Routine regularity during a global pandemic: Impact on mental health outcomes and influence of chronotype

ABSTRACT

Among the public health recommendations for supporting mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, many strategies had an impact on biological rhythms, like sleep hygiene, physical exercise and healthy eating habits. Considering the known relationship between circadian organization and mental health, our aim was to test the association between behavioral regularity and mental health, and its interaction with chronotype, in a large sample surveyed in Brazil. We collected longitudinal data using online questionnaires that assessed sociodemographic characteristics, behavioral routines, mental health (PHQ-9, GAD-7, WHO-5 scales), and chronotype estimation based on midpoint of sleep on free days – MSF (μMCTQ), in a sample of 1390 participants (81% females). We computed a Routine Regularity Score (RRS) that reflects regularity across four behaviors: sleep, eating, working, exercising. There was a strong negative association between RRS and the severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms (GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores), which was weaker among participants with late MSF, and a strong positive association with well-being (WHO-5 scores). RRS was a mediator of the MSF-mental health association and a predictor of mental health states. This study provides empirical evidence that maintaining behavioral routines during times of hardship may serve as tools to alleviate the negative impact on mental health.

KEYWORDS:

• Mental health
• routine regularity
• chronotype
• COVID-19 pandemic
• well-being

Acknowledgement

We thank CAPES (NSCP, GRA, APF, LKP) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq (MEC, MPH) for fellowships.

Disclosure statement

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

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author MPH, NSCP or LKP, upon reasonable request.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/07420528.2024.2314216.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brazil (CAPES), Finance Code 001 (CAPES-Epidemia – grant number: [88887.507070/2020-00]).