Coronavirus Update: Having Weird Dreams Lately? You're Not Alone
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- If you've been having weird dreams during the coronavirus pandemic, you're not alone.
CBS2's Ali Bauman spoke to her mom, who has been having bizarre dreams almost every night for the past few weeks.
"I'm pushing this old man in a wheelchair, just running through the city and not knowing where to go," her mom said.
"Do you normally get weird dreams?" Bauman asked.
"No," her mom said.
She's not the only one with a newfound nightly imagination.
Google searches for the phrase "why am I having weird dreams lately" have spiked in the U.S. this month and the hashtag #PandemicDreams has been tweeted thousands of times.
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
- State-By-State, County-By-County Resources
- Distance Learning Tools for Teachers & Parents
- Ask Dr. Max Your Questions
- Tips For Avoiding Psychological Isolation
- Talking To Kids About Anxiety
- How To Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer
- Complete Coronavirus Coverage
- CDC Latest Updates
"A weird dream is kind of a reflection of the surreal times that we're living in," psychotherapist Dr. Laurie Nadel said.
Nadel specializes in trauma and sleep. She says this phenomenon is a normal brain's reaction to the abnormal situation we're all in.
"When we have a big event like COVID-19 where life itself is being threatened, people tend to have dreams that are disturbing ... and generally feeling unsafe because our model of the world has now been kind of shaken up," Nadel said.
Experts say everyone has dreams every night but the better we sleep, the less we remember. Think of it like this: the worse sleep you get, the closer you are to being awake and the more vividly you remember your dreams.
"When someone is under stress or is anxious, they produce chemicals which make their sleep very unstable," said Dr. Meir Kryger, a professor of sleep medicine at Yale University.
He says while dreams are not messages to be interpreted, the devastation from this pandemic can certainly seep in.
"You're gonna start to incorporate some of the things that you're witnessing under the daytime into your dream," Kryger said.
CORONAVIRUS: NY Health Dept. | NY Call 1-(888)-364-3065 | NYC Health Dept. | NYC Call 311, Text COVID to 692692 | NJ Health Dept. | NJ Call 1-(800)-222-1222 or 211, Text NJCOVID to 898211 | CT Health Dept. | CT Call 211
Experts advise try to unplug and meditate an hour before bedtime.
"Exhale any tension or stress," Nadel said.
Doctors say most of our imaginations should go back to normal once reality does.
For now, just take it one night at a time.