Even if you’re someone who rarely remembers your dreams, you may find that quarantine has provoked dreams that are vivid, scary, or downright bizarre. If you’re having wild quarantine dreams, you’re not alone. Social media users are sharing #pandemicdreams to talk about the phenomenon. 

So why is COVID-19 making our dreams more vivid? First of all, we’re sleeping more. A new survey conducted by King’s College in London found that people are getting more sleep during the pandemic than before. This increased sleep could be why more people are actually remembering their dreams. On the other hand, waking up more frequently throughout the night due to stress could also be causing you to remember more dreams. 

Humans also rely on our REM cycles during sleep to process stressful events and sort them into long-term memory. However, because the pandemic has brought on uncertain and anticipatory stress, our bodies are having a hard time processing it because it lacks a clear timeline of events. Therefore, it is influencing bizarre or stressful dreams when we sleep. 

Our brains could also be cultivating weird dreams because of reduced stimulation during the day. Most of us are not getting the same exposure to daily stimuli that we used to, so our brains are digging up odd or distant memories. If you’ve been dreaming about old experiences or friends, this could be why. Lastly, we are taking in more stimulus from screens than usual, which can affect our dreams. 

Vivid dreams can be fun and exciting, but they can also be frightening or unsettling. If you want to calm your dream state, consider establishing a steady sleep routine and limiting your exposure to scary or strange stimuli, especially before bed. Journaling or doing something creative before bed can also help you process strong emotions before dozing off or check out one of the many sleep and meditation podcasts we recommended last week.