Astral Projection and Physiology/Neuroscience

[tr0798]

After experimenting with trying to induce OBE this week, I've been trying to compare the sensations I get from my attempts to what is scientifically known about how sleep works. What I've seen so far is there seems to be a definite order to the sensations. It is as follows:

Begining of relaxation -> Slight Numbing. Vibrations occur. -> Feeling of my body becoming infinitesimally small and the room around me expanding. Sense of being disassociated from the body -> Numbing until complete body disassociation. Vibrations continue. -> REM/Projection

I noticed that it ALWAYS happens in this exact order for me. Seeing this I thought that maybe this has something to do with sleep phases and brain waves.

This is what the brain does when you sleep:

(Check this out if you don't quite understand what these terms mean: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-rapid_eye_movement_sleep)

Awake relaxation -> Stage 1. Normally causes wandering of thoughts, and relaxation of the body. -> Stage 2. Normally loss of consciousness begins here. Sleep Spindles and K-Complexes show up on EEG's. -> Stage 3. Deep sleep begins here. Delta waves show up on EEG's. -> Stage 2 again -> Stage 1 / REM

Is it possible that the two correspond like this? :

      AP                                 EEG/Scientific Understanding of Sleep

Numbing & Vibrations              Stage 2/Spindles
Begining of Disembodiment       Stage 3/Delta Wave
Numbing & Vibrations              Stage 2/Spindles
Projection                             REM Sleep


If that's the case, then could that mean that sleep spindles are the neural representation of vibrations, delta waves and stage 3 represent the beginning of disembodiment, and REM represents projecting (this part is quite obvious).

Something that would seem to support this is that later in the night you stop having stage 3 sleep. If you are already disembodied you would not need to do it again, so this would make sense.

I thought this was very interesting. I've always seen the study of sleep as the bridge between science and the supernatural, and from what I've seen, this seems to confirm it for me. What do you all think about this?

Also, if anyone has something that would refute or challenge anything I am saying here, please feel free to post it in here. I always like to see things from a different perspective and prove myself wrong if I can in order to see the truth. Links to websites with related material or research would also be greatly appreciated.

[dbmathis]

I like to think of science and the supernatural as the same thing. The supernatural is simply unexplained science or vice versa, science being observable supernatural.

People will have differencing opinion and maybe they will not agree with you, as for me, your theory is just as valid as any other.

[CFTraveler]

If that's the case, then could that mean that sleep spindles are the neural representation of vibrations

This is very compelling.
Some time ago I read about someone who was having projections and his neurologist referred him to a sleep study, and when he experienced projection they said he was having alpha? intrusion on his delta pattern, and this corresponded to the times when he was having the OBE experiences.  I'm not sure what this shows but I thought it was interesting.
There was some doubt as to this diagnosis, because the person said that the lab in which this study was conducted tended to give this diagnosis to people who had fibromyalgia, so they thought it may have been a 'set' diagnosis, but it made sense to me- after all, this would explain why the brain would recollect the experience that is unconscious in so many people.  The brain just 'synchs' in, and the experience is experienced in 'real time'.  Just a thought.

[ancient_one]

This is very compelling.
Some time ago I read about someone who was having projections and his neurologist referred him to a sleep study, and when he experienced projection they said he was having alpha? intrusion on his delta pattern, and this corresponded to the times when he was having the OBE experiences.  I'm not sure what this shows but I thought it was interesting.
There was some doubt as to this diagnosis, because the person said that the lab in which this study was conducted tended to give this diagnosis to people who had fibromyalgia, so they thought it may have been a 'set' diagnosis, but it made sense to me- after all, this would explain why the brain would recollect the experience that is unconscious in so many people.  The brain just 'synchs' in, and the experience is experienced in 'real time'.  Just a thought.

Seeing this discussion brought me to this site on awareness of sleep paralysis-  http://www.trionica.com/asp/defined.htm 

I have always been interested in whether there was a correlation between my OOBEs that happened spontaneously since I was a kid, and the real world as defined by science.  My view is that in general, people do not normally say aware consciously as they fall asleep. For me, it has always been a possibility that I will stay aware and wake as I fall asleep. It is what happens after this that makes for an interesting night- one way or another.