Editing Sleep paralysis (section)

=== Cultural significance and priming ===
[[File:Augustins - Cauchemar - Eugène Thivier - RI 1156.jpg|thumb|230px|''Le Cauchemar'' (''The Nightmare''), by Eugène Thivier (1894)]]Although the core features of sleep paralysis (e.g., atonia, a clear sensorium, and frequent hallucinations) appear to be universal, the ways in which they are experienced vary according to time, place, and culture.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{cite journal|last1=Jalal|first1=Baland|last2=Simons-Rudolph|first2=Joseph|last3=Jalal|first3=Bamo|last4=Hinton|first4=Devon E.|date=2014-04-01|title=Explanations of sleep paralysis among Egyptian college students and the general population in Egypt and Denmark|journal=Transcultural Psychiatry|volume=51|issue=2|pages=158–175|doi=10.1177/1363461513503378|issn=1461-7471|pmid=24084761|s2cid=22226921}}</ref> Over 100 terms have been identified for these experiences.<ref name=":7" /> Some scientists have proposed sleep paralysis as an explanation for reports of paranormal and spiritual phenomena such as [[ghost]]s,<ref name=":8">{{cite book|title=The terror that comes in the night : an experience-centered study of supernatural assault traditions / monograph.|last=David.|first=Hufford|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-1305-8|oclc=862147963|date = September 1989}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite journal|last1=Hinton|first1=Devon E.|last2=Pich|first2=Vuth|last3=Chhean|first3=Dara|last4=Pollack|first4=Mark H.|date=2005-03-01|title='The Ghost Pushes You Down': Sleep Paralysis-Type Panic Attacks in a Khmer Refugee Population|journal=Transcultural Psychiatry|language=en|volume=42|issue=1|pages=46–77|doi=10.1177/1363461505050710|issn=1363-4615|pmid=15881268|s2cid=35609685}}</ref> alien visits,<ref>Blackmore, Susan. (1998) [http://www.csicop.org/si/show/abduction_by_aliens_or_sleep_paralysis "Abduction by Aliens or Sleep Paralysis?"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100813121544/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/abduction_by_aliens_or_sleep_paralysis |date=2010-08-13 }}. ''Skeptical Inquirer'', May/June 1998. (Retrieved 13 May 2014)</ref> [[demons]] or [[demonic possession]],<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":6" /> [[alien abduction]] experiences,<ref name="pmid15881271">{{cite journal |vauthors=McNally RJ, Clancy SA |title=Sleep Paralysis, Sexual Abuse, and Space Alien Abduction |journal=[[Transcultural Psychiatry]] |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=113–122 |year=2005|pmid=15881271 |doi=10.1177/1363461505050715|s2cid=9569785 }}</ref><ref name="Cordon2005-8">{{cite book|title=Popular Psychology: An Encyclopedia|first=Luis A.|last=Cordón|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2005|isbn=978-0-313-32457-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/popularpsycholog0000cord/page/8 8]|section=Alien abduction|url=https://archive.org/details/popularpsycholog0000cord|url-access=registration}}</ref> the [[night hag]] and [[shadow people]] haunting.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Cheynetwothree" />

According to some scientists, culture may be a major factor in shaping sleep paralysis.<ref name=":6">{{cite journal|last1=Jalal|first1=Baland|last2=Hinton|first2=Devon E.|date=2013-07-25|title=Rates and Characteristics of Sleep Paralysis in the General Population of Denmark and Egypt|journal=Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry|language=en|volume=37|issue=3|pages=534–548|doi=10.1007/s11013-013-9327-x|pmid=23884906|s2cid=28563727|issn=0165-005X}}</ref> When sleep paralysis is interpreted through a particular cultural filter, it may take on greater salience. For example, if sleep paralysis is feared in a certain culture, this fear could lead to conditioned fear, and thus worsen the experience, in turn leading to higher rates.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":6" /> Consistent with this idea, high rates and long durations of immobility during sleep paralysis have been found in Egypt, where there are elaborate beliefs about sleep paralysis, involving [[malevolent spirit]]-like creatures, the ''[[jinn]].''<ref name=":6" />

Research has found that sleep paralysis is associated with great fear and fear of impending death in 50% of sufferers in Egypt. A study comparing rates and characteristics of sleep paralysis in Egypt and Denmark found that the phenomenon is three times more common in Egypt than Denmark.<ref name=":6" /> In Denmark, unlike Egypt, there are no elaborate supernatural beliefs about sleep paralysis, and the experience is often interpreted as an odd physiological event, with overall shorter sleep paralysis episodes and fewer people (17%) fearing that they could die from it.<ref name=":2" />