Is there a relation among REM sleep dissociated phenomena, like lucid dreaming, sleep paralysis, out-of-body experiences, and false awakening?
Michael Raduga, Oleg Kuyava, Natalia Sevcenko
Medical Hypotheses November 1, 2020 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2020.110169 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 974 |
| Population | People on the streets of Moscow |
| Topics | Dreaming Lucid dreaming |
| Keywords | Consciousness False awakening Lucid dreams Out-of-body experiences Phase state Rem sleep Sleep paralysis |
| Citations | 31 |
| Key findings | 88% of respondents have experienced at least one of lucid dreaming, false awakening, sleep paralysis, or out-of-body experiences, and these phenomena are closely correlated with each other. |
Abstract
During REM sleep we normally experience dreams. However, there are other less common REM sleep phenomena, like lucid dreaming (LD), false awakening (FA), sleep paralysis (SP), and out of body experiences (OBE). LD occurs when one is conscious during dreaming, and FA occurs when one is dreaming but believes that has woken up. SP is characterized by skeletal muscle atonia and occurs mainly during awakening or falling asleep. OBE is the subjective sensation of 'leaving the physical body'. Since all these phenomena happen during REM sleep, their frequency is probably connected. The goal of this research is to explore how these phenomena are connected to each other in terms of frequency. We surveyed 974 people on the streets of Moscow and found significant correlations between the phenomena. Of those surveyed, 88% have experienced at least one of the phenomena of interest (i.e., LD, OBE, FA, and SP), which appeared to be closely correlated to each other. Furthermore, 43% of respondents stated that they often experience at least one of these phenomena. We found that the recurrence of these phenomena correlated with sleep duration and dream recall frequency. The results of the survey provide better understanding of the nature of REM sleep dissociative phenomena. Cross-correlations between REM sleep dissociated phenomena, like lucid dreaming, sleep paralysis, out-of-body experiences, and false awakening, revealed by a survey.
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 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 27
- Dreaming of the sleep lab PLoS One October 6, 2021
- Benefits and concerns of seeking and experiencing lucid dreams: benefits are tied to successful induction and dream control. SLEEP Advances 2022
- To be or not to be hallucinating: Implications of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences and lucid dreaming for brain disorders. PNAS Nexus December 19, 2023
- Awake or Sleeping? Maybe Both… A Review of Sleep-Related Dissociative States. Journal of Clinical Medicine June 6, 2023
- Out-of-body experiences in relation to lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis: A theoretical review and conceptual model. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews August 1, 2024
and 22 more in the library
Cites 21
- Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Sleep September 1, 2009
- Neural Correlates of Dream Lucidity Obtained from Contrasting Lucid versus Non-Lucid REM Sleep: A Combined EEG/fMRI Case Study Sleep June 29, 2012
- Lucid Dreaming Verified by Volitional Communication during Rem Sleep Perceptual and Motor Skills June 1, 1981
- A systematic review of variables associated with sleep paralysis Sleep Medicine Reviews June 8, 2017
- Lucid Dreaming as a Treatment for Recurrent Nightmares Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics February 18, 2010
and 16 more in the library