Coronavirus: 'To Sleep, Perchance To Dream' : 1A You might be worried about contracting COVID-19 or passing it to someone else. That anxiety shows up in our dreams in different forms. Dream analyst Lauri Loewenberg says that being aware of the particular type of stress you're seeing in your dreams will help you understand your emotions.

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Coronavirus: 'To Sleep, Perchance To Dream'

Coronavirus: 'To Sleep, Perchance To Dream'

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A man takes a nap on the Bryant Park Lawn in midtown New York City. TIMOTHY A. CLARY/TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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TIMOTHY A. CLARY/TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

A man takes a nap on the Bryant Park Lawn in midtown New York City.

TIMOTHY A. CLARY/TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

With the COVID-19 pandemic still very much a concern for people around the world, we've been covering the many ways it has affected our lives. However, we never would have guessed that coronavirus would change our dreams.

And yet, we've heard from many listeners who are experiencing an increase in dreams that they remember—in some cases, very vivid dreams. Dreams about all kinds of things—some pandemic-related, and some seemingly not.

It made us wonder, how has the pandemic been affecting our dreams? What does the science of dreams and sleep tell us about how we're reacting to COVID-19? And is there anything we can or should be doing to sleep soundly under existential stress?

To discuss these questions, we spoke to Dan Gartenberg, sleep scientist and founder of Sonic Sleep Coach, and Lauri Loewenberg, dream analyst and author of "Dream On It," a book about dream interpretation.

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