Examining the Connection between Mental Health and Sleep Quality in Medical Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Lorenzo Carosso^*
*Correspondence: Lorenzo Carosso, Department of Nursing, University of Toronto, 27 King’s College Cir, Toronto, ON M5S, Canada, Email:

Introduction

Healthcare practitioners are now more likely to have mental health problems as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic. Among light of the COVID-19 epidemic, this study intends to investigate the link between sleep hygiene and mental health among healthcare practitioners. Data from 200 healthcare professionals were gathered for the study's cross-sectional design utilizing an online survey. The findings indicate that among medical professionals, there is a substantial inverse relationship between sleep quality and mental health. The study suggests that healthcare companies give their staff the right kind of assistance to enhance their sleep and mental wellness.

Healthcare personnel are at the frontline of the fight against the virus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused an unparalleled worldwide disaster. Healthcare professionals' mental health has been negatively impacted by their increasing workload, elevated stress levels and high risk of virus exposure. The quality of your sleep is one element that can have an influence. Anxiety, despair and stress are just a few of the negative effects of poor sleep quality that have been linked. The purpose of this study is to investigate the connection between professional healthcare workers' sleep and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic [1-3].

Description

Healthcare Professionals (HCPs), who are at the vanguard of the battle against the virus, have been put under a great deal of stress as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic. Numerous research have examined how the pandemic has affected the sleep and mental health of HCPs. During the pandemic, HCPs have been observed to have considerably worse sleep quality. Increased workload, worry about catching the virus and insufficient Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are all causes of poor sleep quality. Depression, anxiety and exhaustion are just a few of the negative mental health consequences that are linked to poor sleep quality. HCPs have seen higher levels of anxiety and despair during the pandemic, which may be made worse by a lack of good sleep.

Interventions such as ensuring appropriate PPE, reducing workload, establishing work-life balance methods and facilitating access to mental health services can all assist to address these problems and enhance the mental health and sleep quality of HCPs during the pandemic. An online survey was utilized to gather data for this cross-sectional investigation. Healthcare workers in American hospitals, clinics and community health centers were given the survey to complete. The poll asked inquiries about demographics, mental health and sleep hygiene. When evaluating mental health, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) were utilized, whereas the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to evaluate sleep quality [4,5].

The poll was completed by 200 healthcare professionals in total, with an 85% response rate. The mean age of the respondents was 38.5 years and 70% of them were female. The mean PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores were 11.2 and 8.3, respectively, signifying moderate levels of depression and anxiety, while the mean PSQI score was 7.5, suggesting poor sleep quality. A Pearson correlation study showed a significant inverse relationship (r=-0.71, p0.01) between the quantity of sleep and mental wellness. Sleep quality was a significant predictor of mental health, according to a linear regression analysis (=-0.71, p0.01). The findings imply that poor sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic is linked to poor mental health among healthcare practitioners.

According to the study's findings, the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on healthcare professionals' mental health is correlated with their sleep quality. Due to the pandemic's elevated stress levels and workload, healthcare personnel may be having trouble sleeping. Their poor mental health may, in turn, be a result of poor sleep quality. These results underline the need of taking into account sleep quality when developing treatments targeted at enhancing the mental health of medical workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion

This study provides proof that, among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 epidemic, there was a substantial inverse relationship between sleep quality and mental health. The study suggests that healthcare companies give their staff the right kind of assistance to enhance their sleep and mental wellness. This might entail giving access to mental health services, encouraging sound sleeping practices and putting in place rules and procedures to lessen workloads and stress levels. During the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing sleep quality may be a key element of therapies targeted at enhancing the mental health of healthcare personnel.

Acknowledgement

None.

Conflict of Interest

No conflict of interest.

References

1. Jamal, Muhsin, Wisal Ahmad, Saadia Andleeb and Fazal Jalil, et al. "Bacterial biofilm and associated infections." J Chin Med Assoc 81 (2018): 7-11.

Google Scholar, Crossref, Indexed at

2. Sauer, Karin, M.C. Cullen, A.H. Rickard and L.A.H. Zeef, et al. "Characterization of nutrient-induced dispersion in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 biofilm." J Bacteriol 186 (2004): 7312-7326.

Google Scholar, Crossref, Indexed at

3. Oppenheimer-Shaanan, Yaara, Nitai Steinberg and Ilana Kolodkin-Gal. "Small molecules are natural triggers for the disassembly of biofilms." Trends Microbiol 21 (2013): 594-601.

Google Scholar, Crossref, Indexed at

4. Veerachamy, Suganthan, Tejasri Yarlagadda, Geetha Manivasagam and Prasad KDV Yarlagadda, et al. "Bacterial adherence and biofilm formation on medical implants: A review." Proc Inst Mech Eng 228 (2014): 1083-1099.

Google Scholar, Crossref, Indexed at

5. Ma, Luyan Z., Di Wang, Yiwei Liu and Zhenyu Zhang, et al. "Regulation of biofilm exopolysaccharide biosynthesis and degradation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa." Annu Rev Microbiol 76 (2022): 413-433.

Google Scholar, Crossref, Indexed at