SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With a large
percentage of the American workforce still working from home,
COVID-19 continues to disrupt people's day-to-day lives, not only
creating pandemic-related stress but also impacting daily routines.
Now, over a year into the pandemic, a new survey looked at how the
disruption changed people's sleep patterns and even what they dream
about.
Survey of U.S. adults shows many are struggling to sleep as before,
and some are dreaming about a post-pandemic world
Commissioned by 23andMe, a leading consumer genetics and
research company, the survey found a quarter of respondents (25
percent) are struggling to fall asleep as easily as they did before
the pandemic, and nearly a quarter (24 percent) are going to bed
later because they do not feel as tired.
Moreover, once asleep, individuals are finding that they are
waking up more in the night than they did pre-pandemic (24
percent), and they are also feeling more restless through the night
(19 percent). While asleep, 11 percent say they have had dreams
specific to COVID-19 and 14 percent have had dreams about what life
will be like once the pandemic is over.
"The survey offers another proof point into how the pandemic is
impacting people's day-to-day health patterns and routines," said
Eric Rasmussen, Head of Consumer
Insights at 23andMe. "What we don't know yet, but something 23andMe
scientists would like to know, is how much of an impact these
disruptions might have on people's long-term health."
Over half of the participants surveyed (55 percent) were either
furloughed or laid off, or working from home. A majority of this
group reports waking up later than they did before the pandemic, 60
percent and 64 percent, respectively. This could be attributed to a
disruption in daily routine, and added stress from job loss, or the
uncertainty of the pandemic.
Sleep and stress each play a role in overall health. 23andMe
scientists and their collaborators have looked at several
components of sleep, including wake times, sleep
apnea, and REM sleep. 23andMe also offers its customers,
throughout its services, various reports on obstructive sleep
apnea, sleep movement, deep sleep and more. Each of these different
sleep related issues could affect sleep patterns and contribute to
restlessness.
The data from 23andMe's sleep survey is consistent with other
published data over the last few months, indicating the pandemic's
impact on sleep. A study published in early March noted that sleep
disruption and stress among healthcare workers during the pandemic
is also associated with a higher risk of infection and more severe
symptoms from COVID-19. But broad population-wide changes in sleep
patterns are notoriously difficult to study.
The survey offers one way to look at those changes. But
23andMe's research model is also uniquely able to look at sleep
patterns more broadly. Over the last year, 23andMe research
biostatistician, Teresa Filshtein
Sonmez, Ph.D., has looked at data on activity levels and
sleep among more than 130,000 consented 23andMe research
participants. The sleep data is challenging to understand because
our data come from smart devices rather than sleep trackers.
Specifically, we know when a device becomes inactive at night, how
long each device has been inactive at night, and when a device
first becomes active the next morning. Device inactivity is not a
direct measure of sleep but can be used to detect substantial
changes in our customers' behavior. By measuring smartphone
activity and inactivity, Teresa can gauge changes in when research
participants will sleep, wake up, and how long they were
asleep.
According to the sleep data, people began sleeping more and
waking up later immediately after the first shelter-in-place orders
went into effect in March of 2020. In the beginning, people slept a
lot more, 1.5 hours more each night, according to the data. While
this wasn't a measure of sleep quality, it does show a significant
change in sleep patterns due to the pandemic. That new pattern has
also changed, however. Over the course of 2020, people adjusted to
new schedules, and their sleep patterns are slowly creeping back
toward pre-pandemic levels.
The data from 23andMe's sleep survey, together with data from
23andMe's internal research, shows how the pandemic has transformed
lives. The larger question about how this may or may not impact
overall health still needs to be studied. And these insights come
as another disruption looms on the horizon, with many workers going
back into the office or their children going back to school.
Methodology
This online survey was designed by 23andMe
and conducted through Alchemer (formerly SurveyGizmo) on
March 18, 2021, among a national
sample of 1,002 adults ages 18 and up. Data for this time period
have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography
using the Census Bureau's American Community Survey to reflect the
demographic composition of the United
States. The modeled error estimate for this survey is plus
or minus 4 percentage points.
The activity and sleep data is collected through the Apple®
HealthKit integration (3). HealthKit allows iPhone® users to
collate health information on their phones, smartwatches, or apps
in a single location; customers participating in research can then
allow 23andMe scientists to access and study the data. (Customers
can learn about their own contributions by looking at the Research
Overview page.) For this analysis, we used activity and
inactivity data extracted between Feb 02,
2020 - December 31, 2020, on
consented 23andMe research participants 18 years of age and
older.
About 23andMe
23andMe, Inc., headquartered in
Sunnyvale, CA, is a leading
consumer genetics and research company. Founded in 2006, the
company's mission is to help people access, understand, and benefit
from the human genome. 23andMe has pioneered direct access to
genetic information as the only company with multiple FDA
authorizations for genetic health risk reports. The company has
created the world's largest crowdsourced platform for genetic
research, with 80% of its customers electing to participate. The
23andMe research platform has generated more than 180 publications
on the genetic underpinnings of a wide range of diseases,
conditions and traits. The platform also powers the 23andMe
Therapeutics group, currently pursuing drug discovery programs
rooted in human genetics across a spectrum of disease areas,
including oncology, respiratory, and cardiovascular diseases, in
addition to other therapeutic areas. More information is available
at www.23andMe.com.
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SOURCE 23andMe