  The COVID-19 pandemic led to various containment strategies, such as
work-from-home policies and reduced social contact, which significantly altered
people's sleep patterns. Our study, conducted from June 2021 to June 2022,
longitudinally examined the changes in the sleep patterns of working adults in
Finland during this period, utilizing multisensor data from fitness trackers
and monthly questionnaires. We conducted a comprehensive study, exploring the
changes in sleep patterns in correlation with multiple factors such as
individual demographics, occupation, sleep-related behaviors, levels of
physical activity, restrictions imposed by the pandemic, and adjustments in
seasonal variations. From over 27,000 nights analyzed from 112 participants, we
found a correlation between stringent pandemic measures and increased total
sleep time as well as delayed sleep timing. Academic staff experienced shorter
and more variable sleep durations compared to service staff. Early-day physical
activity was also linked to longer sleep duration, revealing the influence of
lifestyle on sleep quality. Habitual snoozers exhibited higher variability in
their sleep patterns. The findings reveal the multifaceted impacts of the
pandemic and associated measures on sleep patterns, highlighting the nuanced
variations among different occupations and habits, and emphasizing the role of
flexible work-life routines and external factors in shaping sleep behaviors
during such unprecedented times.
