Sleep Paralyzation

This has happened to me a few times. Freaky shite. Once I woke up and though someone was laying in bed with me and I couldn't move or do anything the get them out.

Another time, I 'woke' up and saw someone shadowy standing in the corner, and again, I couldn't move. Both times freaked me out and made my heart race.

'The Kentucky team found that adults who had near-death experiences were also far more likely to have a history of REM intrusion, which can include a feeling of being paralyzed when they first wake up or having visual or auditory hallucinations as they drift off to sleep or awaken, Reuters reports.

Of the 55 volunteers in this study, all of whom had a near-death experience, 60 percent had also experienced REM intrusion at some point in their lives, compared with 24 percent of the control group of 55 adults who hadn't had a near-death experience.

Neurologist Kevin R. Nelson says this suggests the brain's arousal system predisposes some of us to both phenomena--REM intrusion and near-death experience. He explained to Reuters that many features of REM intrusions parallel those of near-death experiences, including the visual centers of the brain being highly active while the body is temporarily paralyzed.

Nelson says it is possible that a REM intrusion could give visions of light along with the feeling of "being dead."

CNN Netscape