Thursday 9 April 2020

Strange dreams lately? Reasons for your “Quarandreams” during the coronavirus pandemic.





No doubt being in self-isolation has been doing some strange things to us. The majority of us spend most of our time now at home. We don’t participate in our usual activities and our routines have shifted. One of the strangest things many people have been noticing recently is a change in their dreams with many taking to Twitter to report on the strange images their brains have been conjuring up during their sleep.



Influencer @snitchery tweets about weird dreams during quarantine


 User @_chismosa_ describes a similar experience

It goes without saying that we're living in strange times. Flights aren't running, supermarkets are limiting the number of shoppers at a time and we have to practice social distancing.


Another phenomenon we can add to the list is the increasing experience of vivid dreams many have been experiencing during the isolation period. Or 'Quarandreams' if you will.

I myself have been having weird dreams. So vivid, like it's really happening. Then to top it all off I wake up and remember every little detail. Seeing "quarantine dream" trending on Twitter was a comfort. I'm not going crazy, other people have been having wild dreams too.

Some have been dreaming of the things they normally do like going to a restaurant for a meal while others dream are more like nightmares, describing spiders with tentacles. Some dreams are more humorous, dreaming of toilet paper made out of N95 masks.

Whatever you've been dreaming of, there are explanations for it. Dream expert Lauri Loewenberg was recently interviewed by Grazia and GQ and was quoted for an article saying "Dreaming is a thinking process and our dreams are a continuation of our thought stream from the day".


She later goes on to explain how going through a stressful experience can be magnifyed by our brains. "When we are going through a stressful time in our life, our dreams will be a metaphor for the stress and magnify it." It's a way of better understanding our situations. Even if they don't neccessarily make sense. So what does my dream mean?

Here are a few explanations from the Lucid Dream Society for common quarandream themes I've seen on Twitter:

  1. Spiders: You're worried about getting emotionally entangled in a situation
  2. Being late (for a test ect): You're concerned about missng out on an opportunity
  3. Seeing old friends: becoming aware you've lost touch with someone. Pretty common feeling right now I'm sure.
  4. Being stalked: You're worried your behaviour may become uncontrolable.
  5. Losing something: You're concerned about how others see you

So now what? If you want to get your dreams back on track here are a few things you can try:
  1. Keeping a dream journal
  2. Social media cleanse
  3. Aromatherapy
  4. Relaxing music
  5. Don't go to sleep hungry

So that's all I've got for you today. Tell me about your dreams in the comments.