How golden age Arab-Islamic scholars revolutionized sleep physiology and dream analysis.
Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences October 1, 2025 Ahmed S BaHammam
Medieval Arab-Islamic scholars from the 7th to 13th centuries made significant contributions to sleep science by blending empirical observation with theological insight. Al-Rāzī pioneered clinical methods using comparative groups to evaluate treatments for sleep disorders, described sleep paralysis (al-kābūs) with gastric and brain-centered types, and addressed insomnia and nocturnal enuresis. Ibn Sīnā's pneumatic theory of the psychic spirit explained sleep-wake transitions and proposed three sleep stages based on pulse changes; he also described symptoms consistent with obstructive sleep apnea and recommended positional therapy. Ibn al-Nafīs argued that internal faculties like imagination remain active during sleep, prefiguring modern understandings of selective neural activation. Islamic dream theory distinguished divine visions from psychologically and physically induced dreams, bridging theology, philosophy, and proto-psychology.