You settle into bed just like any other night.

Eyes closed, body relaxed.

Sleep is quickly approaching.

The soft hum of the ceiling fan fades to nothing.

All is quiet and calm.

A light buzzing in your ear rouses your consciousness.

The buzzing travels down your arms, into your fingertips, then to your toes.

Your eyes shoot open.

Maybe you just need a sip of water.

The water is across the room on the dresser. You can see it. All you have to do it sit up.

But you can't

In fact, you can't move at all.

Your body is glued to the bed. Eyes darting around the room, heart racing and heavy breathing.

Panic.

A tall slender figure looms over the foot of the bed.

It appears to be a person, but all you can see is a dark, solid shadow and red, glowing eyes.

Its arms are long and thin, like bones.

This can't be real.

You try to scream, to shout for help... Not a sound.

Suddenly, the figure is beside you. It drags its long, crooked fingers over your bare arms.

A sharp pressure on your chest makes you gasp for air.

Its hands are in a vice grip around your neck.

This is it, this is how it ends.

In a last-ditch effort, you break free of the invisible chains holding you to the bed.

Just as quickly as it came, the figure is gone. Everything is back to normal .

Terrified and confused, you lie awake with the light on for the rest of the night.

Sounds like a horrible nightmare right? In actuality, this story is a very real scenario of what can happen during sleep paralysis. Yup, a phenomenon straight from a horror film, and it can happen to anyone.

So what is sleep paralysis?

Sleep paralysis is a phenomenon that occurs during the REM sleep stage. REM (rapid eye movement) sleep takes up about 25 percent of the sleep cycle and can last anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. In this stage, the eyes dart back and forth under closed eyelids, and the body becomes so relaxed that it goes into a state of paralysis, called "atontia." It is said that the body uses this paralytic defense to protect the sleeper from "acting out their dreams" or causing accidental self-harm. Along with rapid eye movement, erratic breathing and an increase in heartbeat and blood pressure is typical in this stage of sleep. During REM, the line between awake and asleep is so thin, that it is possible for the mind to become consciously aware and "wake up" before the REM cycle is complete. This incomplete stage confuses the mind and body, resulting in sleep paralysis. Waking up in this state can be unbelievably terrifying. The body remains asleep but the mind is very much awake, meaning the sleeper can see, but cannot speak or move; some say they feel as though they are tied down to the bed. Episodes of sleep paralysis can last can last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes, and it typically initiates panic, anxiety and fear. REM sleep is where the most vivid and memorable dreams take place, for this reason, it is possible to continue seeing these dreams with your eyes wide open. These dream hallucinations are often described as dark and demonic, even physically threatening. Though Sleep paralysis can affect anyone, it happens most often to those who are sleep deprived, prone to nighttime leg cramps, changing sleep schedules, taking certain medications, or from sleeping on your back.

"Occasionally, the vivid, and sometimes threatening dreams spill over in waking consciousness. The result can be described as a dream, or worse yet, a nightmare, coming alive before your eyes." (Baland Jalal)

Ghost, Goblins, and Gouls, oh my!

As if waking up paralyzed was not enough, imagine shifting your eyes in the darkness to see a ghostly figure standing in the corner of the room, or an animal-like creature crawling up the side of your bed. These are scenarios that those who experience intense forms of sleep paralysis know all too well. Not only are shadow people and animals reoccurring characters in the "nightmare" but they are also seen as evil, or threatening. Some say they've been choked by their shadowy assailant, heard its voice or were physically touched in some form or another. Out-of-body experiences are also common during these episodes; like looking down on oneself from the ceiling, or hovering outside of the body.

Unfortunately, I've had my own terrifying run-ins with sleep paralysis, and let me be one of many to say how real it seems. The occurrences are not always scary, but when they are, they make for one horrible, sleepless night. The first time it happened to me, I had no knowledge of sleep paralysis. How could something so scary be anything more than a horrible dream? I was chilled to the bone when I found out what was actually happening to me. Come to find out, there are dozens of Youtube videos, blogs, and even a Netflix documentary called "The Nightmare" about sleep paralysis. All of the stories are strikingly similar; dark figure, red eyes, choking, the whole nine yards.

I did a Facebook search with the keyword "sleep paralysis" to find others that have had these terrifying experiences and asked them to share their stories with me:

"The first time I was asleep at my brother's house, and I remember opening my eyes because I could hear heavy breathing and footsteps, I recall seeing a shape or a presence drawing closer to me. It became harder to breathe. I had a feeling like I was sinking into the bed. I was panicking, I could not move my body. Growing up in an extremely religious family, I thought all the worst possible things: possession, soul snatching, etc. It only lasted about a minute, thankfully my mind and body were finally on the same page. I was so shaken by the event that I was afraid to sleep after that. I became an insomniac which, I believe, caused more episodes. I know what I'm dealing with now, so I found that I have the ability to wake myself up after several moments of panic, by shaking my foot or leg (try to at least)." -- Qulier Hightower, Phoenix, AZ

"The first time I experienced sleep paralysis was one of the strangest and scariest experiences of my life. It first happened two summers ago, during which I was completely aware of my surroundings, but it felt as if my bed was shaking. I couldn't move, speak, or scream no matter how hard I tried. I woke up the next morning as if nothing happened. I passed it off as a nightmare, even though it sure as hell felt real. The next time it happened was much creepier and involved hallucinations. I was sleeping on my side this time (which is rare for when I have these episodes), and I could feel a malevolent presence on my bed moving to my back. I was terrified, but of course, I couldn’t do anything about it. This was accompanied by unintelligible whispers, that almost sounded demonic to me. I woke up to the safety of my room, and again, shook it off as another nightmare. The unimaginable thought of my house being haunted crowded the back of my mind. It happened a few times after this, over the course of a few months. I would see a figure, or figures standing beside my bed. Regrettably, I can’t recall any details related to the figure’s appearance, only a shadow. After the 6th or 7th time, I decided to google what was happening to me. The first search term that came up was a forum of people recounting similar experiences, which I found to have an official name, 'sleep paralysis'...The comfort I felt after reading other’s stories was indescribable.” -- Leo Mount, Stratford, NJ

"This has been a regular occurrence for three years now. I dread going to sleep at night, terrified of the chance that I might slip into sleep paralysis. It happens the same almost every time. It feels like it's never ending. I try to move my arms or legs and open my mouth, but it never works. The scariest thing about it is that I am mentally aware that I am paralyzed, but I can't do a thing about it. It feels so real, not like a dream at all. The worst happens when I sleep on my back. I "wake up" to a solid black, human shaped figure parallel above me. Sometimes it even has glowing yellow eyes. The figure will move closer, and as it does, I feel a tremor, like a jolt going through my entire body. When it quickly moves towards me, I can feel the breeze from its movement on my face. That is how real it is. Eventually I snap out of it, and I lay in my bed distraught and disoriented" --Aubrey Koetz, Thornville, Ohio

So Where Do These Creepy Shadow Come From?

Some people believe these apparitions are demons, aliens, or some other haunting entity, but however real the hallucinations feel, Neuroscientist Balad Jalal, a visiting scholar at the Center For Brain and Cognition, at the University of California, San Diego, has a theoretical explanation for the ghostly shadows and out-of-body experiences.

Jalal explains that the reason for the "bizarre bodily hallucinations" (out-of-body experiences) has to do with a region of the brain called the temporal parietal junction. "This region helps us to build a 'body image' in the parietal lobes (the top-middle part of the brain), or a type of neural representation of the self, based on the inputs it receives from the senses," (Jalal). This junction is "off" during REM sleep, so when one slips into sleep paralysis, due to the inhibited "sense of self; "the result is all kinds of bodily hallucinations, such as out-of-body experiences, seeing one's limbs or entire body rotate in the air like a tornado or sink deep into the bed as if drowning in quicksand." (Jalal)

As for the ghostly figures, though there is no real explanation as to why the particular scene of dark, malevolent shadows appear during sleep paralysis, Jalal and San Diego Neuroscientist VS Ramachandran have a theory also involving the temporoparietal junction. According to Jalal and Ramachandran, we have what they call a "hard-wired body map." "The idea was sparked by research showing that people who are born with a missing arm [or lose one], may experience phantom limbs, meaning that they can feel the presence of the missing limbs." (Jalal) A similar "phantom limb" idea is true when it comes to sleep paralysis. Because the temporoparietal junction is off during this time, the sense of "self" and "other" gets confused, which results in, "a hallucinated projection of one's own body map; the mind literally casts a shadow, just like the body does. As the barrier between self and other dissolves, the person mistakes his/her own 'shadow' (or body template) for a separate entity." (Jalal) REM dreaming is also happening during this process, so the projected shadows can take on any narrative that sleeper's mind can come up with. Typically the dreamer will associate the shadow to an evil presence, or something stored in the memory by cultural beliefs, such as a demon, ghost, alien etc. Suddenly this "self-reflection" becomes the sleeper's worst nightmare, causing the uncomfortable symptoms of sleep paralysis by choking or putting pressure on the sleeper's chest. (Jalal)

Can I Prevent/Stop This From Happening?

A good start is to make sure you're getting enough sleep at night. Right before you go to bed, do something that relaxes you, like yoga or reading. If you've had sleep paralysis and you typically sleep on your back, consider sleeping on your side. It is possible to wake up from sleep paralysis by concentrating hard on moving one part of your body, like wiggling your fingers or toes. What I do when I wake up in sleep paralysis, is immediately shut my eyes, even if there is something happening in front of me. Most importantly, know that you are going to be OK and you are not alone in this predicament. I promise you, you are not being abducted by aliens (even though it my feel that way), the shadows will disappear, and you will wake up tomorrow.