Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to considerable stress and anxiety, adversely affecting the quality of the sleep. A study was conducted to evaluate if the COVID-19 pandemic had any effects(s) on the sleeping pattern and on overall sleep quality. Study was conducted as a cross sectional, questionnaire-based survey in Indian population on an online platform utilising Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to assess pattern and quality of sleep before and during the pandemic. The survey questionnaire was conducted during pandemic; hence the data collected for “before pandemic” duration was retrospective. A total of 1615 participants’ responses were received of which there were 756 female and 859 male participants. The mean PSQI score (global) before the pandemic was 4.68 ± 2.98 while that during the pandemic is 6.02 ± 3.62 indicating a significant change in the sleep quality. The proportion of poor sleepers also increased dramatically from 26.1% pre-covid to 49.3% during covid. Both sleep deprivation and poor-quality of sleep are well-known to produce significant mood disturbances and to lower the immunity. Thus, it can be extrapolated that those individuals who developed significant sleep disturbances during COVID-19 are likely to be at a greater risk for negative health consequences even if they did not develop active COVID-19 infection. As sleep is vital for both mental and physical health of the human body, adequate measures should be taken at an individual level as well as at the community level to maintain quality of the sleep during pandemic or other disasters like war that trigger considerable stress