An international group of researchers led by the University of Oxford is investigating the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep and daily rhythms in adults.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, difficulty getting to sleep, difficulty staying asleep and vivid dreaming have been widely reported across the general population. Some people may already have had sleep problems, and these seem to have got worse. Other people who were good sleepers before seem to have developed insomnia.
This study will look at the changes in sleep quality in relation to social confinement such as a national lockdown or self-isolation, risk of exposure to the virus and psychological symptoms such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress. Researchers aim to understand how sleep problems have emerged and to investigate how sleep during COVID-19 has interacted with lifestyle, health and well-being.
The team will use an online survey to gather data from adults in the UK who are over 18 years. They will ask how sleep patterns have changed, what problems have emerged and which groups in the population are most affected.
The study, known as the International COVID-19 Sleep Study (ICOSS), is a large global collaboration involving research institutes in Austria, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Norway and the United States.
The data will be collated into a large international database to improve understanding of the worldwide effects of COVID-19 upon sleep.
To take part in the study people need to visit the website: International COVID-19 Sleep Study (ICOSS).
