The COVID-19 pandemics and related lockdowns over the last two years have resulted in consistent adverse effects on sleep habits and sleep quality. For instance, during home confinement, Cellini et al., (2020, 2021) found that Italians reported delayed bed/wake times and increased time spent in bed, as well as an impairment in sleep quality. Furthermore, Gualano et al., (2020) found that over 40% of an Italian sample reported sleep disturbances during the last two weeks of the lockdown period and, within that group, 17.4% reported moderate to severe insomnia. Casagrande, et al.,(2020) and Cellini et al., (2021) discovered that women and youth were found to be at greater risk for distress and sleep disorders as a result of COVID-19. Similar findings on sleep changes have also been reported worldwide in Argentinian, Australian, Belgian, Chinese, French and Greek populations, suggesting a global impact of COVID-19 and related safety measures on sleep and mental health.
Our major goal is to promote a debate on the time course of COVID-19 related sleep impairments. Studies carried out by Conte et al., (2021), Salfi et al. (2021) and Conte et al., (2022) comparing objective actigraphic data and subjective reports of sleep features between the first and the second pandemic waves, reported that the negative impact of the pandemic on sleep and mental health persisted during the second wave and the consequent partial lockdowns.
Furthermore, many studies have been describing the so called “long COVID syndrome”, i.e. a constellation of symptoms on a number of different somatic functions which continue even after months/years after their first occurrence, see for instance Carod-Artal (2021) and Ahmad et al. (2021).
Therefore, it would be important to understand whether sleep is affected likewise and to what extent its possible impairment is linked to psychological disturbances deriving from the traumatic experience of the pandemics.
Our Research Topic aims to host both original articles, opinions, and reviews on the widest possible range of aspects concerning the long-term outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic on subjective and objective sleep characteristics. Examples of topics of utmost interest are:
• What is the time course of COVID-19 related sleep modifications over a longer time period in those populations that have been addressed so far (i.e., in a longitudinal approach)?
• Since most data have been collected only among the general population or, at most, in specific socio-demographic or occupational categories, what are sleep features in those subjects who have experienced COVID in the most tragic way, by either surviving the disease after being in life danger (i.e., intensive care treatments) or having suffered the loss of a loved one.
• If sleep alterations are still found, what mechanisms are sustaining them at a time when no lockdowns are imposed any longer and life habits seem to have returned to normality? Are they connected to post-traumatic effects on mental health (with special reference to anxiety and depression)?
The COVID-19 pandemics and related lockdowns over the last two years have resulted in consistent adverse effects on sleep habits and sleep quality. For instance, during home confinement, Cellini et al., (2020, 2021) found that Italians reported delayed bed/wake times and increased time spent in bed, as well as an impairment in sleep quality. Furthermore, Gualano et al., (2020) found that over 40% of an Italian sample reported sleep disturbances during the last two weeks of the lockdown period and, within that group, 17.4% reported moderate to severe insomnia. Casagrande, et al.,(2020) and Cellini et al., (2021) discovered that women and youth were found to be at greater risk for distress and sleep disorders as a result of COVID-19. Similar findings on sleep changes have also been reported worldwide in Argentinian, Australian, Belgian, Chinese, French and Greek populations, suggesting a global impact of COVID-19 and related safety measures on sleep and mental health.
Our major goal is to promote a debate on the time course of COVID-19 related sleep impairments. Studies carried out by Conte et al., (2021), Salfi et al. (2021) and Conte et al., (2022) comparing objective actigraphic data and subjective reports of sleep features between the first and the second pandemic waves, reported that the negative impact of the pandemic on sleep and mental health persisted during the second wave and the consequent partial lockdowns.
Furthermore, many studies have been describing the so called “long COVID syndrome”, i.e. a constellation of symptoms on a number of different somatic functions which continue even after months/years after their first occurrence, see for instance Carod-Artal (2021) and Ahmad et al. (2021).
Therefore, it would be important to understand whether sleep is affected likewise and to what extent its possible impairment is linked to psychological disturbances deriving from the traumatic experience of the pandemics.
Our Research Topic aims to host both original articles, opinions, and reviews on the widest possible range of aspects concerning the long-term outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic on subjective and objective sleep characteristics. Examples of topics of utmost interest are:
• What is the time course of COVID-19 related sleep modifications over a longer time period in those populations that have been addressed so far (i.e., in a longitudinal approach)?
• Since most data have been collected only among the general population or, at most, in specific socio-demographic or occupational categories, what are sleep features in those subjects who have experienced COVID in the most tragic way, by either surviving the disease after being in life danger (i.e., intensive care treatments) or having suffered the loss of a loved one.
• If sleep alterations are still found, what mechanisms are sustaining them at a time when no lockdowns are imposed any longer and life habits seem to have returned to normality? Are they connected to post-traumatic effects on mental health (with special reference to anxiety and depression)?
