Spontaneous and induced out‐of‐body experiences during sleep paralysis: Emotions, “AURA” recognition, and clinical implications

Abstract

Sleep paralysis (SP) is characterized by the incapacity to perform voluntary movements during sleep/wake transitions and could bring great discomfort. During SP, Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs) can occur however, they are pleasant in comparison with other SP hallucinations.Moreover, there is evidence suggesting that OBEs can be induced using behavioral techniques similar to Lucid Dreaming induction. Here, we design an online survey to study the predominant and specific emotions during SP and/or OBE events as well as the somatosensory perceptions that preceded their occurrence. The sample (N=329, 122 males, 226 females, 1 other) was divided into experimental groups depending on the presence/absence of OBE, capacity to induce (or not) OBEs and perception/no-perception of the SP. We showed that more positive emotions were associated with OBEs and more negative emotions were associated with SP episodes, and for those who claim the ability to induce OBEs, positive emotions were more frequent in their episodes. We found that subjects perceived auditory, tactile, and visual sensations before SP episodes, and we proposed that these could be an "aura" of SP.Furthermore, subjects that had OBEs but had never felt the SP, perceived tactile and visual sensations to the same extent as subjects with OBEs that felt the SP, suggesting that they are having the OBE before being able to perceive the SP. Therefore, we proposed that the "aura" recognition could be used under controlled conditions for OBE induction in SP patients to diminish the negative symptoms associated with SP episodes. 4 Significance StatementSleep paralysis (SP) is a condition where a person is paralyzed during sleep/wake transitions, which could bring great discomfort, and disturbs sleep quality. During SP, Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs) can occur. However, they are pleasant in comparison with other SP hallucinations. OBEs refer to the sensation of being "outside" the physical body and perceiving the world from this outside perspective. They can occur spontaneously, or it can be induced during SP episodes. Here we study the experienced emotions during SP/OBE events as well as the somatosensory perceptions that occur before these SP/OBE events. We proposed that somatosensory sensations are an aura of SP, and their recognition could be used for OBE induction to diminish the negative symptoms associated with SP episodes.

Structural Differences Between Non-Lucid, Lucid Dreams and Out-of-Body Experience Reports Assessed by Graph Analysis

“…When observing the reports of typical dreams, that is the non-lucid dreams of non-lucid dreamers (NN), the lucid dreams of lucid dreamers (LL) and the OBE dreams of OBE dreamers (OO), the frequency of the word "dream" (sueño) was the main difference between LL and OO, being higher in LL reports. This goes in line with previous studies showing that people who experienced OBEs, usually consider that it is not a dream but the veridical reality (Blackmore, 1982;Herrero et al, 2022). The terms "body" (cuerpo), "to leave" (salir), and "to feel" (sentir) were frequently used in OO reports but not in other types of dreams.…”

“…A dream was considered lucid if the dreamer was aware, either directly or indirectly. An OBE was identified if the dreamer described leaving the body or reported an aura (reported in Herrero et al, 2022). Vague or unspecific reports were discarded, leaving a sample of 916 dreams (731 non-LDs, 117 LDs, and 68 OBE dreams).…”

“…Among the various forms of dreams, two types of conscious dream experiences have received particular attention: lucid dreams (LDs) and out-of-body experiences (OBEs). LDs are characterized by the presence of certain qualities of consciousness, such as awareness within the dream environment (Holzinger & Mayer, 2020;Laberge, 2010), while OBEs are characterized by the sensation of being "outside" the physical body and viewing the world from that perspective while still being aware (Sheils, 1978;Blackmore, 1982;Irwin, 1988;LaBerge et al, 1988;de Sá and MotaRolim, 2016;Herrero et al, 2022;Cheyne, 2003). The relationship between LDs and OBEs has been a topic of interest, but the distinction between the two is still not clear due to limited physiological measures (Yu & Shen, 2020;Holzinger & Mayer, 2020).…”

Lucid Dreams and Out-of-Body Experiences Reports: Differences in Emotional Content, Dream Awareness, and Dream Control

“…These experiences mainly occur during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and they are accompanied by an increase in low gamma oscillatory activity (40 Hz) in the frontal and temporal regions of the brain (Voss et al, 2009). The OBEs, on the other hand, involve the sensation of being outside of one's physical body and viewing the world from an external perspective (Sheils, 1978;Blackmore, 1982;Irwin, 1988;LaBerge et al, 1988;de Sá and MotaRolim, 2016;Herrero et al, 2022;Cheyne, 2003). OBEs are often reported as extremely vivid and can have the qualities of veridical perception (Blackmore, 1982;Herrero et al, 2022).…”

“…The OBEs, on the other hand, involve the sensation of being outside of one's physical body and viewing the world from an external perspective (Sheils, 1978;Blackmore, 1982;Irwin, 1988;LaBerge et al, 1988;de Sá and MotaRolim, 2016;Herrero et al, 2022;Cheyne, 2003). OBEs are often reported as extremely vivid and can have the qualities of veridical perception (Blackmore, 1982;Herrero et al, 2022). The sleep stage as well as the predominant EEG oscillations involved in OBEs are still unknown.…”