Sleep paralysis in medieval Persia – the Hidayat of Akhawayni (?–983 AD)
Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment June 6, 2012 S. Golzari, Kazem Khodadoust, Farid Alakbarli et al.
Akhawayni's 10th-century Persian medical text, Hidayat al-muta'allemin fi al-tibb, includes a chapter on sleep paralysis (night-mare) placed before the description and treatment of epilepsy. This article reviews Akhawayni's teachings on sleep paralysis alongside descriptions and treatments by Greek, medieval, and Renaissance scholars. The authors contend that Akhawayni's descriptions, together with other early writings, offer insight into sleep paralysis during the Middle Ages in general and in Persia in particular.