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> Living through the coronavirus pandemic might be changing that due to heightened isolation and stress, influencing the content of dreams and allowing some dre

> Living through the coronavirus pandemic might be changing that due to heightened isolation and stress, influencing the content of dreams and allowing some dreamers to remember more of them. A related issue: insomnia. About once per week in the past month I get up around 3 or 4 (often after a vivid dream) and can't get back to sleep as my mind starts racing, not specifically about COVID but about other things going on that have been impacted by COVID, such as kids and work. After about an hour I give up, get my laptop, and start to do some work. The dreams that I am able to remember are more vivid, and go beyond the reoccurring dreams that I've had for years. One recent dream: I am in a British manor house, being guided by the owner or host to look at some displays of art or very old, ornate machines. At one point he started singing in an almost operatic voice, but I can't remember the song. While I haven't ever been to such a place, I was reading about such a house in Wikipedia the day before (Apethorpe, the favored retreat of Charles I) but I did not know what the contents of that house were, or where my dream brain came up with displays of art or ornate machinery.

heavenlyblue 7y ago
IMO it’s a typical sign of onsetting chronic stress. At first it makes you feel more fresh, you start sleeping less and thinking more. Then half a year later you realise you haven’t slept well for a really long time. Truly negative sides become more noticeable much later when it’s too late. Over the years I have tried: meditation, trying to keep my mind off, going for a walk in the middle of the night, eating, not eating in the evening, working, drinking, weed. The only thing that actually worked is just staying in bed with my eyes closed. No, you don’t sleep - but you still rest mentally by letting your concentration wander off.
- op00to 7y ago
  Funny, weed really helped me but despite being a legal medical patient I can’t leave my house to get more!
- xscott 7y ago
  > Truly negative sides become more noticeable much later when it’s too late. I slept poorly for years, so I suspect I can guess some of these, but I'm curious which side effects you meant. It's hard for me to know what negative changes are a result from normal aging and which wouldn't be there if I had managed my sleeping better.
moneytide1 7y ago
This is exactly how my sleep schedule has evolved as well. And last night I just happened to have one of these vivid dreams described by the article. Then I wake up and see the NatGeo article posted. Coincidence? No, I think everyone that participates in society has a rhythm that has been interrupted for the first time in a long time (many decades, see Eric Weinstein "Great Nap"), and the result is all of our cerebral hardware activating in the same way in order to make sense of this new normal. We are told it is temporary, but 3-4 weeks is required to form new habits, and the disruption has lasted that long for me. On top of all that, after waking at 4am (as you also have been), I look at my phone. Nothing. Then not 30 seconds later, someone replies to one of my YouTube comments on a battery chemistry video. (Bear in mind I am fresh out of a rather nightmarish vision, which from what I could tell was basically an assimilation of a lifetime of memories of every movie and video game situation ive ever experienced where there are hordes of invasive aliens or zombies. The implication of the scenarii was that I had access to plenty of guns and ammunition, but opted to go without because I did not think the situation was that bad. Then I realized it was perhaps worth worrying about and regretted being without a weapon, at which point I noticed all the invaders being attracted to a local heat source where they were destroyed, like Lost In Space (1998) where Joey from Friends overdrives the fusion core to distract and destroy the horde). So after I read the comment I am immediately wide awake and completely engaged with the parent thread and video. I get onto an abnormally focused research vector for a couple hours (no need for coffee), and buy a few chemicals to experiment with. Spent a few hours before the weird REM trip in a very long video chat with friends from way back in high school. I suppose nostalgia is like an antidepressant at this point (antidepressant implies sweeping the dirt under a rug, which makes the room look cleaner but what made it dirty is still in the room)
rcconf 7y ago
I’ve been having sleep issues lately. The only thing that consistently works is making the room very cold. I’ve tried meditation and less computer time and it didn’t really help, only a colder room did. If you’re having sleep trouble give it a shot.
- kjsingh 7y ago
  making the room a bit cooler and getting a warm blanket.. might give a cozy and relaxing feeling

heavenlyblue 7y ago

IMO it’s a typical sign of onsetting chronic stress. At first it makes you feel more fresh, you start sleeping less and thinking more. Then half a year later you realise you haven’t slept well for a really long time. Truly negative sides become more noticeable much later when it’s too late. Over the years I have tried: meditation, trying to keep my mind off, going for a walk in the middle of the night, eating, not eating in the evening, working, drinking, weed. The only thing that actually worked is just staying in bed with my eyes closed. No, you don’t sleep - but you still rest mentally by letting your concentration wander off.

op00to 7y ago
Funny, weed really helped me but despite being a legal medical patient I can’t leave my house to get more!
xscott 7y ago
> Truly negative sides become more noticeable much later when it’s too late. I slept poorly for years, so I suspect I can guess some of these, but I'm curious which side effects you meant. It's hard for me to know what negative changes are a result from normal aging and which wouldn't be there if I had managed my sleeping better.

moneytide1 7y ago

This is exactly how my sleep schedule has evolved as well. And last night I just happened to have one of these vivid dreams described by the article. Then I wake up and see the NatGeo article posted. Coincidence? No, I think everyone that participates in society has a rhythm that has been interrupted for the first time in a long time (many decades, see Eric Weinstein "Great Nap"), and the result is all of our cerebral hardware activating in the same way in order to make sense of this new normal. We are told it is temporary, but 3-4 weeks is required to form new habits, and the disruption has lasted that long for me. On top of all that, after waking at 4am (as you also have been), I look at my phone. Nothing. Then not 30 seconds later, someone replies to one of my YouTube comments on a battery chemistry video. (Bear in mind I am fresh out of a rather nightmarish vision, which from what I could tell was basically an assimilation of a lifetime of memories of every movie and video game situation ive ever experienced where there are hordes of invasive aliens or zombies. The implication of the scenarii was that I had access to plenty of guns and ammunition, but opted to go without because I did not think the situation was that bad. Then I realized it was perhaps worth worrying about and regretted being without a weapon, at which point I noticed all the invaders being attracted to a local heat source where they were destroyed, like Lost In Space (1998) where Joey from Friends overdrives the fusion core to distract and destroy the horde). So after I read the comment I am immediately wide awake and completely engaged with the parent thread and video. I get onto an abnormally focused research vector for a couple hours (no need for coffee), and buy a few chemicals to experiment with. Spent a few hours before the weird REM trip in a very long video chat with friends from way back in high school. I suppose nostalgia is like an antidepressant at this point (antidepressant implies sweeping the dirt under a rug, which makes the room look cleaner but what made it dirty is still in the room)

rcconf 7y ago

I’ve been having sleep issues lately. The only thing that consistently works is making the room very cold. I’ve tried meditation and less computer time and it didn’t really help, only a colder room did. If you’re having sleep trouble give it a shot.

kjsingh 7y ago
making the room a bit cooler and getting a warm blanket.. might give a cozy and relaxing feeling