What is the difference between lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis

Accordingly, they are abstract and less tangible than subjective paranormal experiences. This supposition is consistent with previous work that found that reporting of spontaneous paranormal experiences was associated with openness to and exploration of psychological space Holt et al.

This is also congruent with the finding that internal sensitivity predicts propensity to psi experiences Honorton, In turn, these factors may also explain in part the relationship between paranormal experience and lucid dreaming. Examination of the predictive model provided further insights into the relationships between lucid dreaming, reality testing and paranormal experience. Although, paranormal experience correlated moderately with Auditory and Visual Hallucinations, it did not significantly predict nightmares and sleep paralysis.

Controlling for Auditory and Visual Hallucinations resulted in significant predictive relationships between lucid dreaming, nightmares, and sleep paralysis. Given that Auditory and Visual Hallucinations demonstrated positive significant relationships with lucid dreaming, nightmares, and sleep paralysis, it is likely that this explained the majority of the variance when predicting the sleep-related outcomes.

Auditory and Visual Hallucinations possesses thematic correspondence with lucid dreaming i. Hence, examining IPO-RT subfactors in the current study provided theoretical insights, which further understanding of the connection between lucid dreaming control and cognitive-perceptual individual differences arising from thinking style.

Other elements of reality testing i. The finding that paranormal experience predicted lucid dreaming in the absence of Auditory and Visual Hallucinations accords with Glicksohn Considering the content of sleep-related measures, lucid dreaming items were highly associated, whereas nightmare items demonstrated only weak and moderate relationships.

This pattern of results indicated that aspects of lucid dreaming maintaining conscious awareness, dream body control and design of dream surroundings were more coherent and closely aligned than features of nightmares frequency, distress, and dream recall.

This was compatible with item level content, which in the case of nightmares sampled a spectrum of construct content. A potential limitation of the present study was the use of self-report measures to assess dissociated experiences related to REM sleep.

Although this is a well-established and frequently used approach, critics have questioned the accuracy of measurement instruments, particularly the degree to which they provide valid insights into complex cognitive-perceptual processes. In the context of sleep, there is evidence that suggests that self-report measures provide valid snapshots of sleep-related behaviors.

For instance, Biddle et al. However, they also found that indifferences, such as those observed in clinically heterogeneous samples could produce biased estimates. In such circumstances, the use of objective measures is necessary.

Within the present study, there was no evidence of systematic bias in sleep behavior. Hence, it is reasonable to assume that the self-report measures provided reasonably valid insights into factors related to incidence and frequency. Moreover, there remains concerns about the extent to which self-report measures provide accurate assessments of reality testing Denovan et al. Reality testing is a complex cognitive-perceptual factor that involves both knowledge of and control of cognition Larkin, ; Schneider and Artelt, These underlying mechanisms are not easy to assess consciously.

This a problem that applies to cognitive functions generally. Accordingly, researchers often report weak relationships between subjective and objective measures of cognitive performance Reid and MacLullich, ; Buelow et al. Noting this, future studies may wish to assess reality testing via concurrent measures to ensure that the outcomes reported in this article do not reflect an artifact of the measure used.

Although, it is worth noting that the IPO-RT has proved psychometrically robust and is commonly employed by researchers. Generally, the use of self-report measures facilitate studies such as the present one because they are expedient, easy to administrate, accessible, possess wide reach, easy to score, and do not draw upon researcher assessments Bell et al. Despite the robust methodology of the present study and its outcomes being consistent with corresponding research, there are potential limitations that restrict extrapolation of findings.

One foremost concern centres on the use of a cross-sectional design, where data collection occurred at one point in time. Critics point out that it is impossible to establish causality via cross-sectional designs. This prevents definitive conclusions because outcomes may result from other unaccounted variables. In addition to this, observed relationships were small and require cautious interpretation. This issue is not unique to the present study, but is a problem inherent within studies examining relationships between sleep-related factors and personality generally see Denis and Poerio, ; Aviram and Soffer-Dudek, Notwithstanding these concerns, conclusions were consistent with hypotheses and previous research.

Noting concerns, future work could evaluate the current findings via a longitudinal study. The inclusion of multiple time points enables the observation of factors across time and ensures greater measurement consistency. This approach is beneficial to theory development because it will reveal the extent to which sleep-related states are temporally stable, and provide insights into the degree to which cognitive-perceptual personality factors, such as Auditory and Visual Hallucinations and preferential thinking style subjective, intuitive, intra-psychic, etc.

Furthermore, use of longitudinal models enables the development of causal models. A further potential limitation within the present study was the failure to screen for sleep-related conditions and psychiatric disorders. In the case of sleep-related conditions, researchers have linked narcolepsy with changes in dream mentation.

Particularly, higher dream recall frequency and lucid dreaming Dodet et al. Recent work has also reported an association between narcolepsy and creativity Lacaux et al. Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, disrupted nocturnal sleep, REM sleep occurring at the onset of sleep, and cataplexy sudden loss of skeletal muscle tone in response to strong emotional stimuli Singh et al.

Although narcolepsy is rare 1 in 2, people; Scammell, and therefore unlikely to have a significant effect on the results of this paper, subsequent research should screen for potentially conflating sleep-related conditions. In addition to this, future work could also control for psychiatric disorder.

This is important because conditions such as psychosis can effect lucid dreaming Mota et al. Moreover, these variables correlate positively with belief in the paranormal Irwin et al.

In the current paper, these factors were unlikely to have influenced the reported outcomes because the sample was non-clinical. Regardless, it is important that future related work controls for these variables as they potentially influence incidence and experience of lucid dreaming.

Another possible limitation was the recruitment method used. In terms of sample composition, this approach has typically produced large data that were commensurate with equivalent studies see Dagnall et al. Furthermore, there is no reason to believe that these samples are not reflective of the general population. This is especially true as the constructs indexed were psychological rather than ability based.

Although this approach reduced variability with correlations, it avoided conflation by including participants who had not experienced lucid dreaming. In the case of the focal variable, lucid dreaming intensity, this is a major concern since there is a discrete difference between experiencing absence vs. Combing these elements in analysis has a distorting effect on intensity by drastically reducing mean values.

Noting these concerns, succeeding research should attempt to replicate outcomes with different more heterogeneous samples, and compare experiencers vs. Overall, the present study provides a firm foundation for subsequent work on dissociated experiences related to REM sleep.

This could consider incidence alongside factors such as control, intensity and content. Research might also usefully examine cultural and age-related differences.

The datasets generated for this study are available on request to the corresponding author. AD and ND focused theoretically, analyzed the data, and developed the article.

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Medically Reviewed by Alex Dimitriu. How Common Is Sleep Paralysis? What Causes Sleep Paralysis? Is Sleep Paralysis a Serious Problem? What Is the Treatment for Sleep Paralysis? What Is Sleep Paralysis? What Are the Types of Sleep Paralysis? Isolated sleep paralysis is when the episodes are not connected to an underlying diagnosis of narcolepsy , a neurological disorder that prevents the brain from properly controlling wakefulness and often leads to sleep paralysis.

Recurrent sleep paralysis involves multiple episodes over time. Sign up below for your free gift. Your privacy is important to us. Was this article helpful? Yes No. Alex Dimitriu Psychiatrist MD. Brooks, P. Unraveling the mechanisms of REM sleep atonia. Denis D. Relationships between sleep paralysis and sleep quality: current insights. Nature and science of sleep, 10, — S 3. Denis, D. A systematic review of variables associated with sleep paralysis. Sleep medicine reviews, 38, — Sleep paralysis, a medical condition with a diverse cultural interpretation.

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Markov, D. Update on parasomnias: a review for psychiatric practice. Like all dreams, false awakenings will end eventually. If they become a regular annoyance or keep you from getting restful sleep, talking to a sleep specialist may be a good option. Crystal Raypole has previously worked as a writer and editor for GoodTherapy.

Her fields of interest include Asian languages and literature, Japanese translation, cooking, natural sciences, sex positivity, and mental health.

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Having Dreams About Waking Up? Medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, Ph. Difference from sleep paralysis Deeper meaning?

Is it the same thing as sleep paralysis?