text: what are the sypmtoms of sleep paralysis and what can you do to prevent it? when i'm starting to fall asleep my body falls into something similar to a coma like state. i feel a strong presence all over and all body functions are gone i can feel myself trying hard to move but i cant. i know i'm not sleeping yet because after just a minute or two of this i can finally move my fingers then my arms and so on. i then readjust and try to fall back asleep or start to walk about the house then go back to bed. you have just explained exactly what i go through at least once per week. it is the scariest thing for me. no matter how hard i try i just cant move even though i know im not asleep.  i looked into this condition awhile ago. its a safety mechanism your brain will sometimes paralise your body so you don't hurt yourself while asleep. the only problem is sometimes its faulty. somehow this don't make me feel any better. lol  best thing to do is just ignore it and go back to sleep. thats what i do.  the only thing that really scares me about all this is, what if there is a home invasion or a fire starts and you can't move to get out.