Awake, Asleep, or Neither?

Our Understanding of Consciousness Has Been Hampered by Our Historically Rudimentary Ways of Understanding Its Absence. We Can Easily Determine If Someone Is Awake, Because Their Eyes Will Probably Be Open. Wakefulness Can Also Be Detected If One’s Eyes Are Closed, Because the Awake and Sleeping Brain Are Each Characterised by Distinct Patterns of Brainwaves, Which Can Be Recorded with Electroencephalography (Eeg), Using Electrodes Placed onto the Scalp.

Defining Consciousness

Despite These Important Advances, This Research Tells Us Very Little About What Consciousness Actually Is, or About How the Brain Generates It. Consciousness Is at Once Familiar to Us All, and Deeply Mysterious. We Are All Familiar with the Content of Our Consciousness, and How Those Contents Change as Time Passes, and We All Lose Consciousness Every Night When We Go to Sleep, Only to Regain It in the Morning. Yet, Neuroscientists and Philosophers Alike Are Still Struggling to Find an Adequate Definition of Consciousness.

When Does Consciousness Begin and End? | Nova

By Chloe Bennett

• Oct 8, 2026 • 9 min read

When Does Consciousness Begin and End? | Nova

Direct Answer • Key Takeaway

In March of This Year, the Beloved Singer-Songwriter Joni Mitchell Was Rushed to the Hospital After Being Found Unconscious on the Floor in Her Bel Air Home. Subsequently, Long-Time Friend Leslie Morris Filed a Petition to Become Mitchell’s Legal Guardian, Stating That the Singer “Remains Unconscious and Unable to Make Any Responses, and Is Therefore Unable to Provide for Any of Her Personal Needs. ”

Chloe Bennett

Culture, Media & Entertainment Columnist

Chloe Bennett explores the intersection of pop culture, streaming entertainment, digital trends, and contemporary lifestyle. Her weekly commentary reaches thousands of culture enthusiasts.

Tags: consciousness