Have you ever felt like you were awake but unable to move? You might have even felt afraid but could not call for help? Or you felt something was choking you? This condition is called sleep paralysis. There has been different stories about sleep paralysis but not everyone has a candid understanding of what & how sleep paralysis occur.
Scientifically sleep paralysis is said to be the stage where one is neither asleep or awake that is you're half asleep & still conscious of your surrounding.
One theory is that it results from disrupted REM sleep, which is normally characterized by complete muscle atonia to prevent the sleeper from acting out his or her dreams. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is a stage of sleep characterized by the rapid and random movement of the eyes. Some while experiencing sleep paralysis have that consciousness that someone or something has broken into their home but they can neither scream or move to react to the situation that has befallen them cos they feel it that something heavy is pressing down on them thereby causing uneasy breathing that you can hardly move a muscle even if you were superman.
According to acient orgins, sleep paralysis has been said to be caused by a demon called an INCUBUS(male), SUCCUBUS(female) with the following body features, a big head, long arms with tiny long fingers & short legs which could take either the shape of a man or women depending on its victim. It has been said to rape its victims expecially young women in order to father an offspring, in the cases of men it's said to appear in form of a women to rape them then take their semen to mate with their female victims. Some have said to have seen a small creature with big head and small legs running across the wall after gaining consciousness. Sleep paralysis poses no serious health risk to those that experience it, despite the fact that it can be an intensely terrifying experience.
Also in some other stories bout the incubus it's called the mare, that was how the word NIGHT-MARE came about, people who experience sleep paralysis wake up saying they had a nightmare. Some although they experienced it, still wake up with the doubt that it's unreal. Sleeping in the supine position is believed to make the sleeper more vulnerable to episodes of sleep paralysis because in this sleeping position it is possible for the soft palate to collapse and obstruct the airway...To regain full control of your body, try as much to move either a toe or finger & you'll be back to reality or if you're a catholic, recitation of the "Hail Mary" or calling on the name of "Jesus" is belived to bring you back to full control by the Roman Catholic Church.


FOLKLORE...
* In Nigeria, ISP (Isolated Sleep Paralysis) appears to be far more common and recurrent among people of African descent than among whites or Nigerian Africans and is often referred to within African communities as "the Devil on your back".
Ogun Oru is a traditional explanation for nocturnal disturbances among the Yoruba of Southwest Nigeria; ogun oru (nocturnal warfare) involves an acute night-time disturbance that is culturally attributed to demonic infiltration of the body and psyche during dreaming. Ogun oru is characterized by its occurrence, a female preponderance, the perception of an underlying feud between the sufferer's earthly spouse and a spiritual spouse, and the event of bewitchment through eating while dreaming. The condition is believed to be treatable through Christian prayers or elaborate traditional rituals designed to exorcise the imbibed demonic elements.

* In Scandinavian folklore, sleep paralysis is caused by a mare, a supernatural creature related to incubi and succubi. The mare is a damned woman, who is cursed and her body is carried mysteriously during sleep and without her noticing. In this state, she visits villagers to sit on their rib cages while they are asleep, causing them to experience nightmares.

* In Sardinia, one of Italy's islands, there is an old belief that identifies the cause of sleep paralysis in a demoniac being called "Ammuttadori". This ghoulish creature sits in the chest of the sleeping victim, suffocating him and, sometimes, ripping the skin with his nails. It is also believed, in some parts of the island, that this demon wears seven red caps on his head: if the victim resists the pain and succeeds to steal one of the caps, hewill soon find a hidden treasure as a reward...lol, better pray for more experiences but not me tho :-)

* Folk belief in New foundland, South Carolina and Georgia describe the negative figure of the hag who leaves her physical body at night, and sits on the chest of her victim. The victim usually wakes with a feeling of terror, has difficulty breathing because of a perceived heavy invisible weight on his or her chest, and is unable to move i.e., experiences sleep paralysis. This nightmare experience is described as being "hag-ridden" in the Gullah lore. The "Old Hag" was a nightmare spirit in British and also Anglophone North American folklore.

* In Fiji, the experience is interpreted askana tevoro, being "eaten" by a demon. In many cases the demon can be the spirit of a recently dead relative who has come back for some unfinished business,or has come to communicate some important news to the living. Often persons sleeping near the afflicted person saykania, kania, "eat! eat!" in an attempt to prolong the possession for a chance to converse with the dead relative or spirit and seek answers as to why he or she has come back. The person waking up from the experience is often asked to immediately curse or chase the spirit of the dead relative, which sometimes involves literally speaking to the spirit and telling him or her to go away or using expletives.

* InTurkey sleep paralysis is called Karabasan, and is similar to other stories of demonic visitation during sleep. A supernatural being, commonly known as a jinn (cininTurkish), comes to the victim's room, holds him or her down hard enough not to allow any kind of movement, and starts to strangle the person. To get rid of the demonic creature, one needs to pray to Allah by reading Al-Falaq and Al-Nas from the Qur'an. Moreover, in some derivatives of the stories, the jinn has a wide hat and if the person can show the courage and take its hat, the djinn becomes his slave....naija boys no fit kari last if dis one happen for naija.

* In Eastern Chinese folklore, it is thought that a mouse can steal human breath at night. Human breath strengthens the mouse, allowing it longevity and the ability to briefly become human at night, in a similar fashion to fox spirits. The mouse sits near the person's face or under their nostrils...So no be only humans wan live long...nawa o
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THIS WRITE-UP WAS MADE BY PERSONAL RESEARCH...GOD BLESS US ALL

I do experience sleep paralysis from time to time and honestly it's traumatic. You just have to hallucinate with your greatest fear. Nice article...

Mama told me spiders is responsible for sleep paralysis

I have always taken it to be a serious spiritual attack, I am surprised to know it even have a (medical) name. Also, I thought I was the only one that suffered it then. It thing really do surprise me especially with the way it ends; it's so abrupt that you cant really explain it, it's as if it ddnt happen.

Chazzyboy: Mama told me spiders is responsible for sleep paralysis

lol...that's funny tho, well sleep paralysis has different weird stories.

kinharold: I have always taken it to be a serious spiritual attack, I am surprised to know it even have a (medical) name. Also, I thought I was the only one that suffered it then. It thing really do surprise me especially with the way it ends; it's so abrupt that you cant really explain it, it's as if it ddnt happen.

I've never experienced any & I don't ever pray to experience one...