Terror and bliss? Commonalities and distinctions between sleep paralysis, lucid dreaming, and their associations with waking life experiences.

Dan Denis,Giulia L Poerio

doi:10.1111/jsr.12441

Abstract

SummarySleep paralysis and lucid dreaming are both dissociated experiences related to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Anecdotal evidence suggests that episodes of sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming are related but different experiences. In this study we test this claim systematically for the first time in an online survey with 1928 participants (age range: 18–82 years; 53% female). Confirming anecdotal evidence, sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming frequency were related positively and this association was most apparent between lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis episodes featuring vestibular‐motor hallucinations. Dissociative experiences were the only common (positive) predictor of both sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming. Both experiences showed different associations with other key variables of interest: sleep paralysis was predicted by sleep quality, anxiety and life stress, whereas lucid dreaming was predicted by a positive constructive daydreaming style and vividness of sensory imagery. Overall, results suggest that dissociative experiences during wakefulness are reflected in dissociative experiences during REM sleep; while sleep paralysis is related primarily to issues of sleep quality and wellbeing, lucid dreaming may reflect a continuation of greater imaginative capacity and positive imagery in waking states.

Highlights

This paper examines the unexplored similarities and differences between sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming and their associations with waking states of consciousness, wellbeing and beliefs
Sleep paralysis is a period of inability to perform voluntary movements at either sleep onset or upon awakening (American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 2014)
Episodes are often accompanied by a wide range of bizarre hallucinations comprising three categories (Cheyne, 2003; Cheyne et al, 1999): intruder hallucinations, which involve a sense of an evil presence and multi-sensory hallucinations of an intruder; incubus hallucinations, characterized by the feeling of pressure on the chest, suffocation and physical pain; and vestibular-motor (V-M) hallucinations, which feature illusorymovement and out-of-body experiences

Summary

Introduction

This paper examines the unexplored similarities and differences between sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming and their associations with waking states of consciousness (e.g. daydreaming, dissociative experiences), wellbeing and beliefs. Lucid dreaming is a dream involving awareness of dreaming (Schredl and Erlacher, 2004) and is characterized by increased insight, control, access to waking memories, dissociation from one’s own body, logical thought, and more positive emotion (compared to non-lucid dreaming) (Voss et al, 2013). It is likely that these sleep experiences are underlined by similar neurophysiology (Dresler et al, 2012; Terzaghi et al, 2012; Voss et al, 2009), and both can be conceptualized as dissociated rapid eye movement (REM) states (i.e. that aspects of waking consciousness are present during REM) (Mahowald and Schenck, 2005)

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Conclusion