ArticleNature and science of sleep2021
How our Dreams Changed During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Effects and Correlates of Dream Recall Frequency - a Multinational Study on 19,355 Adults.
Article in Nature and science of sleep, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- An observatory on changes in dreaming during a pandemic: a living systematic review (part 1).Journal of sleep research · 2023Pooled it
- Subjective sleep alterations in healthy subjects worldwide during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression.Sleep medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Lucid Dreaming: Not Just Awareness, but Agency.Journal of sleep research · 2026Article
- Prevalence Rates of Frequent Dream Recall and Nightmares by Age, Gender and Sleep Duration in 16 Countries.Journal of sleep research · 2026Article
- The individual determinants of morning dream recall.Communications psychology · 2025Article
- Insomnia during the COVID-19 pandemic: prevalence and correlates in a multi-ethnic population Singapore.BMC public health · 2024Article
- How COVID-19 Affected Sleep Talking Episodes, Sleep and Dreams?Brain sciences · 2024Article
- Polysomnography and Neuropsychological Analysis of Patients With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Two Years After the COVID-19 Pandemic in Wuhan.Psychiatry investigation · 2024Article
- Sleep disorders after COVID-19 in Czech population: Post-lockdown national online survey.Sleep medicine: X · 2023Article
- Article
- Longitudinal Findings on the Oneiric Activity Changes Across the Pandemic.Nature and science of sleep · 2023Article
- The extended unconscious group field and metabolization of pandemic experience: dreaming together to keep cohesion alive.Research in psychotherapy (Milano) · 2022Article
- Dream Recall Frequency, Lucid Dream Frequency, and Personality During the Covid-19 Pandemic.Imagination, cognition and personality · 2022Article
- Sleep During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Current psychiatry reports · 2022Review
- Does COVID-19 related symptomatology indicate a transdiagnostic neuropsychiatric disorder? - Multidisciplinary implications.World journal of psychiatry · 2022Review
- What about dreams? State of the art and open questions.Journal of sleep research · 2022Review
- Dreaming during the COVID-19 pandemic: A narrative review.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2022Review
- The Oneiric Activity during and after the COVID-19 Total Lockdown in Italy: A Longitudinal Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Nightmares in People with COVID-19: Did Coronavirus Infect Our Dreams?Nature and science of sleep · 2022Article
- Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Traumatized Us Collectively? The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health and Sleep Factors via Traumatization: A Multinational Survey.Nature and science of sleep · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
23 authors at 19 institutions in 13 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveMany have reported odd dreams during the pandemic. Given that dreams are associated with mental health, understanding these changes could provide crucial information about wellbeing during the pandemic. This study explored associations between COVID-19 and dream recall frequency (DRF), and related social, health, and mental health factors.
methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional web survey of 19,355 individuals in 14 countries from May to July 2020. We collected data on COVID-19, mental health, sleep and DRF during the pandemic. We performed McNemar Tests to compare low (<3 nights per week) and high DRF (≥3 nights per week) before and during COVID-19 and to evaluate changes in sleep variables segmented by DRF. Chi-square tests were conducted to compare characteristics between low and high DRF. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between various independent variables and DRF.
resultsReports of high DRF during the pandemic were higher than before the pandemic (P<0.001). Female gender (aOR=1.25, 95% CI 1.10-1.41), nightmares (aOR=4.22, 95% CI 3.45-5.17), sleep talking (aOR= 2.36, 1.73-3.23), sleep maintenance problems (aOR=1.34, 95% CI 1.15-1.56), symptoms of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD; aOR=1.24, 95% CI 1.09-1.41) and repeated disturbing thoughts (posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms) were associated with high DRF. Age group 55-64 years (aOR=0.69, 95% CI 0.58-0.83) reported less high DRF than younger participants. Unadjusted OR showed associations between depression, anxiety, and DRF; however, in adjusted regression depression (aOR= 0.71, 0.59-0.86) and anxiety (aOR=0.79, 95% CI 0.66-0.94) were negatively associated with high DRF. CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: DRF was higher than pre-pandemic levels across four continents. DRF was associated with gender and parasomnias like nightmares and RBD symptoms, sleep maintenance problems, PTSD symptoms and negatively associated with depression and anxiety. The results implicate that COVID-19 is reflected in our dreams as an expression of the emotional intensity of the pandemic.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.