Effects of the COVID‐19 lockdown on sleep duration in children and adolescents: A survey across different continents

Abstract

Background A parent survey was conducted to assess the sleep habits of children residing in various countries before and during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic. It was hypothesized that lockdown would be associated with increased sleep duration. Methods Outcomes were changes in bedtime, wake time, and sleep duration in the pandemic compared to before. Logistic regression was applied to evaluate the effects of age and covariates on outcomes. Results A total of 845 questionnaires completed from May 1 to June 10, 2020 were analyzed (45.8% female; age 3–17 years). During the pandemic, 23.1% of preschoolers, 46.2% of school‐age children, and 89.8% of adolescents were going to bed after 10 p.m. on weekdays compared to 7.1%, 9.4%, and 57.1% respectively before the pandemic, with these proportions being higher on weekends. Likewise, 42.5% of preschoolers, 61.3% of school‐age children, and 81.2% of adolescents were waking after 8 a.m. on weekdays (11.6%, 4.9%, and 10.3%, before) with these proportions being greater on weekends. Sleep duration did not change in 43% of participants on weekdays and in 46.2% on weekends. The 14–17 years group had fourfold increased odds for longer sleep duration on weekdays (p < .01), and children aged 6–13 years had twofold increased odds for longer sleep duration on weekends relative to the 3–5 years age group (p = .01). Conclusions Although lockdown was associated with later bedtime and wake time, this shift did not alter sleep duration in more than 40% of children. Yet, compared to preschoolers, high school‐aged children were more likely to sleep more on weekdays and primary school children on weekends.

Altered Sleep Duration and Poor Quality of Sleep Among Pharmacy Students Amidst COVID-19 Lockdown: A South-Indian Study

“…This can be attributed to the nationwide lockdown resulting in complete restriction of movement and a temporary substitution of classroom teaching to the virtual platform. The duration and parameter-based findings revealed the shift in bedtime and waking time in majority of the participants, which was similar to the findings published by Kaditis et al, that noted a similar change in the sleep and wake time of the participants [10]. The sudden shift of in-house learning to the virtual mode caused students to spend a lot of time in front of electronic gadgets which indefinitely tends to affect sleep health and hygiene.…”

Changes in Motivation, Socialization, Wellness and Mental Health in Youth Long-Distance Runners During COVID-19 Social Distancing Restrictions

“…They reported an increase in sleep duration but a higher proportion reported poor sleep quality during COVID-19 social distancing restrictions. Increased sleep duration during COVID-19 confinement has been consistently reported in adolescents (Kaditis et al, 2021;Ramos Socarras et al, 2021). However, long-distance runners have been reported to have inadequate sleep compared to recommendations (Garcia et al, 2021).…”

The effect of COVID-19 school closures on adolescent sleep duration: an uncontrolled before-after study

“…The prevalence of insufficient sleep per night for weekdays reported in a study decreased from 16% during COVID-19 Stay-at-Home orders to 8% in college students [ 10 ]. A cross-sectional survey across different continents found that adolescents had fourfold increased odds for longer sleep duration on weekdays during the pandemic [ 19 ]. Another longitudinal study in the United States revealed that the percentage of sufficient sleep in school night increased to 64% during COVID-19 pamdemic from 57% before COVID-19 in adolescents, and this change was statistically non-significant.…”