This is
sleep paralysis. I think their is a better name for it - can't remember it though.
What happens when you are asleep is that your brain shuts down the bit of your brain that tells your limbs to move when you think it. This stops you acting out your dreams.
However in some people this bit goes a bit wrong. Rather than this part of the brain starting up again when you wake it kind of forgets and keeps your paralysed.
It is thought that this is the source of Night Hag and Succubus stories.
When people wake with this you are still in a semi dreaming state and your brain interprets this as there must be something stopping you moving, with most people this takes the form of a person sitting on you chest.
( Mrs Entity is in hiding., Sat 25 Jul 2009, 10:29, 3 replies)

Yup I had heard that
the only odd thing that happened was the grinning man though, and when I woke up fully it was obvious it had just been my chair so it wasn't so bad.

Glad it doesn't happen any more though, it was horrific waking up and being paralyzed :(
( baw__bag contains traces of nuts on, Sat 25 Jul 2009, 17:25, closed)

Also,
They reckon this is the source of most of the alien abduction stories - not being able to move, weird buzzing noises, shadowy figures, etc. Apparently, a lot of what people see is connected to whatever the big scare at the time is, so for many generations, it was witches choking you, then vampires, etc. For a good while recently, it was aliens.
( Colonel Boris "...a desperate Buzzfeed imitation...", Sat 25 Jul 2009, 18:15, closed)

Yeah I've had s/p
Normally get a barrage of noises. And trying to scream and open my mouth is impossible. Its a weired thing to get. I sometimes get it if I sleep out of pattern, Such as Sunday afternoon sleep on the couch. I personally never experienced a physical entity stopping me moving by sitting on me. But I have felt multiple presences in the room.

Amazing what the mind can do. And yes i do believe that some people may feel like theyve had an alien experience when it may have just been SP. I also read somewhere that if you are experiencing SP, to try and roll over to your side and then you can have an Out Of Body experience.. Tried that once and almost did.
(Miggyman, Sat 25 Jul 2009, 21:55, closed)