Sleep problems linked to thoughts of suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic in a two-time survey

In a survey of 67,905 college students, 8.5% reported sleep disturbance during the COVID-19 outbreak.

• At the start of the study, 7.6% of students reported suicidal ideation (SI), which increased to 10.0% by the end.
• Both sleep disturbance and short sleep duration at the beginning of the study were associated with a higher risk of SI later on.
• The prevalence of SI significantly increased with the presence of sleep disturbance and shorter sleep duration.
• Sleep disturbance and short sleep duration were found to predict both new and persistent cases of SI over time.

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