COVID-19 in Canada: How the pandemic made sleeping even more complicated People struggling to sleep tell us how COVID-19 has exacerbated the problem or disrupted their path to healing by Radheyan Simonpillai on March 11th, 2021 at 7:30 PM 1 of 5 2 of 5 Tom Alexander used to sleep just fine before the COVID-19 pandemic. A year ago, the lockdown set in motion events that would lead to a struggle with insomnia. As with so many people, the pandemic introduced new stresses for the film industry executive. But it had a more significant impact on Alexander’s personal life. “My relationship with my girlfriend started to disintegrate and physical and mental health became difficult,” says Alexander.