Sleep Pattern Changes in Nursing Students during the COVID-19 Lockdown

Cristina Romero-Blanco, Julián Rodríguez-Almagro, María Dolores Onieva-Zafra, María Laura Parra-Fernández, María del Carmen Prado-Laguna and Antonio Hernández-Martínez
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Cristina Romero-Blanco: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Ciudad Real Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
Julián Rodríguez-Almagro: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Ciudad Real Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
María Dolores Onieva-Zafra: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Ciudad Real Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
María Laura Parra-Fernández: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Ciudad Real Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
María del Carmen Prado-Laguna: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Ciudad Real Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
Antonio Hernández-Martínez: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Ciudad Real Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 14, 1-11

Abstract: The prevalence of poor sleep quality among students is very high and, in nursing students, has been associated with reduced performance, behavioral changes, dietary changes, and even aggressive behavior due to changes in sleep patterns. The lockdown in response to COVID-19 may have resulted in lifestyle changes that affected sleep quality. For this reason, the objective of this study is to determine the difference in nursing students’ sleep quality before and during the lockdown, put in place in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. To meet this objective, we conducted a longitudinal observational study on 207 nursing students, with two cut-off points (February and April). The main dependent variable was sleep quality, measured using the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and its seven components. Parametric and nonparametric tests were used for paired and unpaired data, as well as group-stratified analysis. The mean time students spent in bed was 7.6 h (standard deviation (SD) = 1.1 h) before lockdown and 8.5 h (SD = 1.2 h) during lockdown. The PSQI score got 0.91 points worse during lockdown (95% CI, −0.51, −1.31). Of the five components, five were statistically significantly affected ( p ≤ 0.05), and of these, the most changed were sleep latency, sleep duration, and sleep efficiency. When stratified by group, we observed differences in women, first-year students, second-year students, alcohol consumers, those of normal weight, and those that live with family. The main conclusion is that although students spent more time in bed, overall sleep quality was worse during lockdown, as well as being worse in five of the seven components.

Keywords: COVID-19; nursing; lockdown; sleep; sleep disorders (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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