Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night, unable to move? Your eyes are open but your limbs betray you. I started experiencing this as a teenager and thought it was because I was so darn tired after school. It did not just happen at night. It would happen when I was taking afternoon naps.  It was less frequent in my later years. And then it happened again last week. Like in a dream, I caught a pencil that was thrown at my head, but the rest of my body refused to move… and always, there seemed an evil presence near me.  And I would try my best to call out…

 

Sleep Paralysis

Many experts will tell you this is sleep paralysis, a phenomenon where you’re caught in the state between wakefulness and sleep, leaving you temporarily unable to move or speak. It affects about 8% of people globally. Science explains it as a miscommunication between your brain and body during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Your body remains in its “paralyzed” dream state while your mind wakes up early to the party. During REM sleep, your brain activity looks very similar to brain activity while you’re awake.

Researchers say sleep paralysis is often triggered by stress, irregular sleep patterns, or sleeping on your back. For the Catholic mind, however, this bizarre experience might feel more than a neurological hiccup. Is this an overactive imagination? A hallucination? Nonetheless, let’s unpack our spiritual toolkit. Feeling scared during sleep paralysis is natural, but as a Catholic, you can call upon God for peace and protection. A little faith goes a long way.

The Bible reminds us: “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1)

 

When fear sets in

When fear comes in whatever situation, let your first instinct be prayer. Call on Jesus’ name—there’s immense power in it. A simple prayer like “Jesus, help me” or “Deliver me from evil, Lord” can bring immediate comfort.

Invoke the Saints. Who better to have on your team than our great saints? St. Michael the Archangel is particularly handy in moments like these. You know the prayer: “St. Michael the Archangel, defend us…”

Even if you can’t move, mentally picture making the sign of the cross or recite “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

I am sure you get my drift. We have many things in our spiritual toolkit to fight darkness. Use them.

 

As for me, during sleep paralysis, I would panic and silently call out to Jesus with the prayer to Our Father and Hail Mary in quick succession. The fear soon dissipates. My body relaxes. The spiritual skirmish seems over but yet some apprehension about going back to sleep remains. I put on the Chaplet of Divine Mercy on my handphone. It is 3.33am.

So, don’t let fear win, whatever the circumstances. Call confidently on Jesus in faith, roll your spiritual eyes and rest assured knowing “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14).

Then, maybe consider sleeping on your side too.

 

Shared by Karen R-Fong, a wannabe tai-tai who desires to retire in a library of books and to read with our Lord to her last days.

 

Article was with the help of Generative AI.