Dissociative experiences are common in the general population, with about one-third of individuals reporting at least one dissociative symptom. The etiology of dissociation (especially of its more pathological expressions) has been primarily considered in terms of childhood trauma, but critiques of the trauma model also point the need of considering cognitive, psychopathological and sociocultural factors other than trauma in a comprehensive model of dissociative experiences. Of particular interest here is the growing body of research uncovering the complex interrelationship between dissociation and anomalous sleep experiences such as recurrent nightmares, vivid and bizarre dreams, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic/hypnopompic imagery, and narcolepsy symptoms.