Changes in sleep habits during the lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic in the population and people attending a morning or an afternoon shift in Monterrey, Mexico

ABSTRACT

To fight the Covid-19 pandemic, most countries implemented a lockdown that involved restricting the activity and confining the population to their homes. The objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of the lockdown on sleep in people from the population of Monterrey, Mexico, and people attending a morning or afternoon work or study shift after more than a month adaptation period. Participants were 861 residents from Monterrey, Mexico, who completed an anonymous 20-minute web-based survey. The survey asked for information about sleep habits both before and during the lockdown. In Mexico, a national lockdown was declared on March 23rd, 2020. Data collection began 38 days after the start of the lockdown, from April 30th to May 23rd, 2020, allowing enough time for the participants to adjust to the new conditions. The lockdown affected the sleep of the population, producing a phase delay of the sleep-wake cycle, a reduction of sleep duration, as well as an increase in sleep latency and in time awake during night sleep, resulting in a reduction of sleep efficiency. People attending an afternoon shift also showed a phase delay and a reduction in sleep quality during the lockdown. In conclusion, the lockdown produced a delay of sleep and a reduction of sleep quality of the population, even in people with an afternoon shift. It is necessary to design and implement better strategies in the fight against the pandemic, without compromising the wellbeing of the population.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19 pandemic
• lockdown
• sleep-wake cycle
• morning shift
• afternoon shift

Acknowledgements

Thanks to all the participants who took the time to answer and share the online survey.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.