Brits slept better when schools reopened but struggled after 'rule of six'
After a turbulent year, you might find your sleeping pattern is a bit all over the place.
But you’re not alone – a study by sleep app Simba has revealed the ups and downs of how people slept during lockdown.
Simba monitored the length and quality of 55,000 users’ slumber as well as their daily waking moods and alcohol consumption.
The data reveals that initially as lockdown was introduced, sleep quality plummeted and stress levels rose.
But we slept better and were much happier and less stressed after the kids broke-up for summer in late July.
But there were low points in mood and sleep quality as local lockdowns in the same month.
When pubs and restaurants reopened on 4 July. our spirits were lifted but Simba’s graph on alcohol consumption indicates many regulars waited a week or two before venturing to their local.
Similarly. Monday 3 August, when the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out Scheme began, moods improved and people slept better.
Just over a week later, on 13 August, it was officially announced the UK was in recession, a nightmare double whammy which badly affected both moods and the quality of our sleep.
By the August bank holiday, positivity was at a high and when schools started to reopen Simba recorded surges and spikes in happiness and quality of sleep.
But that changed again when, on September 9, the PM was forced to introduce the rule of six as we saw signs of a second wave.
The ruling not only dampened our moods, but also affected the quality of our sleep that night.
Dr. Andy Cope, an expert in positive psychology, who analysed the results, said: ‘It’s amazing how our sleep quality maps against the major news events.
‘It’s obvious that it’s hard not to get sucked into the 24/7 pandemic pandemonium.
‘Simba’s data shows that, for many people, getting good quality sleep has become a bit of a lottery, hence our wavering state of wellbeing.
‘The pandemic has created peaks and troughs, whereas a regular habit of eight hour’s sleep would go a long way to enabling us to cope with the demands of lockdown, home schooling, social bubbles and furlough.’
Andy, who is Britain’s first Doctor of Happiness, added: ‘The modern world was already very good at creating anxiety, and then along came COVID-19.
‘Since then the terms ‘wellbeing’ and ‘mental health’ have trended on social media ever since.
‘Experts have been recommending mindfulness, healthy eating and exercise, whereas good quality sleep trumps them all.
‘Sleep is restorative. It’s crucial to our mental health and isn’t something we should be skimping on.’
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