Escalation of Sleep Problems During Covid-19

Two large-scale international surveys conducted during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that the prevalence of sleep disturbances among adults rose significantly. New complaints of insomnia, altered circadian rhythm, and daytime dysfunction appeared in a third of the responders. A 20% increase in the consumption of pharmacological sleeping aids was also documented. The populations most susceptible to new onset of sleep disturbances were women, people aged 31–45, those in quarantine, those less physically active, and those whose livelihood was adversely affected. All findings were highly consistent across the surveys, one of which included around 2,500 responders from 49 countries, and the other which recruited about 1,000 paid responders from the United States.