How is Coronavirus Pandemic Affecting Sleep Patterns? [2020 Study]

Coronavirus & Sleep

How is COVID-19 Affecting Sleep Patterns [2020 Survey]

Out of 1392 participants, 91% said COVID-19 has affected their sleep. 43% reported DISTURBED sleep patterns, 23.4% said they are sleeping LESS while 23.7% of the participants said they are sleeping MORE than they used to.

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We surveyed 1392 people during May 2020 to study the impact of Coronavirus on sleep patterns. The results reveal some interesting information about the sleep challenges, major reasons affecting sleep and how people are dealing with those problems to sleep better.

1392

participants

Female

50.9%

Male

46.8%

Prefer not to say

2.3%

Age Distribution

41%

18-29 Years

30.5%

30-39 Years

14.4%

40-49 Years

7.6%

50 & Above

6.5%

Under 18

Key Findings

91% of the respondents said Coronavirus has affected their sleep.
43% of the respondents reported disturbed sleep patterns. This also includes people who are getting the same number of hours of sleep as they used to BUT different timings.
23.4% of the respondents said they are sleeping LESS than they used to.
23.7% of the respondents said they are sleeping MORE than they used to.

Majority of the respondents mentioned "Difficulty Falling Asleep" as their primary sleep challenge.
People who reported DIFFICULTY FALLING ASLEEP are attributing it to Anxiety and Increased Screen Time primarily. Physical Isolation is the 3rd most mentioned factor to have affected sleep patterns.
"Exercise" and "Avoiding News" are the two primary relief techniques people have discovered to cope with COVID-19 sleep challenges. Other workarounds include sleep supplements, meditation and yoga.

How Has Coronavirus Affected Your Sleep?

Disturbed sleep schedule appears to be the most common problem. This includes people who might still be sleeping the same number of hours as they used to but their schedule might have changed i.e. they are either sleeping at different times OR sleeping in intervals. A decent majority is sleeping MORE which is understandable because people don’t have to travel to work so the time they used to spend commuting to work is now spent in sleeping.

My sleep schedule is DISTURBED

43%

I am sleeping MORE

23.7%

I am sleeping LESS

23.4%

My sleep schedule is NOT DISTURBED

9.8%

What Are The Primary Sleep Challenges?

Difficulty Falling Asleep

57%

Difficulty Staying Asleep

42.1%

Nightmares

19.9%

With people not traveling to their workplaces anymore, staying indoors most of the time due to lockdown situation and practicing social distancing, a lot of people are having difficulty falling asleep. A decent majority also reported difficulty staying asleep for longer due to either financial stress, anxiety, depression or weird dreams.

Top 3 Factors Affecting Sleep Patterns

It comes as no surprise that increased screen time has become one of the most prominent reasons of disturbed sleep patterns, after anxiety. With schools switching to online lessons, people spending more time indoors and parents relaxing the”screen time rules” for kids to keep them engaged, this is pretty much expected.

Anxiety

57.8%

Increased Screen Time

54.3%

Physical Isolation

35.8%

Coping With Sleep Challenges Amidst COVID-19

Exercise

46.9%

Avoiding News

41.3%

Sleep Supplements

28.6%

Meditation

20.4%

Sex

17.8%

Exercise has turned out to be a significant source of relief for people dealing with sleep challenges amidst COVID-19. The more you work out, the more you naturally will feel tired when it’s time to sleep. Avoiding news has also helped many people sleep better – as they say, ignorance is bliss. To a lesser extent, sleeping supplements, sex, and meditation have also helped people to sleep well during the pandemic, though exercise and avoiding news are definitely the most popular workarounds.

Infographic

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