Sleep and Lifestyle Habits of Medical and Non-Medical Students during the COVID-19 Lockdown

Abstract

It has been shown that the measures of social distancing and lockdown might have had negative effects on the physical and mental health of the population. We aim to investigate the sleep and lifestyle habits as well as the mood of Croatian medical (MS) and non-medical students (NMS) during the COVID-19 lockdown. The cross-sectional study included 1163 students (21.6% male), whose lifestyle and sleep habits and mood before and during the lockdown were assessed with an online questionnaire. The shift towards later bedtimes was more pronounced among NMS (~65 min) compared to MS (~38 min), while the shift toward later wake-up times was similar in both MS (~111 min) and NMS (~112 min). All students reported more frequent difficulty in falling asleep, night-time awakenings and insomnia (p < 0.001) during lockdown. A higher proportion of MS reported being less tired and less anxious during lockdown compared to pre-lockdown (p < 0.001). Both student groups experienced unpleasant moods and were less content during lockdown compared to the pre-lockdown period (p < 0.001). Our results emphasize the need for the promotion of healthy habits in the youth population. However, the co-appearance of prolonged and delayed sleep times along with decreased tiredness and anxiety among MS during lockdown reveals their significant workload during pre-lockdown and that even subtle changes in their day schedule might contribute to the well-being of MS.

Keywords: COVID-19; lifestyle; medical students; mood; sleep.

Figure 1

Sleep pattern changes during the COVID-19 lockdown. ¹ Significantly different from the pre-lockdown period, p < 0.001. ² Significantly different from medical students, p < 0.03. Student’s t-test was used for analysis.