Hypnopompic
hallucinations
are often discussed along with hypnogogic hallucinations. Both of
these have to do with hallucinations occurring as people enter or exit
sleep. When people are just on the edge of sleep they might experience
hypnogogic hallucinations. If a person is about to wake, he or she
could have a hypnopompic hallucination.
What makes hypnogogic and
hypnopompic hallucinations different from dreams is that they tend to
lack a story. Moreover the hallucinations may vary. People could
experience a physical feeling, a smell, a sound, or quite frequently an
image or sight.
The image could be a simple line, dot, pattern,
or it could be a full person, animal or other. It is important to add
that whatever experienced, the perception of something not there can
feel very real. Hypnopompic hallucinations might make people bolt out
of bed, and then feel very disoriented, or they sometimes create the
sensation that the person is paralyzed and cannot move.
Hypnogogic
and hypnopompic hallucinations are characterized by their “realness.”
They also have a tendency to disrupt sleep. While they might suggest a
person has sleep disorder, the hallucinations do not have much to say
about the sanity of the person having them.