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An interesting side effect of the coronavirus pandemic is the number of people who say they have vivid dreams.
Many turn to blogs and social media to describe their experiences.
While such dreams can be confusing or distressing, dreaming is normal and is considered helpful in processing our waking situation, which for many people is far from normal at this time.
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While we are sleeping
Adults are recommended to sleep seven to nine hours to maintain optimal health and well-being.
When we sleep, we go through different stages that circulate throughout the night. This includes light, deep sleep and a period known as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which occurs most prominently in the second half of the night. As the name implies, during REM sleep the eyes move quickly.
Dreams can occur within all stages of sleep, but REM sleep is considered responsible for highly emotional and visual dreams.
We usually have multiple REM sleep periods per night, however we don’t necessarily remember the experiences and content. Researchers have identified that REM sleep has unique properties that help us regulate our mood, performance, and cognitive functioning.
Some say that dreams act as a defense mechanism for our mental health, giving us a simulated opportunity to overcome our fears and rehearse stressful real-life events.
This global pandemic and associated restrictions can have an impact on how and when we sleep. This has positive effects for some and negative effects for others. Both situations can lead to greater memory of dreams.
Sleep and dreams interrupted.
During this pandemic, studies from China and the United Kingdom show that many people report a higher state of anxiety and have a shorter or more disturbed sleep.
Reflecting on the pandemic, either directly or through the media, just before going to bed, may run counter to our need to relax and get a good night’s sleep. It can also provide fodder for dreams.
When we are deprived of sleep, the pressure for REM sleep increases and therefore a so-called rebound in REM sleep occurs at the next sleep opportunity.
During this time, dreams are more vivid and emotional than usual.
More time in bed
Other studies indicate that people can sleep more and move less during the pandemic.
If you’re working and learning from home at flexible times without the usual commute, it means you avoid the rush of the morning and don’t need to get up that early.
Not for syndication
People around the world are losing sleep due to Covid-19 related dreams.
Increased dream recall has been associated with longer sleep as well as more natural awakening from a REM sleep state.
If you are at home with other people, you have a captive audience and time to exchange dream stories in the morning. The act of sharing dreams reinforces our memory of them. It could also prepare us to remember more on the following nights.
This has probably created an increase in dream recall and interest during this time.
Pandemic concerns
Dreaming can help us mentally deal with our waking situation, as well as simply reflecting realities and concerns.
In this time of heightened alertness and changing social norms, our brains have much more to process during sleep and sleep.
More stressful sleep content is to be expected if we feel anxious or stressed about the pandemic or our work or family situations.
Thus, there are more reports of dreams containing fear, shame, social taboos, job stress, grief and loss, unreachable family, as well as more literal dreams of pollution or illness.
An increase in unusual or vivid dreams and nightmares is not surprising. Such experiences have been previously reported on occasions associated with sudden changes, anxiety or trauma, such as the aftermath of terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001, or natural disasters or war.
People with an anxiety disorder or who experience trauma first hand are also very likely to experience changes in dreams.
But those changes are also reported by those who witness events such as the attacks of September 11 secondhand or through the media.
Problems solved in dreams
One theory about dreams is that they serve to process the emotional demands of the day, to memorize experiences, solve problems, adapt and learn.
This is accomplished by reactivating particular brain areas during REM sleep and consolidating neural connections.
During REM, the areas of the brain responsible for emotions, memory, behavior, and vision are reactivated (unlike those required for logical thinking, reasoning, and movement, which remain at rest).
Activity and connections made during sleep are considered guided by waking activities, exposures, and the dreamer’s stressors.
Neural activity has been proposed to synthesize learning and memory. The actual dream experience is more a by-product of this activity, which we bring together in a more logical narrative when the rest of the brain tries to catch up and reason with the activity upon awakening.
Please go to sleep
If interrupting sleep and dreams are troublesome or distressing for you, consider how your sleep schedule and behavior have changed with the pandemic. You may seek advice to support your sleep and well-being during this time.
My colleagues and I at the Sleep / Wake Research Center have produced several fact sheets on sleep during the pandemic.
We are also conducting a survey on the sleep of people living in New Zealand. This explores the factors that affect sleep during the pandemic, and participants can comment on their dreams. 
Rosie Gibson is a Research Officer at the Sleep / Wake Research Center, Massey University School of Health.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
