Hypnagogia

Hypnagogia is a state of consciousness that can occur when a person falls asleep or wakes up at night. When a person is in a hypnagogic state, they may experience visual, auditory and tactile pseudo-hallucinations. This is characterized by being able to experience something and experiencing themselves as unable to move. Usually, visual perceptions tend to occur in this state and people are conscious and not yet asleep, yet they begin to dream. This state is also referred to as lucid dreaming, a technique that can be consciously trained. Causes of hypnagogia today are assumed to be disorders of sleep or too little sleep, but healthy people can also experience the state of hypnagogia. The attention to the outside is lowered and the thoughts seem to flow more loosely. The closer the state deepens towards sleep, the more independent inner images are perceived and one enters the state of hypnagogia. This phenomenon brings to mind the state of hypnosis. Moments in hypnotic trance can also feel similar and are described similarly by people after hypnosis: The outside world slips away in hypnosis and attention is increasingly directed inward. Thoughts and inner images flow, while the desire to move or react decreases more and more.