Alien Abductions Likely Are Vivid Dreams, Reports Sleep Study

By on April 10, 2012 in News 35

imagesFindings suggest that aliens encounters are a form of vivid dreaming that can be coached. An alternate interpretation would be, it is possible to contact aliens through the dreamworld. Life’s Little Mysteries writes:

Researchers say they have conducted “the first experiment to ever prove that close encounters with UFOs and extraterrestrials are a product of the human mind.”

In a sleep study by the Out-Of-Body Experience Research Center in Los Angeles, 20 volunteers were instructed to perform a series of mental steps upon waking up or becoming lucid during the night that might lead them to have out-of-body experiences culminating in perceived encounters with aliens. More than half experienced at least one full or partial out-of-body experience, and seven of them were able to make contact with UFOs or extraterrestrials during these dream-like experiences.

One participant recalled making a successful attempt to separate from his body: “I [then] tried to find aliens. Three of them materialized right before my eyes. They seemed more like creatures from the movie ‘The Thing’ than tadpoles with eyes like Princess Jasmine.”

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  • Vinny Boombotz

    Researchers say they have conducted “the first experiment to ever prove that close encounters with UFOs and extraterrestrials are a product of the human mind.”

    Although I didn’t need research to tell me what I’d already concluded, it’s nice to know there has been some scientific research that came to the same conclusion..

    • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/RWWAEM343UIK2IBZB3OXQZTQXM SPET67

      You are free to believe whatever you wish about the existence or non-existence of aliens.  I personally am not convinced either way.  

      But, this study proves absolutely nothing, except for the fact that you can teach people to have lucid dreams and that those can dream about aliens when instructed to do so.  

      As I said above, I dreamed about going to a baseball game last night.  Does that mean baseball games only exist in dreams?    

      • Rlee322

        No this dream proves that people predisposed to the idea of aliens are more likely to dream about aliens. The same way you think about and dream about baseball. Again, this study is NOT about determining the existence or non-existence of extra-terrestrials, rather it’s about determining whether or not some “alien encounters” might just have been a bad dream on the part of the “abductee”. Calm down, mate. 

        • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/RWWAEM343UIK2IBZB3OXQZTQXM SPET67

          I’m not upset.

          You’re pretty much making my point.  

          Yes, people can have some pretty intense/realistic dreams about a variety of things.  Of course some of them may think that what they dreamed actually happened in physical reality.  I’m not denying that may explain some of the reports of alien abduction.  

          But, the simple fact that they’ve found that people can have dreams about alien abductions doesn’t mean that they’ve explained everything away.  

          I was reacting more to the headline than to the actual text of the full article.  

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Chad-Glapion/100000380871504 Chad Glapion

    Bullshit. Of course when you’re put into a state of mind like that and told “go find Aliens” you’re going to find Aliens. The participant they quoted didn’t even report seeing the classic “Grey Alien” that is commonly associated with abduction. 

  • GoodDoktorBad

    Great “conclusion”…..assumng we understand the dream state and what “in reality” dreams are.

    Oh wait, we don’t. We don’t understand the baser concepts, so how could we possibly draw a reliable conclusion?

    Dreams. What are dreams? Define that first. Then, maybe you can say what is “real” and what is imagination.

    Oh, the arrogance…..

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Chad-Glapion/100000380871504 Chad Glapion

      Exactly. This is just another case of Scientific arrogance clouding logical conclusion. Cue the new “findings” years later that will dismiss all the current theories about lucid dreaming and dreaming in general.

    • Atom322

      A dream is the neurological and psychological state of unconsciousness wherein the brain processing stored information in a chaotic series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily during sleep. That is the current definition of what a “dream” is. It is not the set definition, nothing is, but it the currently accepted definition. 

      I don’t get why everyone is so upset by this article. This is a single scientific study about a topic that has been of interest to scientist for some time. This article is not about proving the non-existence of aliens, rather it’s trying to figure out why people experience completely different “alien encounters” rather than just one race. The theory is sound and I believe they may be on to something. This isn’t about whether or not aliens exist, it’s about how some “alien encounters” might just be bad dreams. That’s all. 

      Oh and science isn’t arrogant. It’s anything but arrogant. Dismissing the scientific method because you believe your knowledge supersedes that of the Scientific community is arrogant.

      • Good Goose

         >I don’t get why everyone is so upset by this article.

        Because, like, I took DMT once and it TOTALLY opened my mind to other realms of there, dude.

      • GoodDoktorBad

        Imagine for a moment how a person can mis-interperate words. You seem to assume a great deal about my post. Amazing how simple words can be so abstract……hmmm, that’s because words ARE abstract and imprecise. For instance:
         
        “A dream is the neurological and psychological state of unconsciousness wherein the brain processing stored information in a chaotic series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily during sleep. That is the current definition of what a “dream” is. It is not the set definition, nothing is……”
         
        Thats all very nice and impressively scientific sounding. It also explains nothing, proves nothing and amounts to little or nothing of value.
         
        Experience is as real as it gets, just as words are so often folly. The scientific community can poke, prod and extraplolate all it wants but it will never come close to defining what dreams are through words and assumptions based on abstract data. Dreams and “reality” are a very subjective experience. No one can really stand aside and tell others what reality is any more they can say what dreams are.
         
        Frankly, there is little to compare those concepts too. There is no known consistant baseline to compare reality or dreams with. We might as well compare marshmallows to marshmallows by saying marshmallows are made of guess what….marshmallows!!
         
        “Alien encounters” (whatever that means) are just one (possibly lame) attempt at explanation .
         
        “Dismissing the scientific method because you believe your knowledge supersedes that of the Scientific community is arrogant.”
         
        Frankly, I don’t know shit. I never said I did. But, one thing I do know is the scientific community doesn’t know shit either. They spew out half-baked ideas and treat them like they’re holy scripture. That’s the point I tried to make. We read a few impressive science-y words and get all intimidated. Then we repeat them -it makes us feel smarter to repeat the words of scientists……doesn’t it?

        • Jin The Ninja

          great post.

    • Good Goose

      >What are dreams? Define that first.

      Consolidation and processing of memories during REM sleep.

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/RWWAEM343UIK2IBZB3OXQZTQXM SPET67

    I don’t know if there are aliens on/around Earth or not.  But, I do know that this is a rather stupid study that proves absolutely nothing about this topic.  

    I dreamed about going to a baseball game last.  Does that mean that baseball games only exist in dreams?  

    • Rlee322

      What? No. What this study is attempting to show is that so-called alien encounters might just be bad dreams. The study isn’t out to prove the non-existence of aliens, rather it’s out to prove that some people’s “encounters” might not be as real as they say they are. 

      • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/RWWAEM343UIK2IBZB3OXQZTQXM SPET67

        Why would you need a study to prove that?  

        • Atom322

          Because science demands proof before belief. Are you unaware of the scientific method, mate? They are doing this study probably because of the numerous accounts by otherwise reputable people making fantastic and outrageous claims of encountering aliens. Seeing as how this is not an isolated incident, people from around the globe claim that they believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were abducted by extra-terrestrials. The importance of this study is also extended to the fact that these results might also explain why some people claim to have heard “God’s voice” or have “visions of Jesus”. It is the first step into a field that hasn’t been much explored and as always Science will push into the darkness to reveal what is unknown, no matter how stupid or annoying the truth may be. 

  • Liam_McGonagle

    Well, if nothing else, they’ve proven that “morning wood” phenomena transcenda all species, terrestrial and extra-terrestrial.

  • Nunzio X

    I have a friend with knowledge of hypnosis who says:

    “We’re all walking around in some kind of trance all the time.”

    Dreams are the trance (the hypnosis, if you will) that occurs when we sleep, but there’s a waking version as well.

  • Nicksteele90

    Interesting idea. But it does nothing to explain physical phenomena associated with abductions such as scoop marks and scars and “dreaming” of implants shoved through nasal cavity that produce corresponding bleeding noses. 

  • Investinourftre

    Who says aliens can’t work on us through our dreams?  Many spiritialists travel in their dreams and conduct many works. 

  • cybersleuth58

    Why are people so upset? Perhaps it is because this is yet another attempt to explain away the experiences of those who’ve reported they have been subjected to alien abduction. Personally, I have never had the experience myself. I don’t know whether or not aliens are visiting Earth although my feeling is that there are intelligent civilizations out there. 

    It is an interesting study, but it is just one study, from which no one can draw conclusions. Remember Michael Persinger, of  Laurentian University in Ontario, who found that he could  use magnets to stimulate the parietal portion of the brain leading people to feel they had experienced being in god’s presence, or had been immersed in cosmic enrapture? At the time there was speculation that this could explain away the alien abduction phenomenon. I am certain there will be many more theories arising as we make more progress in mapping the brain.

  • Michaelmhughes

    Do a quick search on the “Out-of-Body Experience Research Center” and you’ll quickly discover this is not a scientific research center at all, but an informal group run by a guy who has great press-release-writing skills. It’s a sham and scientifically worthless. 

  • Fuck Tard

     how do you explain the anal probe lodged in my ass?

    • Nunzio X

      Now that the “Supreme” Court has ruled that anyone in “authority” can strip search you when you’ve been detained, your probe is no longer safe from prying eyes.

    • Tuna Ghost

      Shit that’s where I left the damn thing.  My bad

  • http://www.jaycob.co.nf/ Scruffy

    OMG, so I was actually abducted by aliens that time I thought I dreamt I was!?

  • Durga_daggr

    Jacobsloan – what is your freaking deal?? If it’s not the constant links to periodelia stories (Woman see’s jesus in toast) It’s genuine disinformation sites like “life’s little mysteries”. what gives? 

    As you can see in the comments, this story is absolute BS. And to present it as a fact of science makes it all the more insidious. 

    So what’s up jacobsloan? 

  • Good Goose

    >An alternate interpretation would be, it is possible to contact aliens through the dreamworld.

    Don’t bogart that bong, dude…

  • Ricky Jazzercise

    I’ve been experimenting with Astral Projection for years. Basically you put yourself in a sleep paralysis state and attempt to roll out of your body while in said state. I could never really do that, but entities started showing up in the sleep paralysis state and projecting lesson plans about the larger reality into my soul (God, I know, I’m crazy……for reading about something in books and trying to replicate the results…completely insane).

    These entites regularly demonstrate that they know shit about our world that I decidedly don’t. How is this? Seriously threatens materialism. Just basic lucid dreaming seriously threatens materialism in general. How is it I can have experiences that are just as “real” as my waking consciousness when all of my sensory input is turned off. How is that possible if consciousness originates from our sensory perception of the external world as science loves to tell us?

    They’ve been trying to pass off alien abductions as just being sleep paralysis for decades now. As someone with a lot of experience with sleep paralysis this is beyond insulting to me, but moreover to actual contactees? What I’ve experienced is definitely not what they’re reporting. Also, how does this explain U.F.O.’s.?

    • gelikeasics

      not to be bossy or anything, but I would just take what I need from those entities…

    • http://www.soundcloud.com/myconica Threedinium

      A little off topic, maybe you can help with something? I used to get sleep paralysis (doesn’t happen much anymore) but it was always a terrifying experience, total fear and an insidious presence, sometimes accompanied by visions of some kind of monster. It never occured to me that sleep paralysis could ever be used for anything useful – do you have any pointers on overcoming this fear and darkness and using the state more constructively? 

      • http://twitter.com/JohnJoerg John Joerg

        Read Florinda Donner’s Being-In-Dreaming. Great book. Authentic. 

        • http://www.soundcloud.com/myconica Threedinium

          Ah yeah I had a read of a free preview, I read the other Castaneda books and this was quite a refreshing change to a more feminine perspective. Cheers.

  • Barbelith
  • Guest

    What a load of BS! This study proves nothing. How about doing some research into the thousands of people that claim to have made contact while they are fully awake and conscious.