The prevalence of sleep paralysis is usually higher among psychiatric patients than among the general population. However, even completely healthy individuals experience such episodes. Researchers Nabeela Raza (Pakistan) and Anum Farooq (UK) surveyed 90 individuals, half of whom had neurotic or psychiatric disorders and the other half of whom had no such diagnoses. The authors aimed to determine whether sleep paralysis experiences differ between the sick and the healthy?
The scientists focused on three main features:
1. The ‘Intruder’: visual and auditory hallucinations and a sense of fear.
2. The ‘Incubus’: a feeling of pressure on the chest and difficulty breathing.
3. ‘Vestibular-motor experiences’: feelings of bliss or sensations of floating or flying.
The results showed that the ‘Incubus’ is the most common experience – almost everyone is familiar with it. The ‘Intruder’ is also prevalent: on average, 70–80% of both healthy and sick individuals reported such symptoms. However, vestibular-motor experiences are much more common in patients with psychiatric diagnoses (90%) than healthy individuals. Among neurotic individuals, one in two people experience this, whereas the rate is one in three people among healthy individuals.
What does your experience of sleep paralysis look like?
The article was published in February 2024 in the Journal of Health and Rehabilitation Research.
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