Loneliness in the time of COVID

ABSTRACT

In the effort to limit the transmission of COVID-19, countries around the world have instigated extended periods of restricted movement that has significantly impacted work, leisure, and social interaction. An indirect outcome of these restrictions is increased loneliness and social isolation. Here, data from an online survey carried out in the latter part 2020/early 2021, demonstrated that evening-type is associated with increased odds of reporting self-perceived loneliness, but with no evidence for a similar association in neither-types. What future working and leisure patterns (the ‘new normal’) will look like is unclear. Nevertheless, the current data suggest eveningness should be a consideration in any interventions designed to reduce the impact of loneliness on physical and mental health.

KEYWORDS:

• Covid-19 lockdown
• chronotype
• loneliness
• social interaction
• survey research

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to all the participants that took the time to complete this survey and Ms. Soha Bashir, Ms. Jaspreet Nahar, Ms. Anne-Marie Pitson & Ms. Taylor Richter for their help with recruitment.

Declaration of Interest

The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author was solely responsible for the content and writing of the paper.