We're all sleeping worse due to COVID-19, study shows

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Spending more time at home due to coronavirus lockdowns has given people more time to sleep -- but that sleep has not been restful, according to a new study published in the journal Current Biology on Wednesday.

The study from the University of Basel in Switzerland examined sleep patterns in 435 people during the strictest phase of lockdown in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, from mid-March through April. Working from home let people adjust their sleep schedules to match their biological rhythms -- often staying up later and sleeping later, and keeping sleep more consistent between weekdays and weekends, reducing what's known as "social jetlag." The new schedules also added an average of 15 minutes of sleep on per night, the study found. Despite this, sleep quality declined, participants reported.

"Usually, we would expect a decrease in social jetlag to be associated with reports of improved sleep quality," cognitive neuroscientist and study co-author Christine Blume said in a press release. "However, in our sample, overall sleep quality decreased. We think that the self-perceived burden, which substantially increased during this unprecedented COVID-19 lockdown, may have outweighed the otherwise beneficial effects of a reduced social jetlag."

It's not surprising that the stress of the pandemic worsened sleep quality, Blume said in the release. But from a sleep health perspective, the increase in sleep duration and regularity is a positive change, she added.

https://www.cnet.com/health/were-all-sleeping-worse-due-to-covid-19-study-shows/?ftag=CAD-04-10abi6g&bhid=24447454298893839703959737945916&mid=12875633&cid=534320049

[spinbaby]

1. I'll vouch for this

I wake up at night and think about what’s going on.

[Ohiogal]

3. Same here.

[hlthe2b]

2. I almost never have trouble falling asleep (my refuge) but damn it is hard to stay asleep

nowadays. Granted I'm news and internet-addicted, but still...

[Music Man]

4. Yep.

A couple reasons for it in my case. One is that if I don't have a place to be in the morning, I'm staying up VERY late, going down the YouTube rabbit hole, reading articles, etc. So I don't have a regular timeline to my sleep, I'll fall asleep on the couch a lot, etc.

And as a teacher and musician, I'm also becoming anxious about the fall and what my schedule is going to look like. In the past two weeks, I've had nightmares nearly every night, as a result of the stress.

[BamaRefugee]

5. I woke up one morning with a molar cracked in half. I've always had great teeth, only ONE CAVITY my

whole life and I'm 68.
Had to have it pulled. The dentist said it was from grinding my teeth in my sleep. I've never done that before that I know of.

The dentist told me that since COVID-19 she has had an explosion of cracked teeth for the same reason, people are ultra tense. While in the waiting room I heard the front desk take 2 calls both of which included this: "When did you break your tooth? The middle of the night?"

[smirkymonkey]

6. That's interesting!

I have been getting tension headaches in my face and jaw that end up radiating down into my neck and shoulders. Haven't broken any teeth yet, but I have pretty strong teeth. I definitely feel a lot of tension in my jaw though.

[BamaRefugee]

8. I was having that same radiating pain before the tooth broke!

I got one of those mouth guards you custom fit with boiling water, it’s not uncomfortable. Wish I had it before, replacing a tooth is expen$ive and my business has been closed since March.

[Mosby]

7. Not me, I sleep like a baby.