Meditation-relaxation therapy may help treat sleep paralysis

Sleep paralysis – a condition thought to explain a number of mysterious experiences including alleged cases of alien abduction and demonic night-time visits, could be treated using a technique of meditation-relaxation, suggests a pilot study.

Sleep paralysis is a state involving paralysis of the skeletal muscles that occurs at the onset of sleep or just before waking. While temporarily immobilised, the individual is acutely aware of their surroundings. People who experience the phenomenon often report being terrorised by dangerous bedroom intruders, often reaching for supernatural explanations such as ghosts, demons and even alien abduction. Despite the condition being known about for some time, to date, there are no empirically-based treatments or published clinical trials for the condition.

The therapy teaches patients to follow four steps during an episode: 1. Reappraisal of the meaning of the attack - reminding themselves that the experience is common, benign, and temporary and that the hallucinations are a typical byproduct of dreaming. 2. Psychological and emotional distancing - reminding themselves that there is no reason to be afraid or worried and that fear and worry will only make the episode worse. 3. Inward focused-attention meditation - focusing their attention inward on an emotionally-involving, positive object (such as a memory of a loved one or event, a hymn/prayer, God) 4. Muscle relaxation - relaxing their muscles, avoiding controlling their breathing and under no circumstances attempting to move.