Dream a COVID dream: Pandemic stress continues in our sleep

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Peer-reviewed: This work was reviewed and scrutinised by relevant independent experts.

Observational study: A study in which the subject is observed to see if there is a relationship between two or more things (eg: the consumption of diet drinks and obesity). Observational studies cannot prove that one thing causes another, only that they are linked.

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The mental suffering we experience during the COVID-19 pandemic is chasing us in our dreams, according to Brazilian researchers. The researchers used language processing tools to analyse 239 dream reports by 67 people made before or during the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown in Brazil. They found pandemic dreams showed a higher proportion of words associated with anger, sadness, contamination and cleanliness. These features seem to be associated with mental suffering linked to social isolation, the researchers say, and the dreams reflect mental suffering, a fear of contagion and important changes in daily habits that directly impact how we socialise. 

Journal/conference: PLOS One

Link to research (DOI): 10.1371/journal.pone.0242903

Organisation/s: Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

Funder: NBM, MC and SR received financial support from Boehringer-Ingelheim (https://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com)(grants FADE/UFPE 270,906 and 270,561); SR, MC and CR received financial support from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq; CNPq.br) PVE grant 401518/2014-0, Universal grants 480053/2013-8, 408145/2016-1, 439434/2018-1, 425329/2018-6 and Research Productivity grants 308775/2015-5, 306659/2019-0, 301744/2018-1 and 310712/2014-9; SR and MC received financial support from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES; capes.gov.br) Projects OBEDUC-ACERTA 0898/2013, PROEX 534/2018 and STIC AmSud 062/2015; MC received financial support from Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE; www.facepe.br) grant APQ--0642--1.05/18; SR and MC received financial support from Center for Neuromathematics of the São Paulo Research Foundation FAPESP (www.fapesp.br) (grant 2013/07699-0). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Multimedia:

  • Artwork from volunteers 1
    Artwork from volunteers 1

    Artwork from the volunteers (inspired by their dreams during the pandemic)

    File size: 137.1 KB

    Attribution: Natália Mota

    Permission category: Free to share (must credit)

    Last modified: 02 Dec 2020 12:01am

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  • Artwork from volunteers 2
    Artwork from volunteers 2

    Artwork from the volunteers (inspired by their dreams during the pandemic)

    File size: 173.4 KB

    Attribution: Mota et al, 2020 (PLOS ONE, CC BY 4.0)

    Permission category: Free to share (must credit)

    Last modified: 02 Dec 2020 12:05am

    NOTE: High resolution files can only be downloaded here by registered journalists who are logged in.

  • Are dream reports from the Covid-19 pandemic period different from dream reports
    Are dream reports from the Covid-19 pandemic period different from dream reports

    (A) Data collection timeline (audio recordings of dreams reported via smartphone application), and illustrative examples of two translated dream reports by the same participant, one before and one after the Covid-19 pandemic. Words in red type are linked to emotions and words in blue type are semantically associated with the terms “contamination” and “cleanness”. (B) Flowchart showing group composition. (C) Representative examples of computational analysis of dream reports by the same participants before and after the Covid-19 pandemic

    File size: 157.3 KB

    Attribution: PLOS

    Permission category: Free to share (must credit)

    Last modified: 02 Dec 2020 12:04am

    NOTE: High resolution files can only be downloaded here by registered journalists who are logged in.

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