Nightmare content during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Influence of COVID‐related stress and sleep disruption in the United States
Kathryn Kennedy, Célyne Bastien, Perrine Ruby, William D. S. Killgore, Chloe Wills, Michael A. Grandner
Journal of Sleep Research August 18, 2021 DOI: 10.1111/jsr.13439 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 419 |
| Population | US adults |
| Topics | Anxiety Dreaming |
| Keywords | Learned helplessness Insomnia Pandemic Oppression Clinical psychology Disease |
| Citations | 25 |
| Key findings | Greater pandemic-related stress, worse sleep, and more middle-of-the-night insomnia were each associated with increased likelihood of nightmares about specific themes including confinement, failure, helplessness, anxiety, war, separation, totalitarianism, sickness, death, COVID, and an apocalypse. |
Abstract
Nightmares are often associated with psychiatric disorders and acute stress. This study explores how the COVID-19 pandemic may have influenced the content of nightmares. A sample of N = 419 US adults completed online surveys about sleep and COVID-19 experiences. Participants were asked about the degree to which they agreed with statements linking greater general stress, worse overall sleep and more middle-of-the-night insomnia with the COVID-19 pandemic. They were also asked if, during the pandemic, they experienced nightmares related to various themes. Logistic regression analyses examined each nightmare content as outcome and increased stress, worse sleep and more middle-of-the-night insomnia as predictors, adjusted for age, sex and race/ethnicity. Those who reported greater general COVID-related stress were more likely to have nightmares about confinement, failure, helplessness, anxiety, war, separation, totalitarianism, sickness, death, COVID and an apocalypse. Those who reported worsened sleep were more likely to have nightmares about confinement, oppression, failure, helplessness, disaster, anxiety, evil forces, war, domestic abuse, separation, totalitarianism, sickness, death, COVID and an apocalypse. Those who reported worsened middle-of-the-night insomnia were more likely to have nightmares about confinement, oppression, failure, helplessness, disaster, anxiety, war, domestic abuse, separation, totalitarianism, sickness, death, COVID and an apocalypse. These results suggest that increased pandemic-related stress may induce negatively-toned dreams of specific themes. Future investigation might determine whether (and when) this symptom indicates an emotion regulation mechanism at play, or the failure of such a mechanism.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insomnia Symptoms, Nightmares, and Suicidal Ideation in a College Student Sample Undergraduate students at a large, public university in the southeastern United States | 2011 | Observational cross-sectional survey | n = 583 |
| Prevalence and Correlates of Frequent Nightmares: A Community-Based 2-Phase Study Middle-aged Hong Kong Chinese adults from the community, mean age 40.9 years (SD 5.5,... | 2010 | Cross-sectional survey with subsequent clinical evaluation (two-phase design) | n = 8,558 |
| Factors of home dream recall: a structural equation model Adults (general population sample) | 2003 | Cross-sectional survey with structural equation modeling | n = 444 |
| The Phenomenology of Lucid Dreaming: An Online Survey Respondents to an online survey about lucid dreams | 2014 | Online survey | n = 684 |
| Frequency of Lucid Dreaming in a Representative German Sample Representative sample of German adults | 2011 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 919 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 12
- The role of sleep and dreams in long‐ COVID Journal of Sleep Research November 18, 2022
- The relationships between insomnia, nightmares, and dreams: A systematic review Sleep Medicine Reviews April 16, 2024
- Strange themes in pandemic dreams: Insomnia was associated with more negative, anxious and death‐related dreams during the COVID‐19 pandemic Journal of Sleep Research June 14, 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
- COVID-19 on mind: Daily worry about the coronavirus is linked to negative affect experienced during mind-wandering and dreaming January 18, 2022
and 7 more in the library
Cites 9
- Dreaming during the Covid-19 pandemic: Computational assessment of dream reports reveals mental suffering related to fear of contagion PLoS One November 30, 2020
- Pandemic Nightmares: COVID-19 Lockdown Associated With Increased Aggression in Female University Students' Dreams Frontiers in Psychology March 5, 2021
- Dreaming in Adolescents During the COVID-19 Health Crisis: Survey Among a Sample of European School Students Frontiers in Psychology April 20, 2021
- Pandemic nightmares: Effects on dream activity of the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy. Journal of Sleep Research October 1, 2021
- Pandemic Dreams: Network Analysis of Dream Content During the COVID-19 Lockdown Frontiers in Psychology October 1, 2020
and 4 more in the library