Out-of-body experiences in relation to lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis: a theoretical review and conceptual model
Teresa Campillo-Ferrer, Adriana Alcaraz, Ema Demšar, Hsin-Ping Wu, Martin Dresler, Jennifer Windt, Olaf Blanke
PsyArXiv December 4, 2023 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/5r9f3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming Lucid dreaming |
| Key findings | The authors hypothesize that sleep-related out-of-body experiences and certain lucid dreams are more likely to occur during direct transitions from wakefulness to REM sleep (sleep-onset REM periods). They propose a conceptual model, framed within predictive coding, that links sleep-related OBEs to a broader spectrum of experiences and may connect them with OBEs reported during wakefulness. |
Abstract
Out-of body experiences (OBEs) are characterized by the subjective experience of being located outside the physical body. Evidence supports that OBEs triggered by electrical stimulation and epileptic seizures are associated with disrupted brain activity in a distributed network centred at the temporo-parietal junction and the resulting multisensory disruption of body representation. However, 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). A sleep phenomenon that has been linked to this particular kind of OBE is lucid dreaming, i.e., the realization of being in a dream state. Thus, both lucid dreams and sleep-related OBEs are characterized by the conscious awareness of not being in a standard waking state at the moment of the experience. In this paper, we review the current state of research on sleep-related OBEs and hypothesize that these phenomena, along with certain types of lucid dreams, are more likely to occur during direct transitions from wakefulness to REM sleep (sleep-onset REM periods). 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 and sleep paralysis, and explores the potential polysomnographic features underlying sleep-related OBEs. Subsequently, we apply the predictive coding framework to suggest that sleep-related OBEs form part of a broader spectrum of experiences, proposing a connecting link between OBEs occurring in a sleep state and OBEs reported during wakefulness. We conclude by discussing experimental options for testing this model.
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
Cites 75
- Out‐of‐body experience and autoscopy of neurological origin Brain January 15, 2004
- 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
- Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Sleep September 1, 2009
- Psychedelics, Meditation, and Self-Consciousness Frontiers in Psychology September 4, 2018
and 70 more in the library