Researchers from the US (Marina Weiler and Martin Monti) and Brazil (Alexander Moreira-Almeida) posed the question: Are out-of-body experiences and lucid dreams the same phenomenon or different? The authors link both to other states we call phase states: near-death experiences, false awakenings, and sleep paralysis. They did not conduct experiments or surveys, but they did analyze existing attempts to distinguish these phenomena. For example, they proposed the following hypotheses:
1. Vibrations, buzzing sounds, and a sense of electricity precede an out-of-body experience.
2. A person exits in their body while awake, whereas a lucid dream is a dream.
3. Awareness is heightened during an out-of-body experience.
4. The level of control and the ability to change space are heightened in a lucid dream.
5. In an out-of-body experience, the world is more realistic and stable.
6. During out-of-body experiences, people are more likely to gain superpowers, receive information, or communicate with the dead.
7. Time during an out-of-body experience is perceived normally and in a linear order. In a lucid dream, things are more chaotic.
8. Leaving the body often changes people: it is a turning point that divides life into “before and after.”
9. During an out-of-body experience, a person sees their body from the outside, while a lucid dream involves the image of the body, which the lucid dreamer is inside.
However, the authors reject all of these hypotheses, noting that none of these criteria clearly distinguish out-of-body experiences from lucid dreams. These rules are formulated from individual examples, but there are also other stories.
So, how can you differentiate an out-of-body experience from a lucid dream? Researchers believe the only way is based on the subjective feeling of the absence of the body. But it’s not essential that a person sees their own body from the outside; what’s important is that they feel disembodied.
What do you think the difference is between an out-of-body experience and a lucid dream?
A preprint of the article was published in May 2024 on PsyArXiv.
Get all the latest news about lucid dreams via our channels on Telegram, Facebook, Twitter
