False awakenings in light of the dream protoconsciousness theory: a study in lucid dreamers.
University Library Heidelberg 2011 DOI: 10.11588/ijodr.2011.2.9085 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Web-survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 90 |
| Population | Habitual lucid dreamers |
| Topics | Lucid dreaming |
| Keywords | Content measure theory Developmental psychology Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 20 |
| Key findings | False Awakenings in habitual lucid dreamers frequently involve stereotyped dream patterns of normal awakenings and routines, consistent with Hobson's protoconsciousness theory. |
Abstract
The results of a web-survey aimed at analyzing the phenomenology of False Awakenings (FAs) (sleep-related experiences in which the subjects erroneously believe that they have woken up, only to discover subsequently that the apparent awakening was part of a dream) were revised in light of Hobson’s recent dream protoconsciousness theory. A web-questionnaire had been previously submitted to three web-sites dedicated to lucid dreamers, a kind of subjects in which FAs have been reported to occur with high frequency. Ninety consecutive complete forms were analyzed. All the respondents were habitual lucid dreamers, 41% reported experiencing FAs at least monthly, 79% had experienced a FA in the last month and 46% in the last week. Some stereotyped dream patterns were found to recur repeatedly in FAs, including representations of normal awakenings, start-of-the-day routines and other realistically depicted activities (exploring, wandering) within the sleep environment. This finding is consistent with Hobson’s hypothesis that dream content feeds itself from innate schemes, enacted on the basis of subjective experiential memories. A possible evolutionary interpretation of FAs is proposed.
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
Cited by 12
- Is there a relation among REM sleep dissociated phenomena, like lucid dreaming, sleep paralysis, out-of-body experiences, and false awakening? Medical Hypotheses November 1, 2020
- Dreaming of the sleep lab PLoS One October 6, 2021
- Awake or Sleeping? Maybe Both… A Review of Sleep-Related Dissociative States. Journal of Clinical Medicine June 6, 2023
- Out-of-body experiences in relation to lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis: A theoretical review and conceptual model. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews August 1, 2024
- Enactive or inactive? Cranially envatted dream experience and the extended conscious mind Philosophical Explorations May 4, 2018
and 7 more in the library
Cites 7
- Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Sleep September 1, 2009
- Varieties of Lucid Dreaming Experience Advances in Consciousness Research February 15, 2000
- LABORATORY-DOCUMENTED HALLUCINATION DURING SLEEP-ONSET REM PERIOD IN A NORMAL SUBJECT Perceptual and Motor Skills June 1, 1994
- REM sleep and dreaming: towards a theory of protoconsciousness. Nature Reviews Neuroscience November 2009
- Situational factors affecting sleep paralysis and associated hallucinations: position and timing effects Journal of Sleep Research June 1, 2002
and 2 more in the library