Sleep Paralysis in Brazilian Folklore and Other Cultures: A Brief Review

Abstract

Sleep paralysis (SP) is a dissociative state that occurs mainly during awakening. SP is characterized by altered motor, perceptual, emotional and cognitive functions, such as inability to perform voluntary movements, visual hallucinations, feelings of chest pressure, delusions about a frightening presence and, in some cases, fear of impending death. Most people experience SP rarely, but typically when sleeping in supine position; however, SP is considered a disease (parasomnia) when recurrent and/or associated to emotional burden. Interestingly, throughout human history, different peoples interpreted SP under a supernatural view. For example, Canadian Eskimos attribute SP to spells of shamans, who hinder the ability to move, and provoke hallucinations of a shapeless presence. In the Japanese tradition, SP is due to a vengeful spirit who suffocates his enemies while sleeping. In Nigerian culture, a female demon attacks during dreaming and provokes paralysis. A modern manifestation of SP is the report of “alien abductions”, experienced as inability to move during awakening associated with visual hallucinations of aliens. In all, SP is a significant example of how a specific biological phenomenon can be interpreted and shaped by different cultural contexts. In order to further explore the ethnopsychology of SP, in this review we present the “Pisadeira”, a character of Brazilian folklore originated in the country’s Southeast, but also found in other regions with variant names. Pisadeira is described as a crone with long fingernails who lurks on roofs at night and tramples on the chest of those who sleep on a full stomach with the belly up. This legend is mentioned in many anthropological accounts; however, we found no comprehensive reference on the Pisadeira from the perspective of sleep science. Here, we aim to fill this gap. We first review the neuropsychological aspects of SP, and then present the folk tale of the Pisadeira. Finally, we summarize the many historical and artistic manifestations of SP in different cultures, emphasizing the similarities and differences with the Pisadeira.

Measuring Counterintuitiveness in Supernatural Agent Dream Imagery

“…Importantly, supernatural agent imagery is a common feature of extreme forms of terrifying nightmares manifested in sleep paralysis, incubus dreams, horrifying lucid dreams, and psychiatric disorders such as nocturnal panic attacks, all of which frequently arise during REM sleep (e.g., Nordin, 2011; McNamara et al, 2018). Even though these parasomnias may, like narcolepsy, be considered as sleep disorders in their own right, they are characteristically observed in a variety of psychiatric disorders, such as major depressive disorder, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and other psychopathological conditions such as substance abuse (e.g., Kirov and Brand, 2014; de Sá and Mota-Rolim, 2016; Molendijk et al, 2017; McNamara et al, 2018; Tempesta et al, 2018; Baird et al, 2019).…”

The Dream of God: How Do Religion and Science See Lucid Dreaming and Other Conscious States During Sleep?

“…Modern research has confirmed that OBE can occur during the awake state ( Ehrsson, 2007 ), sleep ( Blackmore, 1982 ), or dreaming ( Irwin, 1988 ; LaBerge et al, 1988 ; de Sá and Mota-Rolim, 2016 ). According to Levitan et al (1999) , OBE can also happen during some LD, and both may share some features, such as sleep paralysis, vibrations and a sensation of floating out of body.…”

Is gnetke a sleep paralysis? The un­ usual between folkloristic and medical classifications

“…: Лазарева 2018]). Существуют исследования парасомний в медицинской антропологии и психологии ( [Ness 1978;Cheyne et al 1999;Hinton et al 2005b;Adler 2011;Sharpless, Doghramji 2015;Cox 2015;de Sá, Mota-Rolim 2016;Ashford 2017] и др. ), однако в этих работах иной ракурс, для которого могут быть нерелевантны структура текста, взаимосвязи сюжета, мотивов и персонажей с другими фрагментами устной традиции, модели и механизмы мифологизации персонального опыта по лекалам народной культуры.…”

“…Как это делают авторы ряда работ, не только медицинских и психологических, но и гуманитарных, например: «Сонный паралич представляет собой достаточно убедительное доказательство того, как определенный нейробиологический феномен может быть интерпретирован и очерчен в различных культурных контекстах. Полевые исследования, проведенные в различных частях мира, выявили за мириадами этнических и религиозных точек зрения один и тот же феномен» [de Sá,Mota-Rolim 2016: 1294, ср. также[Kompanje 2008;Cox 2015;Лазарева 2018].…”