Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Apr;42(4):384-390.
doi: 10.15537/smj.2021.42.4.20200735.

Sleep quality and insomnia during the COVID-19 lockdown among the Saudi public: A cross-sectional study

Adel S Alharbi  1 , Sultan M Alshahrani  1 , Muslim M Alsaadi  1 , Hamdan H Al-Jahdali  1 , Siraj O Wali  1 , Ahmed S BaHammam  1
Affiliations

Sleep quality and insomnia during the COVID-19 lockdown among the Saudi public: A cross-sectional study

Adel S Alharbi et al. Saudi Med J. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Objectives: To measure the Saudi population's sleep quality during the lockdown of COVID-19.

Methods: An internet-based questionnaire that was performed during the lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic among the Saudi population over 2 weeks from April 1 to April 15, 2020. We used the instant messaging application WhatsApp and Twitter to reach the targeted population. Saudi citizens and non-Saudi residents who can read and understand the questionnaire were recruited. Data were analyzed using Stata and SPSS.

Results: A total of 790 responses were included. The majority of participants were the Saudi population 735 (92.9%). The prevalence of insomnia and poor sleep quality were 54.4% and 55.5%, respectively. Saudi citizenship was associated with longer sleep duration (p=0.031). Female gender and being married were associated with worse global PSQI, sleep quality, sleep distribution, sleep latency, and daytime dysfunction.

Conclusion: Our findings showed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Saudi population had a high prevalence of insomnia and poor sleep quality. Routine monitoring of the psychological impact of life-threatening outbreaks and the adoption of effective early mental health actions should be considered.

Keywords: ASQ; COVID-19; PSQI; Saudi Arabia; cross-section; insomnia; sleep quality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
- Pittsburgh sleep quality index score in Saudi population.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Velavan TP, Meyer CG.. The COVID-19 epidemic. Trop Med Int Health 2020; 25: 278–280. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wu YC, Chen CS, Chan YJ.. The outbreak of COVID-19: An overview. J Chin Med Assoc 2020; 83: 217–220. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bahbah EI, Negida A, Nabet MS.. Purposing Saikosaponins for the treatment of COVID-19. Med Hypotheses 2020; 140: 109782. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ministry of Health. COVID 19 Dashboard: Saudi Arabia [Internet]. [cited 2020]. Available from: https://covid19.moh.gov.sa/
    1. Ebrahim SH, Memish ZA.. Saudi Arabia’s drastic measures to curb the COVID-19 outbreak: temporary suspension of the Umrah pilgrimage. J Travel Med 2020; 27: taaa029. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms