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Standard ambulatory night sleep electroencephalograph (EEG) of 11 long-term practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program reporting "higher states of consciousness" during sleep (the experimental group) was compared to that of nine short-term practitioners and 11 non-practitioners. EEG tracings during stages 3 and 4 sleep showed the experimental group to have: 1) theta-alpha activity simultaneously with delta activity and 2) decreased chin electromyograph (EMG) during deep sleep (p = 0.002) compared to short-term practitioners. Spectral analysis fast Fourier transform (FFT) data of the first three cycles showed that: 3) the experimental subjects had significantly greater theta 2 (6-8 Hz)-alpha 1 (8-10 Hz) relative power during stages 3 and 4 than the combined control groups [t(30) = 5.5, p = 0.0000008] with no difference in time in delta; 4) there was a graded difference across groups during stages 3 and 4 in theta 2-alpha 1 power, with experimentals having greater power than short-term practitioners, who in turn had greater power than non-practitioners [t(30) = 5.08, p = 0.00002]; and 5) experimentals also had increased rapid eye movement (REM) density during REM periods compared to short-term practitioners (p = 0.04). Previous studies have found increased theta-alpha EEG activity during reported periods of "transcendental consciousness" during the TM technique. In the Vedic tradition, as described by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, transcendental consciousness is the first of a sequence of higher states. The maintenance of transcendental consciousness along with deep sleep is said to be a distinctive criterion of further, stabilized higher states of consciousness. The findings of this study are interpreted as physiological support for this model.

The improvement of various cognitive skills associated with video game play has been well documented; however, the development of consciousness implications have not been considered. In the present study several potential indicators of consciousness development, including and especially lucid dreaming frequency, were examined as a function of video game play. In the first study, high video game players were more likely to report lucid dreams, observer dreams, and dream control when dream recall frequency and motion disorientation during play were controlled. There were no similar differences in other consciousness development indices. In the second study, a slightly different pattern of results occurred because of respondents all being frequent players.

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