Quarantine, Covid and Lucid Dreams.

I was listening to the latest episode of Staying In with Emily and Kumail, and Emily mentioned an article she read about how folks are describing an increase in nightmares and lucid dreams during quarantine/Covid-19.

I internally screamed, "Me too!"

I would describe them as bat-shit and insanely detailed. Last night I was trying to escape a cult. Every night, a new insanity. It was a very detailed dream. It started with some type of summer-camp social event, and through suspect weaning of the crowd then turned into tests of fortitude and odd psychological games and ended in some type of swearing in ceremony for what I took to be lieutenants (people to recruit other people). I got help getting out of the ceremony, though a cult member who wanted to get out. Then my brother and mom were shown to me as hostages. I hugged them and whispered "this is a cult, be careful, stay together," and then made my way out of the underground layer to fight my way out near the top. Then, as I made my getaway, a large white vintage Oldsmobile made its way to me, driving into the field I was in, and inside it was Tina Fey and driving, Margo Martindale (obviously).

I then had words with Fey about her getting me into this mess and if she was somehow involved in the cult I would "choke her out." She was very apologetic and told me she knew of two other girls who had died.

LOL: "I swear to god Tina if you're involved in this I'm gonna choke you the fuck out."

What fun!

I've long thought many of my dreams could be turned into stories or movies.

Anyway, Emily and Kumail are beyond adorable. They're funny and honest and their podcast has been a god-send during working from home/the quarantine. They even have a rom-com about how they met and fell in love, called The Big Sick. I recommend it, it's great. It's almost too much! Real adorable!

The article is over on the Smithsonian Magazine online, here are some highlights:

... people’s day-to-day lives are becoming paired with an increasingly strange and vivid dreamscape. And a growing group is experiencing insomnia, an inability to fall asleep... Both seem to be symptoms of stress, part of the shared anxiety surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Lyon Neuroscience Research Center study has found a 35 percent increase in dream recall and a 15 percent increase in negative dreams.

“We normally use REM sleep and dreams to handle intense emotions, particularly negative emotions. Obviously, this pandemic is producing a lot of stress and anxiety.”

There's more over on The Guardian about vivid dreams during this weird time.

Researchers are also using i dream of covid, if you'd like to share yours.