Comparing spontaneous thoughts across the sleep-wake-cycle

This thesis explores how dreaming relates to waking consciousness, specifically waking mind wandering. When our minds wander, our thoughts and attention drift away from the here-and-now and move freely through various topics and themes that are to some degree unrelated to our current environment and ongoing tasks. In this thesis, I investigate and compare differences and similarities between dreaming and mind wandering, ranging from cognitive features to variations in contents. In doing so, I seek to understand whether the thoughts and imagery experienced during sleep are continuous with or distinct from what we experience when our minds wander during wakefulness.