The impact of the end of COVID confinement on pandemic dreams, as assessed by a weekly sleep diary: a longitudinal investigation in Italy.
Journal of sleep research February 1, 2022 Serena Scarpelli, Maurizio Gorgoni, Valentina Alfonsi et al. 37 citations
During the Italian COVID-19 lockdown, 90 participants kept a sleep-dream diary for two weeks: the first week under full lockdown and the second week after restrictions eased. Compared to post-lockdown, the lockdown period was associated with more awakenings, greater difficulty falling asleep, higher dream recall, and more frequent lucid dreams. After restrictions eased, participants reported more dreams about being in crowded places. Poorer sleep quality during lockdown aligns with earlier findings. The increase in lucid dreams during confinement may reflect an attempt to cope with pandemic experiences, while the crowded-place dreams after lockdown support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming.