Content uploaded by Mohammed Ajmal R S
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Mohammed Ajmal R S on Oct 03, 2020
Content may be subject to copyright.
Research Paper
The International Journal of Indian Psychology
ISSN 2348-5396 (Online) | ISSN: 2349-3429 (Print)
Volume 8, Issue 3, July- Sep, 2020
DIP: 18.01.174/20200803, DOI: 10.25215/0803.174
http://www.ijip.in
© 2020, Joshi A., Jabbar F.A, Md. Ajmal RS & Anto L.; licensee IJIP. This is an Open Access Research distributed
under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0),
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any Medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
Insomnia and perceived stress among Indian young adults during
COVID-19 pandemic
Anjana Joshi
1
*, Fouzia Abdul Jabbar
2
, Mohammad Ajmal RS
3
, Litty Anto
4
ABSTRACT
The purpose of the study was to determine the severity of insomnia and perceived stress
among young adults of age group 18- 30 during COVID-19 pandemic in India. The online
survey method was adopted and the samples were collected through random sampling.
Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al, 1983) and Insomnia severity index (ISI) (Charles
M.Morin et al,1993) were used to study the mentioned variables for the study. The data’s
were established through SPSS Version 23. Insomnia is a highly prevalent condition and
carries significant burden in terms of functional impairment, health care costs, and increased
risk of depression especially during the COVID-19 lockdown. Perceived stress is the
perception of stress and the degree to which one’s situation is appraised as stressful and
focuses on the role of appraised stress levels in the etiology of diseases and behavioral
disorders. The results of the study can be used to come up with possible interventions for
stress management which can decrease the likelihood of insomnia and the study opens way to
more researches to be conducted in this field with the changed life pattern during the
COVID-19 era. The present study is highly relevant and significant in this context.
Keywords: Insomnia, Stress, COVID-19, Pandemic
he outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on December 2019 has
infected more than 80,000 individuals in China, and it has since been declared a
global pandemic. In the wake of this global health crisis, stringent public health
measures have been implemented to curtail the spread of COVID-19.
As India navigates the nationwide lockdown that pushed millions of people into the confines
of their homes, distress and anxiety are on the rise, manifesting primarily in the form of
sleep disorders. Medical experts report that the number of consultations calls over erratic
sleep cycles have shot up since the country went into lockdown on March 25 to stem the
spread of COVID-19. This disease has brought the added baggage of stress and other
psychological disorders.
1
MSc Psychology Student, LISSAH, Calicut, India
2
MSc Psychology Student, School of Behavioural Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India
3
MSc Psychology Student, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University Amarkantak, Madya Pradesh, India
4
Faculty in Psychology, Mother arts and science college, Thrissur, Kerala, India
*Responding Author
Received: August 29, 2020; Revision Received: September 21, 2020; Accepted: September 27, 2020
T
Insomnia and perceived stress among Indian young adults during covid-19 pandemic
© The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396 (e)| ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) | 1709
Perceived stress are the feelings or thoughts that an individual has about how much stress
they are under at a given point in time. Perceived stress includes feelings about the
unpredictability of one’s life, how often one has to deal with irritating hassles, how much
change is taking place in one’s life, and confidence in one’s ability to handle their problems.
It does not measure the types or frequencies of stressful events which has happened to a
person, but rather how an individual feels and perceives about the general and overall stress
of their life and their ability to handle such stressful situations. Adults and individuals may
suffer similar negative life events but appraise the impact and severity of these to different
extents as a result of factors such as personality, coping resources, and social support.
Since the first case, in early December, the perceived vulnerability to coronavirus infection
(COVID-19) has radically changed in all countries. Quarantines have negative psychological
effects, often deemed as marginal, including symptoms related to anxiety, depression, acute
stress, and even manifestations of post-traumatic stress disorder. The restriction of mobility
can act as a psychosocial stressor due to prolonged confinement, difficulties in obtaining
daily-life necessary supplies, potential financial losses, and access to conflicting and
inadequate information on the Internet. Yet, few studies have quantified perceived stress
during quarantines. In Australia, Taylor et al. (2020) evaluated the frequency of and factors
associated with psychosocial stress and observed that 34% of participants presented high
levels of perceived distress, compared to 12% of the general population. They also reported
that the psychosocial distress leads to insomnia.
'Insomnia' is a type of sleep disorder that makes it difficult for a person to fall asleep and
stay asleep. There are several different types of insomnia that can interfere with your ability
to sleep in the night and function properly during the day. Insomnia as we all know is a
major health issue associated with enormous psychological burden. Insomnia seems to be
affecting more people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhao.X & Lan. M (2019) conducted
a study in non-diseased general public in China and found that owing to the increase in
perceived stress during the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic, the sleep quality in the non-diseased
general public deteriorated. These findings suggested that both the sleep quality and the
perceived stress levels of the non-diseased general public required attention during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Stress levels rise during a virus outbreak due to worry about health,
financial consequences, changes in social life and the daily routine. Reduced physical
fatigue and exposure to the sun, as well as increased use of electronic devices may also
affect sleep homeostasis. Rutedge et al. (2009) and Sadeh, Keinan, & Daon (2004) has
demonstrated in their study that higher psychological stress is related to shorter sleep
duration. A study conducted by Åkerstedt, Kecklund, & Axelsson (2007) has also shown
that the former is related to poorer sleep quality. Perceived stress and insomnia play a major
role during this lock down.
Quantifying the stress over jobs, working from home, a pandemic that shows no signs of
ebbing and an uncertain future, a pan-India survey has revealed that 44 per cent of 1,500
respondents were getting less than six hours of sleep during the lockdown. Wenjun.C (2020)
in his analysis among college students indicated that economic effects, and effects on daily
life, as well as delays in academic activities, were positively associated with anxiety
symptoms and lead to insomnia.In a study conducted by Drwila. D & Krotos.A (2019), one
tenth of students of Poland perceives high level of stress, and one fifth of the respondents
suffer from insomnia. There was found to be a strong positive correlation between level of
insomnia and level of stress.
Insomnia and perceived stress among Indian young adults during covid-19 pandemic
© The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396 (e)| ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) | 1710
The severe status during any infection outbreak may develop many mental health issues,
including stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, anger, insomnia, fear, and sleep disorders.
Here we try to find that there is a relationship between perceived stress and insomnia during
this lock down period.
Need and significance
The present study was to identify severity of insomnia and perceived stress among young
adults of age group 18- 30 during COVID-19 pandemic in India. Periods of epidemics are
sources of severe physical and mental health problems, bouts of negative emotions and
relatedly abrupt disruptions in regular sleep habits/ patterns. Ongoing COVID-19 studies are
playing less attention to the risk factors of insomnia and stress. In our study, we documented
stress, insomnia and its contributing factors in a Indian general public sample. The study can
provide insights to these factors and open ways to prevent symptoms of insomnia and stress
in young adults during the COVID era. The result will help us to find the strategies to
overcome stress and insomnia related issues of lockdown and help to make the young adults
more resilient.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A descriptive study was adopted here by the random sampling technique. The samples were
selected from different states of India among the age group of 18- 30. In total, 131 young
adults were selected with 93 males and 38 females. Samples were randomly selected. Online
questionnaire method was used to collect data from the samples. The samples who had been
forced to quarantine from the month of February were selected for the study.
The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; Cohen et al, 1983) was used to measure perceived stress
among adults. It is a self-reported questionnaire that is designed to measure “the degree to
which individuals appraise situations in their lives as stressful”. It is 10 item questionnaires
rated on 5 point likert scale. The PSS has adequate internal and test-retest reliability with
Cronbach’s alpha of the PSS-10 >.70 in all 12 studies in which it was used, the test-retest
reliability of the PSS-10 was assessed in four studies, and met the criterion of >.70 in all
cases, the criterion validity of PSS was evaluated in a 67 few studies, in which the PSS was
seen to be strongly correlated with the mental component of health status.
The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI M C Morin, 2006) is used to measure insomnia among
adults. It is a brief instrument that is designed to assess the severity of both night time and
daytime components of insomnia. The ISI -7 item self-report questionnaire assesses the
nature, severity, and impact of insomnia. The scale has good internal consistency with
cronbach α = 0.90 and 0.91, face and content validity; correlated with sleep diaries,
polysomnography, and interviews; cutoff score of 10 had an 86.1% sensitivity and 87.7%
specificity for detecting insomnia cases in the community sample. Three versions are
available—patient, clinician, and significant others—but the present paper focuses on the
patient version only.
Insomnia and perceived stress among Indian young adults during covid-19 pandemic
© The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396 (e)| ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) | 1711
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Table 1. Frequency, Mean, Standard deviation, t –value and the level of significance
comparing perceived stress and Insomnia among male and female young adults.
Variables
Groups
N
Mean
SD
t
Sig
Perceived
Stress
Males
38
18.5
4.5
-.93
.35
Females
93
19.2
3.6
Insomnia
Males
38
8.8
5.8
-.28
.77
Females
93
9.2
6.1
***p<0.001**p<0.01*p<0.05
Table 1 shows the frequency of the variables, mean, standard deviation, t-value and
significance of perceived stress and Insomnia among male and female young adults.
The calculated significant value is 0.3 for perceived stress and .77 for insomnia. From the
table, it can be inferred that there is no significant difference between perceived stress and
Insomnia among male and female young adults.
Mean scores of Insomnia reveals that females have greater severity of insomnia when
compared to males. It can be inferred that both perceived stress and severity of insomnia
are greater in females when compared to males. Stay-at-moms are not much better off,
however. There are many factors keeping females up at night it could be household works,
parents pressure, work stress, postponed exams and unscheduled online classes coming
across leisure periods etc. that could leads to sleep problems.
Table 2 Shows the frequency, mean, and correlation coefficient value comparing and
level of significance perceived stress and insomnia among young adults.
Variables
Groups
N
Mean
SD
t
Sig
Perceived
Stress
Males
131
19.007
3.9
.256**
.002
Females
Insomnia
Males
131
9.1
6.0
Females
***p<0.001**p<0.01*p<0.05
Table 2 shows the frequency of variables, mean, standard deviation, correlation coefficient
and its significant value between perceived stress and insomnia. Correlation among
variables perceived stress and insomnia is .256. This value indicates that there is a positive
correlation significant at 0.01 significance level between perceived stress and insomnia.
The results reveal that when perceived stress increases, the severity of insomnia also
increases. Insomnia has long been known to be linked with stress. The results establish a
clear association between insomnia and stress, here insomnia and stress are positively
correlated. The COVID crisis has added new stressors that could push these figures higher.
The stress we are experiencing now is not the same as the sort we experienced on a normal
day-to-day basis before the crisis hit, the sort caused by work, family, and personal
relationships. As like that working from home or being stuck inside may be having a direct
impact on the quality of sleep, and also these stress leads to falling asleep and waking up
frequently in the middle of the night. So, its clear that there is a positive correlation between
stress and insomnia especially during this lockdown.
Insomnia and perceived stress among Indian young adults during covid-19 pandemic
© The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396 (e)| ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) | 1712
CONCLUSION
We conducted this study to determine the severity of insomnia and perceived stress among
young adults of age group 18-30 during COVID 19 pandemic in India. The online survey
method was adopted and the samples were collected through random sampling. Perceived
Stress Scale (Cohen et al, 1983) and Insomnia severity index (ISI) (Charles M.Morin et al,
1993) were used to study the mentioned variables for the study. The datas were established
through SPSS Version 23.
The result indicates that insomnia and perceived stress are positively correlated which
indicates that when one variable increases, the other variable increases as well. For some,
the stress of lockdown and the uncertainties of the pandemic are simply too much, leading to
little or no sleep. Such a situation is more common in young adults why because at this age
they start to build their lives, so the changing living condition around them leads to
Insomnia.
The study further reveals that females have greater perceived stress and Insomnia when
compared to males. In this lock down most of the responsibilities are handled my women.
Therefore, stress and Insomnia are most common in women during this time
Scope of the study
A psychosocial intervention has to be adopted in which there must be provision of expert
counselling services and the furnishing of life skills training such as stress management and
coping skills, the formation and sustenance of proper sleep patterns, problem-solving and
decision-making skills, as well as conflict management skills. Life skills training on how to
assist vulnerable adults could also be made available during the COVID pandemic. The
implementation of the intervention outlined above would significantly improve the overall
quality of life of young adults during this pandemic.
Limitations
The findings of this study have to be seen in light of some limitations. (1) The same size of
the females and males were not equal and might have influenced the results of the study. (2)
Sample size was too small (3) The questionnaires were distributed in Google Forms and
thereby the sincerity of the subjects while answering the forms cannot be ensured.
REFERENCES
E. (2020a). The European Bioinformatics Institute < EMBL-EBI. Retrieved from
https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/SEPMC7240276?xr=true
Error - Cookies Turned Off. (2009). Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/cookieAbsent
P. (2020, May 26). After 2-month-long lockdown, more Indians suffer from disturbed sleep cycle,
anxiety. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/after-2-
month-long-lockdown-more-indians-suffer-from-disturbed-sleep-cycle-
anxiety/articleshow/76003941.cms?from=mdr
Sleep problems in university students – an intervention. (2020, June 29). Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5536318/
Średniawa, A. (2019). Insomnia and the level of stress among students in Krakow, Poland.
Retrieved from https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2237-
60892019000100008
The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence.
(2020). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7158942/
Insomnia and perceived stress among Indian young adults during covid-19 pandemic
© The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396 (e)| ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) | 1713
X, Z. (2020, May 21). Perceived stress and sleep quality among the non-diseased general
public in China during the 2019 coronavirus disease: a moderated mediation model.
Retrieved from https://europepmc.org/article/pmc/pmc7240276#bib8
Acknowledgments
The author appreciates all those who participated in the study and helped to facilitate the
research process.
Conflict of Interest
The author declared no conflict of interest.
How to cite this article: Joshi A., Jabbar F.A, Md. Ajmal RS & Anto L. (2020). Insomnia and
perceived stress among Indian young adults during COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal
of Indian Psychology, 8(3), 1708-1713. DIP:18.01.174/20200803, DOI:10.25215/0803.174
