Sleeping During the First Wave: Demographic, Psychological, Chronobiological, and Work-Related Predictors of Sleep Disturbances Throughout the COVID-19 Lockdown

Abstract

The first COVID-19 contagion wave caused unprecedented restraining measures worldwide. In Italy, a period of generalized lockdown involving home confinement of the entire population was imposed for almost two months (9 March–3 May 2020). The present is the most extensive investigation aimed to unravel the demographic, psychological, chronobiological, and work-related predictors of sleep disturbances throughout the pandemic emergency. A total of 13989 Italians completed a web-based survey during the confinement period (25 March–3 May). We collected demographic and lockdown-related work changes information, and we evaluated sleep quality, insomnia and depression symptoms, chronotype, perceived stress, and anxiety using validated questionnaires. The majority of the respondents reported a negative impact of confinement on their sleep and a delayed sleep phase. We highlighted an alarming prevalence of sleep disturbances during the lockdown. Main predictors of sleep disturbances identified by regression models were: female gender, advanced age, being a healthcare worker, living in southern Italy, confinement duration, and a higher level of depression, stress, and anxiety. The circadian evening preference turned out as a vulnerability factor, while morning-type individuals showed a lower predisposition to sleep and psychological problems. Finally, working from home emerged as a protective factor against the development of sleep disturbances. Besides confirming the role of specific demographic and psychological factors in developing sleep disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic, we demonstrated circadian typologies react differently to a particular period of reduced social jetlag. Finally, our results indicated working from home promotes well-being during the current pandemic period.

Two years after lockdown: longitudinal trajectories of sleep disturbances and mental health over the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of age, gender, and chronotype

“…The present investigation confirmed the vulnerability of women to experience sleep ad psychological problems during the pandemic (Daly et al, 2020;Rossi et al, 2020;Salfi et al, 2020;Salfi, Lauriola, et al, 2021). However, we did not detect differences between genders in the trajectories of sleep quality, insomnia, depression, and anxiety symptoms across the three survey waves.…”

“…The current literature consistently showed that age groups (Amicucci et al, 2021;Bottary et al, 2022;Daly et al, 2020;Jahrami et al, 2022;Rossi et al, 2020), genders (Daly et al, 2020;Rossi et al, 2020;Salfi et al, 2020;Salfi, Lauriola, et al, 2021), and chronotypes (Bottary et al, 2022;Merikanto et al, 2022;Salfi, Lauriola, et al, 2021) reacted differently to the first months of restraining measures. Specifically, younger people (Amicucci et al, 2021;Daly et al, 2020;Jahrami et al, 2022;Rossi et al, 2020) and women (Daly et al, 2020;Rossi et al, 2020;Salfi et al, 2020;Salfi, Lauriola, et al, 2021) reported higher rates of sleep disturbances and psychological symptoms. These results were confirmed by Italian and European studies (Benke et al, 2022;Chodkiewicz et al, 2021;Rus Prelog et al, 2022;Wetherall et al, 2022) addressing the effect of the second wave of COVID-19.…”

“…These results were confirmed by Italian and European studies (Benke et al, 2022;Chodkiewicz et al, 2021;Rus Prelog et al, 2022;Wetherall et al, 2022) addressing the effect of the second wave of COVID-19. Similarly, the evening chronotype was associated with more evident changes in sleep patterns and increased sleep and mental health problems both during the lockdown (Bottary et al, 2022;Merikanto et al, 2022;Salfi, Lauriola, et al, 2021) and the second contagion wave . Based on this evidence, another objective of the present research is to identify the different time courses of sleep and psychological disturbances between age groups, genders, and chronotypes.…”

“…Italy was the first European country to handle the contagion wave of COVID-19, implementing a total lockdown lasting two months (March-April 2020). Several Italian studies confirmed the pervasive impact of this unprecedented period on sleep quality/habits and psychological wellbeing (Casagrande et al, 2020;Cellini et al, 2020;Salfi, Lauriola, et al, 2021). After a phase of alleviated pandemic emergency and loosened restrictions (Summer 2020), a second large contagion wave occurred in Autumn 2020.…”

Fear and anxiety related to COVID-19 pandemic may predispose to perinatal depression in Italy

“…Therefore, further research directions performing longitudinal and case-control studies with larger sample sizes, including as potential variables the concomitant COVID-19 infection during pregnancy and/or postpartum period, should be conducted to better evaluate whether the gendereffect might explain the increased levels of depression in pregnant and/or postpartum women during the COVID-19 pandemic, as already reported in previous Italian studies which observed more severe psychological symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic reported by females compared to males in Italian population (84)(85)(86). In fact, "caution is needed when reporting opinions or data coming from cross-sectional studies, especially in the absence of proper controls for lockdown" (87).…”