Correlation Between Chronotypes and Depressive Symptoms Mediated by Sleep Quality Among Chinese College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted the mental health of the population. The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms and sleep disturbances among Chinese college students during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigate the correlations between chronotypes, sleep quality, and depressive symptoms. Participants and Methods In the current study, 2526 college students responded anonymously to an online questionnaire survey from 26 May 2020 to 20 July 2020. The participants’ chronotypes, sleep quality, and depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Chinese version of the Morning and Evening Questionnaire-5 (MEQ-5), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Sociodemographic information of the participants was also acquired. Statistical analyses were performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 19.0 software, with the mediating effect assessed by Hayes’ PROCESS Macro. Results During the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of depressive symptoms and sleep disturbances among Chinese college students surveyed was 54.95% and 48.18%, respectively. From absolute evening chronotype to absolute morning chronotype, the surveyed college students’ chronotypes were negatively correlated with their depressive symptoms. Moreover, the mediation analysis showed that the correlation between chronotypes and depressive symptoms was fully mediated by sleep quality. Eveningness college students with poorer sleep quality were more likely to report higher levels of depressive symptoms. Conclusion Our findings suggest that during the COVID-19 pandemic, delayed circadian preference (ie, eveningness) may be linked to worse depressive symptoms among Chinese college students, and call for more attention to the sleep quality of Chinese college students as sleep quality fully mediated the correlation between chronotypes and depressive symptoms among them. Reasonable adjustment in bedtime/circadian preference and improvement in sleep quality may help to reduce the prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms among Chinese college students.

Association Between EEG Microarousal During Nocturnal Sleep and Next-Day Selective Attention in Mild Sleep-Restricted Healthy Undergraduates

“…Sixteen undergraduates (nine females and seven males, 21.19 ± 2.23 years old) with non-extreme chronotypes were recruited in the formal study due to the fact that individuals with extreme chronotypes would exhibit alternations in both subjective sleep quality [15][16][17][18][19] and objective sleep parameters, 20 which would potentially affect the number of microarousals. The exclusion criteria were based on previous studies 21,22 and include: (1) habitual sleep duration >9 hours or <7 hours; (2) poor sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score >5); 23 (3) extreme chronotype (Chinese version of Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) score <47 or >69); 24,25 (4) shift-work or travel to a different time zone during the last three months; (5) presence of sleep problems/disorders; (6) emotional disturbance (Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) score >10); 26 (7) physically and mentally unhealthy (General Health Questionnaire-20 (GHQ-20) score ≥ 8); 27 (8) overweight/obesity (body mass index (BMI) ≥24), or underweight (BMI <18.5); (9) addiction to drugs, caffeine, tobacco and alcohol; (10) having visual impairments other than myopia or hyperopia.…”

Sleep Hygiene Practices and Mood States: A Quantitative Analysis

“…Internationally, an increasing body of research underscores the crucial role of sleep quality in mental well-being, especially in college students' context. An investigation conducted by Zhang et al (2023) concentrated on exploring the connection between sleep quality and depressive symptoms among Chinese college students amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The results demonstrated that individuals with eveningness chronotypes exhibited heightened levels of depressive symptoms, wherein sleep quality served as a mediating element.…”