The hypnagogic state: A brief update

Abstract

The hypnagogic state refers to a transitional stage between wakefulness and sleep, in which sensory perceptions can be experienced. In this review, we compile and discuss the recent scientific literature on hypnagogia research regarding the future directions proposed by Schacter (1976; Psychological Bulletin, 83, 452). After a short introduction discussing the terminology used in hypnagogia research and the differentiation of hypnagogic states with other related phenomena, we review the reported prevalence of hypnagogic states. Then, we evaluate the six future directions suggested by Schacter and we propose three further future directions. First, a better understanding of the emotional quality of hypnagogic states is needed. Second, a better understanding of why hypnagogic states occur so frequently in the visual and kinaesthetic modalities is needed. Lastly, a better understanding of the purpose of hypnagogic states is needed. In conclusion, research has made great progress in recent years, and we are one step closer to demystifying the hypnagogic state.

Carl Jung: a life on the edge of reality with hypnagogia, hyperphantasia, and hallucinations

“…It is true that his self-reports show that some of Jung’s experiences (notably the daytime hallucinations) fall in the category of psychotic symptoms. That said, anomalous experiences such as hypnagogia and psychotic symptoms are quite common in the general population and experiencing psychotic symptoms does not necessarily equate to having a psychotic disorder ( Linszen et al, 2022 ; Ghibellini and Meier, 2023 ).…”

“…Such hypnagogic-hypnopompic experiences are relatively common, with an estimated prevalence of up to 85% ( Ghibellini and Meier, 2023 ). They are considered physiological phenomena that lie within the normal range of perception, even though they have also been reported in individuals with a psychotic disorder ( Waters et al, 2016 ).…”

“…In April 1919, again in the middle of the night, he saw the face of an old woman and heard all sorts of sounds, relating the face to that of a woman with cancer whom he had met before, corresponding to a multisensory hypnopompic experience, rather than a psychotic hallucination ( Jung and Shamdasani, 2020f , p. 199). Jung regarded hypnagogic-hypnopompic experiences as sense-dependent, believing that they were based on earlier retinal-field excitations, perhaps even in a distant past ( Jung, 1970 , p. 60) – an explanation that has since been rejected ( Ghibellini and Meier, 2023 ). He also hypothesised that these phenomena were closely related to dreams and mental imagery, especially in highly imaginative people.…”

Targeted dream incubation at a distance: the development of a remote and sensor-free tool for incubating hypnagogic dreams and mind-wandering

“…Perhaps the most obvious difference in this respect is that, whereas hypnagogia occurs during a transitional period between wakefulness and sleep, FMT occur exclusively during wakefulness, when one's awareness of one's thoughts is presumably greater than during hypnagogia. Moreover, whereas hypnagogia often includes more dream-like or hallucinatory experiences (Schacter, 1976;Ghibellini and Meier, 2023), FMT do not appear to have such phenomenological characteristics.…”

“…Hypnagogia, also known as Stage N1, refers to the transitional state from wakefulness to sleep, where one may experience a diverse array of sensory phenomena, including auditory or visual hallucinations, lucid dreams (Mota-Rolim et al, 2015), or even a sense of falling or floating. Hypnagogia is characterized by spontaneous dreams-"hypnagogic dreams"-during which our brains tend to forge novel connections between otherwise semantically disparate concepts (Schacter, 1976;Ghibellini and Meier, 2023). On the other hand, freely moving thought (FMT; a type of mind-wandering) refers to a cognitive state, experienced during waking life, wherein people's thoughts make frequent transitions across semantically unrelated content (Mills et al, 2018).…”