66% of Brazilians sleep poorly and women are more affected, says study

A study published in the journal Sleep Epidemiology (Epidemiologia do Sono, in free translation) indicates that 65.5% of Brazilians have poor quality sleep. Women are the most affected: when compared to men, they are 10% more likely to sleep poorly.

Sleep quality is defined by research by factors such as duration (lack or excess), regularity (interruptions during the night) and states (light, deep and REM). Personal satisfaction with sleep is also considered.

Poor sleep compromises the retention of information and memories and causes irritability and tiredness, among other problems.

Data were collected between March 16 and 30, 2020, a few days after the WHO (World Health Organization) declared the Covid-19 pandemic.

The imminence of a rise in cases in Brazil, the possibility of lockdowns and the fear of losing one’s job have contributed to increasing anxiety and depression among Brazilians, leading to worsening sleep, according to Luciano Drager, president of ABS (Associação Brasileira do Sono). and professor at the USP School of Medicine.

Risk factors are higher for inhabitants of the Midwest, Southeast and South. Living in any of these regions increases the chance of having worse sleep quality by 12% compared to the North region. Those who live in this area, according to the study, are better protected against bad sleep.

“To our surprise, the Midwest region is the one that had the worst sleep quality indicator. The rhythm of large centers, which never stop, can influence. That’s why we expected the Southeast to be the region with the worst index.”

Being young is also a risk factor for poor sleep, due to habits such as excessive use of cell phones before bed, consumption of coffee, energy drinks and other stimulants, in addition to working and studying at a fast pace.

Crossing risk factors, the profile that stands out is that of young women living in the Midwest. The man who lives in the North region is the most protected profile against poor quality sleep.

Regarding routines, using cell phones before bed is another factor that decreases the chance of a good night’s sleep. Interactive activities like liking photos or commenting on social media put the brain on alert and delay sleep.

Among the findings, what caught the attention of researchers is what is related to people who have partners but do not sleep in the same bed or in the same room.

“These people sleep worse. We already know that when one partner has a sleep disorder or snores, the other is more likely to sleep poorly. However, sleeping apart can also be associated with worsening sleep, which leads to some questions,” says Drager.

One of the hypotheses raised is a relationship problem. The difficulty in this case would translate into stress and anxiety, affecting the night’s sleep.

The researchers also highlight the irrelevant role of the volunteers’ socioeconomic class in the results obtained.

Dalva Poyares, a neurologist and professor at Unifesp (Federal University of São Paulo) and a member of the ABS, says that the arrival of Covid-19 “equaled for the worse” the relationship between sleep quality and the socioeconomic class analyzed.

“An example is someone of high class [A] who has or used to have a business, but became afraid of the risks and unforeseen circumstances caused by the virus. The situation generates an increase in stress and a decrease in the quality of sleep.”

How the search was done

The survey received 2,635 responses from volunteers aged 18 and over to the PSQI (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) questionnaire.

The PSQI is composed of 19 items divided into seven components that add points from 0 to 3 each. The maximum test result is 21 points. The closer a person’s score is to zero, the better their sleep. Values ​​greater than 5 indicate poor sleep.

Participants answered the online questionnaire applied by Ibope Intelligence. The average result of the Brazilian PSQI was 7.3, indicating that Brazilians sleep poorly.