Betul Rauf, a researcher from the UK, conducted a series of surveys on sleep paralysis as part of his doctoral dissertation. Half of nearly 7000 participants were familiar with this phenomenon. The author compared sleep paralysis with other states we call phase states: lucid dreaming and out-of-body and near-death experiences. Alien abductions were also mentioned.
People who constantly suffer from sleep paralysis have developed a set of rules for preventing this phenomenon:
– Don’t sleep on your back.
– Establish a sleep routine (avoid sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and sleeping during the day).
– Make your sleeping space comfortable (turn on the light, open the door, avoid heat).
– Control alcohol and medication intake (some people avoid alcohol, while others use it to combat sleep paralysis).
If a person is already paralyzed and experiencing hallucinations, they are recommended to force himself or herself to move, shout, or wake up through force of will. Other options include rationalization (explaining to yourself that you are asleep) and breathing exercises.
The author paid special attention to religion. Historically, sleep paralysis has been linked to mysticism, but atheists and agnostics have reported sleep paralysis more often than believers. Although it is logical that non-religious people have tended to attribute it to “something in the brain,” believers consider it to be a supernatural phenomenon. Very few use prayer to end an episode, even though it helps in 87% of cases for those who do.
Have you ever considered a phase state to be a supernatural experience?
The dissertation was published in July 2024 on the website of Goldsmiths, University of London.
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