The dynamics of meta-awareness across sleep and wakefulness: A neurophenomenological investigation of lucid dreaming, dream yoga, and attentional fluctuations
Monash University October 28, 2026 DOI: 10.26180/34820595 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming Lucid dreaming |
| Key points | Argues that awareness of one's current state is often not simply on or off but can build gradually, fluctuate, stabilize, or fail across the sleep-wake cycle. Contends that awareness can sometimes be cultivated, as when lucid dreamers use it to act intentionally within dreams, and that careful study of subjective experience can make consciousness research more precise. |
Abstract
This thesis asks how we become aware of the nature of our current experience across the sleep-wake cycle. In sleep, we might sometimes realize that we are dreaming. In wakefulness, our awareness of our current state can fade as our attention drifts or our mind goes blank. Using detailed interviews alongside sleep-laboratory and task-based experimental protocols, this work shows that awareness is often not simply on or off. It can build gradually, fluctuate, stabilize, or fail. Sometimes it can also be cultivated, as when lucid dreamers use it to perform intentional actions within dreams. The thesis argues that studying subjective experience carefully can make consciousness research more precise.
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 |