Increased sleep duration prevalent worldwide during Covid-19 pandemic, possibly boosting immune system's resilience against viral infections and vaccines
🌃 BIG SMARTPHONE SLEEP SURVEY REVEALS GLOBAL SLEEP DURATION INCREASE DURING COVID-19 🌃
Hey there! Guess what? A new study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research is blowing our minds. It seems that our COVID-19-induced lifestyle changes may have boosted our sleep time by a whopping 25 minutes! That's as potent as your average sleep aid, y'all!
Researchers from Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Keane University, and Monash University dug into over 2 million sleep records from users of the worldwide popular sleep tracking app, Sleep Cycle. They compared the data before and after the World Health Organization announced COVID-19 a pandemic back in March 2020.
Surprise, surprise! Major cities like New York City (+24.5 minutes), London (+20.8 minutes), and Seoul (+12.2 minutes) all showed a significant increase in total sleep time. Even Stockholm, which didn't impose stringent COVID-19 containment measures like other regions, managed to snag more shut-eye time that matched other metropolitan areas that did. Go figure!
Rebecca Robbins, Ph.D., an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, explained that most people were skimping on their nightly Z's before the pandemic. But now, this extra sleep might be just what the doctor ordered to help our bodies fight off disease and infection.
Stuart Quan, MD, of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Brigham and Women's Hospital, added that adequate sleep is essential to ensure a strong immune response to infection. He believes that more sleep could boost our ability to resist severe illness and improve the effectiveness of vaccines.
In 2020, Sleep Cycle dropped a report called "Sleep and Mental Health Amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic," examining how pandemic-related behaviors and fears affected sleep worldwide. The company is all about helping the world sleep better, and they're stoked about their data's ability to offer crucial insights into COVID-19's ongoing impact on our physical and mental wellbeing.
Charles A. Czeisler, Ph.D., MD, who contributed to the study, expressed that using sleep-tracking data from consumers demonstrates the power of harnessing big data to assess sleep changes triggered by global events, like COVID-19.
So, there you have it! The pandemic has granted us some extra Z's, but it's been a mixed bag for sleep quality and mental health overall. As we move forward, understanding these shifts is vital in crafting effective strategies to improve sleep and mental well-being post-pandemic.
[Media Contact]Malin ArbrahamssonHead of PR & Partnerships, Sleep [email protected] (0) 739 726 424
[About Sleep Cycle]With millions of daily active users and over 2 billion sleep nights analyzed across 150 countries, Sleep Cycle is the leading sleep app in the world. The mission? To help the globe sleep better and contribute to sleep research. Since launching in 2009, Sleep Cycle has assisted millions in comprehending their sleep habits and improving their slumber. The app aids users in dozing off more effortlessly, tracking sleep patterns, and rousing them during their light sleep phase, providing helpful sleep insights. Sleep Cycle stands as one of the largest repositories of sleep data, driving research and sleep coverage across the globe. They're based in Gothenburg, Sweden, and boast a team of 27. 😊😴
- The new study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research suggests that adequate sleep, a key component of health-and-wellness, might play a crucial role in helping our bodies fight medical-conditions like disease and infections, especially during times of global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
- In the quest to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our sleep habits, the sleep tracking app, Sleep Cycle, has been actively involved in research, using science and big data to assess changes in sleep patterns worldwide, with the ultimate goal of helping people sleep better and improve their overall health-and-wellness.
