Viral simulations in dreams: The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on threatening dream content in a Finnish sample of diary dreams
Ville Loukola, Jarno Tuominen, Santeri Kirsilä, Annimaaria Kyyhkynen, Maron Lahdenperä, Lilja Parkkali, Emilia Ranta, Eveliina Malinen, Sanni Vanhanen, Katariina Välimaa, Henri Olkoniemi, Antti Revonsuo, Katja Valli
Consciousness and Cognition February 8, 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103651 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,298 |
| Population | Dreams collected from participants via prospective two-week dream diary |
| Duration | Two-week dream diary |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Pandemic Dream Contradiction Content measure theory 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak Disease Virology Psychotherapist Pathology |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key findings | No overall increase in threatening dream content during the pandemic, but dreams with direct pandemic references had more threats and severe threats. |
Abstract
Previous research indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected dreaming negatively. We compared 1132 dreams collected with prospective two-week dream diary during the pandemic to 166 dreams collected before the pandemic. We hypothesized that the pandemic would increase the number of threatening events, threats related to diseases, and the severity of threats. We also hypothesized that dreams that include direct references to the pandemic will include more threatening events, more disease-related threats, and more severe threats. In contradiction with our hypotheses, results showed no differences between pandemic and pre-pandemic samples in the number of threats, threats related to diseases, or severe threats. However, dreams with direct references to the pandemic had more threats, disease-related threats, and severe threats. Our results thus do not suggest a significant overall increase in nightmarish or threatening dream content during the pandemic but show a more profound effect on a minority of dreams.