Social Distancing and Sleep

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to alter American life, our social and professional routines remain dramatically disrupted. But how has the virus affected our most personal and essential rhythms, such as the way we sleep and sustain our mental health?

After all, sufficient sleep is an essential ingredient for many forms of well-being, including psychological fitness. Additionally, experts predict that a wave of mental health crises will follow in COVID-19’s wake. Moving forward, how will our sleep patterns influence and reflect our country’s emotional struggles?

To find out, we surveyed over 1,000 individuals about their sleep and emotional well-being since the onset of the pandemic. Our findings reveal many new struggles related to getting rest but also an encouraging range of coping strategies. To learn how the pandemic has impacted Americans’ sleeping habits and mental health, review our results below.

Rest Repercussions: Sleep in the Time of COVID-19

One might expect the novel coronavirus to negatively impact our sleep: Experts fear that new concerns and schedules resulting from COVID-19 will threaten many people’s sleep patterns. While our findings do suggest some disruption of this kind, our results actually indicate quite varied sleep consequences.

Indeed, our respondents were roughly evenly divided between those who said their sleep had suffered, improved, or stayed about the same in quarantine. Respondents were slightly more likely to report negative impacts on the quality of their sleep than the quantity, suggesting that issues arise less from finding time to sleep than from taking advantage of it.

Quarantine seemed to encourage burning the midnight oil: A majority of respondents said they’d been going to sleep later. With so many professionals out of work or telecommuting during the pandemic, there may be less reason to worry about staying up late. Forty-eight percent of respondents said they were rising later, and a third reported taking naps.

To be sure, the work-from-home dynamic can prove challenging in terms of maintaining energy and focus. Mix in the well-documented phenomenon of “Zoom fatigue” and it’s no wonder remote workers are feeling a little sleepy on the clock. Forty-three percent of respondents working from home said they had slept in or taken a nap during the workday. Many had even dozed off during meetings, a difficult thing to conceal when your video camera is on.

The Risks of Poor Rest: Mental Health Impacts

Across demographic groups, the onset of COVID-19 has correlated with elevated rates of depression and anxiety, causing tremendous concern among mental health experts. How might sleep be a mediating factor, exacerbating or mitigating emotional distress?

Among our respondents, a majority expressed that life was less enjoyable and reported that they were “just holding on” until things could get better. Moreover, 50 percent expressed less optimism about the future, while 39 percent said handling the pandemic was getting harder each day. In some sense, these feelings are entirely understandable: With a daunting economic outlook and the real possibility of more pandemics in the future, it’s easy to adopt a grim view.

However, these negative perspectives were far more common among those sleeping poorly during the pandemic. In some cases, the pessimism of poor sleepers was truly striking: Sixty-nine percent said they were less optimistic about the future, whereas just 45 percent of good sleepers said the same.

This pattern extended to specific negative emotions, with poor sleepers far more likely to feel disconnected, anxious, lonely, restless, and depressed. Of course, the issue of causation complicates this correlation: Are people struggling to sleep because of these negative emotions or feeling listless because their sleep is poor?

Both interpretations are probably true: A lack of sleep and emotional distress can actually sustain each other. For example, 3 in 5 poor sleepers reported anxiety at bedtime, a rate twice that among good sleepers. But poor sleep is also a known risk factor for anxiety disorders as well as depression and other mental health challenges. Accordingly, psychological distress and exhaustion can intermingle, producing a cycle of fatigue and difficult feelings.

Sleep and Well-Being: Successful Strategies

Our respondents seemed well aware of the connection between sleep and mental health. Most good sleepers recognized the positive impacts of their high-quality rest, while most poor sleepers reported negative mental health consequences.

This general awareness translated to specific conclusions about the impacts of sleep: Among good sleepers, more than two-thirds felt their rest put them in a better mood, and 57 percent felt healthier. Among poor sleepers, by contrast, 77 percent reported less energy, while 63 percent said their sleep issues resulted in worse moods and feeling unhealthy.

Unfortunately, some evidence suggests that worrying about your sleep problems can actually make dozing off even more difficult. So what are some truly effective techniques for improving sleep and mental health, especially in the uncertain time of COVID-19?

In terms of improving sleep, four methods seemed effective for the vast majority of respondents who had tried them: following a bedtime routine, practicing mindfulness, adhering to a set bedtime, and exercising. These suggestions are robustly supported by science and number among the suggestions routinely recommended by sleep experts. Moreover, a significant majority of respondents who used each of these methods reported good sleep overall.

Interestingly, some of these same habits, such as practicing mindfulness and exercising, were also most effective for our respondents in improving mental health. Perhaps these techniques deliver a kind of dual benefit, enhancing mental health both directly and indirectly through better sleep.

The most compelling mental health habit overall, however, was journaling, with 82 percent who tried it reporting benefits. This practice has significant research support and may be especially useful during the complicated and socially distant times of the coronavirus.

Self-Care and Sleep in an Unprecedented Era

Our findings clearly indicate a cause for concern: Many respondents reported poorer sleep during the pandemic and experienced an array of corresponding emotional challenges. Moreover, our results suggest the vicious cycle of poor sleep and mental health problems, with each perpetuating the other over time.

However, this project also suggests some constructive solutions, including practical techniques that good sleepers found effective for both their rest and mental health. Indeed, while so many aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic lie outside of our control, these simple techniques are well within our power. “The positive benefits of good sleep are profound, and simple steps can make a noticeable impact on anybody’s sleep,” said Amy Murphy, editor for Best Mattress Brand. “For example, sticking to a regular bedtime, avoiding temptations to hit the snooze button, and forgoing technology usage long before bed.”

Whether you choose to journal, practice mindfulness, or follow a bedtime routine, consider trying one of the strategies discussed in our results. No matter how troubling sleep and mental health challenges may seem, small adjustments can have powerful, positive impacts.

At Best Mattress Brand, we aim to empower readers to make smart, personalized choices to improve their sleep. With expert insight and informative reviews, we’re here to guide your search for the perfect mattress, pillows, or other sleep products. Explore our site today and see how we can help you invest in your rest and well-being.

Methodology and Limitations

We surveyed 1,001 respondents using the Amazon MTurk platform. 575 respondents reported high-quality sleep, 219 reported low-quality sleep, and 207 reported sleep that was neither high nor low quality. 540 respondents were male, 459 respondents were female, and two respondents did not identify as male or female. Our respondents ranged in age from 17 to 89 with an average age of approximately 39.

To help ensure accurate results, all respondents were required to identify and correctly answer an attention-check question. In many cases, questions and responses were rephrased for clarity or brevity. These data rely on self-reporting, and statistical testing was not performed on the findings. Potential issues with self-reported data include, but are not limited to, exaggeration, selective memory, and attribution errors on the part of respondents.

Fair Use Statement

We hope the results of this project reach as many readers as possible, allowing others to consider new techniques to improve their own sleep. Though we may be physically distant, sharing content like this can be an important way to support friends and family in the COVID-19 era. If you do share our work, please include a link back to this page so that other readers can find and enjoy the full project. Additionally, please use the images and information in this project solely for noncommercial purposes.