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Difficulties sleeping have affected a large part of the population during the pandemic caused by Covid-19. Among adults, 70% had changes in initiating or maintaining sleep. This is the result indicated by the first stage of the research How is your sleep during this quarantine?, carried out by the Rio Grande do Sul Brain Institute (InsCer).
The study highlighted that sleep disorders in adults are mainly related to changes in their children's routine and emotional concerns such as anxiety and fear. The data showed sleep disorders in 58,6% of children aged 0 to 3 years, 27,7% of children aged 4 to 12 years and 56,6% of adolescents. According to the research, parents who have children in these age groups had an increased chance of developing sleep problems.
“Compared to previous data, during the pandemic, sleeping problems doubled among adults and adolescents. In children aged 0 to 3 years, the difficulties tripled”, says the research coordinator and deputy director of InsCer, Magda Lahorgue Nunes.
Regarding difficulty sleeping, Magda highlights that changes in routine can be one of the causes. “Complaints of insomnia have been very frequent during quarantine. This is certainly due to breaks in routines, the lack of need to stick to schedules, in addition to lax sleep hygiene aspects, such as variations in bedtime and waking times and excessive screen time,” she states.
To maintain healthy sleep, despite all the changes and concerns caused by the pandemic, it is important to try to follow a routine. “Having a set time to sleep and wake up, avoiding screen time at least 30 minutes before bed, not drinking too much alcohol, opting for light meals at night and avoiding caffeinated drinks can all help,” suggests Magda.
The first stage of the study had data collected between April and June 2020. With the extension of the pandemic context, a second stage of the study was added to understand the population's sleep behavior after more than a year of quarantine.
The second stage of the survey is open to everyone, regardless of participation in the first phase. To participate, simply answer a online quiz, available until June 30th. In this second phase, questions relating to depression and domestic violence were added.
