COVID-19 increases likeliness of nightmares, says study

By The Canadian Press

A new international study involving Canadian researchers has found that people who had COVID-19 were more likely to have nightmares.

While people who had COVID-19 and members of a control group both reported more dreams since the beginning of the pandemic, the frequency of nightmares increased by 50 per cent in the group that had COVID-19, compared with 35 per cent in the control group.

The researchers also found that people who had more severe forms of the disease had more bad dreams.


Related article: The reason you’re having weird dreams during the coronavirus pandemic


Those behind the study aren’t entirely sure what led to the increase in nightmares, but the isolation and uncertainty that came with a COVID-19 diagnosis may have played a role.

The study was conducted during the first wave of the pandemic, which may have also contributed to the level of uncertainty, since less was known about the disease.

Charles Morin, a psychology professor at Université Laval who is one of the study’s authors, said the increase in nightmares during the pandemic is higher than increases found by researchers after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

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