Sleep Quality Affected during Pandemic, Study Shows

The mental repercussions of COVID-19 have disrupted sleep for many people around the world. Researchers at the Université libre de Bruxelles have released a study, published in the journal Sleep, that explores sleep quality and psychological symptoms during the pandemic. Scientists found that early on in the quarantine many experienced poor quality sleep, which resulted in an increase in negative mood, psychotic-like experiences, and complaints of unexplained pain the next day.

Using an online interface, researchers interviewed 166 participants twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, for two consecutive weeks. Questions focused on their sleep quality and negative psychological experiences. Looking for general trends, scientists sought to find a connection between subjective sleep quality and daytime experiences. They determined that a poor night's sleep was usually followed by increased mental health complaints the next day, leading to disturbed sleep that night.

The study delved into specifics, addressing how national media reports regarding the number of deaths due to COVID affected sleep. It was found that sleep quality was impaired after participants viewed media reports of the number of COVID-19-related deaths. Researchers were also able to predict mental health complaints following impaired sleep after participants had viewed media coverage of the climb in COVID-19-related deaths.

The study confirmed the link between sleep and mental health complaints as related to the pandemic, and concluded that variations in sleep quality from one night to the next predicted how individuals coped with the daily challenges of confinement.