Terror and bliss? Commonalities and distinctions between sleep paralysis, lucid dreaming, and their associations with waking life experiences
Journal of Sleep Research July 27, 2016 DOI: 10.1111/jsr.12441 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,928 |
| Population | Adults aged 18–82 years |
| Topics | Lucid dreaming Dreaming |
| Keywords | Sleep paralysis Wakefulness Developmental psychology Electroencephalography Narcolepsy Neurology Cataplexy |
| Citations | 70 |
| Key findings | Sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming frequency are positively associated, but sleep paralysis is predicted by sleep quality, anxiety, and life stress, while lucid dreaming is predicted by positive constructive daydreaming and vivid sensory imagery. |
Abstract
Sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming are both dissociated experiences related to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Anecdotal evidence suggests that episodes of sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming are related but different experiences. In this study we test this claim systematically for the first time in an online survey with 1928 participants (age range: 18-82 years; 53% female). Confirming anecdotal evidence, sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming frequency were related positively and this association was most apparent between lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis episodes featuring vestibular-motor hallucinations. Dissociative experiences were the only common (positive) predictor of both sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming. Both experiences showed different associations with other key variables of interest: sleep paralysis was predicted by sleep quality, anxiety and life stress, whereas lucid dreaming was predicted by a positive constructive daydreaming style and vividness of sensory imagery. Overall, results suggest that dissociative experiences during wakefulness are reflected in dissociative experiences during REM sleep; while sleep paralysis is related primarily to issues of sleep quality and wellbeing, lucid dreaming may reflect a continuation of greater imaginative capacity and positive imagery in waking states.
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 | |
| Increased Lucid Dreaming Frequency in Narcolepsy Patients diagnosed with narcolepsy and healthy control subjects | 2015 | Cross-sectional study | n = 979 |
| Applications of lucid dreams: An online study Lucid dreamers | 2012 | Survey | n = 301 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 45
- A systematic review of variables associated with sleep paralysis Sleep Medicine Reviews June 8, 2017
- Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep. Current Biology April 12, 2021
- Nightmare Disorder and Isolated Sleep Paralysis Neurotherapeutics November 23, 2020
- Is there a relation among REM sleep dissociated phenomena, like lucid dreaming, sleep paralysis, out-of-body experiences, and false awakening? Medical Hypotheses November 1, 2020
- Associations between exploding head syndrome and measures of sleep quality and experiences, dissociation, and well-being Sleep December 13, 2018
and 40 more in the library
Cites 19
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- A Revised Paranormal Belief Scale International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 2004
- Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Sleep September 1, 2009
- Dreaming as mind wandering: evidence from functional neuroimaging and first-person content reports. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013
- Neural Correlates of Dream Lucidity Obtained from Contrasting Lucid versus Non-Lucid REM Sleep: A Combined EEG/fMRI Case Study Sleep June 29, 2012
and 14 more in the library