Have you ever woken up at night feeling like a demonic creature is following you? Perhaps you just experienced the so-called incubus phenomenon: the "attack" of a male demon on a woman (the victims of a female demon - a succubus - are men).
This phenomenon is largely based on nightmares. For centuries, people believed that the incubus demon stalked sleeping women. These beliefs have been reflected in works of art, as well as fairy tales and traditional folklore.
A new meta-analysis by researchers from the Netherlands shows that this scary phenomenon is much more common than previously thought. Moreover, psychiatrists and psychologists should take such stories of their patients more seriously.
Sleep paralysis and hallucinations
A so-called demon attack usually occurs during sleep paralysis. Meta-analysis shows that this phenomenon is even more common than the incubus phenomenon.
Sleep paralysis is the result of the dissociation of sleep phases, says senior study author Dr. Jan Dirk Blom, professor of clinical psychopathology at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Sleep paralysis occurs during falling asleep or waking up and occurs when a person is "on the verge" of REM sleep, and at the same time is aware of what is happening.
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During the REM phase (when a person usually dreams), the muscles of the body relax to the point of paralysis. This is necessary in order to protect a person who can begin to actively move during dreams. But during sleep paralysis, the mind of a person is awakened, and his body is still sleeping, and the muscles, therefore, remain paralyzed.
This state of paralysis is perceived by the brain as a threat, and it begins to create a complex hallucination, so a person sees a creature sitting on his chest. What the victim sees is a combination of his reality and the nightmare that the person projects onto the real world. However, for the affected person, this experience seems very real.
Who is more likely to "meet" an incubus
In a meta-analysis published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry, scientists looked at the results of 13 studies examining the incubus phenomenon, which included 1,800 people. These studies were conducted in various countries, including Canada, the United States, China, Japan, Italy, and Mexico.
Scientists found that 11 percent of the general population experienced the incubus phenomenon at least once in their life. This means that anyone has an 11 percent chance of experiencing this phenomenon at least once in their life. But in certain groups of people, the chances of "meeting" an incubus are higher than in others. People with mental health problems, as well as refugees and, surprisingly, students, have a 41 percent chance of experiencing the incubus phenomenon.
Also, the analysis of scientists showed that people who are used to sleeping on their backs are more likely to experience this phenomenon. Scientists say alcohol consumption and sleep problems also make "meeting" an incubus more likely.
What problems does the incubus phenomenon lead to?
Although many people often perceive this scary experience as a bad dream, Blom notes that "meeting" an incubus can cause additional problems, such as anxiety, difficulty falling asleep due to fear of re-experiencing the experience, and delusional disorder - mental a disease similar to schizophrenia.
The researchers say the incubus phenomenon may be associated with sudden death syndrome, when a healthy person dies in their sleep for no apparent reason.
People who have encountered the incubus phenomenon often complain of increased anxiety, for which there are no objective reasons. Many fear that they may actually die during such an attack. Although no one can predict when a person will experience a similar attack again, but for him this expectation becomes very real.
Incubus shape
Meta-analysis has also shown that the shape of an incubus and how people react to it can vary depending on which culture the person is from.
For example, patients brought up in Muslim traditions often say that for them the incubus phenomenon is proof that they are being persecuted by jinn - invisible spirits that Allah created from smokeless fire. But in some cases, the incubus takes on a friendly and even interesting form.
“I recently spoke with a 15-year-old girl who also encountered an incubus,” Blom said. "She saw four miniature penguins sitting on her chest and was excited and surprised, not scared."
Anna Pismenna