Some of the staff, and long-term DreamViews members, believe that a serious misunderstanding regarding Sleep Paralysis (SP) has become a huge stumbling block for new lucid dreamers. Due to this widespread confusion, we’ve found ourselves answering more questions about SP than nearly anything else. This guide was written in response to that problem.
First, what is SP (Sleep Paralysis)?
Put simply: sleep paralysis is a medical condition wherein the victim is conscious during full-body atonia during REM and occasionally NREM sleep. People with this condition are, quite literally, trapped within their body as they slip into sleep or awaken from a dream. They cannot move any part of their body, except their eyes, and often experience some degree of fear and/or hallucinations.
Sleep Paralysis is a sleep disorder; a basic Internet search reveals about
1 in 250 people experience SP on a frequent basis. [citation needed]
Dr. Stephen LaBerge, a man well known for his clinical research into lucid dreaming, and co-author of the book “Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming”, wrote the following article:
LaBerge Article on Sleep Paralysis.
Some of us have reason to believe this article may be the very origin of the current confusion surrounding Sleep Paralysis. If you haven’t already, please take a minute to read it over.
To summarize: in the article Dr. LaBerge discusses Sleep paralysis and its effects. He attempts to reinforce the idea that the experience is not to be feared, as it is a rare event. Dr. LaBerge also suggests that based on one man’s experience, a subject stuck in SP may be able to transition into a lucid dream. That postulation is quite probably the source from which today’s prevalent misunderstanding arose.
Well meaning people took that special case at face value, and guides insisting that SP was the gateway to WILD (Wake Initiated Lucid Dream) began popping up like wildflowers.
Unfortunately this is not useful to 249 out of every 250 lucid dreamers![citation needed]
Because of that,
sleep paralysis is an abnormal experience, and should not be the focus of WILD attempts for the majority of the population.
Of course, the primary factor perpetuating the term’s misuse lies with people on dreaming forums, such as this one, trying to explain how to correctly achieve a WILD. When people join the forum they often say, ”Someone told me I had to reach SP.” Someone would reply, ”You do not reach a point when you cannot move. SP is what stops your sleeping body from acting out dreams.”
That is not actually true. The actual process that prevents you from jerking around in bed, during a dream is properly called REM Atonia. The LDing community has been improperly calling REM Atonia by the wrong name (SP), and we should make a collective effort to cut it out.