About two to three times a year, I become "trapped" in my dream. I fall into a deep sleep, only to come back into a half-sleep/half-conscious state. In other words, my body is still asleep, but my mind is awake, to the point where I can hear and understand what's going on around me, but cannot open my eyes or wake up. The harder I try to wake up, the more difficult it becomes. It has become less severe and frequent than when I was a young child.

I have learned to better control this over the years. Instead of fighting against it, I just relax myself, and after a moment or two, I am able to wake up. Most times now, I can feel myself falling into this state prior to it occurring, and can wake myself up before actually falling completely to sleep. That usually makes for a long night, as I will doze and wake up several times during the night.