Time to Sleep?—A Review of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Sleep and Mental Health

Vlad Sever Neculicioiu, Ioana Alina Colosi, Carmen Costache, Alexandra Sevastre-Berghian and Simona Clichici
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Vlad Sever Neculicioiu: Department of Microbiology, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Ioana Alina Colosi: Department of Microbiology, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Carmen Costache: Department of Microbiology, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Alexandra Sevastre-Berghian: Department of Physiology, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Simona Clichici: Department of Physiology, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-22

Abstract: Sleep is intrinsically tied to mental and overall health. Short sleep duration accompanies the modern lifestyle, possibly reaching epidemic proportions. The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns determined a fundamental shift in the modern lifestyle and had profound effects on sleep and mental health. This paper aims to provide an overview of the relationship between sleep, mental health and COVID-19. Contrasting outcomes on sleep health have been highlighted by most reports during the pandemic in the general population. Consequently, while longer sleep durations have been reported, this change was accompanied by decreases in sleep quality and altered sleep timing. Furthermore, an increased impact of sleep deficiencies and mental health burden was generally reported in health care workers as compared with the adult general population. Although not among the most frequent symptoms during the acute or persistent phase, an increased prevalence of sleep deficiencies has been reported in patients with acute and long COVID. The importance of sleep in immune regulation is well known. Consequently, sleep deficiencies may influence multiple aspects of COVID-19, such as the risk, severity, and prognosis of the infection and even vaccine response.

Keywords: sleep; sleep deprivation; sleep duration; sleep quality; COVID-19; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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