More than half world’s population has had sleep problems during pandemic

By William Janes via SWNS

More than half the world's population has suffered sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to major new research.

A study involving people from 79 countries around the globe revealed that 56.5 percent of people have experienced some kind of sleep disturbance during the pandemic.

Almost two-thirds of people experienced a “delayed sleep” pattern, which was associated with a later bedtimes and increased nightmares and naps, despitelittle change in sleep duration or time spent in bed.

The second most common sleep pattern change was “sleep lost and fragmented."

Scientists said these people went to bed later and had a shorter time in bed attempting to sleep - in essence, their sleep was restricted, lower in quality, and they were less likely to compensate for it with naps.

One in five people experienced this disruption with women more likely to experience it than men.

Around one in 10 people tended to be “sleep opportunists” - meaning they had significantly restricted sleep opportunities before the pandemic, but spent a lot more time in bed and had the longest sleep duration compared to any of the others.

Despite the better sleep, these people also reported the greatest change in their daily routines, which was associated with a lower likelihood of being employed and greater family stress.

The least common sleep pattern was “dysregulated and distressed.” Experienced by five percent of people surveyed, this group had the worst sleep deterioration, along with more nightmares and naps, and the worst insomnia symptoms.

Dr. Megan Petrov, assistant professor in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University said: “Overall, sleep disturbances were heightened, with 56.5 percent of our sample reporting clinical levels of insomnia symptoms during the pandemic."

She added: “Sleep is an essential part of living, just like air, water and food.

"Your health and functioning are compromised when the quality of the air you breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat are poor. This is also the case if your sleep is poor quality and insufficient in quantity.”

The findings were published in the journal Sleep Health.