What makes your brain become sleep paralyzed or half asleep half awake?

i know what your talking about it happens to me too when it happens tro me i just try to hold my breath and gather up as much strength as i can and try to move usually happens to me if i go to sleep with my head on my left shoulder

i try not to sleep that way but everytime i g to sleep itry not to be in a position that ican’t get out of

either hold your breath(not to long) and try t open your eyes or try to move your hands

yeah wht @a1b said was basicly right, but when it happens its like im dreaming but i can hear like people talking and the tv in the background or sometimes its like im awake and sitting up in my bed or on the couch and people are walking by but when i try to scream out for them my body cant move, my mouth cant move but when i wake up and ask some one like my sister didnt you hear me screaming for help when you walkd in my room she would say i never came in your room, and in order to wake myself up i have to open my mouth and thts whn i start shaking and eventually wake up.

Oh, This has happened to me before. I woke up, and then tried scratching my nose, but then my arm didn’t move even though I was sure I moved it. I’ve researched this for a while and it’s something called “sleep paralysis”. There aren’t sure causes of it yet, but here’s the wiki for it, it’s quite interesting. http://funadvice.com/r/3js9ijetvb