Out-of-body experiences can be a sign of illness and may occur as a result of taking various substances or the electrical stimulation of specific brain areas. However, they are also commonly encountered in healthy individuals, specifically in 5–10% of the population, and some people intentionally have out-of-body experiences. This figure is provided by an international group of scientists from five different countries, including Martin Dresler, a permanent researcher on the topic of lucid dreams.
The authors compared out-of-body experiences with other states that we call “phase states”: lucid dreaming, false awakening, and sleep paralysis. Their main similarity is the ability to transition from one to another. For example, in false awakening or sleep paralysis, a person succumbs to an illusion but can realize that what is happening is a dream.
However, scientists note differences as well. In particular, only after sleep paralysis or an out-of-body experience can a person sincerely believe that everything happened in reality. This fact leads the authors to suggest that these states are based on different neural mechanisms. But there is still too little data to draw definitive conclusions.
Researchers note that enthusiasts of out-of-body experiences often use the direct method—that is, without losing awareness, they deliberately transition from wakefulness into a dream. However, reality testing, a popular technique among lucid dreamers, does not work: it is designed to look for inconsistencies in a dream, but the environment is too realistic during an out-of-body experience for this technique to work.
Do you practice out-of-body experiences? What method do you use?
The preprint of the article was published in December 2023 on PsyArXiv.
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