Parasomnias: Sleep Disorders That Can Be Mistaken For Paranormal Activity

Parasomnia is a term used to describe a group of sleep disorders that involve unusual movements, behaviours, emotions, perceptions, and dreams. These occurrences happen while you’re falling asleep… or waking up. Many people report ghostly sightings, strange noises, or sensations of being touched during the night. These experiences can often be explained by parasomnia.

Parasomnia includes conditions like sleepwalking, night terrors, sleep paralysis, and acting out vivid, sometimes violent dreams. During these episodes, a person might talk, walk, or perform other complex behaviours while not fully awake. For those investigating the paranormal, it’s easy to see parasomnia can be mistaken for ghostly encounters.

Sleepwalking
Perhaps the best known type of parasomnia is sleepwalking, where a person gets up and and walks around while still asleep. They may appear to be in a trance-like state, moving through the house without reacting to their surroundings, often with no memory of the event. It usually occurs during the deep stages of non-REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, typically in the first few hours after falling asleep. The person may sit up in bed, walk around, perform routine activities, or even leave the house, which can of course result in injuries as a result of tripping or bumping into objects. Sleepwalking can lead to reports of unexplained movements or objects being displaced. A sleepwalker might move items, open doors, or rearrange furniture, leaving the person bewildered upon waking and leading them to believe a ghost is responsible.

A similar but more extreme type of parasomnia, REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder (RBD), involves sufferers acting out vivid dreams. Unlike sleepwalking, these actions are typically more complex and often violent. It may involve kicking, punching, shouting, or jumping out of bed in response to something in the dream. Witnesses and sufferers might interpret these actions as possession or the influence of a spirit.

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