Scientists Find Out-of-Body Experiences May Occur Between Sleep And Waking

Key Points:

• Researchers have found that unusual bodily experiences (UBEs), such as sleep paralysis and out-of-body sensations, often occur in the liminal space between sleeping and waking, where brain activity shows features of both states.
• In a study of 35 participants experienced in lucid dreaming or meditation, EEG recordings revealed that UBEs are associated with decreased slow brainwaves (delta and theta) and increased fast brainwaves (beta and gamma), especially in temporal brain regions involved in sensory processing and body perception.
• Participants reported sensations like floating, spinning, paralysis, and hallucinations during meditation, REM, non-REM sleep, and sleep arousals, with eye movement signals used to mark the timing of these experiences during sleep.
• The researchers suggest that UBEs arise from poor boundaries between sleep and wakefulness in the brain, causing overlapping states that blend dream-like elements with awareness of the external environment.
• These findings may provide insights into how the brain constructs our sense of bodily self and consciousness, though further research is needed to understand the precise neural mechanisms behind these illusory sensations.