Sleep patterns of US healthcare workers during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

During the first few months of the COVID-19 outbreak, healthcare workers (HCW) faced levels of personal risk, emotional distress, and professional strain not seen in their lifetimes. This study described how these stressors influenced various aspects of their sleep patterns.

From May 19 to June 20, 2020, an electronic, cross-sectional survey was administered to a convenience sample of in- and outpatient HCW in a large, nonprofit healthcare system. Respondents described the pandemic’s initial impact on personal and professional life and various sleep dimensions: regularity, efficiency, duration, timing, quality, and daytime sleepiness.

Two hundred seven providers responded, representing 17 different healthcare roles. Most (82%) were women with a median age of 39 years (IQR1–3, 31–53). A majority of respondents (81%) worked in an inpatient setting, with half (46%) primarily on the “frontline.” Approximately one-third of respondents (37%) were physicians and one-quarter (28%) were nurses. Overall, 68% of HCW reported at least one aspect of sleep worsened during the beginning of the pandemic; the most impacted were daytime sleepiness (increased in 43%) and sleep efficiency (worse in 37%). After adjusting for COVID exposure and burnout, frontline providers had twofold higher odds of poor pandemic sleep, aOR 2.53, 95%CI 1.07–5.99. Among frontline providers, physicians were fivefold more likely to develop poor pandemic sleep compared to nurses (OR 5.73, 95%CI 1.15–28.57).

During the initial wave of COVID-19, a majority of HCW reported a decline in sleep with an increase in daytime sleepiness and insomnia. Frontline workers, specifically physicians, were at higher risk.