Sleep quality and the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic in five EU countries

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to lifestyle changes across Europe with a likely impact on sleep quality.

The analyze shows that :

• an increase in the four-week average daily COVID-19 deaths/100,000 inhabitants (our proxy for the evolution of the pandemic) significantly reduced sleep quality in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden between April 2020 and June 2021.

• about half of the reduction in sleep quality caused by the evolution of the pandemic can be attributed to changes in lifestyles, worsened mental health and negative attitudes toward COVID-19 and its management (lower degree of confidence in government, greater fear of being infected).

For more details read the Working Paper co-written by Giorgia Menta, researcher in our Research Department Living Conditions.