Out-of-body experiences in relation to lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis: A theoretical review and conceptual model.
Teresa Campillo-Ferrer, Adriana Alcaraz-Sánchez, Ema Demšar, Hsin-Ping Wu, Martin Dresler, Jennifer Windt, Olaf Blanke
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews August 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105770 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness Dreaming Lucid dreaming |
| Keywords | Consciousness Depersonalization Dissociated rem states Lucid dreams Out-of-body experiences Sleep paralysis Sleep-onset rem periods |
| Citations | 14 |
| Key findings | Maintaining consciousness during sleep-onset REM periods may facilitate sleep-related out-of-body experiences. |
Abstract
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are characterized by the subjective experience of being located outside the physical body. Little is known about the neurophysiology of spontaneous OBEs, which are often reported by healthy individuals as occurring during states of reduced vigilance, particularly in proximity to or during sleep (sleep-related OBEs). In this paper, we review the current state of research on sleep-related OBEs and hypothesize that maintaining consciousness during transitions from wakefulness to REM sleep (sleep-onset REM periods) may facilitate sleep-related OBEs. Based on this hypothesis, we propose a new conceptual model that potentially describes the relationship between OBEs and sleep states. The model sheds light on the phenomenological differences between sleep-related OBEs and similar states of consciousness, such as lucid dreaming (the realization of being in a dream state) and sleep paralysis (feeling paralyzed while falling asleep or waking up), and explores the potential polysomnographic features underlying sleep-related OBEs. Additionally, we apply the predictive coding framework and suggest a connecting link between sleep-related OBEs and OBEs reported during wakefulness.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on lucid dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The cognitive neuroscience of lucid dreaming | 2019 | Review | |
| My Dream, My Rules: Can Lucid Dreaming Treat Nightmares? | 2019 | Review | |
| What about dreams? State of the art and open questions | 2022 | Review | |
| The Dream of God: How Do Religion and Science See Lucid Dreaming and Other Conscious States During Sleep? | 2020 | Review | |
| Insight and Dissociation in Lucid Dreaming and Psychosis | 2018 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 12
- Electrophysiological Correlates of Lucid Dreaming: Sensor and Source Level Signatures. Journal of Neuroscience May 14, 2025
- The clinical neuroscience of lucid dreaming. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews January 14, 2025
- Out-of-body experiences: interpretations through the eyes of those who live them. Frontiers in Psychology 2025
- Facilitating unusual bodily experiences and out-of-body experiences across wakefulness and sleep: A high-density EEG and neurophenomenology study Consciousness and Cognition February 11, 2026
- Remembering as a research tool for selfless consciousness studies Asian Journal of Philosophy January 15, 2026
and 7 more in the library
Cites 96
- Out‐of‐body experience and autoscopy of neurological origin Brain January 15, 2004
- Linking Out-of-Body Experience and Self Processing to Mental Own-Body Imagery at the Temporoparietal Junction Journal of Neuroscience January 19, 2005
- Increased Global Functional Connectivity Correlates with LSD-Induced Ego Dissolution. Current Biology April 13, 2016
- Ego-Dissolution and Psychedelics: Validation of the Ego-Dissolution Inventory (EDI) Frontiers in Human Neuroscience June 14, 2016
- The Out-of-Body Experience: Disturbed Self-Processing at the Temporo-Parietal Junction The Neuroscientist January 4, 2005
and 91 more in the library