Here at Natural Sleep Mattress of Asheville, we find the subject of dreams fascinating. We’re not talking about dreaming of a wonderful new mattress (although you can find an amazing selection of luxurious, natural and organic mattresses at out Asheville store). No, we are talking about the kind of dreams that fill your head while you are asleep. 

We are not the only ones who are intrigued by dreams. There are loads of researchers studying what goes on with the brain while we are dreaming. And, with the advent of Covid-19, there are now a number of researchers looking at how living through a pandemic affects your dreams. 

Not So Sweet Dreams

Deirdre Barret is an assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Her specialty is studying the kind of dreams that people who have suffered some kind of trauma – like veterans with PTSD and the first responders who were on the scene in New York on 9/11. 

Not surprisingly, Barret was curious about the kind of dreams we are all having as the threat of Covid-19 continues to hover over us. She set up an online survey that allows people to share their dreams. (She has already heard from thousands of people, but at this point, the survey is still active if you want to share your dream experiences.) 

She reports seeing clear patterns emerge. “I’m noticing big clusters of dream content. One is very literally about getting the virus,” she told The Harvard Gazette. “Then there are metaphors for the virus — there’s a big sub-cluster of bug dreams. After 9/11, I saw metaphors as well as literal dreams about those events. But I didn’t see bug dreams after 9/11. And I’ve just seen dozens and dozens and dozens of every kind of bug imaginable attacking the dreamer: There are swarms of every kind of flying insect you’ve ever heard of; there are armies of cockroaches racing at the dreamer; there are masses of wriggling worms; there were some grasshoppers with vampire fangs; there are bed bugs, stink bugs.”

So, if you’re lying on your mattress in Asheville and dreaming of bugs, you can at least draw comfort in knowing you’re not alone. (And, if you’re lying on your mattress in Asheville thinking that you really need to get a new mattress, all of us at the Natural Sleep mattress store in Asheville would love to help you!)

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