ABSTRACT
Introduction: Daily sleep may be affected by several conditions, including stress. Stress has been shown to impact our physical and mental health. Perceived stress can affect sleep quantity, quality, and architecture, with a detrimental effect on emotional responses to daily stressors. Moreover, poor quantity/quality sleep can increase the risk of severe medical and mental disorders that in turn can have a negative effect on sleep. However, some beneficial sleep/stress management interventions seem to have a mediator impact on a stress-sleep relationship. Physical activity (PA) is reported to prevent the negative effects of perceived stress on sleep, in stress conditions, as COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The study aimed to conduct a preliminary analysis on the relationship between PA, perceived daily stress (pdStress), and sleep parameters from data collected through Garmin and Apple wearable devices by LUCA app, a psychophysiological well-being application, helping to recognize and manage stress. Materials and methods: Data from Australian users have been collected for 14 consecutive days. No inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. PA and sleep parameters were selected if present on both Garmin and Apple devices. We assessed: PA by daily calories consumption during active daily periods, and total steps;sleep as time spent asleep;pdStress as the total score obtained from four specific daily, day-framed questions investigating the ability to relax, the presence of somatic, and emotional/cognitive symptoms [total score range: 0-12;the higher is the score the higher is the pdStress.] Statistical analysis included linear mixed models, with pdStress total score as independent variable and sleep duration as dependent variable. PA parameters were added separately as moderators of pdStress and sleep relationship, with age, sex, and the brand of the wearable devices as covariates. Results: Sample: 46 Australian users (19 from Garmin and 27 Apple wearable devices), including 27 females (58.7%);age between 20 and 60 years (years;m=40.8, sd=±9.1). On average, the sample was characterized by: low to moderate levels of PA;mild levels of pdStress;and sleep duration as WHO’s recommendations. The analyses showed a statistically significant inverse association between level of pdStress and sleep duration (p < 0.001). This relationship was moderated by PA measured by active calories consumptions (p = 0.015) and total steps (p = 0.038), with higher activity levels resulting in a reduction of the strength of the inverse association between pdStress and sleep. Discussion: Our results confirm the detrimental relationship between pdStress and nighttime sleep duration, as reported by the literature. Moreover, our data show that high levels of PA can reduce the negative effect of pdStress on sleep duration. Despite the limitations concerning the limited number of subjects, device-related recording errors, indirect sleep parameters, and non-sophisticated PA measures, our results underline the importance of PA programs when daily stress conditions and sleep alterations occur. Acknowledgment: Data collection was sponsored by Mebidio LTD. We thank all participants involved in the study.
ABSTRACT
IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has been causing relevant public health and psychosocial consequences.ObjectivesTo assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, lifestyle and personal relationships in the Italian general population.MethodsAn online survey spread between May and June 2020 to collect socio-demographic, clinical, lifestyle, relationship, and mental health self-reported information. Mental disorder screening was performed by the Patient Health Questionnaire and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5.ResultsParticipants were 2003, 1504 of which (75%) completed the entire questionnaire (1157 females, 77%). Among the completers who have not had any mental disorder before (n=524, 35%), 263 (51.7%) met cut-off scores for psychiatric diagnoses on the self-report psychiatric screeners during the pandemic (i.e., Major Depressive Disorder, 11.3%, with death thoughts in approximately half of the cases;Panic Disorder, 1.1%;Generalized Anxiety Disorder, 13%.3, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, 13.2%, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, 7.3%;Alcohol Abuse, 5.5%). In line with this, 39% of completers complained of insomnia, while 12% and 10% started using anxiolytics and antidepressants, respectively. Approximately 7-8 % of completers started/increased alcohol and/or nicotine consumption, 33% quitted/decreased physical activity, and 40% declared decreased sexual satisfaction. Approximately 21% and 38% declared worsening in relationship with partner and difficulty in child-caring, respectively.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic appears to be a risk factor for new onset of mental disorders and worsening in lifestyle and familial relationships in the Italian population. These results should be confirmed by clinical interviews, and may represent a starting point for further monitoring of the medium and long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.DisclosureNo significant relationships.