The impact of the end of COVID confinement on pandemic dreams, as assessed by a weekly sleep diary: a longitudinal investigation in Italy.
Serena Scarpelli, Maurizio Gorgoni, Valentina Alfonsi, Ludovica Annarumma, Valentina Di Natale, Emilio Pezza, Luigi De Gennaro
Journal of Sleep Research February 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1111/jsr.13429 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Prospective longitudinal study Cross-sectional Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 90 |
| Population | Italian adults during COVID-19 lockdown |
| Duration | 2 weeks: first week (April 28-May 4) full lockdown, second week (May 5-May 11) easing of restrictions |
| Topics | Dreaming Lucid dreaming |
| Keywords | Covid-19 Italian lockdown Pandemic Sleep |
| Citations | 37 |
| Key findings | Lockdown was associated with more awakenings, lower ease of falling asleep, higher dream recall, and more lucid dreams compared to post-lockdown, while post-lockdown brought more dreams of crowded places. |
Abstract
The Coronavirus 2019 pandemic strongly affected our sleep and dream activity. Many cross-sectional studies highlighted increased dream recall frequency, and revealed a great presence of pandemic-related oneiric contents. Here, we present the first prospective study carried out on an Italian sample. One-hundred subjects were requested to fill out a web-survey including socio-demographic information, and questionnaires collecting sleep and clinical measures during lockdown. A final sample of 90 subjects participated in the longitudinal protocol lasting 2 weeks: (a) the first week (April 28-May 4) of full lockdown; and (b) the second week (May 5-May 11) of easing of restrictions. Subjects were asked to record at home their dream experiences, and complete a sleep-dream diary each morning. Statistical comparisons showed that participants had higher numbers of awakenings, lower ease of falling asleep, higher dream recall and lucid dream frequency during lockdown than post-lockdown. Further, subjects reported more dreams, including "being in crowded places" during post-lockdown than lockdown. The poorer sleep quality during lockdown is quite consistent with previous findings. The relationship between traumatic events and dream recall frequency confirmed the idea of pandemic as "collective trauma". Also, we hypothesized that the greater presence of lucid dreams during confinement could reflect the attempt to cope with the waking pandemic-experiences. Finally, the presence of crowded places into dream scenarios during the second week of our protocol appears consistent with the continuity-hypothesis, as the possibility to access places frequented by other people could represent a relevant experience after a long period of confinement.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on lucid dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Student volunteers trained to become lucid and signal lucidity with horizontal eye... | 2009 | Observational study | n = 6 |
| Neural Correlates of Dream Lucidity Obtained from Contrasting Lucid versus Non-Lucid REM Sleep: A Combined EEG/fMRI Case Study Experienced lucid dreamers | 2012 | Observational cohort | n = 4 |
| Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep. Individuals during REM sleep, including frequent lucid dreamers, a novice, and a... | 2021 | Observational study | n = 36 |
| Lucid Dreaming in Narcolepsy Consecutive patients with narcolepsy and healthy controls | 2015 | Case-control study | n = 106 |
| Metacognitive Mechanisms Underlying Lucid Dreaming Human participants split into high- and low-lucidity groups based on reported dream... | 2015 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 21
- Dreams and Nightmares during the First and Second Wave of the COVID-19 Infection: A Longitudinal Study. Brain Sciences October 20, 2021
- Dream Recall Frequency, Lucid Dream Frequency, and Personality During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Imagination, Cognition and Personality December 1, 2022
- The Oneiric Activity during and after the COVID-19 Total Lockdown in Italy: A Longitudinal Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health March 24, 2022
- The clinical neuroscience of lucid dreaming. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews January 14, 2025
- Dreaming during a pandemic: Low incorporation of COVID-19-specific themes and lucidity in dreams of psychiatric patients and healthy controls. International journal of clinical and health psychology : IJCHP 2023
and 16 more in the library
Cites 19
- Amygdala and hippocampus volumetry and diffusivity in relation to dreaming Human Brain Mapping August 25, 2010
- Dreaming during the Covid-19 pandemic: Computational assessment of dream reports reveals mental suffering related to fear of contagion PLoS One November 30, 2020
- Dreaming and the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey in a U.S. sample. Dreaming September 1, 2020
- My Dream, My Rules: Can Lucid Dreaming Treat Nightmares? Frontiers in Psychology 2019
- Increased Lucid Dreaming Frequency in Narcolepsy Sleep April 30, 2015
and 14 more in the library