Why are most of your dreams centered around Covid-19? Why is your mind acting all wild, especially during sleep? Here’s what you need to know.

It’s a surreal time we are all living in. While things have started to normalize, the fear of Covid-19 still persists, with many hesitant to step outside. There may be more people on the streets and your local eateries might be opening up, but the fact of the matter is that Covid-19 is still very much a part of us. While some of us have made peace with the fact that the current situation is inevitable, the rest of us are still living in fear, not knowing what the future holds.

The rise of mental illnesses during the pandemic 

There’s enough data that shows that mental health illnesses saw a significant increase during the pandemic. Many people struggled with anxiety, depression, stress, fear, etc., and some continue to battle it daily. With the mental health of citizens taking a serious toll this year, it’s natural that the dreams they get are reflective of the same. When you fear something, it often happens that you dream about it and see strange visuals of the same. The same has been the case with many people who have reported about having strange Covid-19 related dreams.

#PandemicDreams 

Some of them even came on Twitter to talk about the same with the hashtag #pandemicdreams. A website recorded and published statements of people having Covid-19 related dreams. Many of them spoke about how they dreamt of people dying of coronavirus, or deliberately touching them, coughing on them, to pass on the virus to them.

Having a fear of the disease is natural, given the pandemic. But some people are suffering from Covid-19 anxiety, and hence are getting such vivid dreams. A psychiatrist at Amenclinics, Dr. Creado, states that people’s anxiety and other mental health issues have heightened during isolation, thus giving rise to sleep issues and vivid dreams. He also adds that people are able to recall their dreams a lot more, during this pandemic.

The REM sleep cycle 

Dr. Creado further explains that due to the Covid-19 related anxiety that we are experiencing during the day, our sleep cycle is getting affected. When one is anxious, they lose sleep. Hence in order to make up for that lost sleep, your brain automatically dives into rapid-eye-movement sleep (REM), which is when we tend to get the most vivid of dreams.

But the psychiatrist maintains that nightmares are not all bad. He says that they serve as an outlet for our mind and body to relieve the stress and anxiety that we experience during the day. “In some ways, nightmares may help us better navigate stressful situations in our waking lives,” he says, as quoted to Amenclinics.

However, though having these nightmares once in a while is understandable given the current times, if they occur repeatedly, it’s a problem. They can interfere with a person’s sleep and make them fearful of falling asleep in general. Dr. Creado says that even after things normalize, there is a very high chance of people suffering from recurring nightmares. “It’s very likely that after things go back to ‘normal,’ we’ll be seeing rising numbers of people suffering from recurring nightmares and sleep disturbances, he maintains.

What can you do to stop the nightmares? 

Here are simple, effective tips to attain freedom from nightmares and get a good night’s sleep.

Stay away from the news 

Most of the news right now is about Covid-19-related cases, numbers, deaths, etc,. In order to maintain your mental health, it’s best if you keep away from the news, especially right before sleeping.

Don’t eat right before bed

Your eating habits have a direct impact on the kind of sleep you get. If you keep your stomach empty for a significant number of hours before bed, your sleep quality will be drastically better than when you eat right before hitting the pillow. Eat an early meal and notice the instant improvement in the quality of your sleep!

Lessen your intake of tea and coffee 

Caffeine plays a major role in keeping you active and awake. Therefore, it’s obvious that you should be reducing its intake, in order to get a calm and relaxed sleep.

Avoid alcohol 

You may be enjoying a drink or two regularly to calm down your nerves and while that is effective at the time, it may be detrimental the next day. Alcohol can heighten your anxiety and even make you wake up in the middle of the night, after its effects wear off.

Try natural supplements 

Supplements such as Magnesium, Melatonin, GABA, etc., are known to provide good quality of sleep. So you can try these, after consulting your health professional.

Brain training 

With the US, FDA-approved, and NASA-inspired brain training technology Neurofeedback, not only will you get the best sleep of your life but also attain freedom from your anxiety, fears, etc. To learn more about this technology and how it works, visit https://wetrainbrains.com/how-it-works/