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Adding to the strangeness of the moment, some people describe sensory hallucinations. Menacing shadows that seem to be spying on you, incomprehensible whispers… All these details give this episode the feel of a nightmarish scene experienced with eyes wide open.
Where does this curious phenomenon come from?
Rest assured: you’re not losing your mind, and no supernatural presence is involved (even if some urban legends still suggest otherwise!). Sleep paralysis is explained by perfectly normal bodily mechanisms. During REM sleep—the phase in which we dream—our brain temporarily inhibits our muscles to prevent us from acting out our dreams. During an episode of sleep paralysis, the mind awakens while the body remains under the influence of this inhibition. The result: you’re awake… in a sleeping body.
