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In the Middle East, where the lines of science were blurred with Islamic cultural tradition and ancient mythology, sleep paralysis was most often blamed on jinn. The jinn are believed to be invisible creatures, made of “smokeless fire” that live parallel to humans, but in the spiritual domain. They can be mischievous, malevolent, or benign according to their species and mood. As averse to jinn as his faith was, the jinn were understood as spirits, and to be roused at night and confronted by a spirit that had taken leave of its senses or was moving between corporeal and incorporeal states was a common experience. This explanation was perfectly reasonable in that cultural context, for people were already convinced that spirits could secretly affect everyday life. For these people living in these times, this was simply a rational explanation.

In Japan, sleep paralysis has long been known as kanashibari, which literally means “to be bound” or “tied up.” People who experienced it would wake up completely aware but unable to move, often feeling a heavy presence pressing down on them. In traditional Japanese belief, this was seen as the work of restless or angry spirits attaching themselves to a person’s body while they slept. It was not just a strange quirk of the body; but a sign that a spirit was there and wanted to cause illness.

These interpretations grew out of a worldview where spirits, ancestors, and the balance between the living and the dead were deeply important. Many stories tie kanashibari to unresolved grudges, skipped rituals, or spiritual imbalances, turning what might otherwise be a confusing or frightening experience into one with clear moral and emotional meaning. People did not just feel trapped in their own bodies, also they felt caught in a spiritual web that demanded attention and respect.