Why the Coronavirus Is Giving Us Strange Dreams

Please refresh the page to get the latest updates.

Materials Daily News

Advanced

Exercise 1

Vocabulary

psychologist

Noun

saɪˈkɑːlədʒɪst

a scientist who studies human behavior and the brain

It can take almost ten years to become a fully trained psychologist.

According to psychologists, checking work emails at home is a common source of stress.

terrorist

Adjective

ˈterərɪst

using violence or the threat of violence for political purposes

After the terrorist attacks, it was common to see armed soldiers on patrol in the streets.

People were shaken by the news of the terrorist attack.

Scores of people died in the terrorist attack.

trauma

Noun

ˈtrɔːmə

a very painful or upsetting experience; a mental health condition caused by a very painful or upsetting experience

They still haven't recovered from the trauma of being mugged.

He's showing no signs of trauma following the attack.

frontline

Adjective

ˈfrʌntlaɪn

relating to or involved in the forefront of an activity, action, etc.

The pandemic has taken a toll on frontline workers, especially doctors and police officers.

The documentary tells the story of frontline troops during World War I.

post-traumatic stress disorder

Noun

ˌpəʊst trəˌmætɪk ˈstres dɪsɔːrdər

a mental health condition caused by a frightening or shocking experience (PTSD)

It's common for former soldiers to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

nightmare

Noun

ˈnaɪtmɛr

a scary or unpleasant dream

Watching scary movies can give you nightmares.

She often has nightmares about her childhood.

My wife had a terrible nightmare last night.

Exercise 2

Article

AI Generated Audio––:–– / ––:––

Why the Coronavirus Is Giving Us Strange Dreams

Many people have reported that they are having very strange dreams during the coronavirus pandemic, and experts say there are good reasons for this.

Dr. Deirdre Barrett, a psychologist from Harvard University, has been using an online survey to collect records of people's dreams, and she says our dreams are being affected by fear and changes in how we sleep.

Barrett knows a lot about how world events can affect dreams: she studied dreams after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and says trauma is again changing how people dream.

She told NBC that doctors, nurses and other frontline workers are reporting dreams involving very stressful situations, like not being able to save patients. But she says that for other people, because the virus is invisible, they are dreaming of other things like natural disasters to represent it.

However, she said that it isn't just fear giving people more strange dreams. Americans are generally sleeping more during lockdown, and they aren't using alarm clocks as much in the morning, which Barrett says makes it more likely that they are dreaming right before they wake up.

And it's not just Americans having unusual dreams. A survey by the Lyon Neuroscience Research Center in France found that the coronavirus has caused a 35% increase in people being able to remember dreams, and 15% of respondents said they were having more bad dreams.

Another study supported by the Italian Association of Sleep Medicine has found that Italians in lockdown are having bad dreams similar to those had by people with post-traumatic stress disorder.

So how can people have better dreams during the pandemic? Barrett said that one thing people can do is think of something nice they'd like to dream about before they go to bed. It might not work every time, but it can help change a nightmare into something a little more pleasant.