Hallucinations and Sleep
May 26, 2026 DOI: 10.4324/9781003784890-6 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Narcolepsy Sleep paralysis Sleep system call Context archaeology Population Perception Eye movement Arousal Sleep inertia Cognitive psychology Salience neuroscience Cataplexy Visual hallucination Perspective graphical |
| Key points | Argues that sleep-related hallucinations arise when REM-sleep elements intrude into wakefulness, creating hybrid states that blur the distinction between normal and pathological perception. |
Abstract
This chapter examines hallucinations linked to sleep as a powerful window into how the brain constructs perception at the borders between waking and dreaming. It focuses on hallucinations arising in hypnagogic (sleep-onset) and hypnopompic (awakening) states, in isolated episodes in the general population and in the context of sleep paralysis, narcolepsy and parasomnias. These experiences typically occur when elements of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep—vivid imagery, emotional salience and muscle atonia—intrude into, or fail to disengage from, wakefulness, creating hybrid states in which internally generated content is experienced as present in the bedroom. Visual figures, sensed presences, bodily distortions and brief voices are often startling yet arise in otherwise healthy individuals, blurring rigid distinctions between normal and pathological phenomena. By tracing how sleep architecture, neuromodulatory systems and circadian and homeostatic influences destabilise the sleep–wake boundary, the chapter uses sleep-related hallucinations as a test case for broader models of hallucinations across clinical and nonclinical contexts.