Consciousness and Meta-Consciousness During Sleep

Abstract

Abstract Conscious experience varies considerably, not only between wakefulness and sleep but also within sleep. Consciousness during sleep can be rich and vivid in its perceptual content but is typically poor in self-reflective consciousness/meta-consciousness. A notable exception is lucid dreaming: the phenomenon of becoming aware that one is dreaming while continuing to dream during ongoing sleep. As a research topic, lucid dreaming initially faced considerable skepticism; however, this area has begun to receive increasing attention due to its relevance to the emerging neuroscience of consciousness. Here, we present a brief overview of the existing neuroscientific literature on lucid dreaming and discuss some of its clinical and practical applications. Together, recent findings highlight the emerging potential of lucid dreaming as a methodology for research on consciousness within sleep science.