Thousands of people have reported having weird dreams during the coronavirus pandemic and their sleep pattern is completely disturbed. The dreams include sudden deaths of themselves or their loved ones, animals and insects jumping on them or being attacked by a stranger at the supermarket and many more. The hashtag #PandemicDreams went viral a few days ago on Twitter as several users poured out their strange and unusual dreams.
Dr Carmel Harrington, a sleep doctor hailing for Australia revealed that people are having weird dreams lately and the coronavirus crisis is the main culprit for the rise of these strange dreams. She stated that people are disturbed due to the nonstop news about the pandemic they see on television and social media and their subconscious mind is soaking up all the fears which in turn makes them have dark dreams.
Fear and anxiety produce worrisome dreams
Dr Harrington stated that the bad news we hear all throughout the day, gets absorbed in the subconscious mind and all of the fears ends up being processed at night while we are deep asleep. ''It's due to anxiety and the high media coverage of COVID-19 we're being exposed to. Every article is about COVID-19, you have nothing else to think about. The things you are contemplating during the day will be processed at night in your sleep, it's embed in our memories,'' she said to Mail Australia.
The doctor mentioned that when a person gets exposed to constant negative news before bedtime, their dreams are most likely to be worrisome, causing them to feel low, confused and unenthusiastic the next day. ''If that's what you're exposing yourself to especially one hour before bedtime, the fear and anxiety we're getting can produce quite vivid and worrisome dreams.''
Dr Harrington stressed on the fact that the current generation had never imagined that even going out to buy groceries would be a war-like situation and not socializing for several weeks raises anxiety levels in people producing fear of what the future might turn into and all of these fears play out in their dreams.
She said that she receives several calls every day from people saying, they had dreams about "the loss of a young person or a beautiful mother dying or being betrayed by your loved one and dreams like these can really affect people.'' She continued, ''How that happens is it's an acute emotional time so our dreams are accessing an emotional part of our brain a lot.''
Dr Carmel Harrington reveals tips for a good night's sleep
Thankfully, Dr Harrington laid out steps on how to have a good night's sleep and these practices must be followed before hitting the bed. She said, ''Adopt a going-to-bed routine: One hour before bed turn off all technology and dim all lighting. Perhaps do a relaxation exercise and/or have a hot shower. Do not use the bed or bedroom for anything other than sleep and sexual activity - do not watch TV or read complex material.''
She continued, ''Keep the bedroom cool, dark and quiet. Maintain a regular bedtime and awakening time. Do not sleep during the day. Finish eating two to three hours before bedtime. Read a novel before bedtime or do crosswords. Do light exercises before bedtime. Avoid caffeinated beverages after noon. Do not smoke before bedtime,'' and summed it up with ''Avoid alcohol.''
