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Could sleep paralysis be pleasant?

Monika Kliková, Brian A Sharpless, Jitka Bušková

Journal of Sleep Research June 1, 2021 DOI: 10.1111/jsr.13154 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed
Sample size 172
Population People with recurrent sleep paralysis
Topics Lucid dreaming
Keywords Parasomnia Sleep paralysis Sleep-wake disorders
Citations 17
Key findings Pleasant sleep paralysis episodes occur in 23% of individuals with recurrent episodes and are associated with lucid dreaming ability and higher trait openness.

Abstract

Sleep paralysis is an inability to move at sleep onset or upon awakening. It is often a distressing experience that can be associated with significant clinical consequences. Few studies have focussed on pleasant sleep paralysis episodes. The present study aimed to determine the relative prevalence of pleasant episodes of sleep paralysis as well as variables that may make them more likely to occur. Participants (N = 172) with recurrent episodes of sleep paralysis completed a battery of questionnaires investigating sleep paralysis episodes, trauma symptoms, life satisfaction, and Big Five personality traits. Pleasant sleep paralysis was found to be a fairly common experience (i.e. 23%). Episodes were emotionally complex, with pleasant episodes often involving some admixture of fear. In terms of hallucinations, pleasant episodes were more likely to involve vestibular-motor sensations (i.e. illusory body movements) and some individuals reported an ability to induce these hallucinations. Contrary to expectation, neither lower trauma symptomatology nor higher levels of reported life satisfaction predicted pleasant sleep paralysis. However, the ability to lucid dream and higher levels of trait openness to new experiences appeared to make pleasant episodes more likely. Clinical implications are discussed.

Comparable studies

Other cross-sectional and survey studies on lucid dreaming, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
The Phenomenology of Lucid Dreaming: An Online Survey Respondents to an online survey about lucid dreams 2014 Online survey n = 684
Frequency of Lucid Dreaming in a Representative German Sample Representative sample of German adults 2011 Cross-sectional survey n = 919
Lucid dreaming: an age‐dependent brain dissociation Students aged 6-19 years 2012 Survey
Terror and bliss? Commonalities and distinctions between sleep paralysis, lucid dreaming, and their associations with waking life experiences Adults aged 18–82 years 2016 Cross-sectional survey n = 1,928
Increased Lucid Dreaming Frequency in Narcolepsy Patients diagnosed with narcolepsy and healthy control subjects 2015 Cross-sectional study n = 979

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