The Dark Side of the Quarantine: Night Eating, Sleep Quality and the Health Locus of Control in Women

Abstract

Aims: Staying at home for a prolonged period and the stress experienced due to the COVID-19 quarantine may affect sleep quality and night eating behaviours of individuals. This study aimed to identify the relationship between night eating behaviour, sleep quality, and perceptions of health locus of control in women during the pandemic. Methods: A questionnaire form evaluating demographic information, nutritional habits, health information and anthropometric measurements was conducted along with the Night Eating Syndrome (NES) Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PUKI), and Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (A) form. Results: With a mean age of 33.0 ± 8.0 years 529 women participated in the study. The mean night eating scale score was 14.44 ± 4.72 and the mean PUKI score was 6.44 ± 2.90. Higher night eating scores were observed in participants with a chance locus of control perception when compared to participants with internal health locus of control perception (p <.05). Obese participants have lower sleep quality compared to normal and overweight participants (p <.05). It was also found that night eating behaviours significantly predicted sleep quality (R = .364, R2 =.133; p <.01) and explained about 13.3 % of the total variance of sleep quality. Conclusion: In this study conducted during the quarantine period, we showed that night eating behaviours significantly predict sleep quality, and individuals with a high perception of chance locus of control had a higher night eating scores than individuals with high perception of internal health locus of control.