Sleep paralysis and folklore
JRSM Open July 1, 2015 Ann M Cox
Sleep paralysis, long interpreted across cultures as an attack by a malevolent night creature, was first clinically described in 1664 as 'Incubus or the Night-Mare.' In 1977, over 100 healthy Southeast Asians died from Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome at a rate of 92/100,000, with no underlying cause found except high rates of sleep paralysis and belief in the dab tsog (nightmare spirit). The nightmare figure descends from Lilith, first recorded as Lilitu in Sumerian texts from 2400 BC, a she-demon who preyed on men and women in childbirth. Today, sleep paralysis is understood as REM sleep occurring at inappropriate times, leaving the sleeper partially conscious between dream and wakefulness. Cultural traditions still explain the experience for many.