Associations between sleep variables and ostensibly paranormal experiences and paranormal beliefs: A scoping review.
Betul Rauf, Rotem Perach, Juan J Madrid-Valero, Dan Denis, Brian A Sharpless, Hope Farron, Christopher C French, Alice M Gregory
British journal of psychology (London, England : 1953) November 1, 2023 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12655 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractSleep disturbances such as sleep paralysis, lucid dreams, nightmares, and hypnagogic hallucinations are positively associated with reports of paranormal experiences and beliefs, including those involving ghosts, spirits, and near-death experiences. A scoping review of 44 cross-sectional studies found consistent links between these sleep variables and ostensibly paranormal phenomena. The findings suggest that nighttime experiences many people interpret as supernatural may stem from common sleep disruptions. This has clinical implications, such as reducing misdiagnosis and guiding treatment for sleep-related experiences.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Scoping review Cross-sectional Preregistered Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 44 |
| Population | Studies on sleep and ostensibly paranormal experiences and beliefs |
| Topics | Lucid dreaming |
| Keywords | Anomalous Parasomnias Sleep disturbance Sleep paralysis |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key finding | Sleep paralysis, lucid dreams, nightmares, and hypnagogic hallucinations are positively associated with ostensibly paranormal experiences and paranormal beliefs. |
Abstract
Night-time is a period of great significance for many people who report paranormal experiences. However, there is limited understanding of the associations between sleep variables and seemingly paranormal experiences and/or beliefs. The aim of this review is to improve our understanding of these associations while unifying a currently fragmented literature-base into a structured, practical review. In this pre-registered scoping review, we searched for relevant studies in MEDLINE (PubMed), PsycINFO (EBSCO), Web of Science and EMBASE using terms related to sleep and ostensibly paranormal experiences and beliefs. Forty-four studies met all inclusion criteria. All were cross-sectional and most investigated sleep paralysis and/or lucid dreaming in relation to ostensibly paranormal experiences and paranormal beliefs. Overall, there were positive associations between many sleep variables (including sleep paralysis, lucid dreams, nightmares, and hypnagogic hallucinations) and ostensibly paranormal experiences and paranormal beliefs (including those of ghosts, spirits, and near-death experiences). The findings of this review have potential clinical implications such as reducing misdiagnosis and treatment development and provide foundations for further research. Our findings also highlight the importance of understanding why so many people report 'things that go bump in the night'.