Isolated Sleep Paralysis and Lucid Dreaming: Ten-Year Longitudinal Case Study and Related Dream Frequencies, Types, and Categories

Volume 4, Number 4, Year 2002

Jorge Conesa Ph.D

A final summary of a ten-year case study focusing on the dream experiences of a 47-yearold subject (the author, JC) who has suffered from Isolated Sleep Paralysis (ISP) is detailed. This study was undertaken in an attempt to contribute to the understanding of long-term dream naturalistic information about dream events associated with the ISP condition. A total of 5,761 dream events were recorded during 3,519 nights during the period starting on August 13, 1992, and ending on August 13, of 2002. Frequency and percentage data of dream events, including the incidence of sleep paralysis and lucid dreams, are provided. Some of these categories and types of dreams have been reported in earlier reports while testing other hypotheses (1-3). However, the present report is the final account of this subject�s dreaming world and condition excluding the geomagnetic hypothesis. Finally, this report includes a description for cuing lucid dreaming while in the atonic state using Sleep Paralysis Signaling (SPS) without the use of external devices and the utilization of both a self-hypnotic induction and meditation techniques to control the anxiety and powerlessness associated with ISP. (Sleep and Hypnosis 2002;4(4):132-142)