Agi: Il cervello può fare sogni anche "da sveglio"

AGI - La linea di demarcazione tra la realtà e il sogno non è così netta come abbiamo sempre creduto. Un nuovo studio condotto dai ricercatori del Paris Brain Institute e pubblicato sulla rivista Cell Reports, rivela che il cervello umano può entrare in uno stato mentale tipico del sogno anche mentre siamo completamente svegli. La ricerca sfida la visione tradizionale secondo cui il sogno sarebbe un’esclusiva delle fasi profonde del sonno (come la fase REM).
Attraverso l’analisi dell’attività cerebrale di 92 partecipanti, gli scienziati hanno identificato una specifica firma neurale – definita stato C3 – caratterizzata da pensieri bizzarri, illogici e vividi, del tutto simili a quelli che sperimentiamo di notte.
Riduzione della connettività cerebrale
Secondo i ricercatori, questo stato di sogno a occhi aperti si verifica quando si riduce la connettività tra la corteccia frontale (responsabile del ragionamento logico e del controllo) e le aree occipitali (dedicate all’elaborazione visiva).
Narrazioni oniriche durante la veglia
In questa condizione, la parte visiva del cervello è libera di “correre selvaggia” senza il filtro della logica, generando narrazioni frammentate o visioni oniriche anche durante la veglia o nei momenti di stanchezza.
La tecnica ispirata a Thomas Edison
Per catturare questi momenti fugaci, il team ha utilizzato una tecnica ispirata a Thomas Edison: i partecipanti venivano monitorati mentre scivolavano lentamente nel sonno tenendo in mano un oggetto. Al momento del rilascio dell’oggetto (segno dell’inizio del sonno), venivano svegliati e interrogati sui loro pensieri.
Sogni oltre il sonno profondo
I risultati hanno mostrato che le esperienze oniriche non “aspettano” il sonno profondo, ma possono manifestarsi in qualsiasi momento del ciclo veglia-sonno, indipendentemente dal livello di vigilanza. “I nostri risultati dimostrano che il contenuto dei nostri pensieri non rispetta i confini convenzionali tra veglia e sonno” spiegano gli autori dello studio.
Un continuum tra logica e sogno
Esisterebbe quindi un continuum mentale in cui il cervello fluttua tra la pianificazione logica e la narrazione onirica. Questa scoperta potrebbe avere implicazioni significative non solo per la comprensione della coscienza umana, ma anche per lo studio dei disturbi del sonno e della creatività, suggerendo che la capacità di sognare sia una funzione costantemente attiva “sotto la superficie” della nostra mente vigile.

The brain can make dreams even “while awake.”

AGI - The line between reality and dream is not as clear-cut as we’ve always believed. A new study conducted by researchers at the Paris Brain Institute and published in the Cell Reports journal reveals that the human brain can enter a mental state typical of dreaming even while we are fully awake. The research challenges the traditional view that dreaming is the exclusive domain of deep sleep stages (such as REM sleep).

Through the analysis of the brain activity of 92 participants, scientists identified a specific neural signature – defined as state C3 – characterized by bizarre, illogical, and vivid thoughts, entirely similar to those we experience at night.

Reduced Brain Connectivity

According to the researchers, this open-eyed dreaming state occurs when the connectivity between the prefrontal cortex (responsible for logical reasoning and control) and the occipital areas (dedicated to visual processing) is reduced.

Dream-like Narratives during Wakefulness

In this condition, the visual part of the brain is free to “run wild” without the filter of logic, generating fragmented narratives or dream-like visions even during wakefulness or moments of fatigue.

The Edison-Inspired Technique

To capture these fleeting moments, the team used a technique inspired by Thomas Edison: participants were monitored as they slowly slipped into sleep while holding an object. At the moment the object was released (a sign of the beginning of sleep), they were awakened and questioned about their thoughts.

Dreams Beyond Deep Sleep

The results showed that dream experiences do not “wait” for deep sleep, but can manifest at any time of the wake-sleep cycle, regardless of the level of alertness. “Our results demonstrate that the content of our thoughts does not respect the conventional boundaries between wakefulness and sleep,” explain the authors of the study.

A Continuum Between Logic and Dream

There would therefore be a mental continuum in which the brain fluctuates between logical planning and dream-like narration. This discovery could have significant implications not only for the understanding of human consciousness, but also for the study of sleep disorders and creativity, suggesting that the ability to dream is a constantly active function “under the surface” of our vigilant mind.

#CellReports #Wakefulness #ThomasEdison

https://www.agi.it/scienza/news/2026-05-06/cervello-sogni-veglia-36897362/

This brief highlights a sleep-related mechanism that links physiological restoration with cognitive function, offering a clear example of how sleep quality can influence client vitality, motivation, and daytime performance. For mental health professionals, the material underscores the relevance of sleep regulation to mood stability, energy, and executive functioning, inviting consideration of sleep-focused dimensions in assessment and psychosocial planning.

Article Title: Scientists discover sleep switch that builds muscle, burns fat, and boosts brainpower

Link to Science Daily Mind-Brain News: https://www dot sciencedaily dot com/releases/2026/03/260330210905 dot htm

Scientists discover sleep switch that builds muscle, burns fat, and boosts brainpower
https://www dot sciencedaily dot com/releases/2026/03/260330210905 dot htm
Deep sleep does far more than rest the body — it activates a powerful brain-driven system that controls growth hormone, fueling muscle and bone strength, metabolism, and even mental performance. Scientists have now mapped the neural circuits behind this process, uncovering a delicate feedback loop in which sleep boosts growth hormone, and that same hormone helps regulate wakefulness.
via Mind & Brain News -- ScienceDaily https://www dot sciencedaily dot com/news/mind_brain/
March 30, 2026 at 09:39PM

#sleep #growthhormone #neuroscience #mentalhealth #wakefulness

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“Trust and pure perception are two essentials…and when brought vividly alive in our personal experience, they open a door to direct recognition of the original wakefulness that is the nature of emptiness.”

- CHÖKYI NYIMA RINPOCHE

#buddhism #Wakefulness #vajranaya

Insomnia isn’t what you probably think it is. It isn’t going to bed in the late evening and trying to sleep but failing. Well, it may be that for some folks, but for me insomnia is waking up at 2:00 AM and then not being able to get back to sleep for another three hours.

Having insomnia does not mean I will be falling back to sleep at about 5:00 and then sleeping soundly until 8:00 or 9:00. It means I will be going back to bed at about 5:00 and then being woken up repeatedly by any sound. I can be woken by loud rain drops, or by the window blind in the breeze tapping the window frame, or by my phone in another room pinging the receipt of an email, or by my own snoring. In those hours, almost any sound can awaken me.

I have various remedies that work sometimes, but not all the time. I use them when I haven’t had a good sleep for several days, but mostly I just let the insomnia keep me awake. This may sound illogical, but not when you realize there are advantages to wakefulness. Primarily, insomnia gives me two or three hours of silence all to myself. I usually read, always play word games, sometimes sketch, occasionally walk along the waterfront and, during these early summer days, I regularly enjoy watching the sunrise.

Photographers call the last hour of daylight “the golden hour,” but for me the best hour is the hour before daybreak. I feel as though it is my own little secret personal time. I used to feel grumpy about it because I lacked sleep and that made me lethargic. Now, though, I don’t mind it so much. Quite often it is the best time of my day.

I have learned not to make appointments in the early mornings if I can avoid them, and I put my phone on “Do Not Disturb” so often I forget to let it disturb me again. Those middle-of-the-night hours often matter more to me than do the regular working day hours. I’m not failing to sleep . . . I’m IN SOMe NIght Action.

Please enjoy this slide show of some of the many, many photos I have taken during the early morning hours over the last couple of years. I recommend full-screen viewing.

https://snowbirdofparadise.com/2024/06/24/in-some-night-action/

#goldenHour #health #humour #insomnia #mentalHealth #nature #Photography #sleep #sunrise #wakefulness #wellness

🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:

SN 35.120 Sāriputtasaddhivihārikasutta: Sāriputta and the Pupil

“Reverend Sāriputta, a mendicant pupil of mine has resigned the training and returned to a lesser life.…”

Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/sn-35-120-sariputtasaddhiviharikasutta-sariputta-and-the-pupil/?=MDS

Get these by email
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#food #meditation #SenseRestraint #wakefulness #SamyuttaNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha

I feel like I should be able to stay awake without feeling tired for at least 16 hours a day but often I get tired after only at most 12, sometimes 10 or even 8 or less. I don't know how someone can manage working a full 8-hour shift somewhere not at home and not collapse by the end. Been like this for years and I don't know why.
1/2

#sleep #sleepy #wakefulness #tired #exhausted

A quotation from Colton, Charles Caleb:

«
Bed is a bundle of paradoxes; we go to it with reluctance, yet we quit it with regret; and we make up our minds every night to leave it early, but we make up our bodies every morning to keep it late.
»

Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/colton-charles-caleb/27592/

#quote #quotes #quotation #awakening #bed #fatigue #sleep #sleepiness #wakeup #wakefulness