Pandemic dreams

People are reporting having more vivid and bizarre dreams during the pandemic. We'll discuss what they mean and the science of dreaming.

Listen 49:44

"Strange Times" by dream researcher Deirdre Barrett of a pandemic dream she had.

Have you been having strange dreams since the coronavirus arrived? The pandemic hasn’t only disrupted our waking lives, it’s also invaded our sleep. People are reporting more vivid, complex, and bizarre dreams with fears of the virus, lockdowns and social distancing playing out in weird ways in sleeping minds. This hour, we’ll talk with two researchers about the latest science on dreaming and what our pandemic dreams and nightmares say about our state of mind. DEIRDRE BARRETT, dream researcher at Harvard Medical School and the author of Pandemic Dreams, and MARK BLAGROVE, professor of psychology and director of the Sleep Laboratory at Swansea University in Wales. [from the Radio Times archive]

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