The Research Proposal Assignment
Working Title: Sleep Paralysis: A Brain’s Petrifying Slumber Party
Topic:
For my topic, I would like to focus on the brain’s unexplainable potential with respect to sleep paralysis hallucinations. I also believe my topic is relevant due to the existing unsolved conflicts related to sleep paralysis. There is still the existing conflict of whether sleep paralysis is a purely biological occurrence and it is also still currently hypothesized to be a conscious state that is triggered when the brain malfunctions during REM sleep. Yet, according to many articles that I have read, there is no precise and exact known cause or cure of the phenomena and still, more research must be done regarding this topic. Research is definitely a necessity because sleep paralysis can be a very stressful and terrifying experience. Also if the cause of sleep paralysis is purely biological, then it would definitely be a fascinating matter to explore due to the human brain’s amazing capability to be able to form such realistic hallucinations that can impact all five basic senses. Furthermore, researchers may even be able to find to what degree society impacts our own view of reality through sleep paralysis. Unfortunately, sleep paralysis is just seen as a harmless and irrelevant occurrence so its research priority is most likely low.
Research Question:
How far do personal core beliefs and biases impact the formation of the uncanny hallucinations that stem from sleep paralysis?
Theoretical Frames:
To analyze my topic I would like to focus on how different cultures and religions interpret sleep paralysis. Perhaps I may even focus on different factors that impact a person’s perspective such as age, gender, or economic status. I’m especially very interested in how culture impacts hallucinations after reading Sleep paralysis : night-mares, nocebos, and the mind-body connection because it was interesting to see the consistencies and also unique interpretations. I may even try to utilize the author's concept of the “nocebo”, which is how our beliefs have such a strong power to the point where they can lead to negative unexplainable outcomes. Additionally, I found David Hufford’s viewpoint in his work Sleep Paralysis as a Spiritual Experience interesting; it brings up a counter argument which goes against the Cultural Source Hypothesis. Hufford claims sleep paralysis is not due to cultural beliefs and even brings up the case that some people who have sleep paralysis experience the same hallucinations without any prior knowledge thus there may also be a possibility that sleep paralysis is actually a “core spirit experience”. According to Hufford, “(i) they refer intuitively to spirits without inference or retrospective interpretation; (ii) they form a distinct class of experience with a stable perceptual pattern; (iii) they occur independently of a subject’s prior beliefs, knowledge or intention (psychological set); and (iv) they are normal (i.e. not products of obvious psychopathology)” (Hufford, 33) It makes sense in a way due to many people who have experienced sleep paralysis coming to the conclusion it was a demonic or spirit related experience despite being from many diverse and different cultures. In fact, according to Hufford, sleep paralysis can produce new beliefs rather than being influenced by past core beliefs.
Cases or Examples
I also found some very interesting cases regarding sleep paralysis. One case that really stood out was in the late 1970s there was an occurrence of Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome suddenly killing many Hmong refugees in America. The victims were all predominantly males in their thirties and epidemiologists had difficulty pinpointing the exact cause. However, it was eventually found that the occurrence of SUNDS among the refugees strangely had very similar symptoms to those found in sleep paralysis, especially the victims feeling pressure on top of their chest and having difficulty breathing. To help us gain further insight on the incident, the author explains how Hmong culture interprets sleep paralysis. In this culture, the belief is that malevolent dab tsong spirits choke sleep paralysis victims and eventually if no shaman drives them away they will kill the sleepers especially if they are men. Eventually, an idea is proposed that the deaths were likely due to the adverse effects of a “nocebo”, the refugee’s strong cultural beliefs and fears that they were no longer protected by their ancestors from the detrimental dab tsong because they have moved away from their homeland. Another interesting sleep paralysis-related case I would possibly like to cover paralysis was the tragedy of Anneliese Michel. Apparently, it was believed that had suffered from a wide range of mental disorders, yet also others believed that she was possessed by demons. She had been through approximately 67 exorcisms and was eventually found dead from malnutrition at age 24. Before her mental health greatly deteriorated it said she was first experiencing seizures and also even sleep paralysis. I think this case may be interesting to explore especially analyzing the religious perspectives because Michel lived in a very Catholic household. Another interesting case could be Isbrand van Diemerbroeck's case study of a 50-year old woman. I think this may also be good to explore because this study originates from around the mid-1600s and could give some historical insight regarding sleep paralysis.
Bibliography
Adler, Shelley R. Sleep Paralysis : Night-Mares, Nocebos, and the Mind-Body Connection . Rutgers University Press, 2011.
De Jong, Joop T. V. M. “Cultural Variation in the Clinical Presentation of Sleep Paralysis.” Transcultural Psychiatry, vol. 42, no. 1, Sage Publications, 2005, pp. 78–92, doi:10.1177/1363461505050711.
Hufford, David J. “Sleep Paralysis as Spiritual Experience: Sleep Paralysis.” Transcultural Psychiatry, vol. 42, no. 1, Sage, 2005, pp. 11–45.
Kompanje, Erwin. “‘The Devil Lay Upon Her and Held Her down’ Hypnagogic Hallucinations and Sleep Paralysis Described by the Dutch Physician Isbrand van Diemerbroeck (1609-1674) in 1664.” Journal of Sleep Research, vol. 17, no. 4, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2008, pp. 464–67, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2869.2008.00672.x.
MCNALLY, Richard J., and Susan A. CLANCY. “Sleep Paralysis, Sexual Abuse, and Space Alien Abduction: Sleep Paralysis.” Transcultural Psychiatry, vol. 42, no. 1, Sage, 2005, pp. 113–22.
Olry, Régis, and Duane E. Haines. “Kanashibari (金縛り): A Ghost’s Business.” Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, vol. 23, no. 2, Routledge, 2014, pp. 192–97, doi:10.1080/0964704X.2013.862132.
Sharpless, Brian A., and Karl Doghramji. “The History of Sleep Paralysis in Folklore and Myth.” Sleep Paralysis, Oxford University Press, 2015, doi:10.1093/med/9780199313808.003.0003.
Comments
Post a Comment