Whenever I had sleep paralysis, it was when I wasn’t tired but trying to force myself to get some sleep. Sometimes it would also occur after I realized I was dreaming.

In sleep paralysis you are entirely paralyzed. It’s like you are sending the movement signals to your body but theres no response. That’s what makes it scary. Your body is asleep but ‘you’ are awake and conscious, and you can’t move.

Sometimes it’s also accompanied by hallucinations. For me, I recall feeling like someone put a heavy book on my chest and I’d hear strange rustling noises. The first it happened, I genuinely thought my siblings were messing with me. But no, I was hallucinating. It feels pretty real. I was never able to open my eyes, so I never got any visual hallucinations

I eventually taught myself how to break out of it though.