Sleep Paralysis Demon, Brain Scientist Explains!

Dr. Baland Jalal is a neuroscientist at Harvard University and a Visiting Researcher at Cambridge University. Follow him on Instagram: / balandjalal

[@yabaiii3122]

I’ve had sleep paralysis most of my life so it has become something that has become a norm for me to the point that I no longer feel as scared as I used to (except for a couple of notable episodes) when I first had them. They probably started when I was around 10 and I still have now that I’m 26. But are there also cases when the symptoms get worse? I used to only have visual hallucinations but lately I’ve been experiencing tactile and auditory as well. Sometimes I’d feel claws scratching my skin, very intense tinnitus and I can feel objects around me being moved,etc. It has come to a point that after a very bad episode I’d feel extreme anxiety and my emotions are all around the place. I’d have trouble sleeping for a week or two because my episodes often recur once it starts. For context, I have a shift job for the last 4 years but my intense episodes started about 2 years ago, right in the middle of pandemic. I also have recurrent leg cramps when I sleep.

[@littlelulu4107]

I’ve had a few myself. Floating above my body like a ghost, going through doors plus plus. I’ve jumped off cliffs in my hallucinations,. I flew over mountains in Mexico and some parts of the Pacific Ocean you name it. I was in China, on top of a huge palisade and floated off the top while rubbing a talisman. I’ve seen demons, felt the devil near me and try to suck me into the bed. It’s so crazy and then add all of the other kinds of nightmares. Absolutely terrifying. But I did like the floating and flying ones.

[@Absent-being_]

Damn I’m jealous. I’ve floated over myself but you went over mountain and the ocean? 😂

[@tomsperduti2967]

Absolutely fascinating Dr Baland and I'm looking forward to watching all your videos. I've had my own experiences with sleep paralysis over many years starting in my teens but it has subsidied as I got older I'm now 62. Thanks again for posting this video.

[@jermane2501]

To see something positive in sleep paralysis: 1. Don't be scared you can't move 2. Don't think of negative thoughts *Don't make sleep paralysis a scary situation*

[@ericrincon7]

that's harder than it seems 💀

[@jermane2501]

@@ericrincon7 practise

[@angelaonwuka1987]

It doesn't work like that

[@jermane2501]

@@angelaonwuka1987 technically is does

[@Spritenoice913]

I’m 20+ yrs into it and I’m not a lucid dreamer. I have one kid who says he is. There’s almost nothing I’ve found to help me control if it’s good or horrible. I can see how you might think drinking more water and getting sunshine while thinking happy thoughts might do the trick, but our brains are complicated.

[@ColdCaseswithColette]

Fantastic video 👌 You are very relatable and I really enjoyed hearing about your experiences with sleep paralysis. I have experienced it throughout my life, with my most scariest encounters being a huge tarantula crawling above my bed that was the size of a wall 😱 I have also seen the hat man in varying forms and I often experience the very frightening experience of someone trying to get me in my nightmares. As a child I used to sleep walk and now as an adult I regularly have sleep paralysis, nightmares and night terrors. I've also experienced lucid dreaming, which was much more enjoyable than sleep paralysis 😉 I look forward to watching more of your videos ❤

[@porcelina5097]

everytime i have sleep paralysis i “fall off my bed” and “levitate” i don’t see anything scary because i tell myself to think of positive thoughts but it’s still scary because it feels real! this was a great video !

[@jakejad4427]

That is astar traveling

[@jakejad4427]

Look in to it and it will eliminate your fear

[@gabrielgallardo6360]

Thank you doctor for your exposition, I am very interested in sleep paralisys and lucid dreams, i’m not a investigator but i really pasionated in neurociences and brain stuff, as you told the culture influence in this phenomena and in Mexican culture has an special meaning. I would like to take your investigations and applying in mexican people. Many of them has experienced at leas one time oh their life. Congratulations for sharing your valuable knowledge.

[@joshuatree3485]

i think the idea of thinking about positive thoughts before bed is a very good idea ..im doing it now and its working but this memory i think has been suppressed by forgetting it after i wake up good info thou thank you !! thumbs up

[@oliverpickles7616]

Great video very fascinating

[@gwgiantbass]

Silly advice, but I read on Reddit ( I know not best source) if you wiggle your toes and fingers during sleep paralysis you wake out faster. Truth be told I've done it and it works. You just have to remember when you feel/notice the episode coming/occuring immediately wiggle your toes. Seriously. Best remedy imo. Thanks for the video!

[@mlove8158]

Science and spirituality dont mix hence why doctors always turn around and say stress/anxiety, when people all over the world for a fact have seen the exact same thing and had the exact same spiritual attacks, ive had it happen to me and its only then you know its not science. if you google what is the cause of this it says "the main cause is unclear"

[@Tiffanylouisekelly]

I can tell you how I know it’s not real, hear me out. Now I suffer from sp, I can turn it in to liquid dreaming, so then when I think of something else, something else appears, so clearly it’s just hallucination, nothing else. If it was real, you could think of anything you wanted, and demons would still be there, but after making something else up in your mind, it’s gone. There is no such thing as demons, you hallucinate what you fear, nothing else! It really is good explanations for this! Now I have seen “evil” things, and turned it in to something nice, that’s how I know it isn’t real. Like I said, if demons were really there, when you lucid dream and think of something else they would still be there, but the fact they disappear when you think of something else tells me it’s nothing more then hallucinations, if that makes sense. Lol I know what I mean .. ❤

[@eddieschneider1947]

Wow! I never thought of my college days as stressful. Most fun I ever had. And I learned something.

[@sayantanisaha5669]

Sir can you please explain why are there real bruising during sleep paralysis even when brain paralyses the motor functions and it is a perceptual experience only?

[@saroshsohail6802]

Thanks a bunch Sir! You elucidated it in a very laconic and comprehensive way. Outstanding

[@DrBalandJalal]

Thanks!

[@niklin8397]

I had sleep paralysis when I was young, but it was when I was falling asleep. I learned I can't fight sleep. The bigger issue I have is waking up and seeing things. Bugs, white glow over my face, a person reaching out for me, male voice waking me up. I will wake up and start screaming, but I'm not paralyzed.

[@adrianf.alvizuri2257]

Thank you! I’m a 27 yo man who experience sleep paralysis very often (5 times a month on avg). I’ve been trying to understand how this work and your video was very hepful. During my sleep paralysis, i don’t see “things”. My hallucinations are related to movement. I can feel falling from my bed and doing such a big effort to do one step. Also, i feel like if were moving around my house. I don’t know if this a common symptom.

[@jeanninebuquet9635]

Thank you I'm going to try these techniques your the only one that actually gave me some help

[@soni0038]

Thank you for sharing.

[@seacaster]

I dreamed I woke up and could not move. There was a pressure on my chest holding me down. I fought against it until I could roll over and put myself on top of a young person to protect them from the alien presence I felt was attacking us. At this point I woke up and still sensed the alien presence. I looked around and did not see anything but the feeling was still with me. Once I settled down some I could hear a 40 Hz pulsating Humming. Could the Earths magnetic field have an influence on the brain to cause this. I gradually went back to sleep. I am 72 Years Old and I believe this may be the first time I have felt this, at least, as an adult. I am a regular meditator and have more peace and calm in my life now than I have, maybe, ever had. I have started to do some shadow work that has been insightful. Thank you for your insights and for sharing your experience with sleep paralysis.

[@chrisdryden2345]

Dear Dr. My Hypnagogic paralysis and hallucinations are beyond horrendous and may actually be causing PTSD. They have now paired with sleep apnoea. These occur now at least 5 times per night. Upon immediately falling asleep I slip into waking up paralysed, unable to breath, sometimes watching my limbs snap and flail about while a ominous monster hides in the shadows, then I catch fire. I feel myself burning, suffocating in a utter state of pure stress and fear. Until I break out, gasping for breath. Even after years of these experiences it NEVER gets easier to experience and makes rest a woeful endeavour. What can I do? I find myself pretty much tired of my life

[@Langkowski]

Only once have I had sleep paralysis with my eyes open. I saw something hitting my bedroom window, like a water balloon filled with a red liquid. Don't remember if the window was hit once or twice, or if it made any sound. But I do remember staring at the red substance spreading all over the window like a red film, defying gravity. And I was fully aware that I was hallucinating, so I felt no fear. What happened after that I can't remember.

[@jeanninebuquet9635]

I've had sleep paralysis since I was a child but it's gotten progressively worse I hear and see things on my wall and can't do anything about it and I know it's sleep paralysis but it still scares the hell out of me

[@MyEmkill]

I tried the thingy of about acknowledging the situation, but damn, I was still scared shitless.

[@Leahlu8]

I am a student in my second year, I'm in my exam and I have already two panic attacks two days before my sleep paralysis, I have sleep paralysis and it was really scary, I felt a huge pressure on my head and ears and I feel my self falling off my bed and a heard load noises (airplanes noises) then the noises shifted to people screams noises, then I tried to distract my self by thinking of a man that I love and remembering his face and moves it help to reduce the pressure and noises then after a short time I couldn't help and the noises and pressure become tenser, then I was floating and I felt my heart ganna explode from pumping, then I wake up and check my heart pumps it was normal The second time happen to me which is today (I'm just waking up from sleep paralysis) and this time I felt pressure on my Brian and I felt the blood inside my brain the sound of blood was loud and I open my eyes and see something unclear It was a blurry figure, It's terrifying

[@saroshsohail6802]

Sir! What would you like to say about condition of "comma". Where humans suppose to lie in this state?

[@floobertgoober]

Does it make the chances higher of getting it after watching this and being a bit scared of it.?

[@jeremyhennessee6604]

i have very vivid hallucinations and talk to family members and have what can only be described as full on dreams while in sleep paralysis. and also leave my body, or seem to . get pulled under the bed by imaginary forces. last night i even woke up in an alternative place to where i fell asleep. first time that has happened.

[@user-lv4ov5rp6d]

Does Hypnagogic Hallucinations only happen when you dream? What is the difference between having a dream that feels real, like lucid dreaming or Hypnagogic Hallucinations?

[@Leahlu8]

It's a very scary experience, I'm scared to back to sleep

[@eipi5173]

3 times a month average for the last 64 years. Nothing helps.The terror doesn't diminish either.

[@DrBSJ1]

Excellent 👌

[@natas12rm]

My brain must be pretty strong to pull the covers off me when I can't move

[@joshuatree3485]

hi ..i recently had a experience that was sleep paralysis..where something was holding me down but before that my had was shaking side to side really fast then i woke up ..i guess but couldnt move laying on my back not a usual postion but soon as i said get up rapidly about 6 or 7 times and then i felt a pressure release my upper half of body and i sat up ..it was a dreadful experience ..my brain tried to surpress this memory until later in day i recalled it by thinking about war which was same memory i was having before i feel asleep ..more i research lack of sleep ..lil depression ..different sleeping pos...can all be factors for me but the hmong people is something else ..spirits ghost demons jinn angels aliens other dimensions energy leeches ..curses witches spells ?

[@iananderson3294]

I've had it all my life since pre teen age, Don't let a Clown tell you that it is Anxiety or whatever that nonsense, What it is is a visitation from the spirit realm that has an interest in you for some reason, Don't know why but it ain't anxiety.

[@joshuatree3485]

what do they want from me or it???

[@kakuzu_6_9]

@@joshuatree3485 bro it's bullshit it's actually sleep paralysis hellucinations don't worry it will go away if u meditate and do yoga and with proper sleep

[@Absent-being_]

The Last time I had a good episode I was hallucinating hard and check this out. I literally escaped by body in this hallucination and was floating over myself and suddenly I start seeing my body slithering off the bed. I was like WTF 😂

[@aracelycorral4420]

I have a question can you purposely get sleep paralysis

[@Maria-jn4iw]

Yes. I love lucid dreaming so I will intentionally trigger it. The way I trigger it is by waking up in the middle of the night and staying up for at least 5-10 minutes, fully wake up! Go get some water, use the restroom what have you. Then get back in bed and fully relax. Slow your breathing, try to let go of thoughts. Do it it often and soon you’ll have sleep paralysis. After you practice this for a while (few months) you’ll learn to maneuver it and be able to lead yourself into lucid dreaming.

[@tonymadathil816]

Wow

[@darkspirit7406]

I have had sleep paralysis since I was a child and I never felt scared even when seeing ghosts demons or shadow figures flying in the room. I just didn't care because I knew deep down nothing can harm me. Btw you can actually use sleep paralysis to your advantage and leave your body through astral projection (turning a negative experience into a positive one)

[@framestomind7548]

That is a lie as that is not at all how it works on the human emotions.

[@darkspirit7406]

@@framestomind7548 I guess I'm not human 🤣

[@framestomind7548]

@@darkspirit7406 humans lying internet… eh, it does not make you very unique at all actually,… sorry I won’t feed your ego more than so.

[@darkspirit7406]

@@framestomind7548 Why would I lie about such thing, you don't even know me so stop assuming things, not everyone is the same.

[@darkspirit7406]

For those who think I am lying, this is how it all began... I used to have nightmares almost every night as a kid, it was the same nightmare about some evil force pulling me away towards it. It was extremely scary and I always screamed from terror, but at some point I stopped feeling anything. I became numb towards nightmares, if I see anything scary like a ghost or a demon it doesn't affect me at all. The same happens when I have sleep paralysis, I always stay calm and just ignore anything I see like it doesn't exist. But recently I discovered that sometimes I panic when I sense a dark shadowy presence in my room and I start screaming right away without having any control, I find this so strange, maybe because I was in half-awake state in my sleep. Did anyone else have a similar experience to mine? A few years ago, I started seeing the same creature during my sleep paralysis, it looked like nothing I have seen before. The first time I saw it when it climbed the top of the bed, when I looked above me (which was something that used to be extremely difficult to do during sleep paralysis) that creature noticed that and it started screaming and hissing, I can't remember how it looked like but it was wearing white, it had a deformed face and I remember seeing electricity going through its body. Now, I always feel its presence around me but it doesn't make me feel scared, the only thing that scares me now are dark shadows and I am not sure why.