Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night with your heart pounding, sweat dripping off your brow with this deep fear that you were lost? You looked around to find no one around you. Your family was nowhere in sight, and you were all alone. Chaos ran amuck and everyone was trying to survive. You couldn’t contemplate what was happening. The road was endless and there was no help in sight.
And then you woke up.
You realized that it was a nightmare and a sigh of relief escaped past your lips. You were safe. But then, the truth creeps up to you and you remembered that you were still inside a nightmare.
I’m not one who always remembered my dreams and most of the time they’ve slipped past me by the time I open my eyes, but it’s different now. Ever since the start of this pandemic, I started having these strange, inexplicable dreams. And it bothered me.
I wasn’t an expert, and it was such a trivial thing to call up a psychiatrist for so, I did the next best thing. I did some research online and was surprised when I found out that I wasn’t alone. In fact, #pandemicdreams became trending on Twitter. People all over the world have been experiencing vivid dreams since the outbreak of COVID-19.
According to research, here are some reasons why we are having vivid or weird dreams:
People are more restless, thereby getting less sleep
Since people all over the world are forced to be confined inside their homes, they lost track of time and their routines has drastically changed including sleep patterns. We all know that a good night sleep is important for a healthy brain function and emotional well-being.
Dreams are caused by our emotions. The vividness of our dreams attributes to the emotional and physical chaos many of us are experiencing because of the pandemic.
Stress and anxiety
According to a psychologist, because people are deprived of social connection, the isolation causes frustration borne out of helplessness, of not being able to react to the danger that lies outside their homes. Since people can’t act on their “fight or flight” instinct, the “rush” gets locked in the body.
So how can we reverse or minimize having vivid dreams? Psychologists advice to do the following:
Exercise
This is the time to catch up on our fitness. A 30-minute to 1-hour workout can change your day.
Eat the right food
Eating healthy is important to keep your immune system in top condition.
Moderate the amount of media / social media
During this time of the pandemic, right information is very crucial. It is okay to know the right information but don’t spend too much time watching the news or browsing through social media because of the negative effect it can cause such as depression especially if the news is all about deaths.
Try new activities
Many people are now using TikTok as a form of distraction. Also, a lot of people has turned into baking as their new hobby. Use this time to discover and learn new things that you weren’t able to do before due to lack of time.
Connect with friends
Enjoy the company of friends through a video call or chat. Reach out to your friends whom you haven’t seen for a long time
With the pandemic still looming over the entire global community, we have to remember that the key to surviving it is to keep ourselves educated. It may also be important to keep a positive outlook about the future. In any case, I always say to myself that this too shall pass, and it gives me that courage to look forward to better days. 