Hypnagogia

Hypnagogia refers to a state of consciousness that can occur while falling asleep or (mostly nocturnal ) awakening. A person in the hypnagogic state can be visual, auditory and tactile hallucinations pseudo experience, under certain circumstances, without being able to move. Although the person is aware that they are hallucinating, it can not react to it in most cases. The term was coined by the French scholar Alfred Maury in the 19th century. The dream-like experiences in the recovery phase were called by the English writer Frederick William Henry Myers " hypnopompic ", this separation has, however, not generally enforced.

Probably occurs hypnagogia on when a person falling asleep quickly into REM sleep, the dream phase decreases. During REM sleep, the brain blocks the elements ( sleep paralysis ), so that one does not also perform the movements that you are dreaming. In the case of hypnagogia the person is still conscious - she dreams, but is awake. This fact enables lucid dreamers to bring about a dream in wakefulness means of special techniques. One way to remedy this situation is to provoke a sensory nerve, for example, by moving the eyes.

The main reason for hypnagogia insomnia and lack of sleep are accepted. However, it can also be signs of narcolepsy or epilepsy. But also occurs in healthy people.

The transition from wakefulness to the hypnagogic state is accomplished fluently. Even if the waking thought is primarily abstract, it is accompanied by the " ideological " thinking in the background. The outward attention is reduced, but abstract thinking is not completely switched off. The thoughts lined up looser and untargeted one another, longer linked analog and logical. From this state, you can appear at any time. The closer you get to sleep, the more autonomous the images. The control option decreases and eventually disappears completely. You are now in a state of hypnagogia.

Hypnagogic perceptions

Hypnagogic perceptions are primarily visual in nature. Also common are auditory perception in which, for example, in a strange voice be heard spoken words or sentences. Listening phenomena are called " compliant ", when they are connected meaningfully with the simultaneous images. Otherwise, they are considered to be "autonomous". Haptic impressions can be adjusted along with pictures or alone.

Tactile hypnagogic phenomena or the perception of movement are much rarer. Ernst Jünger mentioned as an occasional morning Shaken Will, which he called a " frisson " and which serves as the evidence of the achievement of a hypnagogic state. Chance also also smell and taste sensations are described.

The psychoanalyst Herbert Silberer sees them as symbolic expressions and distinguishes three groups: the "material" category, reflecting the thoughts and ideas, the "functional " category, in which the mental state (such as joy, fear ) or mental activities (such inhibitions ) emerge. In the third category if they were pictures that are triggered by physical stimuli. In particular, the functional and the material category are often linked.

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• Sleep Medicine