82 as far as I know and that’s far lower than running or jogging. I tend to run a bit ‘high’ on that scale, and was more like 75-80 (probably because of my apnea)
2. Personally my heart rate would climb above 80-90bpm during an episode. This may require some testing/re-configuring on your part as everyone is different. It may take a couple of weeks to get it just right. You may also need to hook up an external power source if the battery does not last > 8 hours (thrift stores are an excellent place to find low amperage power adapters that can be easily wired up to a watch). Definitely consider getting a solid pair of rechargeable batteries. The other thing is after a while you sort of ‘train’ yourself to wake up to a vibration during an episode. It may be subconscious, but you kind of ‘expect’ the vibration after a while and your heart rate seems to increase more. I don’t know if this is a Pavlovian thing or just anecdotal.
3. Depends. It wasn’t always for me, and at one point I actually tried to have the watch ‘shock’ me (I removed the vibration motor, I would NOT recommend this. I was young and stupid.) If there’s a strength setting I’d set it to ‘high’. I’d also recommend not drinking any coffee or taking any sleep aids before bed.
4. Besides this one which I’ve heard good things about, I also hear that there’s an iPhone attachment that works well. I don’t have an iPhone though, so take that with a grain of salt. If you find one that works, please let us know what works/doesn’t work for you.
Best of luck!
/Hunter
Hope this helps some. If anyone else has experiences to share on these specific topics I encourage you to respond.
Best,
/H
This is great. I’m 27 and have had this problem since I was 14. The first time it happened I hallucinated badly. I was hearing demonic whispering completely paralyzed. I told my dad and a few friends upon which all said I was dreaming. So I never brought it up again. it happens 4-5 times a month easily since then and finally my wife saw me go through it. I had no idea this was an actual common thing. Thanks for the info I’m getting one of these monitors as soon as I find one.
Nate,
Sorry to hear that you’ve been so affected by this. Best of luck with the monitor, hope it works!
Hey awesome idea …
When it happened first to me i was terrified .
Now i am not scared.Whenever it happens i just start counting in my head and somehow i wake up before i reach 20 . I dont know how i figured it out , but this technique has not failed me .And the best thing is you dont have to depend on anyone , u can get up by yourself .
Hope it helps .
Thanks,kris
Hey Krishna,
Thanks for the info! Hope it helps some folks
Hey, thanks for this, considering buying a heart monitor myself, I’ve just experienced sleep paralysis about 10 minutes ago and wondered if anyone had any way of reducing it after you’ve just had it? I’m sort of scared to go back to sleep but if I don’t i will create more sleep debt and almost guarantee it for tonight’s sleep. Open to suggestions.
Hi Rachael,
One thing to note is that Sleep Paralysis rarely happens when one is sleeping on their side. It’s usually associated with back-sleeping. If you are comfortable sleeping on your side I’d give that a try
.
Best,
/H
Thank you for posting this!
I will definitely get one and try this.
I have been suffering from this for years.. I have terrible episodes while sleeping where I’m filled with fear, my heart is racing, there’s immense pressure on my chest, and I can’t move or make a sound. The dreams are always so real and up until 2 or 3 months ago I had no idea these were dreams. I always suffered silently wondering if what I had experienced/seen at night was real. A few months ago in the midst of one of these episodes I was able to mentally convince myself to try to calm down, wake up and see if it was a dream (I know this sounds strange and borderline psychotic lol but I assure you I have no psychological issues or hallucinations.. and people who’ve experienced these sleep paralysis episodes might be able to understand what I’m saying). I awoke so relieved to know it was a dream, however I was drenched in sweat absolutely terrified to remove the covers and just laid in bed wide awake until morning. It was during these hours of laying awake in terror that I also came to the conclusion that I should get myself a boyfriend or husband. That way they could wake me or touching them I’d at least always know I was dreaming and didn’t need to be scared. lol This however is not a likely solution at the moment.
Since then I’ve been researching online to see what sleep disorder I was going through and what can be done about it. This is definetly the simplest and drug free way to solve this problem.
Wisc,
You don’t sound psychotic at all, in fact these are experiences that sufferers of SP often share. I hope this method works for you! Best of luck
I am 32 years old and just started getting them last year, It started once in a while and now it is every night when I am falling asleep ,hypnagogic or predormital sleep paralysis. I hate it so much I dread going to sleep. I have researched so many things and read until my eyes bled. I don’t want to take medication. I have awful visions with my paralysis and it is so scary. Plus then it takes another half hour to calm done and get back to sleep. Luckily it usually doesn’t happen the second round or in the day time when I take naps on occasion due to pure exhaustion
Tamie,
Try a heart beat monitor! It just might help you out.
Best,
/H
I just had an experience though it was pretty much short lived. It’s quite similar to what Mike mentioned above and to dreams of those who mentioned about demonic choking or suffocation. I was sleeping on my side and not on the back as I woke up. As soon as I woke up I could feel my heart beat level raised a bit along with thuds which could be felt on your chest wall and slightly sweating despite having slept in an air-conditioned room cooled for 3-4 hours. A couple of days ago I stressed a lot in trying to beat a violent video game and my sleep routines were disturbed quite a bit. I have been taking Vitamin B-complex (Vitanerve) tablets my mom handed over to me as supplements for 2-3 weeks. So I don’t know whether there’s been any side effects induced by taking tablets outside GP’s prescription. I do body-weight routine exercises on alternate days. Currently I’m 28, not been working for 2 years since post graduation. My sleeping habits kept varying a lot since then.
I beginning to feel that this might be caused due to level of stress and anxiety one goes through in their daily routine and the toll it can have on your overall health. Perhaps reducing stress in one way or the other should help.
Manoj,
It’s certainly possible. Body-weight routine exercises can be stress relieving, did you experience SP on one of these days, or one of the off days? Perhaps try meditation? For a long time I thought the triggering of SP was purely oxygen intake and weight-related, but I’ve lost 80 lbs since my highest weight and while now in an ‘ideal weight range’, I still experience SP from time to time. I doubt it is B-complex, as I spent 6 years as a vegetarian and eventually had to take lots of B vitamins because I wasn’t getting any in my diet. Even at the point where I would have had almost no B intake, I still experienced SP from time to time. There’s something more involved. Perhaps it is stress?
Best of luck, and I hope it’s a one time thing for you.
/Hunter
Wow that seems so logic! I wish I had the brains to think of a heart rate monitor! However getting one will be hard, my mum will make be but it myself and I would really like one asap. I was wondering are there any other treatments? I’ve tried all the obvious thinks; bedtime, tea, soothing music, read etc. But they work most of the time but I still get it like 2-3 times a week. I have no idea what I should do know because its effecting my education and behavior. My GCSE’s/ Exams are coming up and sleep is a major part of my well-being. Thanks for the article, I’ll tell my mum she suffers from it too but just like you she’s married, thanks again!
Hey Bella,
Nothing else has worked for me, but I am told that for some folks weight loss and stress reduction can help reduce SP. Best of luck!
You’re not gonna like this guys but the cause of sleep paralysis is demons and the only way to make it stop is to call (sincerely) on the name of Jesus Christ.
If you don’t believe me, just try it and prove me wrong!
There are tens of testimonials from people who this has worked for on this site here: http://stopsleepparalysis.org/stories-2/stories/
John,
Everyone is entitled to their own theories. Personally I think that attempting to attribute a physical phenomenon to a religious event is an abysmal misuse of your time.
Hi guys.I live in Kenya that is in Africa.i am on this forum as i googled on what my problem was.lately i so afraid to sleep i will read a book till late hours or watch tv but i will find myself asleep and when its time to wake up i cant.it is the most scary thing i have ever gone through.its affecting my life and i dread going to sleep.i dont know what a heart rate monitor is and if found in my country am sure its to pricy to affors.can someone send me one please.i need my life back
Hi Joan,
Sorry to hear that you are being affected in this way. Has your stress level or weight significantly changed lately? There are some people that report a change in exercise/diet can help as well. Not sure if there are any other folks near ya that read this blog but if so, I hope they contact.
Best,
/H