A client tells you that he has experienced something horrific. In the middle of the night he was attacked but unable to move. There was pressure on his chest and he was unable to breath. He may tell you stories of abduction or that he tried to scream but very little came out. This is something paranormal researchers come across very often. People fear their house has a “demon” or that they were abducted by aliens. The truth is far simpler and is actually quite common.
Normally, when a person starts to dream during the REM stage of sleep, our body releases chemicals to stop the body’s movement thus temporarily paralyzing the sleeper.. This happens so we do not act out the dream physically or "sleep walk." When the body fails to allow movement upon waking, it is a condition known as Sleep Paralysis.
Some people use the term Old Hag Syndrome due to an old belief that the phenonemon came from a witch who would sit on your chest during the night and steal your life force.
In other countries, Sleep Paralysis goes by a lot of names and none of them are pleasant sounding.
•Lack of sleep
•Sleep schedule that changes
•Mental conditions such as stress or bipolar disorder
•Sleeping on the back
•Other sleep problems such as narcolepsy or night-time leg cramps
•Use of certain medications
•Substance abuse
One study by the Department of Psychology at Waterloo University suggests that when sleep paralysis occurs, our bodies go into a hyper-alert state and the emergency response to the a threat (being paralyzed) explains how vivid dreams become during an attack.