The typical dream is something of utter nonsense—the characters jump in and out as they please, the scenery changes at the drop of a hat, the dialogue is utter nonsense, and the plot is seldom linear, or even coherent. Most of the time, you don’t even end up remembering the dream, only sleepily chasing after fleeting memories or just that general feeling of, “Huh, what a weird dream.” Ever since the beginning of quarantine, though, people have been reporting vivid, linear, and somewhat terrifying nightly hallucinations. They’ve also been able to recall these dreams—or shall we say, nightmares—in full, or at least with startling clarity. Sometimes, the dreams are strikingly realistic, featuring deep, emotionally-raw conversations with loved ones, deceased or alive, while others showcase elements of the pandemic and all the events that have come along with it. Nonetheless, it’s clear that, for whatever reason, people have been having strange dreams during this time of isolation.

There are several different theories as to why this may be happening. A rather popular one states that it’s due to the onslaught of stress and anxiety COVID-19 has caused. This seems pretty likely, as it’s common for dreams to be influenced by your emotions during the day, and it’s a leading theory that we dream to process the day’s events. It’s mirrored by experiments measuring the dreams of those that have gone through traumatic events, such as 9/11, which found that those people were dreaming more intensely and vividly in an attempt to cope. 

Some don’t consider coronavirus a direct trauma, such as Deidre Leigh Barrett, an assistant psychology professor at Harvard Medical School, who said in an interview, “I’d call it a stressor rather than a trauma for all but the health care providers, patients with COVID-19, and a few other most-affected populations.” Essentially, the doom-filled news associated with coronavirus, what with rising death counts and the ever-worsening news about the state of this country, is pushing people to have more nightmares. 

Another theory is that the change of stimulation in our lives is pushing our subconscious to cook up stranger dreams. It banks on the theory that we may dream to process memories.  

Courtney Bolstad, a research assistant at the Mississippi State University psychology department, says, “Social rhythm theory says that the rhythms we have during the day, what time we get up, whether we see our friends, can influence our circadian rhythm. If you aren’t doing the things you typically do during the day, that could mess with your circadian rhythm which could mess with your sleep,” explaining how lifestyle changes during quarantine lead to wonky dreams. It also explains that those dreaming of their loved ones are doing so in an effort to stay close and remember them during separation.

There have also been speculations that the more sleep some are receiving, due to their now inactive lifestyles, is letting them experience and remember dreams better. Bolstad stated that the most intense dreaming happens later in sleeping cycles, so sleeping in gives people more of a chance for such periods to happen.

Whatever the case may be, strange dreams are certainly occurring. A dream survey conducted by Barrett concluded that people do seem to be having an increase of vivid dreams during the pandemic is anything to go by. For those wishing to alleviate their nightmares, she recommends that they try thinking of topics and things that they would like to dream about, or focusing on more pleasant items before bed, in order to sway the mind into hopefully following your whims. This won’t be entirely successful though, as anxieties during the day will still seep into your subconscious. On a somewhat lighter note, a website named I Dream of COVID has been created for anyone to volunteer their wacky dreams during the quarantine. So, why not go ahead and submit your weird dreams involving creepy mirror deities for others to read?

Graphic courtesy of POSITIVECREATORS.COM