Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Quality of Sleep Among Nepalese Residents

Abstract

<title>Abstract</title> Background A periodic state of rest accompanied by varying degree of unconsciousness and relative inactivity, the sleep is vital to human health, insufficiency of which can lead to serious problem with physical and mental health consequences. Because of COVID-19 Pandemic, Nepal is under a total lockdown, with total restrictions on the movement of individual in the entire nation, forcing people to home confinement. People are extremely worried about their and families’ health as well as lost or verge of losing jobs. The daily news of increasing COVID-19 cases inside nation and all around the globe is adding to the fear that leads to anger, anxiety, frustration, and stress that directly affects the quality of sleep. Objectives The study aimed to assess the quality of sleep before and after COVID-19 pandemic among Nepalese residents. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted that recruited 206 Nepalese residents. The participants completed an anonymous, self-administered questionnaires (SAQ). Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) questionnaire was used to measure the sleep quality before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of gathered data was done by descriptive statistics and inferential statistics using SPSS-20 version statistical software. Result There was significant variation on sleep quality among Nepalese residents before and after COVID-19 pandemic (<italic>t</italic> = 3.227) at <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001. Clinical moderate insomnia increased tremendously high in Nepalese. Before the onset of pandemic only 2.9% of participants had moderate and 1% had severe level of clinical insomnia that increased up to 16.5% and 1% after the pandemic, respectively. The mean ISI score was 6.35 ± 4.65 and 8.02 ± 6.01 before and after COVID-19 pandemic, respectively. Conclusion This is only one study being carried in Nepal so far that looks for the sleep quality during COVID-19 pandemic. These results show that the people are suffering tremendously with their sleep quality and calls for further research and active measures to help people have good sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public awareness regarding the importance of good sleep quality to maintain their mental and physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic.