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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes in daily routines and lifestyle worldwide and mental health issues have emerged as a consequence We aimed to assess the presence of sleep disturbances during the lockdown in the general population Methods: Cross-sectional, online survey-based study on adults living through the COVID-19 pandemic The questionnaire included demographics and specific questions assessing the impact of the pandemic/ lockdown on sleep, daytime functioning and mental health in the general population Identification of sleep pattern changes and specific sleep-related symptoms was the primary outcome, and secondary outcomes involved identifying sleep disturbances for predefined cohorts (participants reporting impact on mental health, self-isolation, keyworker status, suspected COVID-19 or ongoing COVID-19 symptoms) Results: In total, 843 participants were included in the analysis The majority were female (67 4%), middle aged [52 years (40–63 years)], white (92 2%) and overweight to obese [BMI 29 4 kg/m2 (24 1–35 5 kg/m2)];69 4% reported a change in their sleep pattern, less than half (44 7%) had refreshing sleep, and 45 6% were sleepier than before the lockdown;33 9% had to self-isolate, 65 2% reported an impact on their mental health and 25 9% were drinking more alcohol during the lockdown More frequently reported observations specific to sleep were ‘disrupted sleep’ (42 3%), ‘falling asleep unintentionally’ (35 2%), ‘difficulties falling’/‘staying asleep’ (30 9% and 30 8%, respectively) and ‘later bedtimes’ (30 0%) Respondents with suspected COVID-19 had more nightmares and abnormal sleep rhythms An impact on mental health was strongly associated with sleep-related alterations Conclusions: Sleep disturbances have affected a substantial proportion of the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown These are significantly associated with a self-assessed impact on mental health, but may also be related to suspected COVID-19 status, changes in habits and self-isolation
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