I have researched this and the only thing I could find is the mind wakes up but the body is still asleep. I have had this happen a couple times and others have discussed it with me after I talked about it. Though it could be something more.
My first kid was about six months old. The next thing that happened makes me wonder. I woke to small kids laughing and giggling. The lights were flickering as well. It bothered me so bad I grabbed my pistol and did a security check around the house and made sure the little one was ok. I went back to bed after. That part may have been a dream, the next for sure was not.
I woke up and went to get out of bed. I couldn't move. I got scared and went to scream out. I could not even open my mouth. I couldn't speak or move. I was pinned down by something. About 30 seconds go by and I could barely mumble "help." More seconds go by and I can speak louder. It took a full minute before I was able to get up. It has happened twice after, the being pinned down part. Scary as hell.
I know this really has nothing to do with the current topic but came to mind for some reason.
I had something similar happen to me, I was sleeping early morning, my wife who was my girlfriend at the time left for work like 7am I always whent back to bed and dint wake up till like 12pm.
But this time I was dreaming that someone was yelling in my ear, so loud that it hurt and it woke me up. Looked around and was like wtf?? Whent back to sleep and was dozing off when I hear a dog barking loud as fuck so then it startled me and I go int the living room and the barking is coming from the bathroom and I open the door and there is a giant black German Shepherd is barking and about to attack me and I'm just frozen, I cant move yell or scream.
So I started praying and I hear someone knocking at my door. Its my landlord and Im afraid to go and answer, then he just walks in with these two guys looking like Cops and start searching for something.
Then a guy walks in with the black dog on a leash like the dog is sniffing for drugs or some shit, next thing I know I'm asleep and wake up to knocking at my door.
I was like ..was i dreaming or was it real but there is still knocking at my door, I was like fuck it I'm not going to open the door. So I stood in my bedroom waiting to hear some movement or commotion but there was nothing..
Came out like an hr later and everything is calm and quiet. So I look around and something made me look at the floor, there was black dog hair on my floor, not just one or two hairs but alot like when a dog is shedding hair. Looked to see if there was some way someone could of entered but my door had that security guard on.. I was fucking freaking...got dressed and was leaving to go to work and the meintanence guy saying that he would be back later to fix some stuff. I was like was that you earlier knocking? He says I never knocked, tells me that he just got there and I was the first person he saw in the hallway and thats why he was telling me.
Whent to work and kinda forgot about it..
Then like a few days later my wife wakes up and tells, me this dream about a black dog and its similar to my dream with the screaming and stuff. And we start freaking.. Then like 2 days later we are watching TV and the tv goes mute for like 40 seconds and we're trying to figure out if I hit the mute by accident and the TV clearly said my wife's name and it did it like 3 times. A lot of funny shit happend in that apartment, too much to write down.