Strange themes in pandemic dreams: Insomnia was associated with more negative, anxious and death‐related dreams during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Hailey Meaklim, Malisa Burge, Flora Le, Sukjhit K. Bains, William J. Saunders, Stephen Ghosh, Moira Junge, Prerna Varma, Imogen C. Rehm, Melinda L. Jackson
Journal of Sleep Research June 14, 2022 DOI: 10.1111/jsr.13655 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Longitudinal mixed-methods study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 2,240 |
| Population | Global survey participants |
| Duration | 12-month follow-up |
| Topics | Anxiety Dreaming |
| Keywords | Insomnia Dream Mental health Distress Thematic analysis Pandemic Clinical psychology Qualitative research Psychotherapist Disease |
| Citations | 12 |
| Key findings | Insomnia symptoms, particularly new-onset insomnia, were associated with more negative dream changes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and these changes were linked to worse mental health over time. |
Abstract
Dreaming and insomnia are important markers of distress in times of crisis. Here, we present a longitudinal, mixed-methods study examining changes in dreaming between individuals with and without insomnia symptoms and their relationship to mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. A global survey examining insomnia symptoms, dreams and mental health was launched in April 2020 and followed participants over 12 months. Of 2240 participants, 1009 (45%) reported dream changes at baseline. A higher proportion of participants with new-onset insomnia reported dream changes (55%) than those with pre-existing insomnia (45%) or good sleepers (36%). Overall, thematic analysis identified key dream change themes of increased dream activity, with participants dreaming vividly, in high-definition, and with a strong negative charge. Themes around survival, adjusting to pandemic life, meaning-making and poor sleep quality were also noted. Linguistic Inquiry Word Count showed that individuals with insomnia used more negative words to describe their dream changes than good sleepers. Specifically, the new-onset insomnia group used more anxious and death-related words than those who slept well. Notably, all groups experienced a significant reduction in dream activity by 3-month follow-up. Lastly, dream changes were associated with worse mental health symptoms over time, and this effect was more pronounced in individuals with insomnia. Our results highlight that insomnia symptoms, especially new-onset insomnia, are associated with more negative dream changes during collective stressful events, potentially compounding daytime distress and mental health symptoms over time. During times of crisis, dreaming and insomnia may reveal an important target for mental health interventions.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Other as a Nightmare: The Israeli-Arab Encounter as Reflected in Children's Dreams in Israel and the West Bank Jewish and Arab fifth to seventh graders living in various settings in Israel and the... | 1989 | Qualitative content analysis | n = 212 |
| Nonwaking Responses to Waking Stressors: Dreams and Nightmares1 Men from the cohort eligible for military duty during the Vietnam Conflict, varying in... | 1990 | Survey interview study | n = 442 |
| Communing with the Gods: The Dreaming Brain in Cross-cultural Perspective | 2011 | Phenomenological study | |
| Partial memory reinstatement while (lucid) dreaming to change the dream environment. Lucid dreamers | 2020 | Qualitative study | |
| Dreamers as agents making strategizing efforts exemplify core aggregate of executive function in non-lucid dreaming Archived cross-cultural dreams | 2012 | Qualitative study using grounded theory |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- The relationships between insomnia, nightmares, and dreams: A systematic review Sleep Medicine Reviews April 16, 2024
- Viral simulations in dreams: The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on threatening dream content in a Finnish sample of diary dreams Consciousness and Cognition February 8, 2024
- Dreams Shared on Social Networks during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Tower of Babel or Noah’s Ark?—A Group-Analytic Perspective International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health February 17, 2023
- Is a fear of death keeping you awake at night? Death anxiety predicts insomnia through nightmare severity Death Studies July 2, 2026
- Exploring the role of dreams: insights from recent studies. Current opinion in pulmonary medicine November 1, 2024
and 1 more in the library
Cites 16
- Insomnia—perchance a dream? Results from a NREM/REM sleep awakening study in good sleepers and patients with insomnia Sleep February 8, 2018
- 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
- Peace of mind and anxiety in the waking state are related to the affective content of dreams Scientific Reports August 20, 2018
- Dreaming in the time of COVID-19: A quali-quantitative Italian study. Dreaming September 1, 2020
and 11 more in the library