Assessing sleep hygiene among Saudi community during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: The mental health of the general public is significantly affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aims to evaluate sleep hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic among the general Saudi population. Subjects and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted to fulfil the study aim, and an electronic structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the participants. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a self-rated questionnaire, was used to assess sleep hygiene over a month, including the quality of sleep and sleep disturbances. A total of 1597 participants completed the survey, among which 871 (54.5%) were males. The age of participants ranged between 18 and 75 years. Results: The results showed that >30 min was required for 28.5% of the participants to fall asleep since last month. The sleep efficacy was <75% among 17.9% of the study participants, and 17.9% sleep for <7 h at night. The total PSQI score ranged from 0 to 20 points with a mean score of 5.8 ± 3.4. Nearly one out of each four participants had poor sleep quality, and about one out of each five participants had to take medication to fall asleep. Conclusion: Therefore, it is concluded that changes associated with lifestyle change COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown inversely affected public mental health and sleep hygiene.