Beck, Francois, Léger, Damien, Fressard, Lisa, Peretti‐Watel, Patrick, Verger, Pierre, Seror, Valérie, Cortaredona, Sébastien, Launay, Odile, Raude, Jocelyn, Legleye, Stéphane, l’Haridon, Olivier, Ward, Jeremy, Centre de recherche en épidémiologie et santé des populations (CESP), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Hôpital Paul Brousse-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université Paris-Saclay, Sommeil-Vigilance-Fatigue et Santé Publique (VIFASOM (URP_7330)), Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées (IRBA)-Université de Paris (UP), Vecteurs - Infections tropicales et méditerranéennes (VITROME), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées (IRBA), Observatoire régional de la santé Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur [Marseille] (ORS PACA), CIC Cochin Pasteur (CIC 1417), Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Université de Paris (UP)-Groupe hospitalier Broca-Hôpital Cochin [AP-HP], Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Hôtel-Dieu-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique [EHESP] (EHESP), Centre de recherche en économie et management (CREM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU), Groupe d'Etude des Méthodes de l'Analyse Sociologique de la Sorbonne (GEMASS), Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme (FMSH)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), French National Agency for Research (ANR) French the National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) France Fundation (Fondation de France), Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées [Brétigny-sur-Orge] (IRBA)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées [Brétigny-sur-Orge] (IRBA), Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Hôpital Cochin [AP-HP], Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Hôtel-Dieu-Groupe hospitalier Broca-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rennes (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ANR-20-COVI-0035,COCONEL,COronavirus et CONfinement : Enquête Longitudinale(2020), COMBE, Isabelle, and Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées (IRBA)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)
International audience; The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the habits of billions of people around the world. Lockdown at home is mandatory, forcing many families, each member with their own sleep–wake habits, to spend 24 hr a day together, continuously. Sleep is crucial for maintaining immune systems and contributes deeply to physical and psychological health. To assess sleep problems and use of sleeping pills, we conducted a cross-sectional study of a representative sample of the general population in France. The self-reported sleep complaint items, which covered the previous 8 days, have been used in the 2017 French Health Barometer Survey, a cross-sectional survey on various public health issues. After 2 weeks of confinement, 74% of the participants (1,005 subjects) reported trouble sleeping compared with a prevalence rate of 49% in the last general population survey. Women reported more sleeping problems than men, with greater frequency or severity: 31% vs. 16%. Unusually, young people (aged 18–34 years) reported sleep problems slightly more frequently than elderly people (79% vs. 72% among those aged 35 or older), with 60% of the younger group reporting that these problems increased with confinement (vs. 51% of their elders). Finally, 16% of participants reported they had taken sleeping pills during the last 12 months, and 41% of them reported using these drugs since the lockdown started. These results suggest that the COVID crisis is associated with severe sleep disorders among the French population, especially young people.