Our study challenges the assumption that no dream recall = unconsciousness. In ~50% of “no experience” reports, detailed questioning revealed conscious awareness without specific, reportable content. 🧠 + 💤

👉 More on this in the coming months...

Immersive dreaming may serve as an engrossing virtual simulation, similar to a Matrix, that shields the dreamer from potential sleep disruptions. This function may be essential for enabling sleep-dependent processes such as memory consolidation, which depend on transient neural reactivations.

We further show that perceived sleep depth increases progressively across the night, despite a physiological decline in both objective (slow-wave activity) and subjective (sleepiness) markers of sleep propensity. This divergence is explained by a parallel rise in dream immersiveness over time.

The deepest sleep is reported not only after unconscious states, but also following vividly immersive dreams. In contrast, minimal forms of consciousness lacking reportable mental content are consistently linked to the shallowest subjective sleep.

We find that dreaming significantly alters the mapping between cortical activation and perceived sleep depth: the typical negative association between high-frequency activity and sleep depth is attenuated when richly immersive dream experiences occur.

Key information:
• Duration: September 15, 2025 – June 14, 2026
• Mode of participation: blended (in-person and online)
• Scholarship amount: €10,000 each
• Additional benefits: travel reimbursement up to €3,000, free accommodation and meals during stays in Lucca
• Program completion: July 2027