Dreaming About the Pandemic: A Thematic Content Analysis of COVID-19-Related Dreams During the Outbreak in Portugal

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of people around the world, altering sleep patterns and dream experiences. Since dream content is associated with waking-life experiences, one would expect pandemic-related concerns to pervade dreams. Building upon previous research efforts, this study aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on dream function and to address potential variability in dream content according to different pandemic experiences. The survey protocol included questions on sociodemographic information, pandemic-related experiences, impact on personal social networks, perceived negative impact on several areas of life, sleep patterns, and dream experiences/reports. A total of 1,020 participants responded to the online survey questionnaire, and 177 COVID-19-related dreams were reported. A thematic content analysis was performed to codify participants' dream reports. Chi-square tests addressed possible relations between dream content and pandemic-related experiences. Participants who dreamed about the COVID-19 pandemic also tended to report decreased sleep duration, increased frequency of nocturnal awakenings, and increased frequency of nightmare recall. The most frequent dream themes were sickness, death, inefficiency, and work-related concern. Being a health professional was associated with inefficiency and work-related concern themes. Inefficiency dreams were also associated with the death of a significant person. There was a strong association between the pandemic impact on employment and the being chased theme. Data supports the notion that dreams reflect waking-life anxieties and concerns. Therefore, dream content analysis could assist in identifying vulnerable/high-risk groups during collective crises and offer valuable insight into individuals' psychological state in psychotherapeutic interventions.