I kept one for a while because I had read a book that claimed doing so helped you recognize when you are dreaming. Knowing when you are dreaming lets you have lucid dreams and control the elements of your dream. I succeeded once. For just a very brief time before I lost it and woke up. But yeah, the dreams I thought were interesting were a whole lot less so when I reread them later.
When I realised I was in a dream, I suddenly got very scared about being in a dream (like ???) and forced myself out of it, giving myself sleep paralysis
It sounds to me like the sleep paralysis episode began, then you realized you weren’t awake.
Our brains are really good at rationalizing all sorts of experiences. A lot of “editing” goes on in our brains between initially receiving a sensation, and becoming consciously aware of the sensation. Sometimes it can even trick us into believing things happened in a different order than they really did.
The fact that you felt a sense of panic, which is a typical reaction to sleep paralysis, makes me think some part of your brain became aware of the paralysis by that point. All parts of our brains don’t wake up simultaneously - deeper, older parts usually wake up before the outer, younger neocortex (where rational thoughts and impulse control take place.)
The awoken amygdala can send out panic alarms due to the body being paralyzed, but the young, rational part of the brain is still mid-waking up. As you begin to gain awareness, you could simultaneously realize you’re in an altered state of consciousness, but also feel terrified for no clear reason.
So, good news! You probably didn’t do anything to cause the sleep paralysis (except maybe by sleeping on your back?)
I kept one for a while because I had read a book that claimed doing so helped you recognize when you are dreaming. Knowing when you are dreaming lets you have lucid dreams and control the elements of your dream. I succeeded once. For just a very brief time before I lost it and woke up. But yeah, the dreams I thought were interesting were a whole lot less so when I reread them later.
I remember having a lucid dream like once
When I realised I was in a dream, I suddenly got very scared about being in a dream (like ???) and forced myself out of it, giving myself sleep paralysis
It sounds to me like the sleep paralysis episode began, then you realized you weren’t awake.
Our brains are really good at rationalizing all sorts of experiences. A lot of “editing” goes on in our brains between initially receiving a sensation, and becoming consciously aware of the sensation. Sometimes it can even trick us into believing things happened in a different order than they really did.
The fact that you felt a sense of panic, which is a typical reaction to sleep paralysis, makes me think some part of your brain became aware of the paralysis by that point. All parts of our brains don’t wake up simultaneously - deeper, older parts usually wake up before the outer, younger neocortex (where rational thoughts and impulse control take place.)
The awoken amygdala can send out panic alarms due to the body being paralyzed, but the young, rational part of the brain is still mid-waking up. As you begin to gain awareness, you could simultaneously realize you’re in an altered state of consciousness, but also feel terrified for no clear reason.
So, good news! You probably didn’t do anything to cause the sleep paralysis (except maybe by sleeping on your back?)
I’ve had sleep paralysis.I hate that shit.
It wasn’t as bad for me as some people say, I had no sleep paralysis monster or anything
It was more just “wtf I can’t move my body anymore”