Here's Why You're Having Weird Dreams During the Pandemic

Your dreams may be peculiar or even nightmarish, but you can program your brain to prevent stress dreams.

If you’ve been suffering through weird, vivid dreams since we started staying at home, you should know: You’re definitely not alone, as social media users have made #pandemicdreams trend and it’s absolutely normal, according to sleep experts.

Why are people having weird dreams lately?

Dreams often occur during a REM (rapid eye movement) sleep cycle, when the brain can offset some of the stress we experience on a daily basis. The COVID-19 pandemic has largely brought on anticipatory stress, our brain is having trouble processing it during our sleep cycle.

Unlike a car crash, for example, where there’s a sequence of events that occur, the pandemic has been largely unfolding silently for many communities. All of this leads to a dream so memorable in the first place.

The other thing that’s happening is we have less stimulation during the day. A majority of people may be completing the same limited routine inside their homes for the last six weeks or so. So, the brain has less content to kind of form into our dreams, which can also lead to bizarre material we may have not remembered ever experiencing before.

The type of simulation that people are mostly receiving comes from televisions and cellphones, including media that might be innocuously adding to people’s stress levels.

Stress may be causing people to have restless or fitful sleep, meaning waking up more frequently in the night, which leads them in turn to recall the dream they may have been just experiencing moments before.

What can I do to prevent stress dreams during the pandemic?

There’s a treatment protocol known as image rehearsal therapy, which is a clinical resource used by sleep specialists. This therapy is largely reserved for individuals who can no longer sleep through the night without encountering stressful nightmares, mostly due in part to greater psychological issues that should be addressed.

The best thing people can do is stabilize their sleep schedule. Here are three ways you can do to keep your dreams as peaceful as possible: