Citation

Gupta R, Pandi-Perumal SR. Sleep Vigil. 2020; 4(2): 51-53.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s41782-020-00118-0

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The year 2020 will be remembered for a cataclysmic event--i.e. the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 has personal, societal, and global health consequences. The world has stalled during this pandemic as it has compelled people to reduce their direct contact with each other and confined them in their homes, only to contact others maintaining a careful distance or through telecommunication facilities (distant socializing). This was a gross and unprecedented behavioral change. This also has changed the sleep schedule of a sizable population as evident by various surveys that report worsening of sleep quality during lockdown. It has been suggested that racial/ethnic minorities and other disadvantaged populations were disproportionately affected due to variety of reasons, such as poor living condition, poorer access to healthcare to name a few.

The lockdown has changed the routine of the people including the physical activity, eating habits, electronic usage and sleep habits [2]. Apparently, these factors have led to change in sleep habits and sleep quality. Increased sleep disturbances (both in terms of quality and quantity) and characteristic sleep changes were observed among global communities. Sleep disturbances during pandemic have been referred as COVID-somnia, a term used as a preferred euphemism to facilitate communication. Delay in bedtime and wake-time along with a reduction in total time spent in sleep during night was reported in the general population survey in India [3]. Daytime napping also increased, perhaps to overcome the deprivation of nighttime sleep (excessive daytime sleepiness) [3]. Delayed bedtime and wake-time during lockdown has been ascribed to a paucity of social zeitgebers (time cues) [2]. Other factors namely the chronotype (or circadian typology, which is the propensity of an individual to sleep at a particular time during a 24 h period) and age were found to influence change in sleep pattern during lockdown. However, alteration in sleep-schedule and sleep-habits was not uniform across population and certain factors appeared to increase risk for the same. For example, shifting to later bed-time and wake time was greatest in the evening chronotypes and minimal in morning chronotypes; it was greater among younger compared to adults; and finally, larger among women

Language: en