Has it ever happened to you that when you woke up you thought you saw a huge spider or perhaps the face of an old man? Have you heard footsteps while you were falling asleep or thought you heard an explosion? Do not worry, these perceptions that you experience as real are still the result of the hallucinating processes that our mind produces, in this case our mind does just this, hallucinating. These sensory perceptions are caused by the so-called hypnopomic or hypnagogic hallucinations, which occur in the sleep-wake transition processes and vice versa. If you want to know their peculiarities, continue reading this Psychology-Online article: I see spiders when I wake up, what could it be?
Seeing nonexistent spiders, what is it?
Some of the questions that arise during consultation are: “I woke up and saw a spider, why?” or “I see spiders when I wake up, what could it be?” Seeing non-existent spiders when you wake up is due to hypnopomic hallucinations. If you saw them before going to sleep they would be hypnagogic hallucinationsHypnopomic and hypnagogic hallucinations are hallucinations, that is, a sensory perception without a real external stimulus that triggers them, which appear in the transition periods of sleep-wake and vice versa, that is, when entering sleep and waking up from sleep. he.
Difference between hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations
The difference between the two lies in the moment of their appearance, since the hypnagogic hallucinations They occur when the person passes from wakefulness to sleepwhile the hypnopomic hallucinations appear when the person is waking up of the dream. Hypnopomic and hypnagogic hallucinations can appear as an isolated phenomenon or be part of the symptomatology of a disorder, such as narcolepsy.
Hypnopompic and hypnagogic hallucinations: characteristics and examples
- Types of sensory perception: as we have mentioned, hallucinations are sensory perceptions and in this case, the most frequent sensory categories in hypnopomic and hypnagogic hallucinations are visual ones, for example see spiders when you wake up and/or auditory, for example hear footsteps, music,… However, they can also be olfactory, gustatory, tactile, thermal and kinesthetic.
- Simultaneity: the appearance of a sensory hallucination does not exempt the appearance of another, it is possible to have hallucinations of different sensory modalities at the same time and their combination increases the degree of realism of the hallucination, so that as more senses are incorporated into the hallucination, the more real it will be.
- Occurrence and duration: the most common occurrence is sporadically, although they can also appear consecutively, less frequently. Its duration is very brief and dynamic, maintaining the hallucination for a few seconds.
- Prevalence: the appearance of hypnopomic and hypnagogic hallucinations is more common in childhood and adolescence and although they can persist in adulthood, they appear less frequently. However, it is estimated that 50% of the population experiences a hallucination of this type throughout their lives.
- Frequency: Hypnagogic hallucinations, those that occur in the transition from wakefulness to sleep, are much more frequent and have been better studied than hypnopomic hallucinations, those that occur when waking up.
Visual hypnopomic hallucinations
As we have previously indicated, the most common type of hallucination is visual, along with auditory, and in this article we will focus on visual hallucinations:
- Image permanence: when the person perceives the image produced by the hallucination, this image can change or transform into another very quickly and its duration tends to be a few seconds. Although the duration of visual hallucinations is very short, these They can be very vivid and real.
- Size: images can take on different sizes, generally being classified as small (micropsias) or gigantic (megalopsias).
- Theme: hypnopomic images tend to be characterized by their great variety of themes, however the following types of visual hallucinations have been identified in them:
- Amorphous shapes: like clouds, waves,…
- Shapes with design: geometric figures, shapes, symmetries,…
- Faces of people, animals and objects.
- Nature elements.
- Letters and writings: their language can be both real and imaginary language.
Causes of hypnopompic and hypnagogic hallucinations
Why do you have these hallucinations? Hypnagogic and hypnopomic hallucinations tend to appear as an isolated phenomenon, without the need to be associated with any disorder. In this case, its appearance is related to elevated levels of stress and anxietyas well as fatigue or an irregular sleep schedule and therefore, they do not have any implications for our health, they are harmless and not pathological. For this reason, they occasionally tend to be called physiological hallucinationsbecause they can occur in healthy people, without the need for a disorder to be present.
However, when these appear repetitively, their frequency may be related to some sleep disorder, the most common being sleep paralysis and narcolepsy.
- Sleep paralysis: disorder that is part of parasomnias. Parasomnias are considered a set of abnormal behaviors or phenomena that appear in sleep and their classification will depend on the phase of sleep in which they occur, with their appearance being more frequent between one phase and another. In the following article you will find the. Sleep paralysis causes the sufferer to feel unable to move voluntarily, while falling asleep or upon waking up, for about 20 to 60 seconds.
- Narcolepsy: When the intensity of the hallucinations is much greater, it may be due to narcolepsy, that is, a sleep disorder characterized by excessive drowsiness during the day.
Given this, we would speak of a disorder, while if their appearance is isolated and not repetitive, these hallucinations are not considered a disorder. It should be added that these must be differentiated from hallucinations produced in psychiatric disorders, such as . Given all this, we must keep in mind that its prolonged appearance requires the help of a specialist.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- González, JL (1993). Sleep psychopathology. Focus on Psychiatry, 4, 76-87.
- Iriarte, J., Urrestarazu, E., Alegre, M., Viteri, C & Artieda, J. (2005). Parasomnias: abnormal episodes during sleep. REV MED UNIV NAVARRA, 49, 46-52.
- Parra, A. (2009). Nocturnal Hallucinatory Experiences: Relationship with Schizotypy, Dissociative Tendencies and Propensity to Fantasy. Interamerican Journal of Psychology, 43, 134-143.