A study looking at schoolchildren aged 10 to 12 in the Gaza strip found that more than half experienced frequent nightmares and on average they occurred on more than four nights per week. People living under regular duress are more likely to have nightmares.
Long periods of stress which last months or years and affect whole populations are quite unusual – comparable only to wars in recent history, Ho says – but we know that chronic stress has a significant effect on our cognitive function. But for people who research trauma, the increase in nightmares was no surprise.įor those on the frontline of Covid-19 responses, like those doctors and nurses in Wuhan, 2020 was a period of "chronic stress", says Rachelle Ho, a PhD candidate at McMaster University in Canada. Reports of nightmares among citizens also rose during national lockdowns, with young people, women and people suffering with anxiety or depression the highest risk. Of 114 doctors and 414 nurses working in the Chinese city of Wuhan, who all took part in one study published in January 2021, more than a quarter reported having frequent nightmares. Concerns about lockdowns, loved ones and personal health were suddenly jumbled up with other mundane thoughts, leaving some waking up in confusion.įor people on the frontline, the dreams became nightmares. The effect seems to have been most pronounced in those particularly affected by the virus and in countries with strict lockdown measures. The good news is that although you can’t directly control your dreams and unconscious thoughts, you can certainly improve your mood: create a healthy evening routine before going to sleep and choose a bed that fully satisfies your physical characteristics.At the height of the pandemic, a strange phenomenon occurred – people started having weird dreams. Sleep well and make your dreams come true! However, nightmares can influence the transition from REM to non-REM, making us feel less rested the next morning. The storyline of dreams, no matter how unpleasant they may be, don’t affect the duration of the various phases of sleep. Do dreams change the structure of our sleep? “Nightmare hangover”? Dreadful dreams chase us into the following dayĪccording to recent studies, nightmares disturb the sleep of 7-8% of the world’s population at least once a week and 25% of people at least once a month.įor the most part, according to specialists, there are no doubts: nightmares stay with us also after we wake up, affecting our mood and behavior and causing a sort of “ nightmare hangover”. However, the experiments conducted revealed that those who sleep well and feel well rested upon awakening confirm they have pleasant and joyful dreams, unlike those who suffer from insomnia and declare they aren’t able to associate positive emotions with their dreams. The link between dream and sleep quality hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Does having happy dreams mean sleeping well? It is characterized by an accelerated heart rate, rapid breathing, and involuntary eye movement.Ībout 25% of sleep occurs during the REM phase and it has been calculated that we spend approximately 600 hours a year dreaming during this phase. The REM phase is that stage of sleep during which dreams occur. A further theory sees dreams as a “physiological tool” for training and preserving neural pathways. Several theories have tried to explain the role of dreams over time.Īccording to the well-known psychologist Sigmund Freud whose theories revolved around the concept of the subconscious, dreams are a means to help us “get rid of” suppressed thoughts and desires.Ī more recent theory, however, suggests that dreams are necessary to organize and consolidate our memories. Whether you remember them or not, we all dream for about 2 hours a night and, although dreams are more vivid during the REM phase, they can actually occur during any phase of sleep.īut can the storyline of our dreams really affect the quality of sleep? This surely makes us wonder when we wake up from a pleasant dream feeling relaxed and well rested, or from a chaotic and scary dream feeling anxious.
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