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.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic affects mental health and sleep, resulting in frequent nightmares. Therefore, identifying factors associated with nightmare frequency is important, as it can indicate mental health issues. The study aimed to investigate increases in nightmare frequency comparing the pre-pandemic and pandemic period, and identify its risk factors. Further, the mediating role of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms between the pandemic and nightmares is explored. Patients and Methods: For this cross-sectional survey data were obtained via self-rating online survey (ICOSS: details in Partinen et al, 2021), which was open to anyone older than 18 years. The final volunteer sample consisted of 15,292 participants, divided according to their nightmare frequency (high: ≥1-2 nights/week; low: <1-2 nights/week). A total of 9100 participants were excluded if answers on variables of interest were missing or receiving rewards for participation. Chi-square tests identified changes of nightmare frequency. Predictors of high nightmare frequency were assessed using logistic regression and presented as Odds Ratios. Post-hoc mediation models were used to investigate the role of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Results: The mean age was 41.63 (SD=16.55) with 64.05% females. High nightmare frequency increased significantly from 13.24% to 22.35% during the pandemic. Factors associated with it included self-reported PTSS (OR=2.11), other mental disorders and various sleep disorders or problems. Financial burden due to the pandemic, confinement, having had COVID-19, and work situation during the pandemic were associated with nightmare frequency, those relations were partly mediated through PTSS. Conclusion: Our results display the pandemic influence on nightmare frequency, which in turn connects to multiple mental health and sleep factors. These relations were partly mediated through PTSS. The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have caused traumatization of a substantial proportion of society. Health care workers should consider nightmares in their screening routines, as it might indicate PTSS and/or other mental and sleep disorders.

Dreams and nightmares during the pandemic.

The pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had a huge impact on public mental health. This was also reflected in dreams. Not only did people start to remember more dreams, but dream content changed as themes like sickness, confinement, and-in the English-speaking world-even bugs began to dominate. This also led to an increase in nightmare frequency. There are various factors that contributed to this change in the dream landscape. Some people have started to sleep more and hereby spend more time in REM sleep, which is known to increase dream recall and further lead to bizarre and vivid dreams. On the other hand, stress and poor mental health had an impact on sleep, and sleep quality thus dropped in many individuals. Poor sleep quality can also lead to an increase in dream recall. Dreams are known to regulate mood, so the rise in dreams and the change in dream content could also reflect a reaction to the overall rise in stress and decline in mental health. Recent studies have shown that as the pandemic progresses, further changes in mental health, dream recall, and dream content arise, but data are still scarce. Further research could help understand the impact the pandemic still has on mental health and dreams, and how this impact is changing over the course of the pandemic.

Dreams and nightmares during the pandemic Träume und Albträume während der Pandemie

The pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had a huge impact on public mental health. This was also reflected in dreams. Not only did people start to remember more dreams, but dream content changed as themes like sickness, confinement, and—in the English-speaking world—even bugs began to dominate. This also led to an increase in nightmare frequency. There are various factors that contributed to this change in the dream landscape. Some people have started to sleep more and hereby spend more time in REM sleep, which is known to increase dream recall and further lead to bizarre and vivid dreams. On the other hand, stress and poor mental health had an impact on sleep, and sleep quality thus dropped in many individuals. Poor sleep quality can also lead to an increase in dream recall. Dreams are known to regulate mood, so the rise in dreams and the change in dream content could also reflect a reaction to the overall rise in stress and decline in mental health. Recent studies have shown that as the pandemic progresses, further changes in mental health, dream recall, and dream content arise, but data are still scarce. Further research could help understand the impact the pandemic still has on mental health and dreams, and how this impact is changing over the course of the pandemic.

COVID-19 lockdown - Are Austrians finally able to compensate their sleep debt?

In order to control the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Austria was put under national lockdown beginning on March 13, 2020, forcing its inhabitants to live in home confinement. The aim of this study was to measure the impact of the lockdown on sleep and dream behavior in Austrian citizens. 77 participants (50 women, M age = 40.88 years, S D age  = 13.72) filled in an online questionnaire during the lockdown between April and May 2020. Sleep quality, sleep quantity, daytime sleepiness, and nightmare frequency were assessed and analyzed in relation to gender, burnout risk, perfectionism and chronotype. Results demonstrated higher subjective sleep quality during lockdown, especially in women. Daytime sleepiness was significantly lower during the lockdown period while sleep duration did not change. Results suggest that sleep issues are less prominent during the COVID-19 lockdown but point to the importance of prevention and treatment of sleep disorders aside from the pandemic. Findings indicate the need for more flexibility in social time structures to relieve those managing tasks from multiple areas of interests such as working mothers. Generalization of results is limited due to small sample size, self-selection bias, and purely subjective measures.