While there are many assumptions as to how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts sleep around the world, there is not much known how sleep has ultimately been impacted for parents and children.
A team, led by Ghadir Zreik, PhD, Psychology Department, The Center for Psychobiological Research, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, examined the possible consequences the pandemic and home confinement is having on maternal anxiety, maternal insomnia, and maternal reports of sleep problems among 264 children between 6-72 months in Israel.
The study population included 120 male children, with a mean age of 31.27 months. Approximately 38% of the infants in the study were firstborns, while families had a mean of 2.15 children. The mean age of mothers in the study was 33.97 years old and their mean duration of education was 16.37 years. In addition, 54.2% of mothers reported a change in the family income because of the crisis.
The investigators specifically explored whether mothers experience change in their own insomnia symptoms and child’s sleep between pre-crisis and crisis.
The investigators found a high frequency of maternal clinical insomnia in recent months—23% during the pandemic compared to 11% in the 1-2 months prior to the pandemic.
