Covid: investigation of sleep and stress in lockdown, more resistant early risers

Pisa, May 26 (beraking latest news Salute) – From a survey on sleep and stress during the first lockdown in Italy, it emerged that early risers were more resilient and resisted stress better than night owls. The news comes from a study published in ‘Chronobiology International’ and conducted by the Sonnolab laboratory of the University of Pisa and by the Institute of Management of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa.

The survey was carried out through an online questionnaire to which about 1,300 people from 19 different Italian regions replied. Researchers used rating scales well known in the literature to measure chronotype, sleep quality and resilience. It turned out that the early risers, the so-called ‘larks’, were more resilient and developed fewer post-traumatic stress reactions than the night owls or ‘owls’. This is because, according to the researchers, those who go to bed early and wake early have enjoyed better sleep quality than those who go to bed late and wake up late.

“We must pay close attention to the quality of sleep and the role of the chronotype in the mechanisms of adaptation to chronic stressful situations, such as that linked to the pandemic – explained Andrea Bazzani, first author of the study and doctor perfecting at the Sant’Anna School – The chronotype, that is, the individual preference for sleep-wake rhythms is in fact closely associated with the quality of our sleep and on average mornings have a qualitatively better sleep than night owls “.

“It will be useful to conduct further studies on the subject to investigate, also with telemonitoring techniques, the quality of sleep and the circadian rhythms of the population under study – added Ugo Faraguna of the University of Pisa – but we are confident that these first results can encourage use of strategies to promote proper sleep hygiene and chronobiology interventions that mitigate the impact of stressful and chronic situations, such as the pandemic, on people’s health “.

Together with Faraguna and Bazzani, Simone Bruno and Francy Cruz Sanabria, PhD students at the Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, Paolo Frumento, Professor at the Department of Political Sciences, and for the Sant’Anna Giuseppe Turchetti High School.