DREAMS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: Integrating Wearable Technologies and Psychoanalysis
Victoria Akopova
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) January 29, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18420563 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Lucid dreaming |
| Keywords | Psychoanalytic theory Narrative Freudian slip Preconscious Sleep system call Wearable computer Psychoanalysis Cognitive science Freudian theory The symbolic Wearable technology |
| Key points | Proposes that REM sleep can occur without subjective dream recall and introduces the 'digital unconscious' as a dissociable stage of sleep. |
Abstract
This article explores the tension between classical psychoanalytic interpretations of dreams and contemporary physiological measurements of sleep. By integrating Freudian theory with data obtained from wearable sleep-tracking technology, the study demonstrates that REM sleep can occur without subjective dream recall. Introducing the concept of the digital unconscious, the article proposes a new model in which physiological sleep processes, potential symbolic activity, and conscious remembrance are dissociable stages. This interdisciplinary approach reframes dreams not only as symbolic narratives but also as measurable data, expanding the methodological and theoretical boundaries of sleep research, psychoanalysis, and philosophy of mind.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on lucid dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Varieties of Lucid Dreaming Experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Neurobiology of Consciousness: Lucid Dreaming Wakes Up | 2009 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| What I make up when I wake up: anti-experience views and narrative fabrication of dreams | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| New perspectives for the study of lucid dreaming: From brain stimulation to philosophical theories of self-consciousness | 2010 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Lucid dreaming: Evidence and methodology | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |