Strange themes in pandemic dreams: Insomnia was associated with more negative, anxious and death-related dreams during the COVID-19 pandemic.
acute insomnia
dreaming
longitudinal study
mental health
mixed-methods
thematic analysis
Journal
Journal of sleep research
ISSN: 1365-2869
Titre abrégé: J Sleep Res
Pays: England
ID NLM: 9214441
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
02 2023
02 2023
Historique:
revised:
03
05
2022
received:
08
01
2022
accepted:
08
05
2022
pubmed:
15
6
2022
medline:
21
1
2023
entrez:
14
6
2022
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Dreaming and insomnia are important markers of distress in times of crisis. Here, we present a longitudinal, mixed-methods study examining changes in dreaming between individuals with and without insomnia symptoms and their relationship to mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. A global survey examining insomnia symptoms, dreams and mental health was launched in April 2020 and followed participants over 12 months. Of 2240 participants, 1009 (45%) reported dream changes at baseline. A higher proportion of participants with new-onset insomnia reported dream changes (55%) than those with pre-existing insomnia (45%) or good sleepers (36%). Overall, thematic analysis identified key dream change themes of increased dream activity, with participants dreaming vividly, in high-definition, and with a strong negative charge. Themes around survival, adjusting to pandemic life, meaning-making and poor sleep quality were also noted. Linguistic Inquiry Word Count showed that individuals with insomnia used more negative words to describe their dream changes than good sleepers. Specifically, the new-onset insomnia group used more anxious and death-related words than those who slept well. Notably, all groups experienced a significant reduction in dream activity by 3-month follow-up. Lastly, dream changes were associated with worse mental health symptoms over time, and this effect was more pronounced in individuals with insomnia. Our results highlight that insomnia symptoms, especially new-onset insomnia, are associated with more negative dream changes during collective stressful events, potentially compounding daytime distress and mental health symptoms over time. During times of crisis, dreaming and insomnia may reveal an important target for mental health interventions.
Identifiants
pubmed: 35699296
doi: 10.1111/jsr.13655
pmc: PMC9350044
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
e13655Informations de copyright
© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Sleep Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Sleep Research Society.
Références
Akram, U., Barclay, N. L., & Milkins, B. (2018). Sleep-related attentional bias in insomnia: Time to examine moderating factors? Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2573.
Barrett, D. (2020). Dreams about COVID-19 versus normative dreams: Trends by gender. Dreaming, 30(3), 216-221.
Barrett, D., Sogolow, Z., Angela, O., Panton, J., Grayson, M., & Justiniano, M. (2013). Content of dreams from WWII POWs. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 33(1), 193-204.
Benjamini, Y., & Hochberg, Y. (1995). Controlling the false discovery rate: A practical and powerful approach to multiple testing. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B (Methodological), 57(1), 289-300.
Benjamini, Y., Heller, R., & Yekutieli, D. (2009). Selective inference in complex research. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 367(1906), 4255-4271.
Bottary, R., Simonelli, G., Cunningham, T. J., Kensinger, E. A., & Mantua, J. (2020). Sleep extension: An explanation for increased pandemic dream recall? Sleep, 43(11), zsaa131. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaa131
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(4), 589-597. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676x.2019.1628806
Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 1983; 24(4):385-396.
Deliens, G., Gilson, M., & Peigneux, P. (2014). Sleep and the processing of emotions. Experimental Brain Research, 232(5), 1403-1414. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-014-3832-1
Domhoff, G. W. (1996). Finding meaning in dreams: A quantitative approach. Plenum Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0298-6
Drager, L. F., Pachito, D. V., Moreno, C. R. C., Tavares, A. R., Conway, S. G., Assis, M., Sguillar, D. A., Moreira, G. A., Bacelar, A., & Genta, P. R. (2022). Insomnia episodes, new-onset pharmacological treatments and other sleep disturbances during the COVID-19 pandemic: A nationwide cross-sectional study in Brazilian health care professionals. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 18(2), 373-382. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.9570
Espie, C. A., Kyle, S. D., Hames, P., Gardani, M., Fleming, L., & Cape, J. (2014). The sleep condition indicator: A clinical screening tool to evaluate insomnia disorder. BMJ Open, 4(3), e004183. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2013-004183
Feige, B., Nanovska, S., Baglioni, C., Bier, B., Cabrera, L., Diemers, S., Quellmalz, M., Siegel, M., Xeni, I., & Szentkiralyi, A. (2018). Insomnia-Perchance a dream? Results from a NREM/REM sleep awakening study in good sleepers and patients with insomnia. Sleep, 41(5), zsy032.
Fernández-Mendoza, J., Vela-Bueno, A., Vgontzas, A. N., Ramos-Platón, M. J., Olavarrieta-Bernardino, S., Bixler, E. O., & De la Cruz-Troca, J. J. (2010). Cognitive-emotional hyperarousal as a premorbid characteristic of individuals vulnerable to insomnia. Psychosomatic Medicine, 72(4), 397-403.
Fränkl, E., Scarpelli, S., Nadorff, M. R., Bjorvatn, B., Bolstad, C. J., Chan, N. Y., Chung, F., Dauvilliers, Y., Espie, C. A., & Inoue, Y. (2021). How our dreams changed during the COVID-19 pandemic: Effects and correlates of dream recall frequency-a multinational study on 19,355 adults. Nature and Science of Sleep, 13, 1573-1591.
Giovanardi, G., Fiorini Bincoletto, A., Baiocco, R., Ferrari, M., Gentile, D., Siri, M., Tanzilli, A., & Lingiardi, V. (2021). Lockdown dreams: Dream content and emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic in an italian sample. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 39, 111-126.
Gorgoni, M., Scarpelli, S., Alfonsi, V., Annarumma, L., Cordone, S., Stravolo, S., & De Gennaro, L. (2021). Pandemic dreams: Quantitative and qualitative features of the oneiric activity during the lockdown due to COVID-19 in Italy. Sleep Medicine, 81, 20-32.
Healey, E. S., Kales, A., Monroe, L. J., Bixler, E. O., Chamberlin, K., & Soldatos, C. R. (1981). Onset of insomnia: Role of life-stress events. Psychosomatic Medicine, 43(5), 439-451. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-198110000-00007
Iorio, I., Sommantico, M., & Parrello, S. (2020). Dreaming in the time of COVID-19: A quali-quantitative Italian study. Dreaming, 30(3), 199-215.
Kay, D. B., Karim, H. T., Soehner, A. M., Hasler, B. P., Wilckens, K. A., James, J. A., Aizenstein, H. J., Price, J. C., Rosario, B. L., Kupfer, D. J., Germain, A., Hall, M. H., Franzen, P. L., Nofzinger, E. A., & Buysse, D. J. (2016). Sleep-wake differences in relative regional cerebral metabolic rate for glucose among patients with insomnia compared with good sleepers. Sleep, 39(10), 1779-1794. https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.6154
Kennedy, K. E. R., Bastien, C. H., Ruby, P. M., Killgore, W. D. S., Wills, C. C. A., & Grandner, M. A. (2021). Nightmare content during the COVID-19 pandemic: Influence of COVID-related stress and sleep disruption in the United States. Journal of Sleep Research, 31(1), e13439. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.13439
Kocevska, D., Blanken, T. F., Van Someren, E. J. W., & Rosler, L. (2020). Sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic: Not one size fits all. Sleep Medicine, 76, 86-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2020.09.029
Koulack, D., & Goodenough, D. R. (1976). Dream recall and dream recall failure: An arousal-retrieval model. Psychological Bulletin, 83(5), 975-984.
Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. (2001). The PHQ-9: Validity of a brief depression severity measure. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16(9), 606-613. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x
MacKay, C., & DeCicco, T. L. (2020). Pandemic dreaming: The effect of COVID-19 on dream imagery, a pilot study. Dreaming, 30(3), 222-234.
Mandelkorn, U., Genzer, S., Choshen-Hillel, S., Reiter, J., Meira e Cruz, M., Hochner, H., Kheirandish-Gozal, L., Gozal, D., & Gileles-Hillel, A. (2020). Escalation of sleep disturbances amid the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional international study. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 17(1), 45-53.
Marteau, T. M., & Bekker, H. (1992). The development of a six-item short-form of the state scale of the Spielberger state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI). The British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 31(3), 301-306. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8260.1992.tb00997.x
McCall, W. V., Mensah-Bonsu, D., Withers, A. E., & Gibson, R. W. (2021). Short-term insomnia disorder in health care workers in an academic medical center before and during COVID-19: Rates and predictive factors. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 17(4), 749-755. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.9034
McCarthy, E., DeViva, J. C., Na, P. J., & Pietrzak, R. H. (2021). New-onset and exacerbated insomnia symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in US military veterans: A nationally representative, prospective cohort study. Journal of Sleep Research, 31(1), e13450. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.13450
Meaklim, H., Junge, M. F., Varma, P., Finck, W. A., & Jackson, M. L. (2021). Pre-existing and post-pandemic insomnia symptoms are associated with high levels of stress, anxiety and depression globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 17(10), 2085-2097. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.9354
Morin, C. M., Vézina-Im, L. A., Ivers, H., Micoulaud-Franchi, J. A., Philip, P., Lamy, M., & Savard, J. (2021). Prevalent, incident, and persistent insomnia in a population-based cohort tested before (2018) and during the first-wave of COVID-19 pandemic (2020). Sleep, 45(1), zsab258. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsab258
Mota, N. B., Weissheimer, J., Ribeiro, M., De Paiva, M., Avilla-Souza, J., Simabucuru, G., Chaves, M. F., Cecchi, L., Cirne, J., & Cecchi, G. (2020). Dreaming during the Covid-19 pandemic: Computational assessment of dream reports reveals mental suffering related to fear of contagion. PLoS One, 15(11), e0242903.
Ohayon, M. M., Morselli, P. L., & Guilleminault, C. (1997). Prevalence of nightmares and their relationship to psychopathology and daytime functioning in insomnia subjects. Sleep, 20(5), 340-348. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/20.5.340
Pennebaker, J. W., Booth, R. J., Boyd, R. L., & Francis, M. E. (2015). Linguistic inquiry and word count: LIWC2015. In Pennebaker Conglomerates www.LIWC.net
Pennebaker, J. W., Boyd, R. L., Jordan, K., & Blackburn, K. (2015). The development and psychometric properties of LIWC2015. The University of Texas at Austin.
Perogamvros, L., Castelnovo, A., Samson, D., & Dang-Vu, T. T. (2020). Failure of fear extinction in insomnia: An evolutionary perspective. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 51, 101277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2020.101277
Pesonen, A.-K., Lipsanen, J., Halonen, R., Elovainio, M., Sandman, N., Mäkelä, J.-M., Antila, M., Béchard, D., Ollila, H. M., & Kuula, L. (2020). Pandemic dreams: Network analysis of dream content during the COVID-19 lockdown. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2569.
R Core Team. (2020). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. In R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/.
Revonsuo, A. (2000). The reinterpretation of dreams: An evolutionary hypothesis of the function of dreaming. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23(6), 877-901. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00004015
Revonsuo, A., Tuominen, J., & Valli, K. (2015). The avatars in the machine: Dreaming as a simulation of social reality. Open MIND. MIND Group.
Riemann, D., Krone, L. B., Wulff, K., & Nissen, C. (2020). Sleep, insomnia, and depression. Neuropsychopharmacology, 45(1), 74-89. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-019-0411-y
Riemann, D., Spiegelhalder, K., Nissen, C., Hirscher, V., Baglioni, C., & Feige, B. (2012). REM sleep instability-A new pathway for insomnia? Pharmacopsychiatry, 45(5), 167-176. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0031-1299721
Roth, T., & Drake, C. (2004, Jun). Evolution of insomnia: Current status and future direction. Sleep Medicine, 5 Suppl 1, S23-S30. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1389-9457(04)90004-4
Sandman, N., Valli, K., Kronholm, E., Ollila, H. M., Revonsuo, A., Laatikainen, T., & Paunio, T. (2013). Nightmares: Prevalence among the Finnish general adult population and war veterans during 1972-2007. Sleep, 36(7), 1041-1050. https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.2806
Sandman, N., Valli, K., Kronholm, E., Revonsuo, A., Laatikainen, T., & Paunio, T. (2015). Nightmares: Risk factors among the Finnish general adult population. Sleep, 38(4), 507-514.
Scarpelli, S., Alfonsi, V., Mangiaruga, A., Musetti, A., Quattropani, M. C., Lenzo, V., Freda, M. F., Lemmo, D., Vegni, E., & Borghi, L. (2021). Pandemic nightmares: Effects on dream activity of the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy. Journal of Sleep Research, 30, e13300.
Schredl, M. (2009). Nightmare frequency in patients with primary insomnia. Universitätsbibliothek der Universität Heidelberg.
Schredl, M., & Bulkeley, K. (2020). Dreaming and the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey in a US sample. Dreaming, 30(3), 189-198.
Schredl, M., & Piel, E. (2006). War-related dream themes in Germany from 1956 to 2000. Political Psychology, 27(2), 299-307.
Schredl, M., Schäfer, G., Weber, B., & Heuser, I. (1998). Dreaming and insomnia: Dream recall and dream content of patients with insomnia. Journal of Sleep Research, 7(3), 191-198.
Sikka, P., Pesonen, H., & Revonsuo, A. (2018). Peace of mind and anxiety in the waking state are related to the affective content of dreams. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 12762. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-30721-1
Solomonova, E., Picard-Deland, C., Rapoport, I. L., Pennestri, M. H., Saad, M., Kendzerska, T., Veissiere, S. P. L., Godbout, R., Edwards, J. D., Quilty, L., & Robillard, R. (2021). Stuck in a lockdown: Dreams, bad dreams, nightmares, and their relationship to stress, depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic, PLoS One, 16(11), e0259040. https://doi.org10.1371/journal.pone.0259040
Tang, W., Lu, Y., Yang, Y., & Xu, J. (2018). An epidemiologic study of self-reported sleep problems in a large sample of adolescent earthquake survivors: The effects of age, gender, exposure, and psychopathology. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 113, 22-29.
Varma, P., Burge, M., Meaklim, H., Junge, M., & Jackson, M. L. (2021). Poor sleep quality and its relationship with individual characteristics, personal experiences and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(11), 6030. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/11/6030
Walker, M. P., & van Der Helm, E. (2009). Overnight therapy? The role of sleep in emotional brain processing. Psychological Bulletin, 135(5), 731-748.
Wassing, R., Benjamins, J. S., Dekker, K., Moens, S., Spiegelhalder, K., Feige, B., Riemann, D., van der Sluis, S., Van Der Werf, Y. D., & Talamini, L. M. (2016). Slow dissolving of emotional distress contributes to hyperarousal. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(9), 2538-2543.
Yuksel, D., McKee, G. B., Perrin, P. B., Alzueta, E., Caffarra, S., Ramos-Usuga, D., Arango-Lasprilla, J. C., & Baker, F. C. (2021). Sleeping when the world locks down: Correlates of sleep health during the COVID-19 pandemic across 59 countries. Sleep Health, 7, 134-142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2020.12.008
Zadra, A., & Stickgold, R. (2021). When brains dream: Exploring the science and mystery of sleep. WW Norton & Company.