Abstract

A growing body of literature describes the effect of the confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep quality and duration. Sleep quality seems to be worsening during the confinement for vulnerable individuals, but seems to be improving for others with less rigid school and work schedules. High frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) has been conceptualized as a biomarker of vulnerability to stress-related sleep disturbances. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect the confinement on sleep quality, sleep efficiency, and sleep duration and to investigate HF-HRV as an individual difference in sleep reactivity to confinement. One hundred and fifty participants (Mage = 50.62, SD = 6.0) completed the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) at the beginning of the confinement, about a month later, and at the end of confinement period of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Montreal, Canada. HF-HRV was collected few years prior to the onset of the pandemic. Results from hierarchical linear models demonstrated a curvilinear effect for sleep duration and sleep quality with poorer sleep quality and less sleep duration a month into confinement compared to the beginning of the confinement, followed by improved sleep quality and greater sleep duration during the deconfinement period; whereas sleep efficiency linearly decreased over time. Financial stress predicted between-person differences in PSQI scores at the beginning of the confinement, but HF-HRV did not predict within-person changes in PSQI scores. These results highlight the importance of providing sleep interventions to individuals and families affected by the pandemic.