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Scientific Sleep Paralysis Research Papers and Books
Here you will find a database of sleep paralysis research papers and books that have helped to examine the phenomena from a scientific, spiritual and medical perspective.
Research into sleep paralysis is sparse and collating them into central resource was helpful in understanding what sleep paralysis is, as well as the gaps in research.
Given the limited nature of research in this area, please feel welcome to suggest at the bottom of the page:
- Any related areas of research that you think should be added to this page
- Any books, studies etc., that you've come across that you think should be added.
There is also the option to upload files at the bottom of this page.
Sleep Paralysis - The Experience and Features
This listing represents what the sleep paralysis experience is and the features.
- Sleep Paralysis: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Treatment
- A Systematic Review of Variables Associated with Sleep Paralysis
- Night-mares, Nocebos, and The Mind-Body Connection
- Clinical Diagnosis and Misdiagnosis of Sleep Disorders
- Harpers Encyclopedia of Mystical Paranormal Experiences
- Isolated Sleep Paralysis: A Conversation
- Lifetime Prevalence Rates of Sleep Paralysis: A Systematic Review
- Sleep Paralysis Historical, Psychological, and Medical Perspectives
- Sleep Paralysis In Medieval Persia
- On The Nightmare
- Sleep Paralysis: Its Genesis and Qualitative Analysis of Case Histories
Sleep Paralysis as a Spiritual Experience
Scholars have researched sleep paralysis from the perspective of it being a spiritual and/or otherworldly phenomenon. Many people who experience sleep paralysis state that the experience is ‘real’. These resources examine these arguments.
- Sleep Paralysis, as a Spiritual Experience
- Beings Without Bodies: An Experience-Centered Theory of the Belief in Spirits
- Beliefs and Health
- The Cultural Kindling of Spiritual Experiences
- Sleep Paralysis: Its Genesis and Qualitative Analysis of Case Histories
- Between Freud and Coleridge: Contemporary Scholarship on Victorian Literature and the Science of Dream-states
- The Healing Power of Extraordinary Spiritual Experiences
- Visionary Spiritual Experiences and Cognitive Aspects of Spiritual Transformation
- Visionary Spiritual Experiences in an Enchanted World
Sleep Paralysis Beliefs, Culture and Folklore
From witchcraft and the trials in Salem, to the ‘Old Hag’ in Newfoundland, different cultures, beliefs and folklore have influenced our understanding of sleep paralysis. The resources here recognise the global nature of sleep paralysis and the inherent traditions upon which sleep paralysis folklore, beliefs and customs have been built upon for many centuries.
- Unusual Cases of Succubus
- Culture and Sleep Paralysis
- The Nightmare Experience, Sleep Paralysis and Witchcraft Accusations
- Cultural Variation in the Clinical Presentation of Sleep Paralysis
- Medical Condition, Demon or Undead Corpse? Sleep Paralysis and the Nightmare in Medieval Europe
- The Old Hag Phenomenon as Sleep Paralysis
- Sleep Paralysis and Folklore
- To Believe and Not to Believe
Sleep Paralysis Around the World
Sleep paralysis takes place all over the world. It has many different names and is often part of the culture of different societies. Some of these are listed below.
- Cultural Explanations of Sleep Paralysis in Italy- The Pandafeche Attack and Associated Supernatural Beliefs
- Ethnomedical Pathogenesis and Hmong Immigrants' Sudden Nocturnal Deaths
- Explanations of Sleep Paralysis among Egyptian College Students and the General Population in Egypt and Denmark
- High Prevalence of Isolated Sleep Paralysis: Kanashibari Phenomenon in Japan
- ‘The Ghost Pushes You Down’: Sleep Paralysis-Type Panic Attacks in a Khmer Refugee Population
- Adaptation of CBT for Traumatized South African Indigenous Groups
- Beliefs about Sleep Paralysis in Turkey: Karabasan attack
- Sleep Paralysis in Adolescents: The ‘A Dead Body Climbed on top of me’ Phenomenon in Mexico
- Inuit Interpretations of Sleep Paralysis
- Rates and Characteristics of Sleep Paralysis in the General Population of Denmark and Egypt
- Refugee Stress and Folk Belief: Hmong Sudden Deaths
- Sleep Paralysis in Brazilian Folklore and Other Cultures: A Brief Review
- Sleep Paralysis among Cambodian Refugees: Association with PTSD Diagnosis and Severity
- Sleep Paralysis Among Egyptian College Students: Association with Anxiety Symptoms
- Sleep Paralysis in Chinese: Ghost Oppression Phenomenon in Hong Kong
- Sleep Paralysis in Italy: Frequency, Hallucinatory Experiences, and Other Features
- Terror in Transition: Hmong Folk Belief in America
- Sudden Unexpected Noctur Syndrome among Hmong Immigrants Examining the Role of the "Nightmare"
- Sleep Paralysis in the Elderly
Sleep Paralysis and Lucid Dreaming
Lucid Dreaming is having the awareness that you are dreaming whilst you're in the sleep state and having experiences. It's related to the sleep paralysis experience, with many people lucid dreaming whilst they are having sleep paralysis. This phenomenon is examined here.
Sleep Paralysis and Extraterrestrials
Similarities have been found between the sleep paralysis experience and the experiences of UFO abductees. Experiencers have also suggested that the engagements with entities during sleep paralysis, were in fact with extraterrestrials. Whilst it's recognised that more research is needed in this area some of the available resources are listed here.
Sleep Paralysis and Anthroposophy (The Gateway)
Anthroposophy, is a philosophy based on the premise that the human intellect has the ability to contact spiritual worlds. It was formulated by Dr. Rudolf Steiner who postulated the existence of a spiritual world fully accessible to all humans. He regarded human beings as having originally participated in the spiritual processes of the world through a dreamlike consciousness. He suggested that the sleep paralysis experience is a gateway to the spiritual world, and that the entities that are experienced are the gatekeepers, who are attempting to stop you gaining spiritual 'gifts'.
Sleep Paralysis as a Medical Condition
The medical community refer to the sleep paralysis experiences as hallucinatory, which has led to the experience being pathologised with a diagnosis of psychosis and schizophrenia in some cases. Here, the medical perspective is examined.
Sleep Paralysis and Narcolepsy
People who have Narcolepsy may find themselves periodically falling asleep during the day, often for minutes or seconds at a time and can cause excessive daytime sleepiness. Sleep paralysis is often experienced by people who have Narcolepsy. These episodes can be unnerving and disruptive, especially when the episodes occur during normal tasks such as eating, talking or driving.
- Increased Creative Thinking in Narcolepsy
- Life Effects of Narcolepsy in 180 Patients from North America, Asia and Europe Compared to Matched Controls
- Meditation-Relaxation (MR Therapy) for Sleep Paralysis: A Pilot Study in Patients With Narcolepsy
- Narcolepsy and Emotional Experience: A Review of the Literature
- Narcolepsy: Diagnosis and management
- Recognition and Management of Narcolepsy
- The Pathogenesis of Narcolepsy with a Consideration of Sleep-Paralysis and Localized Sleep
- Two Cases of Narcoleptic Patients with Sleep Paralysis as a Chief Complaint
Use this section to suggest any books, studies or related areas of research that you've come across that you think should be added to this page. There is also the option to upload any files to be added to the page.
**(Note: All files will be reviewed before being uploaded)
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