Sleep Hallucinations: Things That Go Bump In The Night

photo of a woman in bed experiencing hypnagogic hallucinations

Do strange images of geometric shapes, people or animals appear out of nowhere as you lie in bed at night? Perhaps you’ve heard voices or noises which can’t possibly be real?

If so, it could be that you’ve experienced what’s known as sleep hallucinations.

Despite leading to the occasional leap out of bed in sheer terror, they are usually harmless. And many people experience them at some point in their lives – including me.

My nocturnal flying geometric manifestations

As a child, multicolored geometric shapes would regularly swoop across my bedroom, just as I was drifting off to sleep. I remember simultaneously marveling at them and wishing them away so I could sleep in peace.

It doesn’t happen so often nowadays, but once in a while, I’m still prone to my mathematical manifestations.

Perhaps I should be grateful for my geeky hallucinations – especially compared to the disturbing experiences some people have.

What are sleep hallucinations?

Sleep hallucinations are imaginary experiences that happen during the transition between being awake and asleep, and can feel confusingly real.

They are also referred to as hypnagogic hallucinations if they occur while you’re falling asleep, or hypnopompic hallucinations if they happen while waking up.

The hallucinations are usually visual, such as seeing shapes or figures in the dark. But they can also involve your other senses.

The hallucinations can be vivid and frightening in some cases. If you see a giant creature in your room or hear a scary voice, it’s understandable that some people will jump out of bed and turn the light on to check what’s going on!

image explaining that hypagogic hallucinations occur while falling asleep and hypnopompic hallucinations while waking up

How many people have sleep hallucinations?

A commonly quoted statistic in medical articles comes from research conducted in 1996. The team interviewed 4972 people in the United Kingdom by telephone. They found that 37% had experienced hypnagogic hallucinations. And 12.5% had experienced hypnopompic hallucinations.

In 2000, another team of researchers surveyed 13,057 people and found that 38.7% had experienced hallucinations at some point during the day or night. 24.8% of the sample had experienced hallucinations at sleep onset, and 6.6% upon waking.

A sign of Narcolepsy

For some people, sleep hallucinations can be a sign of narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder which involves sudden daytime episodes of:

  • Unexpectedly falling asleep
  • Sleep paralysis
  • Hypnagogic hallucinations

If you have these symptoms, it’s important to seek medical advice.

Symptoms

The main symptom is seeing or hearing things while falling asleep or waking up that aren’t real.

Researchers believe that the most common type of hallucination is visual. However, it’s possible to experience hallucinations that correspond to any of your senses:

  • Visual – such as geometric patterns, shapes or light flashing. Sometimes complex forms like animals or people.
  • Auditory – voices talking, phone or doorbell ringing, music, hissing, humming or whistling.
  • Olfactory – pleasant or unpleasant smells.
  • Tactile – insects crawling on the skin, rubbing, stroking, tapping or tickling sensations. Perhaps also feeling weightless, distortions in the body, flying.
image of a woman in bed with patterns and animal forms around her

Not the same as nightmares

Telling the difference between dreaming and hallucinating isn’t always obvious in the moment. But sleep hallucinations are not the same as nightmares.

When you wake up from a nightmare, you’ll know you were asleep (even if it takes a little while to come back to reality).

Sleep hallucinations, however, can feel like they are really happening. You know you’re awake, but you’re not convinced it’s merely your imagination playing tricks on you.

Coexisting with sleep paralysis

Sleep hallucinations sometimes happen during an episode of sleep paralysis.

During sleep paralysis, you might be unable to move your body in bed, which in itself is often frightening.

The hallucinations that accompany it can range from seeing a presence in the room to seeing and feeling a creature sitting on you.

Causes

The International Classification of Sleep Disorders manual suggests two causes related to brain function, though also states that more research is needed:

  • An intrusion of dream imagery onto wakefulness.
  • A lack of stimulus leading to the visual cortex in the brain creating images.

Health websites, such as healthline.com, suggest that sleep hallucinations can be caused by other conditions, such as:

  • Sleep disorders like narcolepsy or sleep paralysis
  • A medical condition or medication use
  • A mental health disorder, such as schizophrenia
  • Substance abuse

Risk factors

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, they are more common in children and young adults. Women might experience them slightly more often than men.

Some factors are thought to increase the likelihood or severity of the hallucinations, including:

  • Drug or alcohol use
  • Anxiety or stress
  • Mood disorders like bipolar disorder or depression
  • Insomnia
  • Epileptic seizures

Research shows that fragmented sleep is associated with more hallucinations

In 2021, a team of researchers published an interesting study of sleep hallucinations (you can read it in full on nature.com).

Based on an online survey of 10,299 people, they found that poor sleep is associated with the occurrence of hallucinations – a point already confirmed by previous studies.

However, they further showed that fragmented sleep, i.e. regular wakings, is related to hallucinations. And that fragmented sleep is also related to the content, frequency, duration, and associated distress.

Interestingly then, people who had better sleep had less negative and less disruptive hallucinations when they did have them.

So the more you have them, the worse they might be. It seems to me to be a good motivation to tackle any factors you know that make you wake up more often in the night.

Treatment

Do you need to see a doctor?

If you’re experiencing anxiety or losing sleep because of regular sleep hallucinations, it’s a good idea to speak to a doctor or sleep specialist.

They would ask you about your hallucinations and look at your medical history and other factors like medication and lifestyle. They might decide that an overnight sleep study is needed to find out more.

They would also look at the possibility of another condition causing the episodes. And if they find one, give you the appropriate treatment.

Worried about your mental health?

If you suddenly start having hallucinations, it’s understandable that you might question your mental health. This is a point I’ve seen raised in the comments below many times, so you wouldn’t be alone in thinking something was ‘wrong’ with you.

It’s worth noting that if it only ever happens when you’re in bed trying to sleep, there’s a good chance it’s harmless sleep hallucinations. Perhaps it’s a sign you’re under a lot of stress lately, for example, but it might not be an indicator that something is wrong beyond that.

Having said that, if you have hallucinations during the day, or other symptoms that are making you feel anxious or confused about your mental health, then it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor. And if you’re still not convinced the nighttime hallucinations are benign, talk to your doctor to get a professional opinion.

If this line of thinking feels relevant to you, there’s a good article on psychologytoday.com in which a clinical psychologist talks a patient having sleep problems rather than a schizophrenic illness.

What can you do to help reduce them?

Here are some ideas which might help keep the hallucinations at bay:

  • Get an adequate amount of sleep every night. Try to stick to a regular sleep schedule and don’t allow yourself to become sleep deprived.
  • Avoid recreational drugs.
  • Eat a healthy diet and drink plenty of water.
  • Try to reduce your stress levels.
  • Try using a soft night light in the bedroom. This might help fill the space that your brain uses as a blank canvas.
  • If you tend to have auditory hallucinations, listening to music, radio or a podcast in bed might help.
  • If you find yourself focusing on visual hallucinations, try to re-focus your mind on something else. Breathing exercises or muscle relaxation can keep your brain occupied.
  • If it’s overwhelming, turn on a light and get up for a while, do an activity you find relaxing, and then try to sleep again after 10-15 minutes.
  • Several readers have said in the comments below that wearing a sleep mask helps them.

Hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations are a normal part of life for many people. Once you’ve ruled out any serious illness or disorder, you’re left to deal with the experience in two ways.

First, try to adapt your lifestyle to make sure you do everything possible to sleep well. Second, relax and try not to worry about things that go bump in the night.

Your thoughts

Do you ever experience hallucinations when falling asleep or waking up? What form do they take?

Feel free to describe your experience in the comments below and share any ideas you have about dealing with them.

1,718 Comments

  1. I have had both tactile and visual hallucinations since I was a child ranging from feeling breath on my face and hearing someone breathing next to me when I am alone. I have experienced my hallucination take my hands and walk through a wall. Once able to move I walked through to the bathroom, wide awake and alert, watched and heard my shower curtain being shaken. On return to bed I began to drift off and felt my 2 dogs who had passed, jump onto my bed and take up their usual sleeping positions cuddled tight into me. Then it all stopped and now I am having similar experiences except these are a bit scarey. I wake from sleep ( I don’t sleep deeply but tend to doze off) to see a very light spider about the size of my fist running across the ceiling and stopping above my head. No discernible torso just legs..however yesterday this became a bit darker and now I see a large black spider with a long body and where before I wasn’t scared, I am now becoming worried despite telling myself this isn’t real. I spoke with my GP who didn’t appear too shocked by my disclosure however now wants to rule out anything organic as my medicines would not cause these symptoms. I now sleep with my head under the covers and will not open my eyes if I wake and need to adjust my position in bed.

    • Hi Heather
      Thanks for your comment. Hopefully your doctor will tell you that it’s nothing serious or to worry about. Try the suggestions in the article too, as they might help you cope with it better.
      Regards
      Ethan

  2. I have been having these off and on since my wife Romana died in April 2016. I mostly see geometric figures, but sometimes it appears to be ancient Egyptian writing. Finally, last night I said, outloud, “Romana I don’t understand these figures and I certainly don’t read ancient Egyptian. Do something different”. They stopped. Now, I feel kind of bad. If that was her way of trying to reach me, I in effect cut her off. Jim

    • Hi Jim
      Thanks for your comment. I’m very sorry for your loss. If you feel that’s what it was, I’m sure you’ll have another opportunity. I wouldn’t discard the possibility though that it’s perhaps due to the strong emotions I imagine you still experience, and perhaps tiredness and stress. I wouldn’t feel bad about stopping these experiences Jim. It’s unlikely to be the last time you experience them unless you decide to tackle them as most people would do, for example with the ideas in the article.
      Regards
      Ethan

    • Jim, perhaps you didn’t cut her off, as you asked her to do something different that you can understand. Keep your mind clear, they can reach us in many, many ways and I’m sure that Romana will find the perfect way to say hello that you’ll be able to understand. Peace to you.

    • She would have known that you don’t read Egyptian writing. Perhaps she was beseeching you to learn hieroglyphs and explore sacred geometry for some unknown reason? Perhaps it will lead you down a new path of knowledge and awakening. I highly recommend to anyone and everyone the movie: Thrive. It is available on youtube.

  3. Finally, an answer to what is happening to me! I have been worried about my mental health! It started about 2 years ago. At first I thought it was spirits, but soon turned into animals. I see moving animals which usually frighten me until I stare at them longer and realize it is just a shadow. I leave night lights on which cause the shadows of items in my bedroom, thus, these are the animals I see. Saw people in the beginning (spirits) but now just animals and spiders. A couple of nights ago saw a raccoon or cat on the ceiling light shade which was about to drop a mouse/rat on me. I jerked and moved quickly before I realized what was happening. Thanks so much for this article. Now I know that it is not just me and other people are experiencing the same thing.

    • Hi Jackie
      Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you found the article helpful, and that you don’t feel like you’re the only one experiencing it. Now the trick is to stay calm when it happens, and hopefully find a way to lessen the frequency.
      Regards
      Ethan

  4. I occasionally see ancient ruins and astronauts in our NASA space station exercising vividly. Lasts a really short time. The images sometimes go just as fast as the intro to the Big Bang Theory. But I find it very interesting. I am trying to keep the images longer to see if I could recognize any faces. But so far no luck.9

  5. My hallucinations started this year sometime, I think it happens almost every night, it can be all different types of shapes that move or things i can’t describe just moving right next to me or just human shapes at the end of my bed, I can hear anything or feel anything its just all visual I sleep by myself I don’t talk to anyone about it because i don’t want people thinking I’m crazy or something majorly wrong with me.

    • Hi Jonathan
      Thanks for your comment. I can completely understand not wanting to talk to anyone about it. If it’s something you can live with and doesn’t affect your sleep or daily life too much, then there’s no real need to talk about it if you don’t want to. But if it is affecting you negatively, it’s worth talking it over with someone. And of course, try the ideas in the article to see if they help at all.
      Regards
      Ethan

  6. Hello. This is a great article thank you. Helped me make sense of things. I nodded off the other night while still sitting up in bed and then when I woke up what must have been a minute or two later, there was a swarm of flies flying over my head and then they went into the corner of the room by the ceiling and just disappeared. It was the freakiest thing ever. I experienced sleep paralysis a few years ago as well. Very scary. Anyway :) Thanks for helping me understand. I feel better now

    • Hi Lisa
      Thanks for your comment. I’m pleased the article was useful – sometimes it can make a big difference to how we react to, and feel about, these kind of experiences, even if it might not stop it.
      Regards
      Ethan

  7. I just wanted to reach out on this post because I experience these almost 4 times or more a week. It usually happens when my fiancé gets up at 4am to get ready for work, I hear him getting ready so I wake up and when he leaves I try to fall back asleep. I will lay in bed for about 20 minutes or so and then I feel like I am being pulled into sleep. From there I will hear voices and it scares me so I try to shake it off by staying awake. Sometimes I also awaken abruptly and my dream plays out right infront of me in my room. I will see figures on the walls some are faces for people and some I am not even sure, they look demonic. I am unable to move so I have no choice but to watch what is going on. It’s been happening so often now that I have been able to control it a bit better by breathing and focusing on something else and convincing myself it’s not really there..but this is ruining my quality of life. I am 22 years old and have been experiencing these for over 10 years.

    • Hi Adreanna
      Thanks for your comment. Sorry to hear you’ve been having such unpleasant experiences for so long. Have you ever tried getting up for a little while when your husband wakes you up? If you perhaps have a drink, spend 10 minutes out of bed, or even have a warm, relaxing drink in bed for a short while, then try to sleep again, you might find it doesn’t happen.
      Regards
      Ethan

  8. Only just started with the visual hallucinations they are amazing the chandelier the other night floated in between me and hubby and just disappeared, was really spectacular,,have suffer from unpleasant smells waking me up and beautiful scents and I had a time when I could hear church bells peeling, that followed a severe ear infection, that has also left me on occasions unsteady on the feet.

    • Hi Jean
      Thanks for your comment. It’s good if you can enjoy the hallucinations – that should stop you from worrying about them or your sleep being disrupted as is often the case. And yes, ear infections can play havoc with your sense of balance. I remember having one that meant I kept misjudging door frames and hitting them with my shoulder.
      Regards
      Ethan

  9. it started yesterday night when the lights turn off i had zoned out n just keep seeing a person face then it turn to four faces spending in circles then the face change. then when i turn my face i see different things but no sound and my body felt numb and usually i could see my hand in the dark but i couldn’t

  10. I was amazed to see that I am not alone in these hallucinations. While I’ve never been a great sleeper, I don’t recall ever having visions like the ones that I experienced this morning. On my bedroom wall I saw an oval picture of what looked to be Jesus….quite intricate, with a blue background. I turned my head away, and when I turned it back around, I saw what looked to be the face of the devil…a very angry, red man…..I got up and shard this with my husband, and he stated that I must have had a nightmare….In my mind, I was fully awake.

    • Hi Debbie
      Thanks for your comment. You’re definitely not the only one to have had hallucinations like that! It’s not always easy, however, to tell if you’re awake and hallucinating or dreaming that you’re awake and seeing it. Having said that, I think if you’re sure you were awake, you probably were! It might just be a one off, as happens to many people. If it does happen again though, you should be able to work out what’s happening with repeat experiences.
      Regards
      Ethan

  11. First of all I would like to thank you for your article it really helped me a lot.After reading your article i realised i have some sort of exploding head syndrome. I often hear loud noises or “bangs” right before i fell asleep.

    I am living in a new apartment alone for a year now and now I am starting to wakep see things. I would completely be ok If it was spiders or geometrical shapse but sometimes they tend to unexplainable scary. Last night I woke up to see someone standing right beside my bed so I panicked and rose up to see it was some sort of a child. All though my room was pitch black, I could see his eyes were gouged out and one of his hands was missing. I jumped back to the corner of my bedroom and see it literally dissolve into darkness in 5-6 seconds. I am telling this one because it is the recent one and i can still remember the details from it.

    The thing is that extreme sense of fear and insecurity is gone once the image was gone. It always I happens this way. Once it is gone I always just put my head back to my bed and sleep right away. I was starting to think that either my new apartment is haunted or i have a mental illness doing me that. These hallucionations are becoming so common that I am willingly trying to stay awake so long that I would fall asleep right after I go to bed. But its still happening either way. My sleep cycle is also pretty shifted because of it.

    Is this how it should be? Shouldnt I be seeing shapes and other stuff as well If i have Hypnagogic hallucinations? To be honest that loud noises that i hear was a joke compared to these visions.

    Thank you for reading,

    • Hi Ali
      Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, some people do have hallucinations like these, and can be understandably very scary. If it’s affecting your sleep and daily life, you could talk to your doctor about it and see if they can offer any help. You might also like to follow the tips in the article, perhaps trying a night-light for example to see if it helps prevent such scary moment.
      Regards
      Ethan

  12. About 20 years ago I was on antidepressants and after I stopped taking them I had terrible nights of waking up and seeing the whole of the ceiling just crawling with things. It would last a good 5 mins.Over the years it sort of stopped. Had them say once twice a year. But the last few months they seem to have come back. I wake up to see a HUGE spider walking along the edge of the ceiling. I lie there watching it and thinking its not real its not real or is it?? One night it was small yellow things on the ceiling they did scare me. They lasted about 5 mins as well. I cant understand why they have suddenly come back.

    • Hi Lainey
      Thanks for your comment. It’s not always easy to determine why something like this would happen again. Have there been any changes in your life recently? Have you been stressed, worried about something, changed your diet or sleep patterns, or taken any new medication? These are just some things which could play a role. But sometimes, these things happen with no real cause.
      Regards
      Ethan

  13. Hi I am 40 year old woman and have always suffered from hallucinations at night, as a small child they were very vivid and terrifying, it was often the same vision of a shadow figure he would be all over my room, in my door way, by my bed, over my bed etc….. I used to scream but it always stayed until one of my parents came in. My parents took me to a see someone but because the rest of my life and behavior was normal they said that I just had an overactive imagination.
    When I got to around 11 they subsided and were very infrequent till I was around 25 and then they started again. I have had them now 2 to 3 times weekly. They are not the shadow figure they are lots of different things now. I also suffer from sleep paralysis but this is not as often as the hallucinations I do also suffer from very vivid terrifying dreams that I sometimes feel locked in if that makes sense, However I have a strategy for this now I try not to fight it however scary it is..
    I find that a small night light helps as the figures I see don’t stay very long after waking when my light is on. I also find that if I try to relax before bed and watch or read something positive and upbeat this always helps. I know it can be really scary at times and feel for anyone living with it. However there are lots of strategies that help me such as relaxation and positive affirmations. My best strategy is positive imagery, definitely no horror movies or documentaries on crime before bed .
    My biggest problem is that it disturbs my husbands sleep because I wake up screaming sometimes, he is starting to come to terms with it and just strokes my hair and helps me go back off to sleep.
    It is interesting that you make a link with mental illness as I have recently been diagnosed with a Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

    Hope my words have helped.

    Amanda <3 xxx <3

    • Hi Amanda
      Thanks for your comment and for sharing your story. I think your techniques for dealing with it are all good. Perhaps you can try one or two new ideas from the article also. It’s good your husband is so understanding too. And if you do have anxiety, I think doing relaxation and positive imagery work before bed is a great idea.
      Regards
      Ethan

  14. Hi, I’ve been seeing strange things for a long time.. but it’s before I’ve even gone to sleep.. I’m just laying in bed, it’s not all the time, it’s mostly people walking through my room. Last night a man came walking up to the bed then just disappeared, he looked familiar ? My whole body was in shock
    Like a panic attack I was shaking not actually moving but felt like I was..
    the bit that scares me though is I’ve not even started to sleep, any help would be much appreciated.

  15. Hello
    I am 44 Years and for the Past 2 years I have had some bad experiences when trying to go to sleep.I go to bed and while I am still awake and attempting to go to sleep a Black Shadow appears on the ceiling with what looks like a Huge Cape. It has a black face with no eyes,mouth or nose.It swoops down towards me as if it trying to Grab me.I start screaming and quickly turn the light on and then leave the light on all night.My most frightening experience was around a year ago.I was trying to go to sleep,I was awake.My bed starting rocking from side to side,I could not move any of my arms,it felt like someone or something was holding them down.I could not move.I could not move my legs and I could actually see my bed rocking from side to side.I could not scream,It felt like I was being held down.I then heard voices.It was terrifying. It lasted at a Guess just under a minute and then it suddenly stopped.I had an open wardrobe in my last home.Again as I was trying to go to sleep I heard noises,sounded like a mouse running across the floorboards but it was actually coming from the Hangers my clothes were hanging from.I lay there watching and my hangers were swaying from side to side and it sounded like a mouse running along the length of my hangers.It was a warm evening,no breeze in the room but the bedroom felt Ice cold.I now refuse to sleep with the Light off.I dont know what is going on but I am terrified.I have been to my GP many times about it but he is telling me it could be due to my depression that i have been suffering from since losing my job.Any help much appreciated.

    • Hi Maria
      Thanks for your comment. It sounds to me like sleep paralysis. That can explain both the feeling of not being able to move, and all the hallucinations you experienced – from the shadow to the mouse noises to the bed rocking.
      Regards
      Ethan

  16. I’m 39 years old and have had sleep hallucinations for as long as I can remember. As a child they were typically visual (spiders, animals) and became geometric in nature as a teen and in my twenties. However, in the past couple decades, they are predominantly auditory. I’ll hear faint strains of music, occasionally birds chirping, or high pitched tones. I thought I might be going crazy and was afraid to admit what I was experiencing until I finally took the time to look it up online. It has been quite a relief to know I’m not alone.

    • Hi Jessica
      Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you found the article helpful. It’s very common for people to worry about their mental health when they experience this kind of thing, but in most cases it’s not the case that they are going crazy!
      Regards
      Ethan

  17. You probably will not post my last message it’s too bad though when I wrote the book I did not realize I might be wired different I thought people were just to lazy to dream. I only had 100 copies made, like I said I enjoy it and experiences with all the senses are in the book the twelve poems of knowledge I wrote it for my children in case they are like me and something happened to me. I made a face book page like I said. As you can tell I get fusterated being condemned for a natural way my mind functions

    • Hi Stephen
      Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately I won’t be able to publish your last message because of the graphically disturbing content it contains. I wanted to acknowledge though that I read both that and this comment.
      Regards
      Ethan

  18. I was just browsing through forums about Hypnagogic hallucinations, (Lucid Dreaming Community)… but then I found multiple sites on “How to fix them”, “how to prevent this from causting” etc. etc…

    I find it surprising that these natural forms of hallucinations actually creeps people out!
    In the community of lucid dreaming, These Hypnagogic Hallucinations are actually natural to us lucid dreamers, IN FACT, we need them to even do WILDing (Wake Induced Lucid Dream) where the hallucinations will lead to OBE (Out of Body Experience).

    I can not see a problem to Hypnagogic hallucinations and why people need to even try to get rid of them, when the same things can actually be rewarding…
    And most of these people I find (Including some of my friends who actually experience them), Actually does Not (Or knows very little) about Lucid Dreaming.

    Without Hypnagogic Hallucinations, you can’t visualize an upcoming dreamworld you like to be in. So to people wondering if Hypnagogic Hallucinations are harmful or dangerous…
    The answer is *NO*.
    They are just the creation of our mind. Its a natural occurrence (Even to non lucid dreamers). Everyone has them. You just don’t believe that they come every night, Because you do not focus on them.
    I hope this sheds light on you to who ever wants to “Buy medical pills to prevent hallucinations”. Its a waste of money (If there is even such thing!).

    • Hi Martha
      Thanks for your comment. It’s great that you enjoy hypnagogic hallucinations and have a good understanding of lucid dreaming and how you can use the hallucinations to your benefit.
      However, I think it’s worth noting that not everyone finds them so useful, and not everyone is interested in lucid dreaming. Many people have never heard of lucid dreaming so wouldn’t have the same view as you. And even those who do might not find it as interesting or appealing. So don’t be too surprised by people just because they’d prefer to fall asleep rather than lie awake trying to turn scary imagery into portals to the lucid world!
      Regards
      Ethan

  19. I suffer at least 3 times per week. Always worse at week ends and nearly always at start of sleep. Just last night I was trapped between two old castle walls. I am able to float upwards and find a gap to escape but it means jumping into lake 30 feet below. I make the decision to jump. I crash into water and feel the sensation of going under water and been unable to breathe. This is now so frightening I start to wail and my wife as she always has to do thumps me to wake me up and episode is now over.I might have one or two different episodes before I finally go to full sleep.The above is typical of my Hypnagogic Hallucinations and they can be extremely scary but sometimes very pleasurable but I regret this is very rare indeed.
    I try to control the hallucinations but after 40 years of suffering I still have.nt managed it. I am not afraid of the condition as I know it wont kill me but I hate the fact that I cant get to sleep as I used to before the age of 25. Funny enough if I have a few pints or some wine I fall asleep naturally but regret it is not feasable or affordable to drink myself to sleep every night. I tell my family about it but I bet like other sufferers I get no sympathy whatsoever and they have a laugh about it. Its a pity its such a boring subject just like telling friends your dreams but I have had some facinating experiences with this this problem so I am hoping fellow sufferers understand where I am coming from. I will keep an eye on this discussion and hopefully these few words may be of help to someone. I am male aged 65 and experiencing this problem 30 years now. Regards

    • Hi Pat
      Thanks for your comment, and for sharing your experiences. What you describe sounds very vivid indeed – almost like a dream or perhaps out of body type of experience? Are you definitely awake in your bed, but seeing these things when they happen? Usually, people who have sleep hallucinations see, hear etc things in their bedroom. To be jumping off castle walls suggests to me you might in fact be dreaming already. What do you think?
      Regards
      Ethan

  20. Hi I’m 23 years old (always had trouble to sleep and big difficulties to fall asleep), throughout my young life I’ve experienced some scary things like a little monster (thing) without a face standing at the back of my room, coming closer towards my bed each time I blinked. Very scary and disturbing but this was without any paralyzed feeling. Most of the time I found myself laying on my bed unable to move or to shout anything at my parents with a thickling sensation, I saw a couple of scary things like a face in the corner above of my room, also a great Ninja warrior behind my dream catcher, I was in shock back then but nothing really happend actually thankfully, excluding some very strange events like waking up the next morning backwards on my bed and a feeling like getting flipped over on my bed (But it happend so much I got used to it and just let it go each time I felt it). One time i had this going on and while I saw some things I can’t explain I heard a very deep voice saying that it had control over me and it would all be okay if I would follow his lead (not making this up for real). With all that said it has been years ago that it happend again. I think because of my marijuana use since a couple of years my sleeping problems are gone.

  21. Ha just had one of these experiences which is why I am on this forum at 3 in the morning. Woke up in complete darkness thinking a huge cockroach was above me and getting in my bed. Many times this happens and I think that there are spiders. I realize they must be sleeping hallucinations because if they were there, I wouldn’t be able to see them in complete darkness or react so quickly waking up.
    I remember also seeing people by my bed when I was younger which terrified me. I assume they were just these hallucinations.

  22. I’m only 19 and I’ve been seeing things in the middle of the night for some time now, some scary , some not, for example water running down my wall, or diamonds on my wall, also animals such as birds or even forests appearing on my walls. I have also seen people when i wake up randomly in the middle of the night, some of the people would seem almost ghostly in a sense, others would look so real that id think there was an intruder in my room. Some say its spiritual awakening and others say its Hypnagogic Hallucinations, all I know is that both spiritual awakening and Hypnagogic Hallucinations have similar symptoms, and I am very interested as to why I experience it , and my friends and family members don’t at all.

    • Hi Daniel
      Thanks for your comment. I think whichever way you choose to interpret it, it’s good to bear in mind that not everyone does experience sleep hallucinations. And even those that do can experience them to greater or lesser intensity, with more or less frequency. So I wouldn’t read too much into the fact that you don’t personally know anyone that does, or admits to, experiencing the same.
      Regards
      Ethan

  23. I have been experiencing hallucinations since I was a child, back then I remember getting up in the night to go to the loo, when I returned to my bedroom I would see an animal on my bed, one I recall vividly to this day was a huge Otter! I was so afraid to disturb it but eventually I flicked my duvet and it was gone. I continued to have hallucinations into adulthood, I would be worried about sharing a room with others. I am now 43 and my hallucinations have got worse, I have one virtually every night, I often see figures stood in the room or by my bed, I shout and kick out at them to go away often using abusive language, my wife tries to calm me and I am now at the stage that I know something has happened.
    My other hallucinations centre around my bed, often I will imagine the roof is about to fall in or the floor is unstable; or the bed is in a derelict building with no windows and rats on the floor.
    I would really appreciate some advice I don’t get enough sleep and find myself tired and irritable, I also work shifts so my sleep pattern is all over the place.

    • Hi Peter
      Thanks for your comment. Have you spoken to your doctor about this? If it’s at the point where it’s disrupting your sleep so badly, and distressing you on an on-going basis, it might be a good idea to talk it over with them. Other than that, try the ideas mentioned in the article, and if you can I think it would be a good step to find ways to try to stay calm during these episodes. Perhaps by focusing on some breathing or other relaxation exercises, it might help take your mind off the hallucinations.
      Regards
      Ethan

    • Dear Peter.
      I have been getting these hallucinations too and was desperate
      I had to change my bedroom light bulb recently and the only one available was a ‘daylight’ bulb the blue surfaced one After struggling to get to sleep for five hours I put the light on and left it on. As I remembered that the shapes do not appear when I try to sleep once the sun has come up Very relieved to discover that it worked. I will use the method for as long as it works. It’s worth a try and the light is nice and gentle and used with an up lighter shade it causes no problem. Best of luck give it a go xx Pat

  24. I suffer sleep paralysis and night terrors since I was little, even had out of body experience at the age of 7. But since then I’ve been stuck in sleep paralysis phase. It usually scare me so much but now I’m 27, it doesn’t really bother me. Sometimes it would scare me but other times I’m like oh no not again &*$% sake ha.
    But recently, I’ve been having strange things happening. Couple weeks ago, after dreaming, I dreamt I was asleep but I was laying on my bed asleep and was full aware I was there sleeping, I felt something evil running up my stairs (I’m deaf so wouldn’t hear anything) and I jumped out of my bed, opened my blind and window next to my bed and as I was about to jump out I woke up. Second times this has happened to me. Then after a while, I was asleep in my bed like the first time, and all of the sudden the ceiling fell down on top of me with gush of water, soaking me and I jumped up and out of the bed still in shock and was soaking wet. And woke up sweating standing there looking at my bed. Twice that happened to me. Last night, same as what I said about being asleep in bed, something dark was flying over me and I screamed, jumped out the bed, bending under that something to get past and ran out of my room and woke up. I feel so exhausted today and got headache even though I had 8 hours sleep.

    What could it be?
    I love sleeping so I sleep quite a lot going bed early for early wake up but weekends I stay up late and lie in hour extra in mornings.

    I’m very open minded about things like this, and sometimes I try experience out of body experience but gave up 10 minutes later or would fall asleep by accident haha i would love to know more so would you be able to explain what am I experiencing to me please :)

  25. I wake up minimum 3 times at night with the feeling that there is someone or something in my room. Two nights ago a voice in my dream told me there was something behind my back while I was sleeping on my side. As soon as I switch on my light there is nothing there. My dogs are sound asleep when I wake up like this. I’ve even had someone praying for me and they said there was something in the spiritual world attached to me that was watching me. I hit complete paranoia after this and have been having even more difficulty sleeping. I pray every time I wake up like this and I’ve even commanded whatever it is to leave me alone. I’m so tired and strung out. I really need advice or at least a logical explanation. I feel like I’m going crazy.

    • Hi Adri
      Thanks for your comment. Sorry to hear you’re been having difficulty sleeping. It sounds to me like various things could be causing it – sleep hallucinations, dreams, perhaps even general anxiety. It’s often very hard to work out what’s really going on. Personally, I’d try not to think too much about the spiritual world attack thing. Many people believe this, and of course you’re entitled to your own beliefs, but I don’t think it helps people feel calm about sleep. I think it’s more useful to accept that it’s created by your brain, and therefore something you can learn to control. My advice would be to start with some positive affirmation that there’s nothing really sinister there, and perhaps do some relaxation exercises before going to bed and/or when you wake in the night. Take a look at this article for some ideas you can easily try out.
      Regards
      Ethan

  26. Hi. My wife has seen all sorts of shapes, animals, people. They can last for many seconds even minutes. As a child she says she used to interact with them, even be transported around the room on a colourful shape. I believe all this to be hallucinations but she is convinced that all animals and people have souls, that she is experiencing them as well as Angels, and she also believes in reincarnation. It feels like much of these beliefs and convictions stem from her experiences and she has sought other spiritual people and articles, of which there are plenty, to reinforce her thinking. As a man of science and evidence, I struggle with these hypotheses and convictions though. Do others explain what they see and sense in the same way?

    • Hi Andrew
      Thanks for your comment. I can understand your difficulty in accepting that explanation. Many people do interpret the things they see as being real in one way or another. If you read through the hundreds of comments on the sleep paralysis article for example, you’d find many readers who don’t accept that what they experience are hallucinations. And if someone chooses to believe that, there are many websites and other sources which will reinforce the view. Convincing someone it’s all in the brain isn’t easy, so you may find you both have to agree to disagree on this one!
      Regards
      Ethan

  27. When I was teenager I slept walk and remember waking up choking. I would run to my dad who tried to convince I was still breathing. The choking continued a few times a year until my early 20’s. Now I wake up (pretty soon after falling asleep) seeing people in the door way, spiders, I think my dog has jumped on the bed. Sometimes I try to pull the sheets up, hoping the person in the doorway will go away. For the spiders, I actually get out of bed. Sometimes I tell my husband to get out of bed too. It happens a few nights a week, usually only once a night. I feel crazy and exhausted!

    • Hi Sarah
      Thanks for your comment. Have you ever had yourself checked out by a doctor for any sleep related breathing disorder? If you wake up choking sometimes and are always tired, it might be a good idea to get a professional opinion.
      Regards
      Ethan

    • This sounds so much like what o used to get, it used to terrify me but I don’t get it as often now and when I do I’ve kind of got used to it and come to terms with it but it does make me feel so much better knowing I’m not the only one! I used to see a man walk round my room, and on so many occasions I would wake in bed and think I could see hundreds of spider on my bed, I’d jump out hit the light to wipe them away but oviously there were none there so scary! One night though the man that I used to see chucked a jar of spiders over me and I panicked so much did the usual get out of bed switch the light on thing but after that night I never hallucinated that specific man again or the spiders just other things?!

  28. I have them periodically and it’s always that I think someone is standing by or near my bed – and I know if it is a woman, a man or a child – but all I see is a shape and I can’t pick out any details like a face or clothes or anything like that. The person isn’t always in the same position around the bed. I wake up panicking and then I relax and can go back to sleep. I’ve had them for as long as I can remember.

  29. Ever since I can remember, I’ve experienced closed eye visuals just as I fall asleep. In fact, that’s the point when I know I’m almost asleep… I can lay awake with my eyes closed for 5 or 10 minutes with nothing but blackness, but then gently I’ll drift off into this beautiful world of bright colourful geometric shapes. I actually love it and, and it’s so comfortable, and peaceful. I’ve often thought how amazing it would be if you were somehow able to record this, and play it back on a TV screen or something, because it can be the most beautiful thing. And although its only a creation on your own mind, you could never “dream it up” all will, or in the daytime, even with a fantastic imagination. It just comes naturally, and flows free of any ability to control what forms or pattern or shapes it takes, on the verge of sleep.
    I once discussed it with someone thinking it was entirely normal, and was surprised when they had no idea what I was talking about. But they expressed an envy at what is undoubtably a treat for anyone luck enough to experience it.
    There seems to be very little information online about this phenomenon, apart from the hallucinations theory, though are they REALLY hallucinations when you don’t “see” anything physically or consciously? It’s more of (what I imagine) a state of meditation would be like. Total ease… Total comfort… And then just flow with the colourful space patterns and shapes.
    I’ve never used LSD before, though I’ve read verious accounts about experiences that could be described as being similar to these, which makes me wonder if it’s something to do with the body’s chemistry being more susceptible to… I don’t know what! My own peace of mind?
    I’d be tempted to try LSD, just out of curiosity to compare the two visuals…

  30. Hi
    I find this interesting as I have times when I’m just waking up and with my eyes still closed I see things. They are like a split second clip of a video. These clips are in both color or black and white. Some last a little longer than others, but all are in a very short duration. I see faces and or people walking or just there.
    Your thoughts…am I losing it?
    Regards
    Kathy

    • Hi Kathleen
      Thanks for your comment. I imagine it’s one of two things: either your dream still slowly fading, or a sleep hallucination. Try not to worry about it, as it’s very common and not harmful.
      Regards
      Ethan

  31. I’ve had these before, many times actually and I guess different types. The last few times it has been when I’m waking up, like a little while ago. I see a million different shapes moving, this time everything looked colorless and more metallic…moving and swirling into different shapes…some faces or things I don’t understand. My inner dialogue is present at times, almost like telling or teaching myself something while I watch these things happen behind closed eyes. Waking up is a slow process… And at times the shapes linger, though different, with my eyes open in the dark.

  32. I keep seeing some weird writing all over my walls and stuff when I’m falling back asleep after waking randomly in the night. The writing doesn’t seem to be in any language I know, it’s indecipherable to me but it freaks me out. I’m 28 and off on stress leave right now, I suffer from depression and anxiety but lately I’ve been having almost like a near-constant anxiety attack – feelings like I can’t breathe and some sort of pressure on my chest – so maybe all the stress or whatever is contributing. I’m so relieved other people experience hallucinations on waking and/or falling asleep. I was beginning to think I was going crazy.

    • Elena, thank you for admitting that. I’ve been waking up to fluorescent writing on the walls lately. It’s almost like graffiti but it’s letters. It reminds me of the futuristic movies that show the computer screens on the walls. I too suffer from depression and wonder if there’s a connection.

    • @Elena I’ve been having hypnopompic auditory hallucinations and some (but fewer) visual hallucinations. They started around 2013, when I got sick and also had an in-grown toenail (I had to get it cut out and it was the worst pain of my life!). I was extremely religious back then (I no longer am, I left my faith last year at end of 2015) and felt like these were omens or signs for some of the things that were deemed ‘sinful’ such as having casual sex and masturbating. I then had a breakup with a GF who lived in Montana and the auditory hallucinations continued. I’ve been having them again recently after getting sick with a chest respiratory infection (I’m seeing a trend here with getting sick and having these), which I believe were caused by Rhinitis / Hay Fever Allergies. I was at the gym around the start of August 2016, and I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath after each set of lifting. I went home and haven’t been back to the gym since (it’s now December 2016). I was having trouble breathing just walking up a flight of stairs, and it was a daily nightmare until I started looking into ways to help solve my issues (which I’ll get into in a minute).

      I also don’t have a great sleep schedule from working late night shifts, so I’m typically always sleep deprived. Then on top of all that, I was lifting weights 2 times a week (full body workouts) doing H.I.I.T. (High Intensity Interval Training) a couple times a week in the morning, and working night shifts. On top of all that, my dad died last year (October 3, 2015) and within a week afterwards around October 10th, I ended up with appendicitis so I had to get the appendectomy surgery to get my appendix removed. A few weeks later, I walked away from my faith (not due to emotional reasons, but due to extensive research, which was already in the process starting at the beginning of 2015). I’m 33 years old, so still somewhat young, but I think I was pushing my body to the limit, and it’s been affecting my brain chemistry. Not only that, but recently found out that I’m gluten intolerant / Celiac / Coeliac, so I’ve stopped eating gluten (and dairy) products. I also have done a few sessions of AAT (Advanced Allergy Therapy), by a doctor named Dr. Jill Cohn in the San Francisco / Berkeley / Oakland Bay Area. You don’t even have to be there in person for her to treat you, she does it all online through a conference call on a site similar to Skype. You can watch testimonials on YouTube as well, and I’m here to tell you that her system did cure me of Ragweed allergies.

      I now understand that because I was pushing my body to the limit as well as trying to stay 500 calories below maintenance (to cut and get shredded), that my body wasn’t getting the proper nutrients and vitamins. This could be some of the problems you all are facing as well. At that point, your body is so run down, that it will start attacking ‘harmless’ invaders, such as ragweed pollen, pet dander or even just simple dust particles, which causes inflammation, hence the reason I was having trouble breathing (it developed exercise induced / allergy induced asthma in my system). Not only that, but when your body is so run down and not getting the proper nutrition, it can cause psychosis and schizophrenic symptoms as well! I started taking a ton of supplements and they’ve helped tremendously. Here are a few to get you started. Try these and eat a balanced diet for a couple months. I’ll bet you start to feel better and the hallucinations diminish.

      1. Vitamin D3 (Jarrow Brand – 5,000IU – take two to four per day) – This is especially necessary if you live above the 37 degree parallel (latitude) in the Fall and Winter (typically from September to March). The sun only produces Vitamin D3 in our body when it is 50 degrees (altitude not temp.) above the horizon and even during the Spring and Summer, this only occurs from around 10AM in the morning to 2-3PM in the afternoon. Outside of that, your body is not producing any Vitamin D3 whatsoever, which is why around 75 to 80% of people in the world are D3 deficient! A good source of information on this is Dr. John Cannell. Go research how vital and important D3 is for us! You want your ng/ml (nano-grams per milliliter of blood) to be from 50 to 100 (or even slightly over 100 is fine too!).

      2. Magnesium (CALM BRAND) – Magnesium is the driver for Vitamin D3. It’s very important and we don’t get enough of it in our diet on average.

      3. Vitamin C (take around 2,000mg per day) – Look up Dr. Thomas Levy and Dr. Linus Pauling for good information on this. The Liposomal type of Vitamin C is the best kind!

      4. Vitamin K2 (different from Vitamin K1 – Get the Jarrow Brand called Vitamin K-Right) – Millions of people take calcium supplements to maintain healthy bone. Yet few patients or physicians realize that optimizing bone integrity involves more than taking a single mineral supplement. A critical additional component for bone and cardiovascular health is vitamin K2. Recent research has revealed that, without vitamin K2, calcium regulation is disrupted. In fact, low levels of vitamin K2 are associated with an increased risk of heart disease and atherosclerosis.

      5. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) – it’s a substance similar to a vitamin. It is found in every cell of the body. Your body makes CoQ10, and your cells use it to produce energy your body needs for cell growth and maintenance. It also functions as an antioxidant, which protects the body from damage caused by harmful molecules. (Get the Jarrow Brand – no I don’t work for them, but I’ve heard they are the best in all of these, and it’s what I take).

      6. Vitamin B-Right (Jarrow) which has all of the B vitamins in it.

      7. Oxylent (which is one of the best tasting and best multi-vitamins out there in my opinion). It’s got most of all you need in there when included with what I mentioned above.

      Within a month of taking all this (I started on November 2nd, 2016), I’m now feeling about 95% back to my normal self. The other 5% is caused by my poor sleeping habits still. I now realize that these were all subconscious from the heavy religious indoctrination. If I had never been introduced to these religious ideas, I’m sure I’d not have these particular hypnopompic and hynpnagogic hallucinations that deal with ‘spirituality.’ When it first started, I was seeing visuals such as numbers and objects floating in the air upon waking up. They’d disappear within a few seconds. I’m pretty sure I have some sort of religious trauma after leaving my faith and also, after my dad dying within the last year. They actually have a name for this type of PTSD and it’s RTS (Religious Trauma Syndrome). You can find some good material through Dr. Marlene Winell online if you suffer from the religious form of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Anyways, I hope all of this helps someone else who may be going through similar! Just know you’re not alone and it’s more than likely happening because of nutrient deficiency and/or a traumatic experience you suffered. These aren’t devils, demons, goblins or ghouls harassing you, this is all natural phenomena and it can be cured with the right supplements and proper sleep!

  33. I was about 10-12 at this time. I was sleeping and then i remember all of a sudden I jolt out of bed screaming and crying screaming help! i’m gonna die! we are gonna die. because what i experienced was a real.fire. or at least i thought. i snapped out of it about a minute after. this happened to me just once.is that a hypnopompic hallucination?

    • Hi Jamie
      Thanks for your comment. It’s hard to say really, without more details. It seems more likely to me though that you woke up from a dream, confused and thinking the dream was real.
      Regards
      Ethan

  34. I’m 30, ever since I was a kid, I’ve had this problem matter fact I’m awake now at 3am cause of it, I could never explain it before cause you be what seems as your awake but see things. This one for me was first time I ever felt like I couldn’t move. I was seeing bright shapes that was coming from the roof then seeing this man, I couldn’t move. Some times I see things bright things in closet like spiders or wired movements, I remember to this day I was 12 I was sleeping and herd this loud boom sound I woken up scared. It’s very strange growing up with it never knew what all this was til I read about it, plus i also sometimes wake up and have food in my bed and I don’t know how come cause I don’t remember going and grabbing food. I was pregnant with my oldest and my sister woken me up and I had a vanilla waffer in my mouth some on my chest and my hand in the box. When this happens of seeing things I’m mostly scared. But it never really happened alot but lately been every night

  35. Hypochondriac and insomniac here. I was falling asleep but couldn’t quite hit the mark of sleep for ages in bed so I decided to get up, for a while and try again in half an hour. I was feeling a little bit anxious before bed so I thought that may have helped the sleeplessness.

    As I opened my eyes I saw a huge spider on my wall cawling around the corner. It was clear as daylight (I sleep with the light on). I panicked but before I could put my glasses on I literally watched this spider fade away. After putting my glasses on, there was NOTHING there I could have mistaken this for – not even cobwebs.

    Me being a hypochondriac, I instantly assumed I had a severe mental illness, but this post enlightened me. I was aware that go ogling it would either make me worse or better and I’m happy this information was able to comfort me.

    It also explains why I frequently feel bumps on my bed and taps on my skin just as I do slip into slumber.

    Two birds one stone, nice!

    Thank you.

    • Hi Kyrl
      Thanks for your comment. I’m glad the article was able to help you with both things. I hope you sleep better and don’t find it so worrying if it happens again.
      Regards
      Ethan

  36. Very interesting. I have experienced a hallucination similar to the one pictured but with only pink and red colours and, importantly, the sensation that what I’m looking at is really close and then suddenly really far away. I’ve met other people who have experienced this but it’s impossible to find out what it is using google. Any ideas? I’ve met 3 people who have reported it identically, it must be a thing with a name, surely?

    • Hi Joey
      Thanks for your comment. I’m not aware of a specific name. Just hallucinations that consist of geometric patterns, I guess! But maybe you could also look into Entoptic hallucinations, as another line of investigation.
      Regards
      Ethan

  37. Hi! I’ve been having mostly tactile hallucinations before going to sleep. It feels like a very violent tingling feeling that just won’t stop, almost like my back is burning. Its disturbing and causes me to have to put a heating pad on my back just for the feeling to be suppressed.

  38. Hi, I have suffered from hallucinations for the past 20 years, they seem to come and go and like the previous comments I thought I saw dead people, which may sound totally bizarre but when you’re faced with a person right in front if you it’s very scary. After coping with this for years I went to seek advice from my doctor who straight away said I was suffering from hallucinations. From that point on I thought it’s just my brain ( it always happens just as I fall asleep) my brain is not wanting to go to sleep and it just wakes me up by projecting an imageI usually at that point I just stare at the image /person and it goes away, I tell my heart to stop pounding and tell myself it’s not real, I have had one for the past 3 nights ( something that has never happened) always people smiling and happy, but if I can impart any knowledge just tell yourself it’s not real ? Here’s hoping I have a good night tonight ???? sleep well people ?

  39. I’m 16 now. I usually have nightmares. The most horrible thing is I see horrible scenes, when I doze. I feel much sleepy all the while but don’t like to.

  40. Im 42 yrs old. Had I have been experiencing audible & visual hallucinations. It started with audible hallucinations about 4 months ago. I’m almost completely deaf in one ear and have tinnitus (constant ringing in ear).So Musical Ear Syndrome explains that. But now I’m having visual hallucinations also. I am on tha couch now and there is a ceramic 3ft tall lion in the corner opposite of me. I have been watching him , slightly, moving around & looking right at me. No drugs, no alcohol, no anything! I do have severe insomnia, migraines, & anxiety issues. If I had just one, audible or visual, I wouldn’t worry. But having both of them has me worried. Wondering if maybe I’m losing it……I am under a lot of stress right now. I think the key is SLEEP, for me anyway…. it is a very odd sensation when I have these audible & visual hallucinations. I did have tha pleasure of listening to part of Limp Biscuit song tho! Please let me know if you find anything that helps.

    Dave thanks

    • Hi Dave
      Thanks for your comment. Whilst sleep deprivation can definitely lead to hallucinations, I think that seeing hallucinations during the daytime is something to talk over with your doctor. They should be able to help you work out what’s causing it, and provide advice and support to deal with it.
      Regards
      Ethan

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