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I feel like hackernews/reddit has a unusually high number of stories like this. I don't buy it. Another one everyone claims to have is sleep paralysis.

by xeromal 10y ago

larsiusprime 10y ago
Sleep paralysis is a well documented medical disorder. As a diagnosed narcoleptic, I can assure you it is very real.
- grkvlt 10y ago
  It's my understanding that occasional sleep paralysis is actually pretty common. Chronic occurrences are more rare, and would be characterised as a disorder, like the parent comment suggests.
Gigablah 10y ago
Sleep paralysis is why I go to sleep on my side rather than my back every night. I no longer fear it since I can consistently awaken myself now, but I'd rather not deal with the annoyance.
- xlxlxlx 10y ago
  I almost exclusively get sleep paralysis laying on my back too. It's hard for me to fall asleep on my back fortunately, but when I do it's a nearly sure-fire way to end up in sleep paralysis. Is there any explanation for why this is the case? To GP, it's definitely real. I didn't have it until I was around 25. My first time was shocking -- I'd never experienced anything similar. I rarely have any visual hallucinations, sometimes auditory hallucinations, but the main component of sleep paralysis is the breathless, weighed down sensation of desperately wanting to move but being totally unable to do so. My experiences are always accompanied by the extreme urge to get up and protect myself. I even sometimes have my eyes open during sleep paralysis, and I've confirmed with my wife that I can see my surroundings by, after I come to, accurately reporting her movements around the room during an episode.
  - flukus 10y ago
    For me it's only ever happened on my side.
    - ptrincr 10y ago
      I used to find it happened only when I was lay on my front. But just the other day I had it when I was on my back. I've had it more when I've been extremely tired and finding it hard to sleep. It's only happened a handful of times in my life that I can recall, but it's really unpleasant. It feels like you are trapped, can't move and have to will yourself free.
InclinedPlane 10y ago
I remember back when HN wasn't full of anti-intellectual jerks. Those were good times.
grkvlt 10y ago
No, it's not that everyone on the sites have stories about ball lightning, or sleep paralysis, rather that everyone who comments with a story is reporting an experience with the subject of the article, ball lightning here, sleep paralysis apparently in another case. Those who don't have stories to tell about the phenomenon, or who have not experienced it, don't comment, there's nothing interesting or useful about saying "Yeah, ball lightning - that reminds me of the time when I didn't see any." Bear in mind there's a huge number of users on HN, and there were only around ten comments relating personal experiences with ball lightning. This is a tiny fraction of a percentage of the community, and similar statistics probably hold true for Reddit.

I feel like hackernews/reddit has a unusually high number of stories like this. I don't buy it. Another one everyone claims to have is sleep paralysis.

by xeromal 10y ago

I feel like hackernews/reddit has a unusually high number of stories like this. I don't buy it. Another one everyone claims to have is sleep paralysis.

larsiusprime 10y ago

Sleep paralysis is a well documented medical disorder. As a diagnosed narcoleptic, I can assure you it is very real.

grkvlt 10y ago
It's my understanding that occasional sleep paralysis is actually pretty common. Chronic occurrences are more rare, and would be characterised as a disorder, like the parent comment suggests.

Gigablah 10y ago

Sleep paralysis is why I go to sleep on my side rather than my back every night. I no longer fear it since I can consistently awaken myself now, but I'd rather not deal with the annoyance.

xlxlxlx 10y ago
I almost exclusively get sleep paralysis laying on my back too. It's hard for me to fall asleep on my back fortunately, but when I do it's a nearly sure-fire way to end up in sleep paralysis. Is there any explanation for why this is the case? To GP, it's definitely real. I didn't have it until I was around 25. My first time was shocking -- I'd never experienced anything similar. I rarely have any visual hallucinations, sometimes auditory hallucinations, but the main component of sleep paralysis is the breathless, weighed down sensation of desperately wanting to move but being totally unable to do so. My experiences are always accompanied by the extreme urge to get up and protect myself. I even sometimes have my eyes open during sleep paralysis, and I've confirmed with my wife that I can see my surroundings by, after I come to, accurately reporting her movements around the room during an episode.
- flukus 10y ago
  For me it's only ever happened on my side.
  - ptrincr 10y ago
    I used to find it happened only when I was lay on my front. But just the other day I had it when I was on my back. I've had it more when I've been extremely tired and finding it hard to sleep. It's only happened a handful of times in my life that I can recall, but it's really unpleasant. It feels like you are trapped, can't move and have to will yourself free.

InclinedPlane 10y ago

I remember back when HN wasn't full of anti-intellectual jerks. Those were good times.

grkvlt 10y ago

No, it's not that everyone on the sites have stories about ball lightning, or sleep paralysis, rather that everyone who comments with a story is reporting an experience with the subject of the article, ball lightning here, sleep paralysis apparently in another case. Those who don't have stories to tell about the phenomenon, or who have not experienced it, don't comment, there's nothing interesting or useful about saying "Yeah, ball lightning - that reminds me of the time when I didn't see any." Bear in mind there's a huge number of users on HN, and there were only around ten comments relating personal experiences with ball lightning. This is a tiny fraction of a percentage of the community, and similar statistics probably hold true for Reddit.