That sense of danger as your about to fall asleep- (maybe some answers for you. )

Okay so first not claiming in anyway that any of the things Im writing here is a 100% accurate. Im not a doctor, but due to the lack of info around this subject, I have spend quite some time trying to research this.
(If a doctor happens to drop by and see this, I welcome their thoughts on this too)-

WARNING- there is gonna be plenty of text to read, but if the topic interests you.- Keep reading.

But over some time Ive noticed quite a handful of topics concerning "panic attacks right as your about to fall asleep".
And while It of course helps to see others with the same issue, I think its worth spreading some info about it.

I tried asking my doctor about it and this is his response. "Oh thats really common. Its a feeling of falling and then you wake up with a jolting motion".-

Straight away I was then thinking. . . "he has no idea what Im talking about?"

Let me quickly tell you of my sleep history. When I was a child I often had nightmares. . . I would wake up and lay by the foot of my mothers bed to feel safe then continue my sleep.

As I hit age 16-17 I had a few episodes where I woke up and could not move. Which was horrible due to waking with either the blanket or a hand across my face so I hardly could breath.

It scared me, but I always ended up getting my "mobility" back so I lived with it.

When I was about 20 I started waking up in the middle of the night feeling very scared, as if something was watching me. . . I could wake up on the sofa (after falling asleep to a movie) and be certain someone was sitting by the end of the couch next to me. . . Just looking at me. And I couldnt see it cause I could not move.
Or if I woke in my bed facing the wall, I would be certain something was standing behind me next to the bed.

Then, about a year ago I started getting visions along with these experiences.

First I had was waking up, not being able to move with foggy eyes.
I notice something standing in the other end of the room. . . I blink with my eyes to clear them of the "slime/sleep" and get a clearer view. . . Its like a dark silhouette of a dark man with what looks like a baseball bat in his hand.
And just as I notice this, he runs over towards me with the bat raised as if he wanted to hit me with it- At the moment he gets to the bed, I get the ability to move and raise my hands across my face to cover it from the hit. . .
Few seconds later i remove them to see nothing is there.

Now. . . This my doctor just looked weird at me when I told him. . .
And after a few other episodes I demanded to know what was happening.

So I started researching and found the words "sleep paralysis"-

Sleep paralysis in short:
Well as the name suggests you get paralysed while asleep. But In some cases it can be accompanied with hallucinations.

Now. . . . Imagine your body is a machine in many parts (which it kinda is anyway) - And a brain in many modes.

When you lay down and feel tired, your body is waiting for it to shift from awake mode and sleeping mode.

Your body then turns of its "awake mode" and sends you into "sleep mode"

In "sleep mode" your brain does 3 main things we should know now.

1 Turns of Consciousness and turns on Dreams
2 Turns of mobility
3 Turns down body activity in general.

1.
Dreams dont need to be explained too much.

2.
Your body gets shut down, which is a handy feature. So when you dream that you are fighting someone, you wont be punching your partner 30 times a night. (this happens in different stages of sleeping)

3.
While your body activity is tuned down, you dont need as much oxygen as you do while moving around, so your heartbeat drops- You breath slower. . . You overall relax more.

Sleep paralysis could actually be seen as a faulty sleep system. As  wake up (or in some cases fall asleep) while your body is shut down.
So when you wake up, your mind still thinks your in "sleep mode" and thus keeps your body in lock-down.
And in the same condition your brain might actually still be dreaming while your "conscious" is turned on.

So you will wake up aware of your surroundings. Paralyzed, yet dreaming.

Now the thing this topic is really about.

That feeling you get when your just about to fall asleep and get a sudden sense of emergency.
Within seconds your body starts to tickle and  you feel as if your about to almost vanish within yourself. . .

Along with paralysis there is a thing called *Hypnagogia* - As mentioned on WIKI:

******When it occurs upon falling asleep, the person remains aware while the body shuts down for REM sleep, and it is called hypnagogic or predormital sleep paralysis.*******

Now to try and explain this. . .

As it says. . . The person is aware that its body is shutting down for "sleep mode".

Normally you will go from "oh god im tired" to "how long did I sleep". You dont actually notice when you fall asleep since your consciousness goes to rest before that.  

So imagine how it must feel to experience what comes in between.

To be consciously aware that you are going into sleep mode.

This way you feel tired and instead of just waking up after 6-8 hours, you notice all the symptoms of your body turn off

You feel sleepy, your body begins to tickle as your heartbeat and breathing slows down. . .
Then very quickly after that you might feel as your "slipping away"- That your conscious mind is gonna faint.

And it scares you so you quickly sit up in the bed, or raise your fingers to the neck only to find that everything is okay.

This may happen allot on one night.
Ive tried falling asleep in front of the TV, where i must have woken up about 15 times within 10 minutes this way.

And while its scary as hell, it really helped to kinda get this knowledge on the subject. So Im hoping those who experience this,  might gain the same from the knowledge here.

But yeah.
In simple terms.
When you feel like your having a panic attack just as your about to fall asleep. . .
Its far from a panic attack at all. (you might add the panic attack too it later, but its not a panic attack- the panic comes when you start to fear that event and try to "jolt yourself back to life")
What is happening is simply you noticing as your body shuts down for sleep- - - - Something most people dont experience and you never have outside this situation. So its obvious to me at least that you fear this event.

I still do, no doubt. But ive been become allot better to just think Oh well, lets try again- then lay down a minute after.

As for how to prevent this. . . Dont really have any great tips there. Ive noticed that lack of sleep will make it more frequent for me, and if im overly tired it also might come. So get a good sleep routine. If you already have a good one. . . try not to let it bother you, and keep you awake, cause it might just make it more frequent.






So again. . . This is all just what I have gathered of info, and how I have strung it together. But makes sense to me now i know the details.

So that it for now.
Give me a respond if you have this issue and see what you think.

If you are just curious or have something to add please do.

good luck good people and remember this event is not really related to a panic attack. The panic comes from the situation and doesn't actually cause it.