Psychosocial Predictors of Sleep Disturbances during COVID-19: differential contributions of demographic, psychological, pandemic-related factors to sleep health. (preprint)

Aim: Since the declaration of COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on January 30, 2020, the disease escalated into a global pandemic forcing governments around the world to impose measures that affected all aspects of life. Among other countries, Greece adopted social restriction, lockdowns, and quarantines to reduce transmission from person to person.  Subjects and Methods: This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the impact of those measures on sleep health in a Greek adult sample. An online questionnaire collected data during from 650 participant.  Results: 60% of responders scored below the clinical cut-off on the RU-SATED, indicating they experienced poor sleep health. Better sleep health was reported with increased age and years of education. On the other hand, higher trauma-related distress, depression, anxiety and stress symptomatology were related to poorer sleep health. No gender differences were observed, and degree of compliance to pandemic restrictions did not influence sleep health. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated difficulty in securing enough/healthy food, testing positive for COVID-19, experiencing an increase in verbal arguments/conflicts at home and an increase in responsibilities were the strongest predictors of poor sleep heath.  Conclusions: Results highlight the importance of maintaining good sleep health as a pillar of general physical and mental health.

An International study of Post-COVID Sleep Health (preprint)

Objectives: COVID-19 has infected millions of people worldwide with growing evidence showing that individuals with a history of infection may continue to show persistent post-COVID symptoms (long COVID). The aim of this study was to investigate sleep health in an international sample of individuals who reported previously testing positive for COVID-19. Design: Cross-sectional.Setting. Online survey, in English and Spanish, distributed online between March 4–June 15, 2021.Participants. 1001 individuals who reported a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 across different geographical regions, including North and South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Europe.Measurements: Self-reported sleep health, using the RU-SATED scale, as recalled before a COVID-19 diagnosis and also reported currently. Results: Individuals reported worse overall current sleep health, with lower ratings across the six dimensions of sleep health (sleep regularity, satisfaction, alertness, timing, efficiency, and duration) compared to their ratings as recalled before COVID-19 infection. Greater severity of COVID-19 symptoms was the strongest predictor of poor current sleep health (p < .001), independent of demographics, presence of a pre-existing chronic health condition, and time since infection. Poor current sleep health was associated with poorer current quality of life (p<.001). Conclusions: Poor current sleep health is evident in individuals with a history of COVID-19, particularly those with more severe symptoms at the time of their COVID-19 infection and is associated with a poorer quality of life. Clinicians and researchers should assess sleep health in individuals with a history of COVID-19 and investigate long-term associations with their mental and physical health, as well as potential benefits of improving sleep in this population.

Forced Social Isolation and Lockdown during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Depression, Anxiety, and Trauma-distress in a Greek sample (preprint)

Purpose The COVID-19 outbreak escalated into a global pandemic, forcing governments around the world to impose measures affecting all aspects of life. Like other countries, Greece adopted social restriction, lockdowns, and quarantines to reduce transmission from person-to-person. This cross-sectional study investigated the impact of social restriction measures on mental health in a Greek adult sample.Method An online questionnaire collected data during the second national lockdown (February to May 2021). A total of 650 participants (M age: 33.13, 71.5% female) comprised the final sample.Results 21.3% of respondents reported moderate-to-extremely severe anxiety, 33% moderate-to-extremely severe depression, 31.8% moderate-to-severe stress, and 38% clinically significant trauma-related distress. Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that the strongest contributors to adverse mental health outcomes were being female, younger age, experiencing increases in verbal arguments at home, being separated from family and close friends, and being unable to afford enough or healthy food. Lastly, participants moved away from social support and into more individual strength and resilience-based coping strategies to cope with challenges.Conclusion These findings suggest that in addition to the detrimental effects on physical health, COVID-19 also imposed a heavy psychological burden on the population via forced social isolation, which, by design, increased not only physical distancing but also psychological distancing between people.