I Was Abducted By Aliens!

...Or was I?

A while ago I saw a few minutes of “Mysteries of Alien Abductions” on Discovery Channel. A woman was describing her experience of how she was laying in bed and suddenly her whole body was completely paralyzed. She couldn’t yell out for help. She couldn’t move. All she could do was watch as two strange figures entered her room.

If you’ve ever paid any attention to any of these UFO shows, this may sound like a common symptom. However, we are able to completely explain the event, no UFOs or little green men included.

It’s called Sleep Paralysis, and it’s not a disorder or physical deficiency, it’s a normal thing that can happen to almost anyone. In fact it has happened to me, and it can be a scary experience. There were two occurences that I can remember happening to me. The earliest was years ago when I was asleep in my bed at the summer house. I woke up in the middle of the night and went to adjust my position when I realized I couldn’t move my legs at all. I felt a pressure on my legs, as if somebody was sitting on me. I was a little freaked out, so I tried to say something. I couldn’t even open my mouth.

The second time was in my regular bed at home. Once again, woke up in the middle of the night; awake but completely unable to move a muscle. By this time I had heard about Sleep Paralysis. It wasn’t a ghostly haunting or an alien abduction. I didn’t struggle and within a few minutes I was able to move again.

Sleep Paralysis occurs when you wake up….but you’re not completely awake. Your mind and eyes are functioning but the rest of you is still asleep. That’s why you feel paralyzed and can’t speak.

Stanford University's webpage about the disorder describes it this way: "Sleep paralysis consists of a period of inability to perform voluntary movements either at sleep onset or upon awakening". I think my explanation was pretty close.

Apparently, according to this super-helpful website, the disorder can run in families, though there is no found cause for why certain people experience it. The disorder can also include a mild hallucination (i.e. the lady describing two figures coming into her room) but usually goes away after a couple of minutes.

Sleep paralysis is for the most part harmless, but if it becomes a problem, there are several ways to avoid getting it again: Reduce your stress, get more sleep, exercise (but not right before bedtime), and keep a constant bedtime. Severe cases may need medication, but these people also seem to have panic attacks associated with the paralysis episodes.

I do believe aliens and ghosts exist, but they don't seem so interested in paralyzing humans while they sleep.

The website I used was: "Sleep Paralysis"