Dream Activity in Narcoleptic Patients During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy

Scarpelli, Serena; Alfonsi, Valentina; D’Anselmo, Anita; Gorgoni, Maurizio; Musetti, Alessandro; Plazzi, Giuseppe; Gennaro, Luigi De; Franceschini, Christian

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.681569

Cited by 12 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Similarly, emotional intensity and nightmare distress were lower during the second wave than during the first wave. These results are consistent with the previous literature on pandemic dreams, confirming that the lockdown period (spring 2020) changed oneiric activity provoking a higher dream production and dreams with greater emotional intensity and nightmare distress [7,[12][13][14][15]17]. However, we revealed that during the second wave the emotional valence of dream experience was more negative than during the total lockdown period.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Additionally, stable characteristics, i.e., age and gender modulated the oneiric frequency. Indeed, during lockdown women showed greater self-reported dream frequency [12,13,15], and older adults reported lower dream rates [12,15,17]. In addition, nightmares increased during the Italian lockdown [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Against this background, a growing number of research papers were showing that the outbreak was associated with relevant psychological symptoms [3,4] and sleep quality was significantly worsened [4][5][6]. Many investigations also explored oneiric activity during the pandemic [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Results from different countries revealed higher dream-recall frequency during the pandemic (e.g., [16]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dreams and Nightmares during the First and Second Wave of the COVID-19 Infection: A Longitudinal Study

et al. 2021

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Recent literature shows that the Coronovirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has provoked significant changes in dreaming. The current study intends to provide an update about dream variable changes during the second wave of COVID-19. A total of 611 participants completed a web survey from December 2020 to January 2021. Statistical comparisons showed that subjects had lower dream-recall frequency, nightmare frequency, lucid-dream frequency, emotional intensity, and nightmare distress during the second than the first wave of the pandemic. Dreams had a higher negative tone during the second than first wave. We revealed significant differences concerning post-traumatic growth, sleep-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and sleep measures between groups obtained as a function of the changes in the oneiric frequency between the first and second waves. We also found significant correlations between qualitative/emotional dream features and COVID-19-related factors (job change, forced quarantine, having COVID-19 infected relatives/friends, or asking for mental health help). Overall, we found that the second wave affected fewer quantitative features of dream activity and there was less emotional intensity. Moreover, we confirmed the relationship between nightmares and the high risk of PTSD when subjects were grouped as a function of the increasing/decreasing frequency. Finally, our findings are partly coherent with the continuity hypothesis between oneiric and waking experiences.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dreams and Nightmares during the First and Second Wave of the COVID-19 Infection: A Longitudinal Study

et al. 2021

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“…Furthermore, changes in the qualitative features of dreams [ 19 , 22 , 23 ] and pandemic-related dream contents [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ] have been described. Different factors seem to influence specific pandemic-related dream changes [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 28 , 30 , 31 , 32 ], including modifications of the sleep pattern, characteristics of daily experience, emotional status, and sociodemographic variables.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Oneiric Activity during and after the COVID-19 Total Lockdown in Italy: A Longitudinal Study

Gorgoni

Scarpelli

Alfonsi

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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A growing body of evidence highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic affected oneiric activity. However, only a few studies have assessed the longitudinal changes in dream phenomenology during different phases of the pandemic, often focused on a limited number of dream variables. The aim of the present study was to provide an exhaustive assessment of dream features during total lockdown (TL) and a post-lockdown (PL) period characterized by eased restrictive measures in Italy. We performed a longitudinal study using a web-based survey to collect demographic, COVID-19 related, clinical, sleep, and dream data at TL and PL. Our final sample included 108 participants. The high frequency of poor sleep quality, anxiety, and depressive symptoms observed during TL remained stable at PL, while sleep latency (t = −4.09; p < 0.001) and PTSD-related disruptive nocturnal behaviors (t = −5.68; p < 0.001) exhibited a reduction at PL. A PL decrease in time spent with digital media was observed (t = −2.77; p = 0.007). We found a strong PL reduction in dream frequency (t = −5.49; p < 0.001), emotional load (t = −2.71; p = 0.008), vividness (t = −4.90; p < 0.001), bizarreness (t = −4.05; p < 0.001), length (t = −4.67; p < 0.001), and lucid dream frequency (t = −2.40; p = 0.018). Fear was the most frequently reported emotion in dreams at TL (26.9%) and PL (22.2%). Only the frequency of specific lockdown-related dream contents exhibited a reduction at PL. These findings highlight that the end of the home confinement had a strong impact on the oneiric activity, in the direction of reduced dream frequency, intensity, and lockdown-related contents. The co-occurrence of such changes with a decline in nocturnal PTSD-related symptoms, sleep latency, and time with digital media suggests an influence of post-traumatic stress levels, lifestyle modifications, and sleep pattern on dream changes during different phases of the pandemic. The stable prevalence of fear in dreams and the large frequency of poor sleep quality, depressive symptoms, and anxiety are probably related to the persistence of many negative consequences of the pandemic. Overall, these results are consistent with the continuity hypothesis of dreams.

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“…However, sleep problems were assessed with only two items of the “Duke health profile” [ 18 ] in this study. Another research [ 19 ], aimed at confirming the effects of the lockdown on oneiric activity [ 14 , 20 , 21 ] using a longitudinal evaluation of daily sleep and dream diaries, found greater ease in falling asleep and reduced nocturnal awakenings, dream, and lucid dream recall frequency in an Italian sample during the first week after the confinement (compared with the last week of lockdown). However, possible parallel changes in emotional status were not measured.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistence of the Effects of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Sleep: A Longitudinal Study

et al. 2021

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The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep have been widely documented, but longitudinal evaluations during different phases of the “COVID-19 era” are needed to disentangle the specific consequences of the r145estrictive measures on sleep variables. The aim of this study was to assess the immediate effect of the lockdown’s end on sleep and sleep-related dimensions in an Italian sample, also considering the stress and depressive symptoms. We used an online survey to longitudinally collect data on sociodemographic, environmental, clinical, sleep, and sleep-related variables in two time points: during and immediately after the lockdown. The final sample included 102 participants. The large prevalence of poor sleep quality, clinically relevant pre-sleep arousal, and depressive symptoms, as well as poor sleep quality and pre-sleep arousal score observed during the lockdown, remained stable after its end. On the other hand, the prevalence of moderate-to-severe event-related stress and intrusive symptom scores exhibited a drastic reduction after the end of home confinement. Both bedtime and rise time were anticipated after the lockdown, while sleep quality exhibited only a trend of post-lockdown sleep disturbance reduction. Our findings point to a reduced stress level (specific for the intrusive symptomatology) after the end of the lockdown and persistence of sleep problems, suggesting two non-mutually exclusive hypotheses: (a) the strict restrictive measures are not the main cause of sleep problems during the pandemic and (b) home confinement induces long-lasting effects on sleep observable after its end, and a longer period of time might be needed to observe an improvement.

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Dream Activity in Narcoleptic Patients During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy

Cited by 12 publications

References 49 publications

Dreams and Nightmares during the First and Second Wave of the COVID-19 Infection: A Longitudinal Study

Dreams and Nightmares during the First and Second Wave of the COVID-19 Infection: A Longitudinal Study

The Oneiric Activity during and after the COVID-19 Total Lockdown in Italy: A Longitudinal Study

Persistence of the Effects of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Sleep: A Longitudinal Study

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