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Experiences of self-continuity and self-discontinuity in dreams and its relation with the body and affectivity.

Marina Trakas, Ryan Daley

Consciousness and Cognition July 20, 2026 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2026.104096 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed
Sample size 302
Population Participants who completed self-report measures
Topics Lucid dreaming Philosophy of mind
Keywords Affectivity Body Dreams Observer perspective Self-continuity Wakefulness
Key findings Stronger felt self-continuity between dreaming and waking was positively associated with positive dream emotions carrying over into waking life and negatively associated with experiencing a body distinct from one's waking body.

Abstract

Research on the continuity and discontinuity between the waking and dreaming minds has largely focused on similarities and differences in waking and dream content. The present study expands this debate by examining another dimension: the relationship between the dream self and the waking self at the phenomenal level. Specifically, it investigates how bodily and affective dimensions of dream experience relate to individuals' experiences of self-continuity and self-discontinuity across wakefulness and dreaming. A sample of 302 participants completed self-report measures assessing experiences of self-(dis)continuity, including experiences of being another person, dream embodiment, dream affectivity, observer perspectives, lucid dreaming, and dream recall frequency. Results showed that stronger felt self-continuity between dreaming and waking was positively associated with experiences of positive-but not negative-dream emotions carrying over into waking life, and negatively associated with experiencing a body distinct from one's waking body. Conversely, more frequent experiences of being another person in dreams were associated with more frequent experiences of emotions perceived as inappropriate to the dream context. Contrary to expectations, no significant associations were found between experiences of being another person in dreams and lucid dreaming, observer perspectives, or dream recall frequency. These findings suggest convergent associations between experiences of self-(dis)continuity and bodily and affective dream phenomenology.

In the evidence

This study is part of the evidence base for a synthesis in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.

  • State of the evidence: Lucid dreaming Mixed

    Stronger felt self-continuity between dreaming and waking was positively associated with positive dream emotions carrying over into waking life and negatively associated with experiencing a body distinct from one's waking body, but no significant associations were found between being another person in dreams and lucid dreaming.

    Synthesized

Comparable studies

Other cross-sectional and survey studies on lucid dreaming, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
The Phenomenology of Lucid Dreaming: An Online Survey Respondents to an online survey about lucid dreams 2014 Online survey n = 684
Frequency of Lucid Dreaming in a Representative German Sample Representative sample of German adults 2011 Cross-sectional survey n = 919
Lucid dreaming: an age‐dependent brain dissociation Students aged 6-19 years 2012 Survey
Terror and bliss? Commonalities and distinctions between sleep paralysis, lucid dreaming, and their associations with waking life experiences Adults aged 18–82 years 2016 Cross-sectional survey n = 1,928
Increased Lucid Dreaming Frequency in Narcolepsy Patients diagnosed with narcolepsy and healthy control subjects 2015 Cross-sectional study n = 979

Citations in the library

Cites 21

and 16 more in the library

Related reading

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Lucid dreaming Philosophy of mind Dreaming Meditation