Having not so sweet dreams during quarantine? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

We’ve all seen the tweets from confused individuals asking if anyone else is having vivid dreams and we’ve all probably received a few texts from our friends describing in detail their bizarre dreams from the night before. So fear not if your mind is exploring unique places while you sleep, it’s happening to plenty of other people too. 

According to Time, increased anxiety can lead to more negative content in dreams. Coronavirus has undisputedly created a tremendous amount of anxiety and stress for people all over the world, so having strange dreams, as a result, makes sense.

The New York Times explains how dreaming takes place during R.E.M. sleep when higher levels of activity occur in the sleeping brain. R.E.M. periods lengthen the longer someone is sleeping, resulting in people who get more sleep experiencing more vibrant dreams. 

For most of us, quarantine has been a great way to catch up on sleep and clock in some extra hours. Junior student Peri Hochman is part of that camp, resulting in her dreams being strange lately. 

“At the start of quarantine I would go to sleep around 4 a.m. and not wake up until 1 p.m., which was unhealthy,” Hochman said. “My sleep schedule was so off, and I had the most dramatic and weird dreams because of it.”

Hochman believes her inconsistent sleep schedule is responsible for her crazy dreams. To combat it, she started going to bed at a consistent earlier time each night. 

“I’ve been trying to make more of a sleep schedule,” Hochman said. “Now I try and be asleep by 12:30 a.m., and I’ve been setting my alarm for 9:30 a.m. so hopefully I’ll get used to it.”

Some of our very own Elon seniors are familiar with strange dreams too. 

Senior student Samantha Penman has been experiencing lots of stress dreams since quarantine started. 

“When quarantine first started I wasn’t really sleeping through the night at all,” Penman said. “I already have issues with sleeping because of my anxiety and the unknown of quarantine and the virus made that way worse.”

Penman has been trying to stick to a sleeping schedule to mediate the problem.

“I’ve been trying to keep myself in a routine of getting up earlier like I do at school,” Penman said. “Now I sleep through the night, but still have stress dreams about getting the virus or coming in contact with people who have it.”

Catherine Keating is a current senior who is also experiencing weird dreams during quarantine. 

“I won’t go to bed until around 4 a.m. because I’m wide awake watching TV shows or on TikTok for hours,” Keating said. “Then I’ll have weird quests or vivid adventures in my dreams with people I know in familiar places.”

Keating’s sleep schedule has also been altered due to quarantine and she finds herself going to bed much later and waking up a lot later. As a result, she feels more tired throughout the day. 

“I’m feeding into the bad habit of going to bed extremely late and sleeping in because I have fewer responsibilities,” Keating said. “My sleep schedule is definitely horrible right now and it will be hard to get back to normal when all of this ends.”

Keating was quarantining with her family in Greenwich before coming back to Elon. She’s found being back at school has helped her sleep better. 

“Being at home was worse but now being back at school I feel a lot more relaxed,” Keating said. “And my dreams haven’t been as crazy because I don’t think we feel the severity of the pandemic here, compared to how it was at home.” 

Maintain a regular sleep schedule for the remainder of quarantine to avoid any weird dreams!