Putting a strong magnet next to my old mechanical watch causes it to "pause" too. Clearly I'm sedating it.
Transcription factors are proteins that activate or inhibit genes, including the genes of other transcription factors. They form complex regulation network isomorphic to neuronal networks.
It looks like consciousness arises from what the brain does (processing information), and that DNA can do the same thing, so... why not?
If you buy into Pansychism [1], bacteria are very conscious.