In April 2020, the Sleep Foundation released sleep guidelines to address the growing COVID-19 pandemic. As multiple nations began to institute a variety of lockdowns and closures, millions of people had the rhythms of their daily lives disrupted.
Traditional extrinsic markers of time — such as set times for work, school, or other activities — began to erode, and with it, so did the boundaries of when we should sleep and wake-up.
The stress and isolation of the pandemic also gave way to increased rates of depression and anxiety, an increase in screen time, and as a result, an overall decrease in the sleep quality of the population.
The United States is nearing one year since its first full-scale lockdowns, and with it, the profound disruption of daily life.
We checked in with four sleep experts on what trends they’ve seen in sleep health in their clinics and in studies over the past year. We wanted to gain a better understanding of how they’ve seen their patients cope with the duration of the pandemic, what issues have presented in their clinics, and how the pandemic has created new opportunities for practicing medicine and seeing patients.
On January 29, 2021, the Chairman and Strategic Advisor of Sleep Foundation, David Cloud, gathered four sleep experts to hold a roundtable conversation. The two-hour conversation occurred over Zoom, and the pages below feature their individual responses in the form of a Q&A. Each transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and concision.
Click here to watch the full COVID-19 and Sleep Roundtable Video
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