[imagesource: flickr]

My father used to tell me that ghosts were more common in the old days because there was no electricity, and a candle casts a lot of dancing shadows. Perhaps not knowing that Eskom would dump us into near-constant ‘old days’ he, nevertheless, laughed when he said this. Not one to believe in ghosts was my old man, but with so much interest in the paranormal these days, can we expect an increase in ghoulish sightings now that we all live in the dark once again?

According to a recent study in the Journal of Sleep Research, it depends on how much sleep you are getting. New research has shown that an inability to sleep well could in fact increase a person’s experience of paranormal sightings, belief in demons, and even aliens.

The study looked at how the amount of sleep someone gets affects their convictions regarding ghosts and demons, life after death, and the possibility of aliens. The results showed that people who get fewer hours of sleep were more open to the idea of E.T. and Beetlejuice than those who sleep well.

Such beliefs are more common among those who get fewer hours of sleep per night, take longer to fall asleep, struggle with insomnia or report “lower sleep efficiency.” Most strikingly, they found that around two-thirds of those who experienced sleep paralysis were convinced that aliens had already walked amongst us.

Sleep paralysis involves different types of hallucinations, including auditory and visual, which may explain the belief in the supernatural.

Just under 60 percent of participants who had undergone sleep paralysis also said they thought near-death experiences prove that the soul lives on after death, while those with stronger insomnia symptoms were more likely to believe in the devil. Someone experiencing sounds or images associated with sleep could interpret this as evidence that aliens or other supernatural beings exist.”

As with all research, there needs to be further study, but scientists believe that the research could help to identify sleep disorders in patients who indicate ‘weird’ experiences.

So the next time your dead grandmother comes crawling out of the closet during load-shedding, just try counting sheep.

[source: ifls]