According to a recent study published in the Journal of Sleep Research, the pandemic and home confinement has resulted in varied sleep patterns among both children and their parents. The subjects were mothers of 264 children who participated in the web-based study, identifying their child’s sleep patterns, and noting their Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) levels prior to the pandemic and during home confinement. The ages of the children ranged from 6 months – 6 years old, the mothers were 33 years of age on average, and the families had an average of 2 children per household. 60% of mothers reported insomnia and anxiety, which in turn affects their child’s sleep quality.
Overall, studies are showing that teens and young adults are reporting the worst sleep patterns. This is attributed to isolation, depression, an excess of technology and adjusting to the transition of remote learning. Females are showing a 50% higher rate of difficulty in falling asleep as opposed to males. Throughout the course of this pandemic, not only are people worried about their families, their finances, their health and their jobs, but watching the news and seeing what is happening to the economy is causing an enormous amount of anxiety and uncertainty. When your body reacts to this kind of information, it produces an excess of the stress hormone cortisol, keeping your mind going like a hamster wheel. Losing your routine and disrupting your daily schedule throws off your sleep-wake cycle, not to mention the lack of natural daylight due to quarantine.
To read more about this study, please click here.
