Frontiers in Psychology
June 10, 2022
Adriana Alcaraz-Sánchez, Ema Demšar, Teresa Campillo-Ferrer et al.
25 citations
A state called witnessing-sleep or luminosity sleep, described in classic Indian philosophical traditions, involves awareness without an ordinary object—just awareness itself. In a two-stage research project, 18 participants underwent phenomenological interviews using the micro-phenomenological interview method. Across 12 reported experiences, a common phase labeled "nothingness phase" emerged, characterized by a minimal sense of self (a bodiless self felt to be "somewhere"), non-modal sensations, relatively pleasant emotions, absence of visual experience, wide and unfocused attention, and awareness of the state as it unfolded. This suggests that objectless awareness during sleep can be empirically investigated and may inform consciousness research.
Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews
August 1, 2024
Teresa Campillo-Ferrer, Adriana Alcaraz-Sánchez, Ema Demšar et al.
14 citations
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs), where a person feels located outside their physical body, often occur spontaneously near or during sleep. This review examines sleep-related OBEs and proposes that maintaining consciousness during the transition from wakefulness to REM sleep (sleep-onset REM periods) may enable them. A new conceptual model is introduced to distinguish sleep-related OBEs from similar states like lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis, and to suggest possible brain activity patterns (polysomnographic features) underlying them. The predictive coding framework is applied to connect sleep-related OBEs with those occurring during wakefulness.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev
January 14, 2025
Sofia Tzioridou, Teresa Campillo-Ferrer, Jorge Cañas-Martín et al.
5 citations
Lucid dreaming, where the dreamer becomes aware of being in a dream and often gains control over it, can occur spontaneously or be induced by behavioral, cognitive, or technological methods. This review examines evidence linking lucid dreaming to conditions such as nightmare disorder, depression, anxiety, psychosis, and dissociative states, and discusses possible neurobiological bases for these associations. It also explores contemplative sleep practices like Dream/Sleep Yoga and Yoga Nidrâ that train lucid states during sleep. Potential drawbacks of lucid dreaming interventions are outlined, along with impacts on individuals without clinical conditions, contributing to understanding its therapeutic possibilities and implications.
PsyArXiv
April 13, 2025
Teresa Campillo-Ferrer, Antonella Iadarola, Ramona Cordani et al.
1 citation
preprint
During the transition from wakefulness to sleep, unusual bodily sensations and out-of-body experiences can be induced. A high-density EEG and neurophenomenology approach reveals specific brain activity patterns associated with these phenomena, suggesting that the brain's altered state during sleep onset may facilitate such experiences.
Consciousness and Cognition
February 11, 2026
Teresa Campillo-Ferrer, Antonella Iadarola, Ramona Cordani et al.
Unusual bodily experiences (UBEs)—illusory perceptions such as floating, body distortions, or out-of-body sensations—can occur during meditation and sleep. In a controlled sleep laboratory, 20 of 35 healthy participants reported 36 UBEs, primarily during meditation (wakefulness) but also during arousals, REM sleep, and non-REM sleep. Electroencephalography (EEG) analyses revealed that UBEs emerge during intermediate states of consciousness that combine features of wakefulness and sleep. Specifically, UBEs were associated with EEG reactivation: increased high-frequency activity (beta and gamma) and decreased low-frequency activity (delta and theta), especially around temporal regions. These findings offer new insights into the neural correlates of self-consciousness and body perception across sleep and wakefulness.