Sleep Quality in the Indian Adult Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing measures such as stay-at-home orders were implemented for all non-essential workers. The consequent disruption in the defined daily work routine has impacted both the quality and duration of sleep. Our aim was to evaluate the quality of sleep in the Indian adult population during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The data were collected between April 17, 2020 and May 24, 2020, and participants were invited openly through social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram). Sleep quality was evaluated using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) Questionnaire.

The study population consisted of 808 participants (mean age 30.85 years, 56.7% female). The mean sleep score of the study population was 6.78 ± 3.19 on the PSQI, with a majority (57.2%) of respondents showing 'poor' sleep quality (>5 on PSQI). The mean sleep duration of the study population was found to be 6.9 ± 1.4 h, and sleep latency was 42.64 ± 51.6 min. The PSQI scores were comparable for age, gender, and work status and were not significant. However, a significant association between self-reported mental health and quality of sleep was found (p<0.05). Participants who reported a deterioration in mental health were more likely to have poor sleep quality than those who reported an improvement in their mental health.

The results of this study show that poor sleep quality is widely prevalent among the the general population in India during the COVID-19 pandemic.