page_title: Sleep paralysis
section_title: Hallucinations
hierarchical_section_title: Sleep paralysis / Pathophysiology / Hallucinations
caption_attribution_description: English: A notable depiction of a Succubus-like vision, in contrast to the Incubus.
context_page_description: Sleep paralysis is a state, during waking up or falling asleep, in which a person is aware but unable to move or speak. During an episode, one may hallucinate, which often results in fear. Episodes generally last less than a couple of minutes. It may occur as a single episode or be recurrent.
  The condition may occur in those who are otherwise healthy or those with narcolepsy, or it may run in families as a result of specific genetic changes. The condition can be triggered by sleep deprivation, psychological stress, or abnormal sleep cycles. The underlying mechanism is believed to involve a dysfunction in REM sleep. Diagnosis is based on a person's description. Other conditions that can present similarly include narcolepsy, atonic seizure, and hypokalemic periodic paralysis.
  Treatment options for sleep paralysis have been poorly studied. It is recommended that people be reassured that the condition is common and generally not serious. Other efforts that may be tried include sleep hygiene, cognitive behavioral therapy, and antidepressants.
  Between 8% and 50% of people experience sleep paralysis at some point in their life. About 5% of people have regular episodes.
context_section_description: Several types of hallucinations have been linked to sleep paralysis: the belief that there is an intruder in the room, the presence of an incubus, and the sensation of floating. A neurological hypothesis is that in sleep paralysis the mechanisms which usually coordinate body movement and provide information on body position become activated and, because there is no actual movement, induce a floating sensation.
  The intruder and incubus hallucinations highly correlate with one another, and moderately correlated with the third hallucination, vestibular-motor disorientation, also known as out-of-body experiences, which differ from the other two in not involving the threat-activated vigilance system.
caption: A picture of a succubus-like vision, in contrast to the incubus. My Dream, My Bad Dream, 1915, by Fritz Schwimbeck
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