Heh, I dream every night - if I make an effort or something strikes me I have no problem recalling it.
Once or twice I recall "blinking" and suddenly noticing that it was daytime - like no time had passed between going to bed and getting up. No dreams, no blackness. It was strange, like having your sleep robbed from you. Loved it as a kid; hate it now, when I look forward to getting a chance to sleep at night :p
Concerning sleep paralysis:
Man, I get it ALOT - less recently ... it depends - goes in spurts, and I can't quite pick out the patterns yet. Started in high school - well, I recall it starting earlier when I was small, but it would be something simple like I just couldn't turn over or move my arm.
But in high school, that all changed. Anyone ever watch the Exorcism of Emily Rose? Well, I had an episode where I "woke up" and couldn't move. A shadowy figure floated over me, looking like it were made from television static, and proceeded to strangle me. I couldn't breathe, or shout or anything, and I felt like I was convulsing or something, can't describe it. Lots of fear and dread and evil. I finally managed to break free, and was so scared by the episode I had to wake up my parents and let them know what just happened. Freaked me out really bad, and I kept having episodes similar to this - usually not with the shadowy figure, but the feeling of being "invaded" or convusling and a terrible evil presence. I thought it might be something praeternatural, until I learned more about sleep paralysis, and realised it's something lots of people go through, and since then I've dealt with it better.
Still, it's hardly something you get used to. I've had some bad episodes somewhat recently of my sheets being pulled off my bed, of being thrown about the room, of hearing an unintelligible evil voice, those same feelings of fear, invasion, and convulsion ... but each time I wake up and it's obvious it's all part of a dream state (no evidence of thrashing around the room).
Good news is that it hasn't happened in a while :D. It'll probably happen again, and though it is terrifying, you learn to deal with it.
As far as I can tell there isn't a "cure" and it seems that you have a higher chance of experiencing it if someone in your family does. Basically as far as science goes, your body produces some chemical to keep you from acting out your dreams while you sleep, and somehow you "wake up" before it has a chance to wear off. And in this state of semi-sleep there's alot of brain activity occurring, which tends to manifest itself in intense emotional experiences. Some people even mention euphoria or intense sexual stimulation, though the prevailing emotion seems to be a sense of fear, dread, and evil.
Anyway, that was probably more than anyone wanted to know. If you want to read up more on it, just google it. Blah ... sorry for the long post ...
