SLEEP PROBLEMS solved

If you have been suffering from sleep problems since the onset of the pandemic, take comfort in the fact that you are not alone. The phenomenon has been so widespread that experts have even come up with a name for it – coronasomnia. Research reveals that the number of people battling insomnia rose from one in six pre-Covid to one in four – and women are struggling in particular.^*

A break with our long-held routines and the blurring of boundaries between work and home – not to mention heightened anxiety about the virus – have all contributed to our collective tossing and turning into the wee hours. The study from the University of Southampton also concludes that women were more vulnerable to sleep deprivation during lockdown. The proportion of women losing sleep before the virus was 19 per cent, rising to 31 per cent during the pandemic, while the number of men reporting sleep loss increased from 12 to 16.5 per cent.

‘I’ve had a huge influx of people coming to see me post-Covid,’ says Stephanie Romiszewski, a sleep physiologist. ‘Our sleep is an adaptive process because our brains are so smart. When there’s a change, such as not commuting or walking around as we’re used to, our sleep has to adapt too. Not to mention that we’ve all been watching more news, so the usual worries that plague us were eclipsed by global anxiety.’

“A change in routine