Check your subscription status, update your details and more. What terrifying sleep paralysis demons reveal about the mind-body connection After waking with the feeling of a shadowy presence pressing on his chest, neuroscientist Baland Jalal went on to study sleep paralysis. He explains what this frightening condition might reveal about consciousness Years ago, I woke to see a darkly cloaked figure towering over me.
I thought it was going to kill me, but I couldn’t move. I could see my room and feel my body beneath my sheets. I was consciously aware, yet hallucinating a figure that didn’t exist.
I was experiencing sleep paralysis, a phenomenon that affects approximately 30 per cent of people worldwide. Episodes are usually benign, but for roughly 1 per cent of people, they reoccur weekly, raising the risk of insomnia. Even isolated instances can leave a lasting impression.
I still think about my experience today. While I know the figure wasn’t real, the fear it instilled in me was. In his latest book, _The Phantom Mind: Insights from the borderlands of sleep_, Baland Jalal reveals how and why sleep paralysis can take hold.
A neuroscientist at Harvard University, his research has brought us closer to understanding what affects the appearance of so-called “sleep paralysis demons” and how we can potentially prevent these frightening experiences. Jalal sat down with _New Scientist_ to discuss what all this tells us about the mind-body connection. **Read more** Epic dreaming is leaving people exhausted and distressed **Grace Wade: I am curious – have you experienced sleep paralysis?** Baland Jalal: I have. I had my first episode when I was about 18 or 19.
I was sleeping and suddenly realised: I am awake, yet I can’t move. I felt this looming presence, this shadow-like creature approaching me. And then it strangled me.
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