《TAIPEI TIMES》More sun can boost sleep quality: doctor

By Chiu Chih-jou and Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Spending more time in the sun might help people who have been having trouble sleeping during the COVID-19 pandemic, a doctor said.

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People who work from home and those who look at screens for long periods receive less sunlight and more blue light emitted by electronic devices, which can disrupt the body’s biological clock and affect sleep quality, said Lee Pei-lin （李佩玲）, director of the sleep disorder center at National Taiwan University Hospital.

The hypothalamus regulates the circadian rhythm by adjusting physiological functions according to changes in lighting from day to night, Lee said, adding that adjusting work and rest periods according to sunlight might relieve insomnia symptoms.

The Health Promotion Administration in May released its latest Nutrition and Health Survey, which collected 7,541 responses from 2017 to 2020.

Respondents older than 19 slept an average of 7.5 hours on weekdays and 8.1 hours over weekends, up by six minutes and 18 minutes respectively from the previous survey, which was conducted from 2013 to 2016.

However, doctors said that sleeping longer does not mean sleeping better, and the time people spend in the sun has a direct influence on the cycle and quality of their sleep.

People aged 16 to 18 slept the least among all age brackets, with almost half of them sleeping less than seven hours on weekdays, the survey found.

About one-third of men aged 19 to 44 slept less than seven hours on weekdays, the national average, and 11 percent of them slept less than six hours on weekdays, it said, adding that both figures were lower in women.

Shan Jia-chi （單家祁）, a physician at Cathay General Hospital’s department of psychiatry, on Sunday said that each person has different sleep needs, which are related to the interaction between genetic heritage and environmental factors.

Five hours of sleep might be enough for some people, but others might need eight hours of sleep, Shan said, adding that people aged 16 to 18 might sleep less due to school demands.

Insomnia has been observed in many people with COVID-19, along with other symptoms such as brain fog, coughing and tiredness, he said.

It is difficult to identify the exact cause of insomnia, but some people develop the condition after contracting COVID-19, he said.

Some people who used sleeping pills before contracting COVID-19 have said the pills became less effective afterward, he added.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES