Impacts of covid-19 social distancing on the sleep of health students

Abstract

Introduction: Sleep plays an important role in the balance of the human body. Its deprivation influences the development of cardiovascular, metabolic, psychological, and learning disorders. The restrictions imposed by Covid-19 on social activities affected the routine of many people, including university students, possibly impacting sleep conditions. Objective: To analyze the sleep characteristics of university students in the health area during the Covid-19 social distancing. Methodology: Cross-sectional study with 656 students from two community universities of Santa Catarina. Behavior characteristics were analyzed before and during the pandemic, relating them to sleep. Proportion analysis, crude and adjusted analyzes of the factors associated with sleep problems were performed. Results: 48.8% of the students had sleep problems. Of these, 41% were developed during social distancing. There was an increase in the difficulty to start sleep (42.4%), to stay asleep (29.4%), and dissatisfaction with sleep (36.6%). Sleep time was adequate, but insufficient to feel good for 25.6%. More sleep problems were observed among students that were older (PR=1.17; CI95%: 0.76-1.80), studied at UNOESC (PR=1.87; CI95%: 1.12-3.14), had greater use of social media (PR=2.03; CI95%: 1.21-3.39), had anxiety, sadness, and concern (PR=1.78; CI95%:1.02-3.10), had worse eating habits (PR=1.45; CI95: 1.01-2.07) and consumed alcohol (PR=1.59; IC95%: 0.98-2.58). Conclusion: Proper sleep time did not guarantee satisfaction with sleep. The prevalence of students with sleep problems increased with social distancing. Unhealthy eating habits, alcohol consumption, and social media use increased the risk of these problems.