Since this event - I’ve read about others having this happen. Sleep paralysis. All of the facts are similar except my dogs were agitated and left the room right before. The dogs woke me around 4:15am. I’ve never seen them scared like that. Usually they bark when they are scared. But instead they were shaking and left the room. Again they have never done that before. The room was darker than usual and I became irritable for no reason. I had the feeling of a very frightening presence next to me on the left. I was paralyzed: could not move or speak. I was laying on my back. With much effort I was able to turn my head towards what was scaring me. I saw nothing. But I said out loud (with the most effort you can imagine)… “please leave, you are scaring me”. I was immediately lifted towards the ceiling. I felt 2 places on my back where I was being touched. My head and upper back felt like they were being lifted while my legs dangled. I was in an inclined position as my body elevated. I was wide awake. I got closer and closer to the ceiling fan. I could not move or resist. I didn’t know if I was going to go through the ceiling and out of the house or hit the ceiling fan and become injured. Just before reaching the fan, I was able to gasp - and that seemed to break it. I instantly fell back on the bed. Hard! The room became brighter. The next day, my body was sore from falling onto the bed. How can that be a hallucination when my dogs sensed it and I felt sore afterwards?
That sounds like a super frightening experience! I have had some issues with sleep paralysis as well, and its definitely scary, but nothing like that! Perhaps you were dreaming and making some kind of noises that scared your dogs? I know I’ve been dreaming and I’ll “wake up” but actually I’m still asleep and dreaming. And they can feel so real! The soreness could be from the anxiety you felt, as you tend to tighten or tense up your muscles when you’re frightened. Have you been tested for any sleeping disorders like sleep apnea? The fact that you “gasped” and then everything stopped makes me think it could be something like that. Just a suggestion. Many people dont even realize they have it.