Fever Dreams When Sick: What Do They Mean?

Medically reviewed by Smita Patel, MD

Fever dreams are usually weird or bizarre dreams that can occur when you have a fever. Fever dreams often have a negative tone to them and may leave you feeling uncomfortable or unsettled when you wake up.

The exact cause of fever dreams is unknown, but research suggests that how fever affects the brain, plus the experience of having a fever itself, may impact what you dream about with a fever. Because of how disturbing some fever dreams can be, it makes sense to want to avoid them.

While there’s no single way to totally prevent a fever dream from happening, treating the fever itself may help reduce the chances of them happening.

Fever Dreams: What Are They?

Fever dreams are often strange or uncomfortable dreams that people with a fever can experience while sleeping. Feelings of discomfort or unpleasantness may linger after waking up from a fever dream.

While research on fever dreams is limited, bizarreness and a negative tone appear to be common themes among fever dreams. The fact that strange dreams appear to be a common experience among people with a fever has led researchers to believe that fever symptoms may be more complex than just physical symptoms like chills, sweats, or tiredness.

Fever dreams may also reflect the experience of being sick with a fever, such as feeling hot, which may make them feel more real.

Symptoms of Fever Dreams

Researchers have found that fever dreams tend to be much more bizarre and emotionally intense—usually negatively so—than normal dreams. Findings from one study suggested that the bizarreness of fever dreams is mostly due to the fact that fever dreams often contain some sort of spatial distortion, such as:

• Moving walls

• Creatures with oversized arms and legs

• Metal spheres that move like an organism

• Blackness spreading slowly

• Gigantic insects

Although less common than the bizarreness of fever dreams, the same study found that some people experience some sort of threat in their fever dream, such as from:

• Dogs

• Insects

• Stones

• Terrorists

• Large spheres

Some study participants also reported symptoms of illness in their fever dreams, including:

• Respiratory problems

• Pain

• Vertigo

• Distorted vision

In addition to the bizarreness of fever dreams, another study found that fever dreams tend to contain more health-related topics and feelings of being hot.

For example, one study participant described their dream with an inescapable feeling of being extremely hot, saying, “I was in my room sleeping and awakened because my body felt as if it was blazing. I tried to uncover my body and to drink something, but I felt too weak to do so. My mother came in, but she could not help either. I tried to move and pull off the bedspread, but it didn’t work. The most intense feelings were weakness and helplessness.”

Another study participant described heat as well as being threatened in their fever dream, saying, “I see a red glow in the corner of my eyes, and I turn around to see an enormous lava ball coming down the mountain heading toward the city and me. I am running faster and faster, the air grows hotter and hotter, the lava ball is changing directions in pursuing me and does not affect the houses. It seems the lava ball has the task of getting me.”

What Causes the Strange Nature of Fever Dreams?

The exact cause of strange fever dreams is unknown. However, researchers believe that high body temperature from fever affects how the brain functions during sleep—that is, an overheated brain may not function properly and may, therefore, cause more bizarre dreams.

In addition, the intense negative emotions found in many fever dreams may reflect having negative emotions from being sick. In other words, being sick may cause you to have more negative thoughts and emotions, which can then show up in your dreams.

This finding supports the continuity hypothesis of dreaming—that your dreams reflect thoughts and experiences from when you’re awake.

The continuity hypothesis also supports the idea that fevers can lead to more health-related dream themes since illness is on your mind when you have a fever and/or you may be concerned about your health.

Similarly, feelings of being hot in fever dreams may reflect the experience of your body being at a higher temperature than usual both during waking hours and sleeping.

Interpreting Meaning From Fever Dreams

More research is needed on exactly how fever impacts brain functioning, making it hard to draw clear meaning from fever dreams. However, fever dreams may also be a reflection of the experience of having a fever (feeling hot, having less interaction with others) which can be made weirder by some common aspects of fever dreams, such as spatial distortion.

How Fever Dreams Compare to Other Types of Dreams

The bizarreness as well as the intense negative emotions common to fever dreams help set them apart from other types of dreams. Spatial distortion, perceived threat, and illness symptoms are factors that may be more unique to fever dreams.

In addition, research has shown that fever dreams contain fewer people and verbal/physical interactions than normal dreams. This may also be attributed to the continuity hypothesis of dreaming since being sick with a fever often means fewer interactions with others, due to staying home from work or school.

Lucid dreams may also be more common among people with fever. One study also found that 40% of fever dreams were lucid compared to 7.5% of dreams in healthy people. This may be a signal of how high body temperature from fever affects brain function during sleep.

Fever Dreams vs. Lucid Dreams

Lucid dreams are when you become aware of the fact that you are dreaming and you may even have control over your dream. Research suggests that many fever dreams are experienced as lucid dreams.

How to Dream Peacefully With a Fever

Fever dreams can be so disturbing that it’s understandable to want to prevent them. While you can’t control fever dreams, managing a fever may reduce the chances of fever dreams happening in the first place.

You can usually treat fever with over-the-counter medications like Tylenol (acetaminophen) or Advil (ibuprofen). Never give aspirin to anyone under age 19.

Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids. Keep your body cool, such as with a cool cloth placed on your forehead or a lukewarm bath. Use light bed coverings and a single layer of clothing. Keep the room at a comfortable temperature, not too cold or too hot.

Summary

Fever dreams are often bizarre and contain intense negative emotions that can leave you feeling uncomfortable when waking from them. The bizarreness of fever dreams may be explained by common features, such as spatial distortion.

More research is needed on the exact cause of fever dreams, though current research suggests that the experience of having a fever and the effects of high body temperature on brain functioning may play a role.