Sleep Paralysis in Brazilian Folklore and Other Cultures: A Brief Review
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 pr...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:5013036 2023-05-15T16:06:28+02:00 Sleep Paralysis in Brazilian Folklore and Other Cultures: A Brief Review de Sá, José F. R. Mota-Rolim, Sérgio A. 2016-09-07 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5013036/ https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01294 en eng Frontiers Media S.A. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5013036/ http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01294 Copyright © 2016 de Sá and Mota-Rolim. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. CC-BY Psychology Text 2016 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01294 2016-09-25T00:04:32Z 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 ... Text eskimo* PubMed Central (PMC) Frontiers in Psychology 7 |
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Psychology de Sá, José F. R. Mota-Rolim, Sérgio A. Sleep Paralysis in Brazilian Folklore and Other Cultures: A Brief Review |
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Psychology |
description |
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 ... |
format |
Text |
author |
de Sá, José F. R. Mota-Rolim, Sérgio A. |
author_facet |
de Sá, José F. R. Mota-Rolim, Sérgio A. |
author_sort |
de Sá, José F. R. |
title |
Sleep Paralysis in Brazilian Folklore and Other Cultures: A Brief Review |
title_short |
Sleep Paralysis in Brazilian Folklore and Other Cultures: A Brief Review |
title_full |
Sleep Paralysis in Brazilian Folklore and Other Cultures: A Brief Review |
title_fullStr |
Sleep Paralysis in Brazilian Folklore and Other Cultures: A Brief Review |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sleep Paralysis in Brazilian Folklore and Other Cultures: A Brief Review |
title_sort |
sleep paralysis in brazilian folklore and other cultures: a brief review |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5013036/ https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01294 |
genre |
eskimo* |
genre_facet |
eskimo* |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5013036/ http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01294 |
op_rights |
Copyright © 2016 de Sá and Mota-Rolim. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01294 |
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Frontiers in Psychology |
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7 |
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