A popular piece of spiritual writing from 2012 argued that the brain releases DMT every night, that sleep paralysis is a doorway to "astral projection", and that anyone can leave their body by holding still long enough. It is a striking story, and it touches real science: DMT does occur naturally in the body, sleep paralysis is common, and many people do report floating outside themselves. But most of the specific links in the story have not been shown.
Here is what DMT and sleep paralysis actually are, what research has found so far, why people see shadowy figures or feel they have left their body, and what to do if sleep paralysis keeps happening to you.
What DMT is and what is known about it
N,N-dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, is a small molecule related to serotonin. It is found in many plants and in small amounts in mammals, including traces in human blood, urine and cerebrospinal fluid. The body has the raw material, the amino acid tryptophan, and an enzyme called INMT that can help convert related compounds into DMT.
Taken as a drug, DMT is one of the most intense psychedelics known. Smoked or vaporised, it acts within seconds and the experience usually lasts only five to twenty minutes. In the Amazonian brew ayahuasca, DMT-containing leaves are combined with a vine that blocks the enzymes that would normally break the drug down in the gut, which makes it active by mouth for several hours. Users often describe vivid geometric visions and a sense of meeting other beings.
It is not harmless. Reported risks include frightening "bad trips", panic, psychosis in people who are predisposed, sharp rises in heart rate and blood pressure, and dangerous interactions when ayahuasca is combined with antidepressants such as SSRIs. DMT is a controlled substance in most countries, with limited exceptions for religious use of ayahuasca in some.
Does the brain release DMT during sleep or at death?
The original article claimed that the pineal gland, the "third eye", produces DMT during deep REM sleep and that this is why we dream. That has never been demonstrated. No study has measured DMT rising in the human brain during sleep or dreaming.
The closest real evidence comes from a 2019 study by Jon Dean, Jimo Borjigin and colleagues at the University of Michigan, published in Scientific Reports. In rats, they found DMT in the cerebral cortex at levels similar to other brain chemicals such as serotonin, and this was true even in animals whose pineal gland had been removed. DMT levels in the visual cortex also rose after induced cardiac arrest. In human brain tissue they found only the genetic instructions for the enzymes involved, not measured DMT levels. Borjigin said plainly that the function of DMT in the brain is unknown.
So the idea that a DMT surge explains near-death experiences is a hypothesis, not a finding. Near-death experiences can also be linked to lack of oxygen, other brain chemicals and the way a stressed brain builds a sense of self and body.
The article also suggested that DMT's crystal form lets it "amplify vibrations" and expand consciousness. Many substances form crystals, from sugar to salt, and crystal shape has nothing to do with how a drug acts on the brain. DMT works mainly by binding to serotonin receptors.
What sleep paralysis is
Sleep paralysis happens when you become aware while your body is still in the muscle shutdown of REM sleep. During normal REM sleep, the brain stops most muscles from moving so we do not act out dreams. If you wake partly during that phase, or slip into it while falling asleep, you can be conscious but unable to move or speak, usually for a few seconds to a few minutes. You can still move your eyes and breathe.
It is common. Reviews estimate that roughly 8% of the general population, about 28% of students and around a third of psychiatric patients have had at least one episode, and about 5% have it regularly. Men and women are affected equally. Known triggers include:
- sleep deprivation and irregular sleep, such as shift work or jet lag
- stress, anxiety and post-traumatic stress
- sleeping on your back
- narcolepsy, which should be considered if episodes are frequent
- a family history, since it appears to run partly in families
Why people see figures, demons or "aliens"
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The frightening part of sleep paralysis is not the stillness but what comes with it. Because the brain is still partly dreaming, many people sense an intruder in the room, see a dark figure, hear buzzing or voices, or feel a heavy weight on the chest. Breathing during REM sleep is shallow, which can add a feeling of being smothered.
Cultures around the world have named this experience. In Newfoundland it is the "Old Hag" who sits on the sleeper's chest; in Japan it is kanashibari, "metal binding"; in Egypt it is often blamed on jinn. Researchers think these episodes help explain many reports of night-time demons, ghosts and alien abductions. Interestingly, where people see sleep paralysis as a spirit attack, episodes tend to be longer and more frightening than where they see it as a simple quirk of sleep.
The original article said negative figures appear because of a person's low "frequency" and can be blocked with spiritual shields. There is no evidence for that. What does help is knowing what is happening: understanding that the figure is a dream image and that the episode will pass on its own reduces fear for many people.
Out-of-body feelings and astral projection
Some people in sleep paralysis feel they are floating, spinning, being pulled out of bed or looking down at themselves. Scientists link these sensations to confused signals from the balance system and to brain areas that build our sense of where the body is in space. Similar feelings have been triggered in the lab by stimulating a region called the temporoparietal junction.
Astral projection is the belief that the mind or soul actually leaves the body and travels. Claims of this kind have been tested, for example by placing hidden targets that only an "out-of-body" observer could see, and no reliable successes have been documented. The experiences are real to the person having them; the evidence that anything leaves the body is not there.
The original piece also proposed that people in a coma are souls lost outside their bodies. Comas are caused by injury or illness that disrupts the brain's arousal systems, such as trauma, stroke, lack of oxygen or poisoning. Some patients who appear unresponsive do retain awareness, which is why doctors now use brain scans and careful testing, but that is a medical problem, not a spiritual journey.
Waking up during surgery
The article described a friend who felt every moment of an operation, left her body and woke her father to save her life. The story cannot be checked and should be read as an anecdote. However, waking during general anaesthesia is a real, recognised complication, contrary to the claim that doctors do not know about it.
Anaesthesia awareness with later memory is estimated to happen in roughly 1 to 2 in every 1,000 general anaesthetics, more often in heart surgery, emergency surgery and Caesarean sections. It usually occurs when the dose is too light for that patient, especially when muscle relaxants make it hard to see that the person is waking. Anaesthetists reduce the risk through careful dosing, equipment checks and, in some cases, brain monitoring. Because it can lead to lasting anxiety or post-traumatic stress, anyone who remembers being awake during surgery should tell their care team so they can get support.
About inducing sleep paralysis on purpose
The original guide gave a method for entering sleep paralysis deliberately: lie still on your back while not tired, count down, ignore every urge to move or scratch, and wait for a "vibration" or a sense of floating before pulling yourself out. Versions of this are widely shared in lucid-dreaming communities, including the YouTube series Lucidology 101 that the author recommended.
What these techniques really do is hold you at the edge of sleep long enough to drift into REM-like states while staying aware. They do not release a measured burst of DMT, and they do not produce verified travel outside the body. They can produce vivid, sometimes enjoyable experiences, but also panic, and people with anxiety, PTSD, depression or a history of psychosis may find them distressing. Deliberately cutting or disrupting sleep to trigger episodes is a bad trade for health.
If sleep paralysis keeps happening
For most people, occasional sleep paralysis is unpleasant but harmless. Steps that commonly help are:
- keeping regular sleep and wake times and getting enough sleep
- cutting back on alcohol and late caffeine
- trying to sleep on your side rather than your back
- reminding yourself during an episode that it is temporary, then focusing on slow breathing or trying to move a finger or toe
- getting help for stress and anxiety
If episodes are frequent, very distressing, or come with sudden daytime sleepiness or muscle weakness when laughing, talk to a doctor. These can be signs of narcolepsy or another sleep disorder that is worth checking.
Sources: Original essay "Astral Projection 101: DMT & Sleep Paralysis" by Ryan Boyd for The Spirit Science; Neuroscience News: University of Michigan DMT study (2019); Wikipedia: N,N-Dimethyltryptamine; Wikipedia: Sleep paralysis; NHS: Sleep paralysis; Wikipedia: Anesthesia awareness.
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