Reopening after lockdown: the influence of working-from-home and digital device use on sleep, physical activity, and wellbeing following COVID-19 lockdown and reopening

Abstract

Study objectives COVID-19 lockdowns drastically affected sleep, physical activity, and wellbeing. We studied how these behaviors evolved during re-opening the possible contributions of continued working from home and smartphone usage. Methods Participants (N=198) were studied through the lockdown and subsequent reopening period, using a wearable sleep/activity tracker, smartphone-delivered ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and passive smartphone usage tracking. Work/study location was obtained through daily EMA ascertainment. Results Upon re-opening, earlier, shorter sleep and increased physical activity were observed, alongside increased self-rated stress and poorer evening mood ratings. These re-opening changes were affected by post-lockdown work arrangements and patterns of smartphone usage. Individuals who returned to work or school in-person tended towards larger shifts to earlier sleep and wake timings. Returning to in-person work/school also correlated with more physical activity. Contrary to expectation, there was no decrease in objectively measured smartphone usage after reopening. A cluster analysis showed that persons with relatively heavier smartphone use prior to bedtime had later sleep timings and lower physical activity. Conclusions these observations indicate that the re-opening after lockdown was accompanied by earlier sleep timing, increased physical activity, and altered mental wellbeing. Moreover, these changes were affected by work/study arrangements and smartphone usage patterns.

Sleep Quality, Mental Health and Learning among High School Students after Reopening Schools during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of a Cross-Sectional Online Survey

“…Moreover, while high school students reported worse physical health during lockdowns, their evaluation of mental health was higher during school closures, thus only partially confirming H 2 . In summary, the survey confirmed previous findings that school reopening leads to decreased sleep duration and increased physical activity (i.e., changes opposite to those observed after the initiation of lockdowns) but did not support the alleviation of mental health issues (measured as a self-rated mental health status) post-lockdown [ 18 , 20 ]. To the best of our knowledge, the study is also the first to address the relationship between the quality of learning, anxiety, depression and the quality of sleep after school reopening.…”

“…While it has been argued that lockdowns may disrupt sleep, exacerbate mental health problems and reduce physical student activity, highschoolers could also benefit from later waking hours and flexible learning schedules [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. However, there remains little data on how high school students perceive the return to live education after several months of online learning [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ].…”

Working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic abolished the sleep disturbance vulnerability of late chronotypes relieving their predisposition to depression

“…Consistent with European and American reports during the pandemic, 2,3 three out of ten individuals of our sample worked full-time from home. In line with recent investigations, 4–7 the remote working group showed a general delay of bedtime and get-up time. We hypothesized that evening-type subjects could have benefited from such scenario, as their sleep time was better aligned with the endogenous circadian phase than in the office working condition.…”

“…This situation allowed a better organization of the daily activity, with obvious repercussions on sleep schedule. [4][5][6][7] Consistently, we recently reported a beneficial effect of working from home on sleep quality, insomnia symptoms, and sleep duration among a large sample of the Italian population during the first contagion wave of COVID-19. 6 A positive effect of the remote working transition on sleep quality and duration was also documented by other investigations.…”

Reading on a smartphone affects sigh generation, brain activity, and comprehension

“…The results of this study suggest that reduced reading comprehension on smartphone devices may be caused by reduced sighing and overactivity of the prefrontal cortex, although the effect on electronic devices other than smartphones has yet to be confirmed. Recent reports indicate that the use of smartphones and other electronic devices has been increasing due to pandemic-related lockdowns, and there are indications that this is negatively influencing sleep and physical activity 38 , 39 . The relationships among visual environment, respiration/brain activities, and cognitive performance detected in this study may indicate one of the negative effects of electronic device use on the human body.…”