Sleep Pattern Changes and the Level of Fatigue Reported in a Community Sample of Adults During COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract

PurposeThe study aimed to (a) assess the sleep pattern changes and the level of fatigue among COVID positive adults (b) determine the association of sociodemographic and lifestyle factors (age, gender, marital status, occupation, income, exercise, nap, diet, and comorbidities) on sleep pattern and level of fatigue c) examine the relationship between sleep and fatigue, and between sleep problems, sleep quality and fatigue, among a community sample of COVID-19 affected adults.MethodsA non-experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional survey design was used. Participants were adults, between 18 and 63 years (n = 782), who tested positive for COVID-19 infection using RT–PCR or Antigen test, confined to home quarantine/under observation, and without any complications. Data was collected using the socio-demographic-sleep and related activity questionnaire, Fatigue Assessment Scale, and Sleep Quality Scale.ResultsA majority of the participants reported either mild to moderate sleep quality problems (97.31%) and 377 of them (48.21%) reported fatigue levels. A significant association between sleep quality and fatigue with gender, and lifestyle factors such as sleep duration, food intake, napping, exercise pattern, and influence of COVID-19 on livelihood after being affected with COVID-19, and time of experiencing sleep problems after COVID-19 infection (all, p ˂ 0.01) were observed, as well as age with sleep quality. Poor sleep quality and fatigue were significantly correlated with each other, and also with sleep problems before being affected with COVID-19 (p = 0.000).ConclusionsThe study has shown that COVID-19 has an effect on an individual's demographic factors and a multitude of lifestyle factors, and highlights the need for post-COVID-19 monitoring even after recovery from the disease.