Pandemic policies and sleeping problems in older adults

Abstract

SummarySleep quality is fundamental to physical and mental health. Recent research shows that the COVID‐19 pandemic has affected individuals’ sleep quality. This study aims to investigate whether the containment and health policies (Oxford Coronavirus Government Response Tracker indexes) adopted by European countries and Israel during the pandemic are related to sleep problems in people aged 50 and over. A cross‐sectional study was conducted using a logistic regression analysis based on data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, collected in 27 European countries and Israel, in 2021. The results show that containment and health policies affect older adults’ sleep, once we neutralise the influence of the sociodemographic, economic, and health characteristics of the individuals and close contact with COVID‐19. In fact, the more containment and health policies, the fewer chances of sleep problems. A possible explanation for this is that these policies give people over 50 a sense of safety and security in relation to COVID‐19, which may reduce sleep problems.