Alien Abductions: A Case of Sleep Paralysis
Javed Ather Siddiqui, Shazia Farheen Qureshi, Abdul Khaliq Al Ghamdi
Sleep and Hypnosis August 14, 2017 DOI: 10.5350/sleep.hypn.2017.19.0144 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | 35-year-old male personal driver with recurrent episodes of sleep paralysis |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key findings | The authors argue that sleep paralysis is a benign, transient state of conscious immobility of unknown cause that can be accompanied by anxiety and hallucinations, and that it may be misdiagnosed as depression or psychosis. They propose that physical, psychological, and social causes be ruled out and that patients be assessed by sleep clinicians or a psychiatrist, and they call for greater attention to the psychological and cultural aspects of supernatural interpretations of these experiences. |
Abstract
Sleep paralysis (SP) is a benign, transient episode of immobility lasting a few seconds to a few minutes that can occur while falling asleep or on awakening.It is a condition of unknown etiology.During the episode, all the skeletal muscles are virtually 'paralyzed', resulting in an inability to move or speak but individual remains conscious.Because it occurs in a clear sensorium, the individual is able to describe the experience vividly.It is associated with extreme anxiety, phobia, and nervousness, restless and, sometime, hallucinations.We present a case of 35 year old male personal driver, who had recurrent episode of sleep paralysis, we must rule out physical, psychological or social suffering and the subject must be examined by sleep clinicians or psychiatrist."Supernatural" experiences associated to SP have been interpreted as pathological.We must enrich the knowledge about these experiences of SP and their psychological and cultural aspects.SP may be misdiagnosed as being due to depression and psychosis (e.g.schizophrenia) and alternatively depending on how they construe these experiences.
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
Cites 7
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- State Dissociation, Human Behavior, and Consciousness Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry September 1, 2011
- Rates and characteristics of sleep paralysis in the general population of Denmark and Egypt. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry September 2013
- Lifetime Prevalence Rates of Sleep Paralysis: A Systematic Review Sleep Medicine Reviews May 14, 2011
- Depression: relationships to sleep paralysis and other sleep disturbances in a community sample Journal of Sleep Research September 1, 2007
and 2 more in the library