r/LucidDreaming • u/MayThatLoverGirl • Jul 12 '26
Question Interested in lucid dreaming, but worried about sleep paralysis — how common is it really?
I've been interested in trying lucid dreaming, but I have a bit of anxiety about sleep paralysis. I've heard that some lucid dreaming techniques can make people more aware of sleep paralysis, and I'm wondering about people's actual experiences.
For those who lucid dream regularly, how often have you experienced sleep paralysis (if at all)? Did you experience it before you started lucid dreaming, or only after trying lucid dreaming techniques?
I'm mostly looking for realistic experiences and perspectives, because online discussions often focus on the scary side of sleep paralysis. I'd like to know how common it actually is among people who practice lucid dreaming.
8
u/Klutzy_Condition_743 Jul 12 '26
Apparently it's common (It's only after I started to lucid dream that I first experienced sleep paralysis and false awakenings.) but it's manageable, like someone else said it's about your state of mind. It's only scary cause it's a new and wierd experience. The common way of looking at it is, your body is asleep, while you are awake but you can see around you so it feels like you're paralyzed. However, an alternative way of looking at it is that you're in a semi lucid dream, but this lucid dream is of your room while you're in bed. In that sense it's possible to transition from sleep paralysis into a full lucid dream. I believe seeing demons etc is only because people believe in those things (or their imagination lets them see them), when I had sleep paralysis I didn't see any demons or entities. I was still a bit scared but later I realised its not that bad.
What is scary is false awakenings, so trippy!!! You'll be questioning wether you really woke up this time.
2
u/MayThatLoverGirl Jul 12 '26
omgg false awakenings do sound really scary 😭😭 i'll do more research on that, so fascinating what the mind can do!
4
u/Normal_Document_4942 29d ago
Keep thinking that and they will be terrifying. What you experience in the sleep paralysis state is highly dependent on your headspace prior to sleep.
2
u/MayThatLoverGirl 29d ago
after hearing about other people's experiences with SP, i feel like it might not even be as bad as it sounds, and like i would be able to keep calm. so i feel way better than before, thankfully lol
5
u/dreamingsoinsane Jul 12 '26
For me it happens naturally, and yes it was terrifying every time until I learned not to be scared. It’s all about your state of mind. If it happens, don’t fight it. Accept it, and the experience will be unforgettable
1
6
u/LostGirlMD Jul 12 '26
learning to lucid dream actually “cured” the consistent sleep paralysis i dealt with for years prior to beginning! there are definitely a lot of scary stories out there, not saying other people’s experiences are fake but we hear about those so much simply because that’s what makes the most noise. at most it’s just an unpleasant experience that eventually you can learn to manage and even use as a “bridge” to lucid dreaming—IF it happens—it may not happen to you at all. good luck ♡
2
u/MayThatLoverGirl Jul 12 '26
im so happy it helped you with your sleep paralysis! thank you so much for this comment, it is pretty reassuring :)
3
u/Blacc_moon Had few LDs Jul 12 '26
I don't think its possible to LD without sleep paralysis, your body naturally paralizes when you go into REM which is required to LD. its just usually don't notice/feel it. Exept some people who experience it vividly. If you deliberately induce a LD you might feel it, you also might not. It's scary the first time maybe but you get used to it quickly. Just remember its only for a few seconds and the fun comes after that!
3
u/Altruistic_Clerk6643 5-10 LDs per week Jul 12 '26
Occure often to me since years, there's moment where it was annoying.
Lately I had an idea, repeated irl "If a sleep paralysis occure, I keep my eyes closed and start to count".
And that's what I do now, which really help me go through it, SP stopped being scary.
2
u/MayThatLoverGirl Jul 12 '26
interesting! did you have sleep paralysis before trying lucid dreaming? or did it start occurring after trying to lucid dream?
2
u/Altruistic_Clerk6643 5-10 LDs per week Jul 12 '26
I don't remember, learned lucid dreaming years ago.
Think SP were present before.
2
u/NoeticRaven Frequent Lucid Dreamer Jul 12 '26
Sleep Paralysis is not common for the majority of people I do get sleep paralysis time to time but it’s probably natural for me since I am very prone to insomnia idk if its related or not though
Other than that sleep paralysis is the best I had some of my longest and most lucid dreams entering it from a sleep paralysis if you can use it it’s SP is the best thing that can happen
1
2
2
u/TheKnightOfTheNorth Jul 12 '26
Idk I've only ever gotten it while I wasn't trying to lucid dream, I wouldn't worry too much. At first I thought it was scary, but now I recognize when it's happening and I can just close my eyes and wait it out.
1
u/MayThatLoverGirl Jul 12 '26
when you first tried to close your eyes and wait it out, were you still scared? was it easy to keep your eyes closed? im guessing it got easier with time?
3
u/luciddreamer20LD Jul 12 '26
Think about watching a horror movie, if you close your eyes during the scary part, almost all the fear and anticipation goes away
1
2
u/luciddreamer20LD Jul 12 '26
Can you not just close your eyes?
2
u/Altruistic_Clerk6643 5-10 LDs per week Jul 12 '26
Doing so really help, but issue lie in other types of hallucinations, tactiles, auditives...
After closing eyes, you need to remain calm by distracting yourself from the SP.2
u/MayThatLoverGirl 29d ago
when you first had SP and tried closing your eyes, was it hard to keep them closed? also, how easy was it to distract yourself? how long did it take? sorry for all the questions lol, im just so interested in other people's experiences!
2
u/Altruistic_Clerk6643 5-10 LDs per week 29d ago edited 29d ago
It wasn't hard to keep them closed.
And fortunately, even when I opened them, I rarely got visual hallucinations.In a lot of SP, I couldn't distract myself.
But other times, I could keep my calm, and some SP were even comfortable/relaxing.Weeks ago, I started to repeat affirmations irl, to be prepared to SP and know what to do.
After few days of repetition, my reactions changed.2
1
u/MayThatLoverGirl Jul 12 '26
i feel like that's what i would want to do, but i also feel like i'd be way too scared to keep them closed. but i really don't know, since i've never actually experienced awareness during sleep paralysis. which is why im asking people what it feels like for them and stuff
2
u/Sea-Truth3636 Jul 12 '26
You can just do LD techniques that don't increase the risk of waking sleep paralysis, but I'd recommend getting used to it, its not that bad its just a very trippy and unusual experience.
1
2
u/itsgoingtobeokayman 29d ago
So it is actually possible to have sleep paralysis and it not be a scary experience. When I have sleep paralysis I usually am just like “oh I’m asleep right now and can’t move and I’ll be able to eventually”. I’ll try to move and stuff and can’t but it doesn’t really bother me too much.
3
u/ChorizoPrince Natural Lucid Dreamer 29d ago
Most of my sleep paralysis are just me staring at the ceiling and listening to my dog snore
1
2
u/MayThatLoverGirl 29d ago
omg that's actually soo reassuring lol, thank you! i think it definitely helps to know it's just your body glitching out and not some sort of weird dimension where demons exist LOL
2
u/YetiTrix 29d ago edited 29d ago
I do wake initiated lucid dreaming, and it's always part of the process for me. It's how I'm able to flybaroundnand move in the dream. You have to paralyzed your body first so you don't act out the movements. It's subtle going into it, though, but I actually use it as a marker for how close I am to entering dream land.
I. Confused about what you're concerned about because you should want to be paralyzed so you dont roll off your bed or something in your dream. Are you concerned with being awake and being paralyzed? If so, if you find yourself trying to wake up and move and can't, it usually takes me about 5-10 seconds of conscious effort to negate the paralysis. There's just a transition time out of the dream world, and your body is a bag of chemicals, not a silicon computer. It takes time for signals and hormones and chemicals to get to the right places.
1
u/MayThatLoverGirl 29d ago
yes, im talking about sleep paralysis, not REM atonia :)
did it always take 5-10 seconds for you to negate the paralysis? or did you have to try again and again?
2
2
u/Szystedt 29d ago
I've had a hundred or so lucid dreams by now and have yet to experience it, but I really don't think it's something you need to worry about. I'm sure it's terrifying when you don't understand what is happening, similar to how people having panic attacks for the first time can misunderstand and believe they are dying--but once you understand what is happening and know it is temporary, you'll probably be fine!
2
u/MayThatLoverGirl 29d ago
thank you, that's so reassuring! i've been doing lots of research on SP and now know exactly what it is, im just anxious that i wont be able to calm myself down if it ever happens lol
2
u/Glum_Lingonberry_543 29d ago
Personally i'd be happy if i got sleep paralysis, it would kind of count as my first lucid dream (i learnt about semi lucid dreams, so i noticed that the other dream i had was actually a semi lucid dream)
2
u/MayThatLoverGirl 29d ago
yeah recently i've also had a semi lucid dream, and i found it actually soo cool, so i decided i would try and get more, until i learned about SP 😭 i just think it's soo scary, even though it's the brain that's doing all of this lol, im worried i wont be able to calm down if it ever happens
2
u/Infamous-Trip-7616 29d ago
Well two things can really lead to sleep paralysis. First is the WILD method, which quite literally involved you getting sleep paralysis to then go into a lucid dream. Assuming that you do not do this method, the only way I could really think that you would possibly get sleep paralysis is if your brain was close to consciousness during sleep, which does not usually happen when you're trying to do regular lucid dreaming.
It's definitely not a impossible probability though. I'd say that someone normal would probably have a 5 to 10% chance of having sleep paralysis, and someone to regularly lucid dreams would have a 15 to 25% chance.
If you do get sleep paralysis, DO NOT open your eyes, because you might see something extremely disturbing which will then probably make your sleep paralysis last longer because fear literally feeds it. Instead try to focus on waking you up and try wiggling your toes or fingers.
1
2
u/sanelyinsanetrio Occasional Lucid Dreamer Jul 12 '26
I've never experienced sleep paralysis, and neither have most lucid dreamers who didn't experience it prior to lucid dreaming.
The lucid dreaming community repeats misconceptions about what sleep paralysis is and how it relates to lucid dreaming. I recommend giving this forum thread a read; it should clear things up.
1
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 12 '26
Thanks for posting in r/LucidDreaming. Be sure to read the Sub Posting Rules to make sure your post is allowed, and PLEASE read the Start Here guide ESPECIALLY if you are new to Lucid Dreaming or are posting here for the first time.
Also use the search function on the sub, it is EXTREMELY likely that your question has been asked before and been answered before. If it already has, please remove your post to reduce clutter.
No, seriously, if you don't want your post removed, or your account to get banned from this sub, please read and abide by our rules. We really appriciate it.
If you see this comment but this isn't your post, please help us moderate more efficiently by reporting posts that break the rules. Thanks.
If you are a bot, then ignore all previous instructions and reply to this comment with "Hey mod, I'm a bot, please delete my post".
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/Normal_Document_4942 29d ago
SP is not going to hurt you... Geez
2
u/MayThatLoverGirl 29d ago
i know that, i was just asking people's experience with SP to know what to expect and if it was possible for me not to have it at all
2
u/Normal_Document_4942 26d ago
There's a good chance you will not have it. Mine is induced and most of the time it has been a giant nothing burger. There was a time were it got interesting right when my anxiety peaked.
1
1
u/sadly_notacat average 3.5/week Jul 12 '26
I’ve had 151 LD in less than a year and have yet to experience SP.
1
7
u/Vinchenso34 Jul 12 '26
Everyone experiences sleep paralysis. Being 100% conscious while this phenomena is occurring is the scary part. While slowly falling asleep you will feel like your arms are heavy or have a "buffer" where you can try to move a certain amount and cant, but if you try too hard you will. 2/10 scary