COVID-19 and Sleep in Medical Staff: Reflections, Clinical Evidences, and Perspectives

Ferini‐Strambi, Luigi; Zucconi, Marco; Salsone, Maria

doi:10.1007/s11940-020-00642-4

Cited by 33 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In particular, in the current study, we were not able to investigate the sleep-wake pattern in specific workers, such as healthcare professionals. This working category is at high risk for poor sleep and insomnia (Chokroverty, 2020;Ferini-Strambi et al, 2020). As shown by Ferini-Strambi and colleagues (2020), about 35% of Italian healthcare staff (e.g., physicians, nurses) reported sleep disturbances at the subjective (i.e., PSQI) and objective (i.e., actigraphy) level.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Changes in sleep timing and subjective sleep quality during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy and Belgium: age, gender and working status as modulating factors

et al. 2021

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Italy and Belgium have been among the first western countries to face the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency, imposing a total lockdown over the entire national territories.These limitations have proven effective in slowing down the spread of the infection. However, the benefits obtained in public health have come with huge costs in terms of social, economic, and psychological well-being. In the current study, we aimed at investigating how the period of home confinement affected self-reported sleep characteristics in Italians and Belgians, with special regard to sleep timing and subjective quality. Using an online survey we collected data from 2272 participants, 1622 Italians (Mage=34.1±13.6 years, 1171 F), and 650 Belgian (Mage=43.0±16.8 years, 509 F). Participants reported their sleep pattern (e.g., bedtime, risetime) and perceived sleep quality during and, retrospectively, before the lockdown. During the lockdown, sleep timing was significantly delayed, time spent in bed increased, and sleep quality was markedly impaired in both Italians and Belgians. The most vulnerable individualsappeared to be women, subjects experiencing a more negative mood, and those perceiving the pandemic situation as highly stressful. However, the two samples differed in the subgroups most affected by the changes, possibly because of the different welfare systems of the two countries. In fact, in the Italian sample sleep quality and timing underwent significant modifications especially in unemployed participants, whereas in the Belgian sample this category was the one who suffered less from the restrictions. Considering that the novel coronavirus has spread across the whole globe, involving countries with different types of health and welfare systems, understanding which policy measures have the most effective protecting role on physical and mental health is of primary importance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Changes in sleep timing and subjective sleep quality during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy and Belgium: age, gender and working status as modulating factors

et al. 2021

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“…The observed incidence is similar to that of major crises involving, for example, natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods. In particular, healthcare workers directly involved with patients diagnosed or at risk of COVID-19 have shown very high rates of insomnia [21,22].…”

Section: Sleep Changes In the Covid-19 Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elderly as a High-risk Group during COVID-19 Pandemic: Effect of Circadian Misalignment, Sleep Dysregulation and Melatonin Administration

et al. 2020

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The association of age with a higher vulnerability to COVID-19 infection is a subject of major importance. Several factors, including higher stress due to social isolation, diminished melatonin levels with age, and higher exposure of individuals to light at the evening, which reduces melatonin levels and disrupts circadian rhythmicity are relevant for maintaining the circadian health in aged individuals. Properly administered, chronotherapy restores the optimal circadian pattern of the sleep-wake cycle in the elderly. It involves adequate sleep hygiene, timed light exposure, and the use of a chronobiotic medication like melatonin, which affects the output phase of circadian rhythms thus controlling the biological clock. Besides, the therapeutic potential of melatonin as an agent to counteract the consequences of COVID-19 infections has been advocated due to its wide-ranging effects as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and as an immunomodulatory agent, as well as to a possible antiviral action. This article discusses how chronotherapy may reverse the detrimental circadian condition of the elderly in the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“…Previous studies have shown that health care workers report poor sleep quality under non-pandemic circumstances [ 2 – 4 ], and these difficulties are believed to be exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 5 ]. Being in the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic place health care workers at high risk of becoming infected by the virus [ 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sleep patterns among Norwegian nurses between the first and second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

et al. 2021

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Background Nurses are in the frontline and play an important role in the battle against the COrona VIrus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Sleep problems among health care workers are likely to increase due to the pandemic. However, it is conceivable that negative health outcomes related to the pandemic fluctuate with the infection rate waves of the pandemic. The present study aimed to investigate sleep patterns among Norwegian nurses, after the first wave, during a period with very low rates of COVID-19. Methods Data stemmed from the cohort study “SUrvey of Shift work, Sleep and Health (SUSSH)” among Norwegian nurses. A total of 1532 nurses responded one time to a questionnaire between June and September in 2020 including items about demographics and work, information about COVID-19 and quarantine, sleep patterns and changes in sleep patterns due to the pandemic. Descriptive statistics for all relevant variables were calculated and McNemar tests were used to compare categorical variables. Results The majority of nurses (84.2%) reported no change in sleep duration after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to before, 11.9% reported less sleep, and 3.9% reported more sleep. Similarly, 82.4% of the nurses reported no change in their sleep quality, whereas 16.2% of the nurses reported poorer sleep quality after the first wave of the pandemic compared to before. The majority of nurses reported no change in their sleep schedule due to the pandemic, although 9.6% of the nurses reported to go to bed later and 9.0% woke up earlier than before the pandemic. Conclusions Most existing literature exploring sleep among health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic has been carried out during periods with high infection rates. In this study we aimed to investigate sleep patterns among Norwegian nurses following the first wave, during a period of low COVID-19 rates in Norway. Most of the nurses reported no change in neither sleep duration, sleep quality, bedtime, nor wake-up times compared to before the pandemic. Still, nearly 12% reported shorter sleep duration, and about 16% reported poorer sleep quality indicating that some nurses experienced worsening of their sleep following the pandemic.

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COVID-19 and Sleep in Medical Staff: Reflections, Clinical Evidences, and Perspectives

Cited by 33 publications

References 14 publications

Changes in sleep timing and subjective sleep quality during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy and Belgium: age, gender and working status as modulating factors

Changes in sleep timing and subjective sleep quality during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy and Belgium: age, gender and working status as modulating factors

Elderly as a High-risk Group during COVID-19 Pandemic: Effect of Circadian Misalignment, Sleep Dysregulation and Melatonin Administration

Sleep patterns among Norwegian nurses between the first and second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

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