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In audio intercepts from the front lines in Ukraine, Russian soldiers speak in shorthand of 200s to mean dead, 300s to mean wounded. The urge to flee has become common enough that they also talk of 500s — people who refuse to fight. As the war grinds into its second winter, a growing number of Russian soldiers want out, as suggested in secret recordings obtained by The Associated Press of Russian soldiers calling home from the battlefields of the Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk regions in Ukraine. The calls offer a rare glimpse of the war as it looked through Russian eyes — a point of view that seldom makes its way into Western media, largely because Russia has made it a crime to speak honestly about the conflict in Ukraine. They also show clearly how the war has progressed, from the professional soldiers who initially powered Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion to men from all walks of life compelled to serve in grueling conditions. “There’s no f------ ‘dying the death of the brave’ here,” one soldier told his brother from the front in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. “You just die like a f------ earthworm.” The prospect of another wave of mobilization lingers, even as Moscow has been trying to lure people into signing contracts with the military. Russia’s annual autumn conscription draft kicked off in October, pulling in some 130,000 fresh young men. Though Moscow says conscripts won’t be sent to Ukraine, after a year of service they automatically become reservists — prime candidates for mobilization. The AP verified the identities of people in the calls by speaking with relatives and soldiers — some of whom are still at war in Ukraine — and researching open-source material linked to the phone numbers used by the soldiers. The conversations, picked up in January 2023 — some from near the longest and deadliest fight in Bakhmut — have been edited for length and clarity. Names have been omitted to protect the soldiers and their relatives. The voices in these calls are of men who didn’t or couldn’t flee mobilization. Some had no money, no education and no options. Others believed in patriotic duty. One worked in a meat processing plant, cutting bone. Another worked at a law firm. A third, who worked as a roofer and later at a supermarket company, had a string of debts and had defaulted on his utilities payments, records show. It is hard to say how representative these calls are of sentiment in Russia’s armed forces, but their desperation is matched by a spike in legal cases against soldiers in Russia who refuse to fight. What’s happening in Ukraine is “simply genocide,” the soldier in Kharkiv told his brother. “If this s--- doesn’t stop, then soon we’ll be leading the Ukrainians to the Kremlin ourselves,” he said. “This is just a huge testing ground, where the whole world is testing their weapons, f--- it, and sizing up their d----,” he went on. "That’s all.” But there are other voices, too, of men who remain committed to the fight. “As long as we are needed here, we will carry out our task,” a soldier named Artyom told AP from eastern Ukraine at the end of May, where he’d been stationed for eight months without break. “Just stop asking me these stupid questions.” The Kremlin and Russian Ministry of Defense did not respond to requests for comment. SOLDIER: ‘BONES, TEARS — ALL THE SAME, THEY ARE THE SAME AS WE ARE’ When he finally got to go home, it came at a terrible price: his brother’s life. Nicknamed “Crazy Professor” because of his disheveled hair, he was swept up in the first days of Russia’s September 2022 draft. The soldier said he was assured that he wouldn’t see combat and would get to go home every six months. Neither turned out to be true. After a few weeks of training, the Professor was sent to the front line near Bakhmut as a mortarman. He wanted out almost immediately. He was ill-equipped, at least compared to the well-camouflaged Wagner soldiers wandering around. “They have night vision and automatic rifles with cool silencers. I have an automatic rifle from 1986 or hell knows what year,” he told his brother in a January phone call. It was his job to aim, but the Russian army’s coordinates were so sloppy that soldiers ended up killing each other. The Professor said his commander instructed them not to kill civilians, but who was a civilian and who was a combatant? Even a kid could carry a grenade, he told his brother. Where did the mortars he fired land? Had he killed children? The worst was when he was out with young guys in his unit. There was just a strip of woods between them and the Ukrainians. “I imagined that there, on the other side, there could be young people just like us. And they have their whole lives ahead of them,” he told AP in June. “Bones, tears — all the same, they are the same as we are.” The Professor told himself he didn’t really have a choice: Either fire the mortar or face criminal charges and end up in a pit or a prison. “If you don’t like something, if you refuse to do something, you’re considered a refusenik," he told AP. "That is, you’re a ‘500’ right away. … So we had to follow orders. Whether we wanted to or not.” The Professor never thought he’d be a refusenik one day too. ___ The Professor: The worst thing is that there might even be children there, you know. Brother: And what can you do. … You have your orders. … It seems to me that if it had been voluntary, you wouldn’t have gone. The Professor: You know, I’m glad about that. Plus, we did such a good job that they gave us a car. The downside is, you know, how many lives were ruined for the sake of a car? Brother: Not of your own free will. The Professor: I’m already so tired. Brother: I believe it. Time to come home. I wish you could come home. Not so that you could home but so that all of this could be over already. ___ In the spring, as the Professor’s brothers drove down a road outside their hometown in Russia, a car made a U-turn into the side of their vehicle, sending it spinning as a semi bore down on them. One brother was killed. Another survived but now cannot walk, family members told AP. Desperate to go home to bury his brother, the Professor said he got approval from his commander for a 10-day leave. Military police in Russian-controlled territory in Luhansk let him through, he said, and he paid for his own taxi ride home. Once he got back to Russia, however, he was told he didn’t have the right paperwork. Not long after the funeral, the Professor got a message from his commanding officer: “What is happening there? Are you going to come back or stay there?” “I’ll collect the documents, and then we’ll decide everything,” he wrote back. Two hours later, around midnight, his commander responded: “I’m reporting you as AWOL, unauthorized abandonment of the unit. It was nice fighting together.” Now he faces up to 10 years in prison. He hired a lawyer. Months into a 10-day leave, he can’t even apply for an extension to legalize his stay and help his family because he doesn’t have the right documents. He said his brother can move around on his arms and mostly get into his wheelchair by himself, but can't function independently. People from the military came to his home, he said. Terrified they’d arrest him if he went outside, he passed documents attesting to the dire state of his family’s health to them through the window. His lawyer told him to look on the bright side. “You are the only, well, how do I put this … at least, you’re the only healthy person here.” His mother is at the end of her endurance. “I write everywhere, I call everywhere, too. Because he was told that he has to return to his unit,” his mother told AP. “But how can he leave his brother? I have no one.” Now, the Professor has visions of dead people. They stare back at him. He can almost hear them walking nearby. Sometimes he bolts awake at night, sweating, or dives under the covers at the sound of a whistle. He wants his old life back, that sweet time he had with his wife and baby. He has picked up some roofing work at construction sites, and his neighbor proposed a new side job: digging graves. ARTYOM: 'EVERYBODY'S F------ MAD, F------ GLOOMY AS HELL' Artyom left behind a string of debts in Russia. Things got even worse in Ukraine, where it was so cold he couldn’t wash his underwear and his lighter kept freezing. “It’s not like I’m having any f------ fun here, day in day out. It’s been f------ four months already,” he told his wife in January. “Everybody’s f------ mad, f------ gloomy as hell.” It was New Year’s Day, and the Russians were getting bombarded by Ukrainians and not even firing back, he said. “Yesterday we were f------ bombarded, for f---’s sake, we didn’t even get a single shell out, not a single f------ shell,” he told his wife. The war seemed senseless to him. Why wasn’t Putin satisfied with Crimea? What business did they have trying to take Kharkiv and Kyiv? Why was everyone lying about how great things were at the front? No one was saying the one thing he wanted to hear: that he could go home. ___ Artyom: Yesterday we were listening to the radio and someone f------ said, “the situation with mobilized soldiers is f------ wonderful.” I don’t know who the f------ idiot is who said that. “Only five thousand people died.” Wife: Mhm. Of course. Artyom: F------ s---heads. I think half of them are probably gone at this point. Wife: Right. Artyom: Five thousand people my ass. ___ Artyom doesn’t have much sympathy for draft dodgers and deserters, though he can see the wisdom in making a run for it. “That’s what you have to do, given the chance,” he told his wife. “This is not the best f------ place to be … But then they’re gonna say you’re a f------ freak who ran away. I don’t f------ need that.” He told her he’ll stay put and follow orders. “If God wills it so that you’re gonna f------ die, you’re gonna f------ die, can’t do much about it.” The AP reached Artyom by phone at the end of May. He was still in eastern Ukraine, where he’d been serving for eight months without break. Artyom said he’d been “a little worn out mentally” when he was speaking with his wife. He said he loved his family before the war and loved them even more now. He regrets he didn’t spend more time with them. “I have to save the guys who are with me in the trenches — and myself,” he said. “That’s what I want to do. And to put down the Ukrainians faster and go home.” ROMAN: ‘I ALREADY FEEL MORE PITY SHOOTING A BIRD THAN A PERSON’ After two months on the front lines north of Bakhmut, Roman had some advice for his friend and former colleague back in Russia: Avoid this war any way you can. “I’m telling you honestly, if there’s even a slight chance, get exempted from service. But if the summons comes for mobilization, f--- it to hell. Join Wagner or the contract soldiers, or wherever you can. God forbid the mobilized. The mobilized are the lowest.” Roman explained that professional contract soldiers are taken care of: They get to go on leave, launder their clothes and bathe. They don’t have to struggle for food and water. Meanwhile, mobilized soldiers like him are shoved in trenches with men from all walks of life, some of whom don’t even know how to hold guns. They never get to leave, and their commanders — “weak wusses,” he says — aren’t much help. He’s had to buy night vision goggles with his own money. There’s not enough to eat and no clean drinking water. Soldiers are licking at snowflakes and scooping up rainwater to drink. He said he lost 30 kilos (over 60 pounds). The diarrhea hasn’t helped. “It came to the point that there were puddles, it had rained, and the guys scooped up all the puddles and drank,” Roman told his friend. “Snow fell, f------ s---, and the snow didn’t even reach the ground, the guys caught it and ate it.” When he arrived in Ukraine in November 2022, Roman was part of a unit of 100 men. By early January, about a third were gone. Roman said he’s been lucky twice. Once he got food poisoning and stayed back while a group of scouts went out. They never came back. Another time, he was carrying water and tripped and fell just as a shell landed, killing others nearby. Surrounded by a horseshoe of Ukrainian troops, Roman said it was like being on the tip of a toilet seat, in constant fear that their supply lines, thin as they were, would get cut off. Roman had to scoop a man’s guts back into his body — an act that didn’t save the guy’s life. Another time, he went out to defecate in a field, and tanks started firing around him. He just kept squatting till he was done. After two months of living like this, so scared you’ll shoot at the softest sound in the dark, even the strongest minds started to fray. “We survive because we are on edge all the time,” he said. “Even guys from our own side don’t come close, especially at night. When we are on duty, we warn everyone that we will shoot at anything that rustles.” Roman said his cousin was killed by a shell that took out a dozen soldiers. His family managed to get his body — or at least half of his body — back to Russia, but the other 11 soldiers lay unclaimed in Ukraine. It wasn’t just the killing that did people in, it was the sense that they’d been forgotten. ___ Roman: Our group is made up of guys who are sufficiently strong, morally, and guys like that. It was the first wave. Guys came together who are sufficiently patriotic, roughly speaking, who knew what it was to fight. After two months, they start to lose it. For many of them, their psyche was broken. Friend: Yeah, I understand, all of the killing of course. Roman: Yes, the killing is everywhere. A f------ lot of corpses. Some were stabbed with a knife, but that’s not the point. Psyches are not broken because of this. These are people who are professionals, it’s our national army, these professionals come to our position. ‘F---, it’s f----- up here.’ They turn around and leave. That is, they are replaced, they have rotation, they are given leave, their clothes are washed and ironed, they wash in the bathhouse, they have no problem with food, they have no problem with water. It’s not like this for us. It once came to the point that there were puddles, it had rained, and the guys scooped up all the puddles and drank. ___ The “depressing, horrible” panic that attacked him at the beginning of his tour has subsided. The calls home help. One night, Roman got pulled into a special mission. They snuck into a Ukrainian dugout, knives drawn, hacked up a bunch of men and captured a Ukrainian officer for questioning. Death was everywhere, on both sides of the front. “F---, I already feel more pity shooting a bird than a person," Roman told his friend. Contacted by the AP, both men declined to comment. ANDREI: ‘THE MOBILIZED ARE NOT CONSIDERED HUMANS’ After four months in Ukraine, Andrei concluded that his life meant nothing to Moscow. Called up for military service from a small town in Russia’s far east, he soon found himself in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk province, on the southern approach to Bakhmut. Andrei’s unit was taking heavy losses, and no one was even shooting back at the Ukrainians, he said. People were dying from friendly fire. Mobilized men like him were being forced to sign contracts. “The mobilized are not considered humans,” he told his mother. “No one gives a damn about us. They think that for 200,000 (rubles) we should die here.” Mutiny was in the air. ___ Andrei: Our boys are dying for nothing. It’s nonsense, I tell you. This is not a war at all. When I come back, I’ll tell you what’s going on here. It’s all bull----. I’m telling you, our boys are dying, going 300, and no one even shoots back. It’s all nonsense. Our artillery is hammering our own dugouts, not theirs. What is that? Mother: What for? Andrei: They, like, miss the mark. … Here, if they don’t get you, your own will. Mother: (Inaudible) Andrei: I’m telling you, you just start going nuts here, like everything pisses you off. Because you can’t do s--- about it. Nobody gives a s---. It’s a half year and that’s it. F--- them. If they don’t relieve us, if they don’t pull us out, the whole company will just walk away. They can’t put a crowd of 100 people on trial. Mother: They have no right to keep you longer. Andrei: No one gives a damn here. We were told the other day that they forgot about us a little bit here. But they didn’t just forget about us — they f----- us. ___ Mobilized soldiers like him are treated worst of all, he told his mom. They’re not allowed to leave — even if they get injured — because commanders fear they’ll never come back. ___ Andrei: Well, our guys are getting killed in droves. Mother: Judging by what I — Andrei: I’m telling you. In droves from our side. If a contract soldier is wounded, he’s sent home. If a mobilized soldier is wounded, they treat him, patch him up a bit, and tell him to go the f--- back, why the hell are you dodging? All in all, if you get sick here, you will not be sent home. They won’t give a damn, and you’ll die in this pit where you live in. You can’t get sick here at all. Mother: Better not get sick. (Inaudible) Andrei: This is how s--- works here. As long as you are useful, they like know who you are. And when you become useless, then nobody needs you. They forget about you. ___ He said the only reason he’s still alive is luck and regrets finding himself at war. “This is my only mistake in life,” he said. “I will not fall into the same trap twice.” “God gives you one chance,” his mother responded. “God willing, you’ll come home.” In September, Andrei’s mother told AP her son was home, keeping himself busy with his family and collecting pine cones from the taiga. She said she was born in Ukraine and her mother still lives there. She said it pains her that Ukraine is now filled with “traitors and fascists.” “I hate your current rulers,” she said. “Are you blind or stupid? Or can’t you see that there are no normal people? Or do you want your children to turn into monkeys, like in America? What is this? I don’t recognize my homeland, where I was born and went to school.” ___ AP reporters Lynn Berry in Washington and Alla Konstantinova in Vilnius, Lithuania, contributed to this report. Students from the Russian translation and interpretation program at Middlebury Institute of International Studies also contributed to this report. ___ More AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Read More Ukraine and the Western Balkans top Blinken agenda for NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels More than half a million people left without power in Crimea, Russia and Ukraine after huge storm North Korea restores border guard posts amid rising tensions over its satellite launch, Seoul says Three dead as first heavy snowfall and blizzards of winter hit eastern Europe Russia forced to move air defences from Kaliningrad to Ukraine front after losses Ukraine is shipping more grain through the Black Sea despite threat from Russia

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As I sit in the dark of Screen 2 at Oxford’s Curzon cinema, a woman a few seats away from me does something I’ve not seen before: she orders pizza. Specifically, she orders £64.85 worth of pizzas and chips for her and her family. A few minutes later – after the film has started, in fact – the food is brought to her, as though she was sitting in any regular restaurant and not in a cinema. Eating at the pictures is becoming ever more sophisticated, with ushers bringing you food as fancy as sushi without you having to move a muscle. Is it getting a bit silly? It’s no secret that cinemas have endured a range of crises over the past few years, partly thanks to the rise of streaming and then the pandemic and even more streaming. Cinemas across the country have shut down and forecasters predict that screens won’t be as full as they were pre-Covid until 2025. Some of the cinemas that survived, like AMC, are saddled with billions of pounds worth of debt. Just showing people films may not cut it in this difficult new era. As they fight to survive, cinemas are having to up their game. They have to offer “experiences”. Christina Flourentzou, operations manager at Curzon, says they learned that customers wanted more food and drink with their film thanks to their feedback service, Feed It Back. This happened before Covid struck, she points out, but post-pandemic the company rolled their restaurants out on a bigger scale. “What we’re trying to do is elevate the guest experience,” she says. “For us it’s about giving the guest the best possible experience; so anything that they want, we can give them, essentially.” At my local Curzon this includes padron peppers, mushroom and truffle croquettes, and vegan hot dogs. What Curzon has discovered, according to Flourentzou, is that when at-seat food and drink service is offered, the spend per customer goes up – often by as much as £2 per person. There is a different mindset when ordering at your seat compared with ordering at the till: “You take your coat off, your hands are free, you look at a menu, suddenly someone comes to you and says, ‘What would you like?’ Your mentality changes.” On any new site Curzon will now endeavour to install tables at seats, in order to allow for this in-screen service. Eating entire meals in your cinema seat is becoming more and more popular but it isn’t a brand-new phenomenon. Studio Movie Grill, born in Texas but with sites in states including California, Florida and Georgia, has been offering at-seat food and drink since 2000. Tearlach Hutcheson, the company’s vice president for film, calls this kind of operation a “cinema eatery”. He agrees that it isn’t just the pandemic that has caused a shift in customer priorities; it’s been happening over the past 20 years as home entertainment systems have become increasingly more sophisticated and cinemas have had to compete. “I think that people are looking for a different experience when they go to the theatres,” he says. “We have to provide a more luxurious catering experience to the guest.” I think the immersion is only going to get more and more. I think that everyone is going to adapt because this is what people want. I don’t think the cinema is enough now ... I don’t think it’s ever going to go back to popcorn and drinks Amy Fernando, creator of Taste Film At Studio Movie Grill, food revenue is more than twice that of ticket sales, and its CEO says that business is better for the company than before the pandemic. In cinemas, profit margins have always been higher on food than on tickets – though these margins are far smaller for cooked food than for popcorn and Coke. The kitchen staff at Studio Movie Grill are often dishing out six meals per minute. A recent innovation was a kitchen printer that printed orders faster than ever before. Servers are allowed to bring food and drink to guests at any point (unlike Curzon, where, Flourentzou says, it should strictly happen during the adverts and trailers) but the bulk of orders are placed within the first 30 minutes of arrival. Studio Movie Grill could represent the future of the cinema-going experience: it might soon be completely normal to bundle the film-and-a-meal experience into one. What Hutcheson is confident about is that cinemas will become more of a “destination spot” in order to entice people to leave the comfort of their homes. Flourentzou doesn’t think I’m right to call it “panic” but it does seem like cinemas are urgently fighting to stay alive. One person who knows all about using food and cinema to create an experience is Amy Fernando, creator of Taste Film, an enterprise that shows films to customers while serving them food featured in those films. Watching Goodfellas in 2016, Fernando was inspired by the infamous shaving garlic scene to marry the two things she cared most about. Seven years later, she has swapped teaching for running the business full-time. “I think the beauty of coming to the cinema, or doing an experience like this, is sharing it with like-minded people,” she says. “Post-Covid there is something special in getting dressed up, going out, and sharing the experience with other people.” When I go to watch Taste Film’s version of Mrs Doubtfire, I agree. I didn’t think of the film as one featuring all that much food but at appropriate moments we are served a savoury birthday muffin; chilli salt and pepper chicken wings; a meringue martini; tiger prawn skewers with chips and salad; a pina colada; and a chilli and chocolate mousse. As Fernando says, the frisson of fun is largely to do with two communal experiences: everyone not just watching the film at the same time but eating the same food at the same time. This won’t be replicable in regular cinemas (a Taste Film ticket is £75, for example) but the company is going from strength to strength, partnering with the big streamers, and its growth is indicative of people’s updated expectations around film. “Guests want more,” says Fernando, “and younger people want more.” Ultimately, of course, it will be the quality of films that govern whether or not cinemas stay afloat. This summer has seen an unusual boom in quality and business, with Barbie and Oppenheimer proving critical darlings as well as excellent earners. But where the cinemas can’t control how good the films are, they can control the various offerings they provide around them. “I think the immersion is only going to get more and more,” says Fernando. “I think that everyone is going to adapt because this is what people want. I don’t think the cinema is enough now.” Hutcheson and Flourentzou agree. Hand in hand with this development, Hutcheson says, will be a resurgence in “purer cinematic experiences” – people wanting to experience cinema with as sophisticated a picture and sound experience as possible. He believes that it won’t be long before cinema eateries – at the moment confined to more modest theatres – will also enter the IMAX space. Look at the signs and it certainly seems as though it will be difficult to put the genie back in the bottle – which means cinemagoers may need to brace themselves for an exciting new range of smells. Fernando is probably right when she says: “I don’t think it’s ever going to go back to popcorn and drinks.” Read More Too gay, too weird, too pregnant: The most controversial Barbie dolls in history Doing things alone isn’t ‘self-love’ – we don’t need to make everything empowering Sizzling kitchen drama The Bear is spicing up the dating game for chefs ‘It started with a radish’: Chef Simon Rogan reflects on restaurant L’Enclume at 20 The true story – and murky history – of Portuguese piri piri oil 30-minute summer recipes for all the family to enjoy

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Kyogo Furuhashi’s late first-half strike gave Celtic a crucial 1-0 Scottish Premiership win over Rangers in the Old Firm derby at Ibrox to heap pressure on Gers boss Michael Beale. The Light Blues had the ball in the net twice in the first half but on both occasions the ‘goals’ were not allowed to stand – offside and a foul picked up by VAR – but Furuhashi could have scored twice before he fired the visitors in front just before the break. There were no travelling supporters – Celtic rejected the offer of around 700 tickets, citing safety concerns – but that seemed to hinder rather than help the home side at times as they tried in vain to get back on level terms. After just four league fixtures, leaders Celtic are already four points ahead of their Old Firm rivals going into the international break and the spotlight will be on Beale, who must have heard the boos ring out at the final whistle. For Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers, who was under some pressure himself after his team lost to Kilmarnock in the Viaplay Cup and then drew at home to St Johnstone, it was a return to the overwhelmingly positive derby results he enjoyed in his first spell as Parkhead boss. Rangers had been knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers by PSV Eindhoven in midweek on a 7-3 aggregate, a result which brought the doom-mongers back to Beale’s door. Dujon Sterling took over from the injured left-back Borna Barisic in Rangers’ line-up while midfielder Ryan Jack and striker Kemar Roofe returned with Jose Cifuentes and John Lundstram dropping out, while winger Liel Abada replaced Yang Hyun-Jun in Celtic’s XI. There were only seconds on the clock when Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers set up Rabbi Matondo to knock the ball into the Celtic net, but the former was offside. An expected Rangers onslaught failed to materialise. Celtic were calmer in possession and in the 16th minute Hoops skipper Callum McGregor sent Abada down the right and his cross could not bring a clean connection from Furuhashi just yards from goal. When home defender John Souttar lost possession, Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley sent Furuhashi clear but his angled drive was blocked by a combination of Ibrox goalkeeper Jack Butland and Light Blues centre-back Connor Goldson. Moments later, Rangers had the ball in the net again. When Celtic defender Gustaf Lagerbielke was challenged by Dessers just inside the Hoops half the ball broke clear for the Rangers attacker and he raced on before squaring the ball for Roofe, who took a touch before firing past Celtic keeper Joe Hart. When referee Don Robertson checked the pitchside monitor at the behest of the VAR, he ruled the goal out for a foul on the Parkhead defender, albeit it looked soft. Furuhashi eventually got on target seconds before the interval when O’Riley returned a Goldson header into the path of the Japan striker who confidently drove the ball past Butland to silence Ibrox. An early second-half mistake by Goldson gifted the ball to Abada and his angled shot was just missed at the back post by Daizen Maeda. Amid some huffing and puffing from Rangers, Butland had to save a decent drive from Holm on a Celtic break. As the Govan side kept pressing, Hart raced out to foil Sam Lammers before denying Danilo twice from close range as Celtic held on for the win. Read More Arsenal vs Man Utd LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Erling Haaland admits Man City’s controversial second goal against Fulham was offside Mason Greenwood can ‘recover his professional status’ in Spain, says Getafe boss Arsenal vs Man Utd LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Erling Haaland admits Man City’s controversial second goal against Fulham was offside Mason Greenwood can ‘recover his professional status’ in Spain, says Getafe boss

Everyone has a theory about their dreams and the science or meaning behind them. And when the weather hots up, the more bizarre they tend to get. “Dreams are a fascinating and enigmatic phenomenon that occur during sleep, encompassing a vast realm of imaginative experiences,” says sleep expert and CEO of MattressNextDay, Martin Seeley. “They are a collection of thoughts, images, sensations, and emotions that unfold within the theatre of our minds.” Why do we dream? When we sleep, our brain enters a complex state where it engages in various cognitive processes, explains Seeley, including memory consolidation, problem-solving and emotional regulation. “Dreams are thought to emerge from these processes, weaving together fragments of memories, desires, fears, and subconscious thoughts into a narrative or non-linear sequence,” adds Seeley. “And they can be surreal, vivid, or mundane, blurring the boundaries between reality and fantasy.” While the precise purpose and meaning of dreams remains a subject of exploration and debate, Seeley says they can serve as a portal into the inner workings of our minds: “Providing a canvas for exploration, processing of emotions, and glimpses into the subconscious depths of our psyche.” Why do we dream more when it’s hot? Lisa Artis, deputy CEO of The Sleep Charity, says: “When the weather is hot, it can disrupt our sleeping patterns, making it difficult to fall asleep in the first place – and causes us to wake more often during the REM (rapid eye movement) sleep phase.” REM sleep is where we experience intense dreaming, explains Artis – so waking during or at the end of this cycle can mean we are more likely to remember our dreams. “Dreams happen regularly, but are often forgotten and our mind’s way of unpacking the day’s events, dealing with stress and sorting through our day-to-day thoughts,” notes Artis. Our body heat generally peaks in the afternoon then starts to drop over an evening to prepare us for sleep, says Artis. Melatonin, the sleep hormone, is produced when this happens.“An ideal temperature is around 16-18°C and anything around the 24°C mark can cause restlessness,” says Artis. “So, it’s no surprise that when we’re experiencing a heatwave with temperatures reaching over 30°C, it affects our sleep.”Can a heatwave really make dreams more surreal? The connection between heatwaves and the content or nature of dreams is not fully understood. However, there may be a few possible explanations if your dreams seem weirder when the weather heats up – although Seeley points out these are all speculative. First off, he agrees it may have a lot to do with the fact we’re less comfortable and waking more when it’s hot. “These frequent awakenings can interrupt the normal sleep cycle and result in a higher probability of remembering dreams, including the more unusual or vivid ones,” he notes. “So, during a heatwave, the increased frequency of waking up during the night might contribute to a greater recall of strange or funky dreams.” Secondly, the body’s physiological response to heat may influence brain activity, he adds: “Heat can affect neurotransmitter levels, such as serotonin and dopamine, which play a role in regulating mood and emotions. These alterations in neurotransmitter activity might impact the content and emotional tone of dreams, potentially leading to more surreal or bizarre experiences.” Psychological factors could also play a role. Heatwaves can cause restlessness and increased stress levels in some individuals. Seeley adds: “Stress and emotional fluctuations can manifest in dreams as strange or unusual scenarios, as the mind processes and attempts to make sense of these experiences.” Can we stop strange heatwave dreams happening? While it’s probably not possible to completely control the content of our dreams, there are certain strategies you can try to promote better sleep – and potentially reduce the likelihood of experiencing a restless night and unusual dreams during hot weather. Create a cool sleep environment: “Use fans, air conditioning, or open windows to circulate cool air in your bedroom – and consider using lightweight, breathable bedding materials,” says Seeley. Stay hydrated: “Drink enough water throughout the day to prevent dehydration, especially during hot weather,” he continues. “Being adequately hydrated can help maintain a balanced sleep cycle.” Practice relaxation techniques: “Engage in activities that promote relaxation before bed, such as deep breathing exercises, meditation, or taking a warm bath,” suggests Seeley. “These practices can help calm your mind and promote a more restful sleep.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live What are the royals doing to mark the anniversary of the Queen’s death All the times Kate has channelled the late Queen’s style since her death YouTube begins verifying videos by UK doctors to tackle health misinformation