Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on subjective sleep during lockdown: relation with resilience characteristics

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic had a considerable impact on both the physical and mental health of people. Resilience is a psychological characteristic reflecting the ability to overcome or adapt to difficulties such as adversity, trauma, or extremely stressful situations. People with high resilience have been shown to exhibit lower levels of anxiety, stress and depression when faced with a stressful event. Sleep is particularly sensitive to anxiety and stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on sleep quantity, quality, and habits, while considering resilience as a factor. A total of 1260 individuals were recruited through an online survey. The variables that were assessed were socio-demographic, sleep habits and sleep disorders history, the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), the 25-item version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and any work/financial consequences during the first COVID-19 lockdown. The results showed that sleep habits during the lockdown changed for many of the participants. Their sleep schedule moving towards earlier or later for 9% and 67% of them, respectively; 38% of the participants were found to suffer from insomnia, based on the AIS score. A higher score on the CD-RISC was associated with better sleep. In conclusion, our study confirmed previous studies identifying quantitative and qualitative changes in sleep during the COVID-19 lockdown. It also expanded on the previous findings by identifying the correlation between sleep and resilience during the stressful period of the COVID-19 lockdown.