If you are struggling to get a good night’s rest during the coronavirus, you are not alone – nearly 77 percent of Americans are suffering from ‘pandemic exhaustion’.
A survey found that anxiety regarding the virus is top on list for why people are losing sleep.
The second most frequent answer was worrying about loved ones, followed by loneliness and then an inconsistent sleep schedule due to the fact that their normal lives have been upended by the disease.
The outbreak has also created a new phenomenon called ‘pandemic dreams,’ which are vivid dreams centered on death and fear about the outbreak.
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If you are struggling to get a good night’s rest during the coronavirus, you are not alone – nearly 77 percent of Americans are suffering from ‘pandemic exhaustion’
More than 340 million Americans have been impacted by the coronavirus in some way.
Many have lost their jobs or have been forced into a lockdown or isolation across the country.
As of Thursday, there have been over 658,000 cases and more than 33,000 deaths reported in the nation.
And anew study investigates how the pandemic is affecting their sleeping patterns.
Commissioned by SleepStandards, the survey interviewed 1,014 Americans about their sleeping patters during the coronavirus, as reported by Study Finds.
A survey found that anxiety regarding the virus is top on list for why people are losing sleep. People are also experiencing ‘pandemic dreams’ that are impacting their sleep
The poll found that 76.8 percent of people’s sleep has been affected since the outbreak began spreading across the US – 56 percent were women and 43 percent were men.
The most consistent answer that is keeping Americans up at night is anxiety, with 48 percent reporting feeling uneasy about the current situation.
Approximately 26 percent said they are worrying about their loved ones and 23 percent reported either being lonely or just having an inconsistent sleep schedule.
Most people (58 percent) said they are sleeping one hour less since the virus spread to the US, but 19 percent noted they are actually sleeping more.
The second most frequent answer was worrying about loved ones, followed by loneliness and then an inconsistent sleep schedule due to the fact that their normal lives have been upended by the disease. People are also having vivid dreams about the coronavirus that are keeping them up at night
Twitter has been flooded with people sharing their experiencing of vivid dreams about the outbreak. They include having their temperatures taken at stores, getting too close to people and bringing the information they heard on the news into their dream world
A new phenomenon has also emerged during the coronavirus – ‘pandemic dreams.’
Twitter has been flooded with people sharing their experiencing of vivid dreams about the outbreak.
They include having their temperatures taken at stores, getting too close to people and bringing the information they heard on the news into their dream world.
One Twitter users shared: ‘ I dreamt that @iamcardib walked up to me in my grocery store and took my temperature to see if I had a fever and she told me I have corona virus?? #pandemicdreams #COVID19.’
While another realized they have to stop watching the news before bed: ‘I thought it was just me having crazy #pandemicdreams and not sleeping well. They’re far worse if I watch the news before bedtime.’
However, experts say these type of dreams are normal and are a way for our brains to cope with stressful information we hear while awake.
More than 340 million Americans have been impacted by the coronavirus in some way. Many have lost their jobs or have been forced into a lockdown or isolation across the country which has over 658,000 cases and more than 33,000 deaths
Sleep medicine expert Dr. Meir Kryger, professor of pulmonary medicine and clinical professor of nursing at Yale School of Medicine, told CNN: ‘This [pandemic] is something that they’ve never experienced before.’
‘And it’s possible that their brains are trying to find a time when things weren’t like that. It’s like when sometimes people are trying to fall asleep and they can’t turn their minds off. They will try to think about a time when things were better.’
Sleep experts suggest we use dreams to play out different scenarios in a safe environment, which would be difficult to accept in real life.
Another theory states that dreams are our way of solving emotional struggles we may be experiencing at the moment.
And vivid ones could be used as a coping mechanism.
WHO says lifting virus lockdowns too quickly could spark ‘deadly resurgence’
A hasty lifting of restrictions imposed to control the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to a fatal resurgence of the new coronavirus, the World Health Organization warned Friday.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was working with countries on ways in which lockdowns could be gradually eased, but said doing so too quickly could be dangerous.
‘I know that some countries are already planning the transition out of stay-at-home restrictions. WHO wants to see restrictions lifted as much as anyone,’ he told a virtual press conference in Geneva.
‘At the same time, lifting restrictions too quickly could lead to a deadly resurgence. The way down can be as dangerous as the way up if not managed properly.
‘WHO is working with affected countries on strategies for gradually and safely easing restrictions.’
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, pictured during a news conference, has warned that lifting coronavirus restrictions too quickly could result in a resurgence
The global death toll has now passed 100,000, and more than 1.6 million infections have been recorded globally since the virus first emerged in China in December.
Tedros welcomed signs that the spread of the virus was slowing in some of the hardest-hit countries in Europe – namely Spain, Italy, Germany and France.
But he also warned of an ‘alarming acceleration’ of the virus in some countries, highlighting Africa, where he said the virus was beginning to spread to rural areas.
‘We are now seeing clusters of cases and community spread in more than 16 countries’ on the continent, he said.
‘We anticipate severe hardship for already overstretched health systems, particularly in rural areas, which normally lack the resources of those in cities.’
Tedros also sent his best wishes to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been moved out of intensive care as he battles the coronavirus.