Mood, sleep quality, and dreaming during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has strongly impacted the world. Recent research findings have shown its significant impact on sleep habits, dreaming, and psychological well-being. In a sample of 329 adult Italian subjects, we investigated the following four factors during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: sociodemographic and COVID-19 related variables, mood (using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale), sleep (using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and oneiric activity (using the Mannheim Dream Questionnaire and the Most Recent Dream instrument). Results indicated that participants presented moderate levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as poor sleep quality. Results also indicated that the participants living in regions subject to the strictest quarantine/isolation measures, as well as participants whose work habits have been negatively affected because of the restrictive measures, reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as strong effects on their dreams and nightmares. These results applied also to participants directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic who, in addition, reported poor sleep quality. Finally, as to the participants’ most recent dreams, results of the Thematic Analysis of Elementary Contexts showed that dreams seem to be centered on both pleasant memories linked to experiences that are now forbidden as well as on stressful and dangerous situations. In sum, the findings of this study indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic, understood as a contextual, prolonged, and traumatic event, significantly affects people’s oneiric lives, as well as their psychological well-being.