The Pandemic Has Us Sleeping More — But Not Necessarily Better

The current pandemic has affected everything from our daily schedules to stress levels and, of course, sleep. People around the world are even reporting pandemic dreams, but according to new research, that's not the only way the coronavirus is affecting our sleep.

In the first study, researchers in Switzerland looked at sleeping patterns in participants as it related to social and biological rhythms (during the strictest point in quarantine for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland). They also used self-reported sleep quality data.

Both studies appear to indicate that while more time at home has resulted in an increase in sleep, sleep quality dropped. Another effect seems to be that the difference in sleep on work-/school days, versus off days, has decreased—meaning people are going to bed and getting up at more consistent times even on the weekends or off days. Also known as "social jet lag," it describes the common habit of catching up on sleep on one's days off.

"Usually, we would expect a decrease in social jet lag to be associated with reports of improved sleep quality," notes sleep researcher and cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Basel Christine Blume, Ph.D. "However, in our sample, overall sleep quality decreased."

And in the University of Boulder's research, they found students were staying up later than usual while studying remotely but were also sleeping longer, particularly students who reported not getting enough sleep before stay-at-home guidelines.

Kenneth Wright, Ph.D., at the University of Boulder, notes that a better understanding of which particular factors have contributed to the sleep changes could help develop sleep health intervention strategies, but until then, there are lots of things you can do if you've been struggling to get a quality night's sleep.