How COVID-19 Can Cause Insomnia and Nightmares - And What to Do About It!

Why It’s “Normal” To Have Nightmares Right Now

It can be challenging these days to find hope in a world where everything seems so uncertain. As one of my clients put it—it’s not just Schrodinger’s cat, it’s Schrodinger’s world.

This uncertainty and worry have led to many clients showing up in therapy with symptoms of trauma exposure when they have not otherwise experienced any trauma. This may be happening to you as well.

Whether or not we experience things personally, viruses, fires, political drama, global climate change, protests, riots, and other recent events can lead to feelings and behavior that resemble PTSD. You might find yourself feeling jumpy or detached. You might find you have difficulty concentrating, are unusually irritable, or startle more easily. You might find yourself obsessed with any and all news about COVID-19, or you may studiously avoid the topic all together.

One of the changes that many people are experiencing is an increase in nightmares. Sometimes these nightmares are expressly COVID-19-related, but often they are metaphors of themes related to pandemic trauma. Themes of danger, helplessness, hopelessness, and being trapped are all increasing in our subconscious dream life.

What Do Science and History Tell Us About Nightmares?

Historically, widespread effects on dreaming were documented after the San Francisco earthquake in 1989 and also after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in 2001, but this is the first time a global surge in dreaming has been documented, and it is the first time one has been documented in the age of social media. These factors make this wave of nightmares both more widespread and more potent.

A recent article in Scientific American by Tore Nielsen,  professor of psychiatry and director of the Dream and Nightmare Laboratory at the Université de Montréal, elegantly summarized the current research (mostly as yet unpublished) about the effect that living in a COVID-19 world has on our dreams. We know that 29% of Americans are recalling more dreams than they usually do, and 37% of people are having pandemic dreams with threatening themes.

The research supports the hypothesis that there are 3 factors contributing to pandemic nightmares:

·      Disrupted Sleep Schedules

·      Threats of Contagion and Social Distancing Impeding Emotional Regulation

·      Social Media Amplification Effect

Let’s examine each factor to see how you can mitigate the effect of COVID-19 on your dreams and reduce your anxiety in general.

Disrupted Sleep Schedules

At first it seemed like a good thing—the lack of a commute after the lockdown gave people the ability to sleep in longer before beginning their workday. Indeed, at the beginning of the pandemic, time asleep in the U.S. increased 20%.

However, longer sleep time means more dreams, more recall of dreams overall, and more vivid and emotional dreams. In addition, if we are sleeping beyond our actual sleep needs, REM sleep also increases proportionately.

At the same time, many people have been reporting difficulty going to sleep, or staying asleep. This often leads to sleeping later in the morning after they finally get back to sleep. Sleeping later in the morning is also problematic—REM sleep is more prevalent and intense later in the morning, and dreams are correspondingly more bizarre.

What can I do?

Now more than ever, we need to learn about sleep hygiene! There are many excellent articles about the practical things you can do to increase your chance of success in getting a good night’s sleep. Some of the top suggestions are: stick to a schedule, even on weekends; turn off screens at least an hour before bedtime; use your bed only for sleeping and sex; keep your room very dark and somewhat cool; don’t exercise or eat too close to bedtime.

Another thing that is important to know, is that lying quietly in bed is very restorative for your body and mind. Sometimes just knowing this simple fact will help you stay calm enough to fall asleep, but even if it doesn’t, you can rest assured that lying quietly is a healthy thing to do!

Overwhelmed Emotional Regulation

REM sleep and dreaming help us solve problems and regulate emotions. Dreams often use metaphoric imagery to help us consolidate memories and create a coherent ongoing narrative of our lives. Professor Nielsen explains, “The late Ernest Hartmann, a Boston-area dream and nightmare research pioneer who studied dreams after the 9/11 attacks, stipulated that such contextualization best helps people adapt when it weaves together old and new experiences. Successful integration produces a more stable memory system that is resilient to future traumas.”

What Can I Do?

This is where I find that specialized techniques like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) can be so helpful. EMDR is specifically designed to integrate memories in ways that can result in a greater sense of calm and meaning. Hypnosis and somatic processing are some of the other techniques that can also address this issue on the subconscious level.

You can find a therapist who uses these techniques by using the filters in a therapy directory like Therapy Den. Check the “More Filters/Treatment Techniques” tab for therapists who are trained in EMDR, hypnosis, or somatic therapy.

You can also learn emotional regulation techniques from books like this one about Polyvagal Theory, which gives you exercises that will help you understand how you switch from calm to anxious, and how to monitor and regulate those changes. It’s not easy to learn how to do this on your own, but if you are persistent you can figure it out!

Social Media Amplification

Ah, social media—here is yet another way it enters our lives to disturb our peace of mind!

We know that social media is specifically designed to be addicting. Many dollars and some of the top engineering minds were enlisted to make social media endlessly compelling. And even though social media amplifies our anxiety, we can’t stop ourselves from checking it!

What Can I Do?

You can learn ways to reduce your use of social media for your own peace of mind. Here is an article with some practical suggestions on how to do this, and another article with excellent ideas on how to take back control of your smart phone so that it is set up to reflect your person values, rather than those of Mark Zuckerberg et. al.

At the end of the day, there is only so much we can do about a world that, for many of us, is increasingly terrifying. But there are tools and strategies we can use to face current and future challenges with grace and hope. And learning these methods will continue to help us long after COVID-19 is just something we remember in our distant past.

Could You Use Some Extra Help with Your Anxiety and Nightmares?

I specialize in treating anxiety, and I am trained in Attachment-Focused EMDR. If you are struggling with anxiety and nightmares, give me a call at 323-999-1537, or shoot me an email at amy@thrivetherapyla.com, to set up your FREE consultation. I look forward to talking to you soon!