Sleep and stress in times of the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of personal resources

There is still little research on the association between COVID-19-related stress and insufficient sleep. As distress is assumed to be high in these times, the role of personal resources becomes more important. The current study aimed to investigate the predictive role of COVID-19-related stress, positive affect, and self-care behavior for subjective sleep quality and sleep change measures since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Germany. A sample of 991 adults (M = 34.11 years; SD = 12.99) answered questionnaires during the first lockdown period in Germany and afterward (between April 1 and June 5, 2020). A higher stress level predicted lower sleep quality and more negative changes in overall sleep and pre-sleep arousal. Higher levels of positive affect and self-care predicted higher sleep quality and more positive changes in sleep. Analyses showed a moderation of positive affect on the association between stress and change in pre-sleep arousal. The improvement in personal resources, especially positive affect, in times of high stress seems relevant to overcome sleep problems. Future research should include objective measurements of sleep and longitudinal designs to uncover causal directions of effects.