UK children's sleep and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Sleep and mental wellbeing are intimately linked. This relationship is particularly important to understand as it emerges over childhood. Here we take the opportunity that the COVID-19 pandemic, and resulting lockdown in the UK, presented to study sleep-related behaviour and anxiety in school-aged children.

Methods

Parents and children were asked to complete questionnaires towards the start of the UK lockdown in April-to-May of 2020, then again in August of that year (when many restrictions had been lifted). We explored children's emotional responses to the pandemic and sleep patterns at both time points, from the perspectives of parents and children themselves.

Results

Children's bedtime anxiety increased at the start of the lockdown as compared to a typic

SUBMITTER: Knowland VCP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8936042 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature