Sleep paralysis: Science or Supernatural?

Have you ever opened your eyes in the middle of the night and see yourself still in bed, just stirring from your slumber? You proceed to go back to sleep by changing your current sleeping posture but you soon discover that your entire body is numb and you cannot move any parts of it. You start to panic, unsure of what is going on, and try to muster a sound or scream but even your voice is at a freeze. No sound comes out. You are really freaked out at this point and you do not know what is happening to you but you the harder you try to break out of you frozen body hold, the more tired you are becoming and you are growing restless. You then decide to either keep trying to yell or just give up and ride it out. And then...

Science has explained this feeling of a midnight stir and finding yourself physically unable to move as sleep paralysis. This is an in-between state of sleep when the body has physically been turned off, all your muscles relaxed, and the brain is still function (hence, the ability to see yourself still in bed and recognizing what is happening). Another explanation suggests that the position in which you sleep can contribute to this phenomenon. If you lie on your sides often when sleeping or in certain postures where the blood flow to all parts of your limbs and brain are not consistent, it can cause a numbing effect on your limbs, that is why you cannot move your body during this state. Ever heard of "my leg is asleep"?

Although science may have its own explanation for this, cultural beliefs have other theories. In the Asian culture, people have passed down countless stories about this phenomenon happening to people for ages. The general belief is that when you experience this during sleep, there is a ghost trying to hold you captive by sitting on your body. The pressure from the spirit puts your body in a physical trance where you are restrained by unseen forces. You cannot scream or make any sound because the hold also cuts off that source of energy from you. The only way to get rid of this is by chanting a religious prayer during it and hopefully that will rid of the spirit.

Which theory is true? That's obviously up to the beholder. However, in my personal life alone, I have known numerous people (family, friends, etc.) who have experienced this sleep paralysis..with a twist. It is not uncommon for someone to experience this during the middle of the night and also seeing a shadow standing close by in their room, perhaps at the foot of the bed or somewhere around. My mother has had numerous encounters with this experience and has even heard voices talking to her while she is in the trance; some were nice, some were nasty angry voices. When I was 12 years old, I experienced my first paralysis..it was the same experience as described above. However, I saw a white female-form shadow standing at the foot of my bed the whole time, staring at me. Needless to say, I was shaken by this for weeks.

The world we live in is an extremely interesting one, filled with mysteries and unanswered questions. Science tries to prove everything but the supernatural is beyond fact. I do believe in ghosts. I believe that spirits roam the earth after departure from the body after death. They live in the same space we do, but they occupy the other world. And sometimes...like all things...the two worlds collide.

Here's an article on sleep paralysis that may be interesting to you if you:

What Causes Sleep Paralysis?