Did I have a dream last night? White dreaming as metacognitive feelings
Mind & Language January 22, 2026 DOI: 10.1111/mila.70027 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming Lucid dreaming |
| Keywords | Feeling Metacognition White mutation Recall Sleep system call Psychoanalysis Cognitive psychology Metamemory Consciousness Aesthetics |
| Key points | Argues that white dreaming is a metacognitive feeling, akin to tip-of-the-tongue and déjà experiences, and can sometimes be a metacognitive illusion. |
Abstract
While most research on sleep mentation focuses on dream reports, sleep experiences can also include reports lacking content, such as white dreaming —the feeling of knowing one dreamt but being unable to recall its contents. I claim that white dreaming is a metacognitive feeling, akin to tip‐of‐the‐tongue and déjà experiences. Conceiving it this way allows for a more nuanced understanding of its nature and causes. Drawing on research on metacognitive feelings in wakefulness, I suggest that white dreaming can sometimes be a metacognitive illusion : A misleading feeling that seems to arise from a dream but could reflect another kind of sleep experience—or none at all.