I can say, with certainty, that a lack of sleep leads to increased visualization. That said, I believe the majority (or all?) of these visualizations are actually hallucinations and not typical visualizations within the mind’s eye.
Please, do not deprive yourself of sleep in order to induce visualizations. Depriving yourself of sleep is dangerous, and is not recommended. My own experiences are provided for informational purposes only.
Is a Lack of Sleep a Cure for Aphantasia?
So how does it work?
Simply being tired isn’t enough, but if you can manage to pull an all-nighter, visualizations will come fast and furious. In fact, the most vivid visualizations I have had in my life have occurred after bouts of sleeplessness. From my own experience, this visual enhancement likely won’t occur until mid-to-late the next day at the earliest. Additionally, those with aphantasia who want to visualize during sleepless moments will need to perform the typical process of relaxing with your eyes closed, and deliberately thinking of objects or situations to visualize. Nothing comes easy when you have aphantasia.
Personally, I feel the images I have been able to conjure during sleepless moments feel more real than actual visualization, and I would describe them more as hallicunations or hypnogogic imagery. For this reason, and because it’s dangerous, I would not recommend that anyone intentionally deprive themselves of sleep in order to induce visualization.
That said, the next time you find yourself pulling an all-night study session, or if you’re out late partying or working, maybe try visualizing and see whether your visualizations improve. If you do find the results are significant, as I did, please do not make a habit out of avoiding sleep – the health benefits of a good night’s sleep vastly outweigh the brief pleasure of a visual experience!
It’s worth noting that this lack of sleep result adds additional credence to my theory that aphantasia is a result of the brain intentionally “turning off” visualization either due to trauma avoidance or just preference. When you lack sleep, your brain is operating at a sub-optimal level, and perhaps it cannot perform the typical “checks” it would make otherwise.
