More than 3 in 10 people suffered disrupted or disturbed sleep at some point during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to research on the sleep habits of 493,000 people across 49 countries. Children and adolescents are among the groups most likely to have their sleep patterns shaken up, according to Michael Vitiello, professor of psychiatry & behavioral sciences at the UW School of Medicine.

"It was very surprising, a little counterintuitive that children and adolescents would be impacted so much. But if you think about it, they're the ones that don't have the information to process what's going on," said Vitiello, the senior author of the meta-analysis study. "They haven't learned the coping mechanisms, hopefully, that adults have. They're picking up on peer concerns and they're picking up on parental concerns while they're there. So, a lot of things can account for that sensitivity."

In our blog post, learn more about the study and sleep disturbances.

Download broadcast-ready video assets with Vitiello on pandemic-era sleep habits.