During sleep paralysis, individuals often report seeing shadowy figures, feeling a crushing sensation on their chest, or hearing eerie sounds like laughter or growling. Many describe being unable to move or scream despite being fully aware of their surroundings.
Sleeping on your back makes you three to four times more likely to experience sleep paralysis compared to other positions. This is believed to be due to the way the body's muscles relax in this position, which can trigger the condition in susceptible individuals.
Potential triggers for sleep paralysis include stress, certain medications, sleep disorders like narcolepsy or sleep apnea, and psychiatric conditions such as anxiety or depression. Sleeping on your back is also a significant trigger.
Sarah from Nevada found that Lexapro, a medication prescribed for anxiety, completely stopped her sleep paralysis episodes. She noted that even in situations where she would previously experience sleep paralysis, it no longer occurred after starting the medication.
Johnny reported seeing an elf or a small person during one of his sleep paralysis episodes. This entity was described as wearing baby blue and running down a hallway, adding to the unusual nature of his experience.
Bella from Texas experienced sleep paralysis where she saw her neighbor, whom she feared, entering her room and sitting on her bed. She was able to speak and tell him to leave, which is unusual for sleep paralysis. She later confirmed that her neighbor was actually several hours away at the time.
Sleep paralysis symptoms often first appear in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood. Episodes may become more frequent in a person's 20s or 30s, though some, like Derek Hayes, experience it for the first time in their early 30s.
Lance from California heard children laughing and a woman angrily saying, "You want to be a somebody." He also felt hands grabbing his shoulders and slamming him on the bed, making it one of the creepier manifestations of sleep paralysis.
POV: You're being terrorized by a shadowy faceless entity in your room, and you can't get away... because you're frozen in your bed, caught somewhere between a nightmare and reality. Tonight we dive into chilling sleep paralysis stories that will leave you wide awake.
Season 18 Episode 30 of Monsters Among Us Podcast, true paranormal stories of ghosts, cryptids, UFOs and more, told by the witnesses themselves.
SHOW NOTES:
Support the show! Get ad-free, extended & bonus episodes (and more) on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/monstersamonguspodcast)
Support Our Sponsors - https://www.monstersamonguspodcast.com/sponsors)
MAU Merch Shop - https://www.monstersamonguspodcast.com/shop)
Watch FREE - Shadows in the Desert: High Strangeness in the Borrego Triangle - https://www.borregotriangle.com/)
Monsters Among Us Junior on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/monsters-among-us-junior/id1764989478)
Monsters Among Us Junior on Spotify -
https://open.spotify.com/show/1bh5mWa4lDSqeMMX1mYxDZ?si=9ec6f4f74d61498b)
Who gets sleep paralysis - https://sleepeducation.org/what-you-never-knew-about-sleep-paralysis/)
Sleep Paralysis: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment - https://www.sleepfoundation.org/parasomnias/sleep-paralysis)
Sleep Paralysis and alcohol - https://www.promises.com/addiction-blog/how-are-sleep-paralysis-and-alcohol-withdrawal-linked/)
Music from tonight's episode:
Music by Iron Cthulhu Apocalypse - https://www.youtube.com/c/IronCthulhuApocalypse)
CO.AG) Music - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA)
Music by White Bat Audio - https://www.youtube.com/@WhiteBatAudio)
White Bat Audio Songs:
Heathers
Kryptos
Killing Them Softly
heart of Darkness
Aerial
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices)