As we find ourselves in the throes of the Coronavirus pandemic, having feelings of anxiety or stress are fairly common. However, along with these feelings, it seems that people all over the world are having something else in common: vivid dreams. Trending on Twitter and Reddit, #pandemicdreams or #covidnightmares people are listing the many weird dreams they’re experiencing during this unprecedented time.
The coronavirus began at the beginning of 2020 and within four months has managed to spread to most parts of the world. As this has happened, South Africans have been forced into lockdown while we try slow down the speed in which this virus is spreading. For many people, this is a time of deep worry and stress as we wonder what the world is going to look like post-Covid-19.
What do my vivid dreams mean?
Most people are reporting richer and more detailed dreams, and we seem to be remembering them more than we usually do. When people’s lives become more stressful or anxiety-ridden, these types of dreams become the standard and with little science behind why we dream the way we do, finding the exact answers won’t be easy.
The one answer we are able to give you is that when stress enters our lives, our sleep becomes more disrupted. The Guardian states that “dreams, particularly vivid dreams, usually happen during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. It’s a ghoulish sleep stage we shift in and out of during the night.” The Wired goes on to explain that “in stressful situations, people’s sleep may be more broken than usual, causing them to leave and enter REM sleep more frequently, which can leave you with more dreams to remember.”
This means that the main underlying cause of the weird and vivid dreams you’re having really comes down to stress and our lack of sleep through stress. We’re all worried about things we really have no definite answers for. When will lockdown end? What will happen to my job? How will I pay my debts? Will I get sick? What happens if someone I love gets sick? This uncertainty will inevitably make it’s way into our dreams.
Keep a dream journal
Think of your dreams as an opportunity, rather than letting them become one more thing to worry about. Your dreams can sometimes be a message that you send to yourself. Keep a journal next to your bed and when you wake up in the morning, write your dreams down, while they’re still fresh. After you’ve written your dream down, write about how the dream made you feel. You might eventually see some kind of pattern or maybe even understand a message that your subconscious brain is trying to tell you.
How to get a peaceful night’s sleep
Although there aren’t many ways to completely help ourselves in this situation, there are some things you can do to ease the dreams and allow yourself a more peaceful night of sleep. For instance, if you’re online more than usual, or if you’re constantly watching the news, you could be accumulating too much stressful information about the Coronavirus and it’s impact on our world. This could cause you to experience more of these dreams. Staying off of your phone and away from the TV at least an hour before you’re planning to go to bed, and doing more relaxing things throughout your day, has the potential to aid in sleep. Essentially, doing anything you can to destress will bring you a deeper sleep and less weird dreams.
It can be difficult to establish a routine during this stressful time, but by continuing to practice good sleep hygiene, not only will your shut-eye be more restful but you will avoid creating unhealthy habits that are difficult to break once we have more freedom. Here are a few tips to help you maintain good sleep hygiene during this stressful time:
- Go to bed and wake up at the same time every morning
- Do your best to exercise during the day – but not too close to bedtime!
- Take a bath before bedtime or establish another form of “winding down” ritual
