Have you ever had a dream where you tried to run but couldn’t? No matter how hard you tried, it felt like your legs were made of lead. You wanted to escape something terrifying or run toward something you desired, but your body just wouldn’t cooperate.
This strange sensation is incredibly common in dreams. But what causes it, and is there anything you can do about it?
The Phenomenon of Running Paralysis in Dreams
The inability to run in dreams, often called “running paralysis,” is experienced by a majority of people at some point. When trying to run in a dream, people often describe feelings of slow motion, heavy legs, and overall powerlessness. It can be incredibly frustrating!
Running paralysis occurs because while dreaming, your body is actually paralyzed. During REM sleep, when most vivid dreams happen, your brain sends signals to your spinal cord and brainstem that prevent you from acting out physical movements. This prevents injury while asleep.
Sleep Paralysis vs. Dream Paralysis
Running paralysis in dreams is different from sleep paralysis. With sleep paralysis, you temporarily lose muscle function when waking up or falling asleep. This means you’re aware but unable to move or speak.
Dream paralysis only affects the dreamer’s ability to control movements like running while asleep. When they awaken, mobility is no longer inhibited.
Prevalence of Running Paralysis
Studies suggest over 50% of people frequently experience running paralysis in dreams. Men and women report it in equal numbers.
Sleep experts note biological factors like REM sleep signals probably cause most immutable running. But psychological elements may also contribute for some.
Standard Dream vs. Lucid Dream
In regular dreams, most people do not realize or consider that they are dreaming. They simply accept the odd physics and sensations of the dream world.
But in lucid dreams, the person knows they are dreaming, allowing more conscious direction of actions versus passively accepting the dream’s rules and limitations.
Explanations for Why You Can’t Run in Dreams
Two key factors explain why running in dreams can feel difficult or impossible compared to waking life.
The Connection Between Brain Signals and Muscle Paralysis
During REM sleep, the pons and medulla oblongata in the brainstem send signals to temporarily paralyze muscle movement. This prevents the body from acting out vivid dreams and avoids injury.
In a small percentage of cases, these paralysis signals may be related to narcolepsy or medication side effects. But typically no underlying disorder causes running issues in dreams.
The signals from pons don’t always work flawlessly. Sometimes body parts twitch despite paralysis. Such twitches may manifest in dreams as running attempts.
The intensity of paralysis signals also varies each sleep cycle. Dreams with better mobility may occur if the signals are weaker in a particular REM phase.
Rational vs. Emotional Centers of the Brain in REM Sleep
Another explanation involves the rational thinking versus emotional centers of the sleeping brain.
In dreams, the limbic system which handles emotions is highly active, while logic and planning regions like the prefrontal cortex are relatively dormant.
This means dreams tend to be dominated by extreme emotions and reactions rather than reason and deliberate thought. So instinctual behaviors like running from threats prevail over rational planning.
And because actual bodily movement is inhibited by paralysis signals, emotional reactions like running can feel impossible. The rational centers that would normally coordinate movement are suppressed.
Tips for Taking Control in Lucid Dreams
While running in dreams may always feel somewhat unnatural, certain techniques can help restore some control and self-direction.
Achieve Lucid Dreaming
If you become aware you are dreaming, you enter a lucid dream state. This allows conscious choices to override unrealistic dream physics.
Strategies to encourage lucid dreaming include:
- Reality testing – Regularly double checking if you are awake or dreaming
- Dream journaling – Recording dream content helps awareness
- Affirming intention before bed to recognize dreams
- Waking briefly in REM sleep can extend consciousness into dreams
Engage Various Senses
Dreams often rely heavily on visual imagination without full sensory information.
Activating other senses like sound, touch and smell can enhance lucidity. The more lifelike texture a dream has, the easier controlling its events becomes.
Exercises like rubbing hands together, feeling surfaces, listening to music can “solidify” the dreamscape and stabilize awareness within it.
Practice Problematic Actions
Struggling with basic movements is very common early in lucid dreams. But repeating them can quickly heighten motor control.
For example, try “flying” just a few feet off the ground, then attempting higher jumps. Or run slowly then accelerate speed.
With consistent awareness and rehearsal in lucid dreams, problematic activities usually become easier, more deliberate, and more controlled.
Psychological Factors Influencing Dream Control
For some people prone to running paralysis in dreams, psychological issues may also play a role besides purely biological factors.
Stress and Anxiety
High stress or anxiety in waking life can translate to loss of self-agency and control within dreams. The dreamer may feel powerless to manipulate their experience.
Insecurities and Limiting Beliefs
Lacking confidence, low self-worth, or limiting beliefs about one’s abilities can also emerge in dreams as inability to run or move freely. The psyche extends its perceived constraints into the dream world.
Past physical or psychological trauma can also manifest in dreams involving running paralysis. This may especially apply to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients.
Inability to escape threats or troubling scenarios often features in PTSD nightmares. Running failure symbolizes the lack of control.
By managing anxiety and self-limiting beliefs in waking life, some people reduce unpleasant dream experiences like running paralysis over time.