How Sleep Paralysis is Interpreted By Culture

[rashore]

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There are likely not many experiences more terrifying than an episode of sleep paralysis. Waking in a darkened bedroom, unable to move, with the feeling that an evil entity is in the room – sometimes even in bed with you.

Sleep paralysis experiences occur across the globe, and are in many cases interpreted as supernatural – and that belief is so powerful in some cultures that it has the power to kill. Modern science, on the other hand, believes it is all to do with the brain not quite working as it should during the sleep experience.

But plenty of mystery still surrounds sleep paralysis, mainly due to the lack of serious study that has been undertaken to better understand the phenomenon. As a recent paper notes, sleep paralysis continues to receive “more attention from the unscientific world”, and furthermore, the stigma associated with it “has also prevented sufferers from reporting at medical institutions”. As such, researchers note, “most sufferers revert to other confidential means such as herbalists, religious leaders, and traditional priests for a solution”.

https://www.dailygrail.com/2018/12/how-sleep-paralysis-is-interpreted-by-cultures-around-the-world/

 

[zep73]

It's funny how some people prefer evil, magic entities, rather than a biological disorder that is (or soon will become) treatable.

[+Not A Rockstar]

Interesting read on a topic which is, imo, both biological and psychological in root cause. I hope they do more work in it.

[Dejarma]

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But plenty of mystery still surrounds sleep paralysis, mainly due to the lack of serious study that has been undertaken to better understand the phenomenon

sleep paralysis is not a phenomenon