Isolated Sleep Paralysis, Vivid Dreams and Geomagnetic Influences: II
Perceptual and Motor Skills October 1, 1997 DOI: 10.2466/pms.1997.85.2.579 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 2 |
| Population | Two subjects (the author and a second subject) providing daily dream reports |
| Key findings | Geomagnetic activity was significantly higher three days before an isolated sleep paralysis event and significantly lower three days before an unusually vivid dream, while randomly selected days showed no significant fluctuation. The author suggests that larger samples are needed for confirmation. |
Abstract
This report describes a test of the hypothesis that significant changes in the ambient geomagnetic field are associated with altered normal nighttime dream patterns. Specifically, it was predicted that there would be a greater incidence of isolated sleep paralysis or vivid dreams with abrupt rises and falls of geomagnetic activity. The author's (JC) and a second subject's (KC) daily reports of dream-recall were analyzed in the context of daily fluctuations of geomagnetic activity (K indices). Two analyses of variance indicated (i) significantly higher geomagnetic activity three days before a recorded isolated sleep paralysis event and (ii) significantly lower geomagnetic activity three days before an unusually vivid dream took place. Conversely, geomagnetic activity did not fluctuate significantly for randomly selected days. Testing a large sample over time is required for confirmation and extension of this work.