Dream a COVID dream: Pandemic stress continues in our sleep
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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
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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 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.
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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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