>>13784660the science behind is essentially a motor cortex inhibitor your brain is releasing , preventing you from trashing around in rem sleep. its something evolution gave us when we were sleeping in the bush or in caves, so we wont create noise when sleeping. most mammals have this. its more effective in some people than in others. some unfortunate ones get conscious again after having fallen asleep for minutes, but the brain has already released the neuronal messenger to block motor functions, since it was about going to rem. that messenger takes usually a short time to wear off, but in that time, when those intended motor neurons are saturated you cant move, creating the illusion of being pressed into the mattress, since the intended movement is physically not happening. it even appears that the harder you try to move, the heavier the weight on you gets, your brain interprets it since you cant move, something must hold you down, its a quite weird illusion. some people happen to fall asleep again, and some panic until the inhibition wears off after a couple of seconds. never had it happen longer than 10-15 seconds to me, but in that half awake state it feels like a minute.
