Dreaming during the COVID-19 pandemic: A narrative review.
Maurizio Gorgoni, Serena Scarpelli, Valentina Alfonsi, Luigi De Gennaro
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews May 25, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104710 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Humans Emotions Dreams Sleep Pandemics Covid-19 Continuity hypothesis |
| Key findings | The reviewed literature suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with more frequent and emotionally intense dreams and nightmares with distressing content, varying with restrictions and tied to daytime experiences, emotional status, and sleep. The authors caution that methodological issues and heterogeneity across studies limit generalizability. |
Abstract
According to several influential models, dreams can be affected by state- and trait-like factors, sleep features, and diurnal experiences. The COVID-19 pandemic globally affected daily habits, emotional experiences, and sleep. Previous studies suggested an influence of collective traumatic events on dreaming. Starting from these premises, several studies assessed the effect of the pandemic on dreams. This paper aims to review findings concerning the oneiric activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. We report pandemic-related changes in dreams and nightmares, and we consider the possible factors associated with dreaming. Moreover, we provide results about changes in the oneiric activity in different phases of the pandemic. The reviewed findings suggest a pandemic-related enhancement of dream and nightmare frequency, emotional intensity, and distressing contents, modulated by modifications in restrictive measures and associated with diurnal experiences, emotional status, and sleep pattern. We highlight several methodological issues and a large heterogeneity in the present literature, limiting results' generalizability. However, we provide possible interpretations of the most consistent findings in light of the main theoretical frameworks about dreaming.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The cognitive neuroscience of lucid dreaming | 2019 | Review | |
| Sleep and dreaming are for important matters | 2013 | Review | |
| Nightmare Disorder and Isolated Sleep Paralysis | 2020 | Review | |
| My Dream, My Rules: Can Lucid Dreaming Treat Nightmares? | 2019 | Review | |
| Dream Recall: State or Trait Variable? Part I: Model, Theories, Methodology and Trait Factors | 1996 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 12
- The clinical neuroscience of lucid dreaming. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews January 14, 2025
- More dreams of the rarebit fiend: food sensitivity and dietary correlates of sleep and dreaming Frontiers in Psychology July 1, 2025
- Longitudinal Findings on the Oneiric Activity Changes Across the Pandemic. Nature and Science of Sleep 2023
- The association between dream activity and alexithymia during pregnancy: A cross-sectional study in a sample of pregnant women. Journal of Sleep Research August 1, 2025
- Individual and Situational Predictors of Threatening Dream Content During the COVID ‐19 Pandemic Journal of Sleep Research April 2, 2026
and 7 more in the library
Cites 41
- Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Journal of Neuroscience September 10, 2018
- Measuring nightmare and bad dream frequency: impact of retrospective and prospective instruments Journal of Sleep Research May 13, 2008
- Metaphor and hyperassociativity: the imagination mechanisms behind emotion assimilation in sleep and dreaming Frontiers in Psychology August 18, 2015
- 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
and 36 more in the library