The coronavirus has infected nearly 1.4 million people and killed nearly 77,000, including 11,000 in the United States, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University from April 7.
As a result, stay-at-home orders are forcing millions to stay isolated for weeks, store shelves are empty due to hoarding and jobs are laying people off due to lack of customers.
“The coronavirus pandemic has upended nearly every aspect of our waking lives — our routines, our job security, our hopes for the future,” The Cut reported in an April 2 story on pandemic dreams. “And our nights are changing, too: our sleep can be fitful, our dreams darker — and, for many, unusually memorable.”
This is worrisome to health experts because lack of sleep makes us more vulnerable to illnesses, including the coronavirus.
“Scientific evidence is building that sleep has powerful effects on immune functioning,” according to a CDC report. “Studies show that sleep loss can affect different parts of the immune system, which can lead to the development of a wide variety of disorders. … Sleep loss is also related to a higher risk for infection.”
“Pandemic dreams” are being blamed for keeping stressed out Americans up at night during the coronavirus outbreak.
These dreams are described as vivid, weird and occasionally horrifying on Twitter, where examples are being shared via #pandemicdreams. https://t.co/ptdPXujXpR
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) April 7, 2020