I have been having disturbing re-occuring dreams and want to know what is going on with my body during them. They always happen during the day while taking a nap, and always while sleeping on a couch. I am always sleeping by myself and am usually needing sleep when they occur. The setting of the dream is always in the same place where I am sleeping. Once I was asleep in a library and it occured there. A few times it has been in what I percieve to be my apartment, but it looks like a completely different place, yet I feel I am at my normal home.

Sometime in the dream I begin to feel like I am awake. Sometime later I realize I am still asleep, but desperatly need to wake, but can’t. Many times I cannot breathe, and know I need to wake in order to breathe. I feel if I can just scream out I will wake, but many times I get to this point and still don’t wake. My hands and legs get numb and heavy, and it gets harder and harder to breathe. Sometimes I feel like I have woken just to realize a minute later that I am still asleep and I go through the entire process again. Sometimes I try phoning someone to help, yelling, kicking to wake myself up. Once I finally do wake, my heart is beating rapidly, I am dizzy, a little confused and still very scared. The heartbeat and fear last for about 5-10 minutes. Sometimes I feel out-of-sorts and anxious for 30 minutes to an hour. What is happening? What does this mean?

—Julie, Age 19, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

Hi Julie—

Your dream is not unfamiliar to me—nor, I suspect—to many readers. You are experiencing what is known as Sleep Paralysis—a common occurence where the paralysis of the body that occurs during REM (Dreaming) sleep lingers into waking experience. As you describe in your report—you wake up mentally—but your body apparently isn’t tuned to the same alarm clock: it stays asleep. For the record, so you don’t worry, be aware that Sleep Paralysis is entirely benign and usually lasts only a few moments—occasionally for a minute or two.

What is interesting about your case of sleep paralysis, of course, is that despite your “awakening,” you still are very much in REM sleep—as you continue to dream. It can be a confusing mix. Moments of waking awareness are interspersed with dream sequences, and you can dream that you have awoken, that you have called someone for help, even that you have gotten up, showered, etc., only to late really awaken in your bed.

You have noticed that Sleep Paralysis occurs more frequently when you are very tired. Your body requires a certain amount of both dreaming and non-dreaming sleep each night. When you feel the paralysis of REM sleep—encouraging you to stay asleep—you can rest assured that your body is trying to make up for some lost sleep. The reason you feel difficulty breathing is because your chest muscles also are paralyzed—you are breathing with your diaphragm only. This causes you to feel like you can’t breathe—but the reality is that you are breathing fine.

If these occasions of Sleep Paralysis bother you, try to get an extra 30-60 minutes of sleep per night. The extra sleep should satisfy your REM sleep needs. On the other hand, occasions of sleep paralysis often are useful as clues to ourselves that we are asleep and dreaming. If you have a few extra minutes, you can experiment with that awareness to begin to consciously explore your dreams—also known as lucid dreaming. To do this you will want to keep your mental awareness relaxed but alert, and at the same time allow yourself to settle down—relax physically—into the dreamscape. You want to quit worrying—for a few minutes—about waking up physically, and concentrate on waking up mentally in the dream. Good luck!