Pandemic nightmares: Effects on dream activity of the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy.
Journal of Sleep Research October 1, 2021 Serena Scarpelli, Valentina Alfonsi, Anastasia Mangiaruga et al.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, a large Italian sample reported more frequent nightmares and dreams compared to a population-based sample. Predictors of high dream recall included young age, female gender, not having children, and sleep duration. High nightmare frequency was predicted by young age, female gender, changes in napping, sleep duration, intrasleep wakefulness, sleep problem index, anxiety, and depression. Higher emotional features of dream activity occurred in workers who stopped working, people with relatives or friends infected by or who died from COVID-19, and those who changed sleep habits. These findings support the continuity hypothesis linking daily experiences to sleep mentation and the arousal-retrieval model linking poor sleep to nightmares.