Late chronotypes, late mealtimes. Chrononutrition and sleep habits during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy
Open accessAbstract
The emerging field of chrononutrition provides useful information on how we manage food intake across the day. The COVID-19 emergency, and the corresponding restrictive measures, produced an unprecedented change in individual daily rhythms, possibly including the distribution of mealtimes. Designed as a cross-sectional study based on an online survey, this study aims to assess the chrononutrition profiles (Chrononutrition Profile Questionnaire, CP-Q) in a sample of 1298 Italian participants, during the first COVID-19 lockdown, and to explore the relationship with chronotype (reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, rMEQ), sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI) and socio-demographics. Our findings confirm a change in eating habits for 58% of participants, in terms of mealtimes or content of meals. Being an evening chronotype and experiencing poor sleep imply a higher likelihood of changing eating habits, including a delay in the timing of meals. Also, under these unprecedented circumstances, we report that the timing of breakfast is a valuable proxy capable of estimating the chronotype. From a public health perspective, the adoption of this straightforward and low-cost proxy of chronotype might help in the early detection of vulnerable subgroups in the general population, eventually useful during prolonged stressful conditions, as the one caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The choice of food timing underlies the influence of chronotype.
“Regarding meal timing, it has been shown that the choice of food timing underlies the influence of chronotype (158).”
From Meal timing and its role in obesity and associated diseases (2024) · cites this paper as [158]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research
Buysse, D. J., Reynolds, C. F., Monk, T. H., Berman, S. R., & Kupfer, D. J. (1989) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4 · Cited by 35,234 · see citing works
Global Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases and Risk Factors, 1990–2019
Roth, G. A., Mensah, G. A., Johnson, C. O., Addolorato, G., Ammirati, E., Baddour, L. M., Barengo, N. C., Beaton, A. Z., Benjamin, E. J., Benziger, C. P., et al. (2020) · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2020.11.010 · Cited by 11,449 · see citing works
Social Jetlag: Misalignment of Biological and Social Time
Wittmann, M., Dinich, J., Merrow, M., & Roenneberg, T. (2006) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.1080/07420520500545979 · Cited by 2,625 · see citing works
Eating habits and lifestyle changes during COVID-19 lockdown: an Italian survey.
Di Renzo, L., Gualtieri, P., Pivari, F., Soldati, L., Attinà, A., Cinelli, G., Leggeri, C., Caparello, G., Barrea, L., Scerbo, F., et al. (2020) · Journal of Translational Medicine · doi:10.1186/s12967-020-02399-5 · Cited by 2,234 · see citing works
Changes in sleep pattern, sense of time and digital media use during COVID‐19 lockdown in Italy
Cellini, N., Canale, N., Mioni, G., & Costa, S. (2020) · Journal of Sleep Research · doi:10.1111/jsr.13074 · Cited by 1,079 · see citing works
St-Onge, M.-P., Ard, J., Baskin, M. L., Chiuve, S. E., Johnson, H. M., Kris-Etherton, P., & Varady, K. (2017) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/cir.0000000000000476 · Cited by 728 · see citing works
Validity of the Italian Version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
Curcio, G., Tempesta, D., Scarlata, S., Marzano, C., Moroni, F., Rossini, P. M., Ferrara, M., & Gennaro, L. D. (2012) · Neurological Sciences · doi:10.1007/s10072-012-1085-y · Cited by 604 · see citing works
Jakubowicz, D., Barnea, M., Wainstein, J., & Froy, O. (2013) · Obesity · doi:10.1002/oby.20460 · Cited by 593 · see citing works
GENDER DIFFERENCES IN MORNINGNESS–EVENINGNESS PREFERENCE
Adan, A., & Natale, V. (2002) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.1081/cbi-120005390 · Cited by 522 · see citing works
The circadian regulation of food intake
Challet, E. (2019) · Nature Reviews Endocrinology · doi:10.1038/s41574-019-0210-x · Cited by 428 · see citing works
The Dim Light Melatonin Onset as a Marker for Orcadian Phase Position
Lewy, A. J., & Sack, R. L. (1989) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.3109/07420528909059144 · Cited by 418 · see citing works
Time-Restricted Eating to Prevent and Manage Chronic Metabolic Diseases
Chaix, A., Manoogian, E. N. C., Melkani, G. C., & Panda, S. (2019) · Annual Review of Nutrition · doi:10.1146/annurev-nutr-082018-124320 · Cited by 402 · see citing works
Renzo, L. D., Gualtieri, P., Cinelli, G., Bigioni, G., Soldati, L., Attinà, A., Bianco, F. F., Caparello, G., Camodeca, V., Carrano, E., et al. (2020) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu12072152 · Cited by 390 · see citing works
Individual differences in human circadian rhythms
Horne, J. A., & Östberg, O. (1977) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/0301-0511(77)90001-1 · Cited by 320 · see citing works
Effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on human sleep and rest-activity rhythms
Blume, C., Schmidt, M. H., & Cajochen, C. (2020) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.06.021 · Cited by 298 · see citing works
Chronotype and mental health: recent advances
Taylor, B. J., & Hasler, B. P. (2018) · Current Psychiatry Reports · doi:10.1007/s11920-018-0925-8 · Cited by 289 · see citing works
Chronotype is independently associated with glycemic control in type 2 diabetes
Reutrakul, S., Hood, M. M., Crowley, S. J., Morgan, M. K., Teodori, M., Knutson, K. L., & Van Cauter, E. (2013) · Diabetes Care · doi:10.2337/dc12-2697 · Cited by 285 · see citing works
A study on the sleep quality of incoming university students
Cheng, S. H., Shih, C.-C., Lee, I. H., Hou, Y.-W., Chen, K. C., Chen, K., Yang, Y. K., & Yang, Y. C. (2012) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2011.08.011 · Cited by 275 · see citing works
Chronotype: Implications for Epidemiologic Studies on Chrono-Nutrition and Cardiometabolic Health
Almoosawi, S., Vingeliene, S., Gachon, F., Voortman, T., Palla, L., Johnston, J. D., Van Dam, R. M., Darimont, C., & Karagounis, L. G. (2019) · Advances in Nutrition · doi:10.1093/advances/nmy070 · Cited by 247 · see citing works
Chronotype and personality factors in the daily consumption of alcohol and psychostimulants
ADAN, A. (1994) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.1994.tb00926.x · Cited by 236 · see citing works
Sleep and dietary habits in the urban environment: the role of chrono-nutrition
Pot, G. K. (2017) · Proceedings of The Nutrition Society · doi:10.1017/s0029665117003974 · Cited by 202 · see citing works
Relationship between food intake and sleep pattern in healthy individuals
Crispim, C. A., Zimberg, I. Z., dos Reis, B. G., Diniz, R. M., Tufik, S., & de Mello, M. T. (2011) · Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine · doi:10.5664/jcsm.1476 · Cited by 201 · see citing works
The Association between Chronotype and Dietary Pattern among Adults: A Scoping Review
Mazri, F. H., Manaf, Z. A., Shahar, S., & Mat Ludin, A. F. (2019) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17010068 · Cited by 198 · see citing works
Validity of the reduced version of the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire
NATALE, V., ESPOSITO, M. J., MARTONI, M., & FABBRI, M. (2006) · Sleep and Biological Rhythms · doi:10.1111/j.1479-8425.2006.00192.x · Cited by 180 · see citing works
Metabolic Effects of Late Dinner in Healthy Volunteers—A Randomized Crossover Clinical Trial
Gu, C., Brereton, N. H., Schweitzer, A., Cotter, M., Duan, D., Børsheim, E., Wolfe, R. R., Pham, L. V., Polotsky, V. Y., & Jun, J. C. (2020) · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · doi:10.1210/clinem/dgaa354 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Vera, B., Dashti, H. S., Gómez-Abellán, P., Hernández-Martínez, A. M., Esteban, A., Scheer, F. A. J. L., Saxena, R., & Garaulet, M. (2018) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-017-18268-z · Cited by 117 · see citing works
Kuhlman, S. J., Craig, L. M., & Duffy, J. F. (2018) · Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology · doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a033613 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Eating to Cope With the COVID-19 Pandemic and Body Weight Change in Young Adults
Mason, T. B., Barrington‐Trimis, J. L., & Leventhal, A. M. (2020) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.11.011 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Huseinovic, E., Winkvist, A., Slimani, N., Park, M., Freisling, H., Boeing, H., Buckland, G., Schwingshackl, L., Weiderpass, E., Rostgaard-Hansen, A., et al. (2016) · Public Health Nutrition · doi:10.1017/s1368980016001142 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Development, validation and reliability of the Chrononutrition Profile - Questionnaire
Veronda, A. C., Allison, K. C., Crosby, R. D., & Irish, L. A. (2019) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.1080/07420528.2019.1692349 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
Kandeğer, A., Eğilmez, Ü., Sayin, A. A., & Selvı, Y. (2018) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.08.003 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Meule, A., Roeser, K., Randler, C., & Kübler, A. (2012) · PubMed · doi:10.3275/8723 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Morningness–Eveningness and Risk Taking
Wang, L., & Chartrand, T. L. (2014) · The Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1080/00223980.2014.885874 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Effect of chronotype on emotional processing and risk taking
Berdynaj, D., Boudissa, S. N., Grieg, M. S., Hope, C., Mahamed, S. H., & Norbury, R. (2016) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.3109/07420528.2016.1146739 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Regularity of Breakfast Consumption and Diet: Insights from National Adult Nutrition Survey
Uzhova, I., Mullally, D., Peñalvo, J. L., & Gibney, E. R. (2018) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu10111578 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Sleep quality mediates the effect of chronotype on resilience in the time of COVID-19
Bazzani, A., Bruno, S., Frumento, P., Sanabria, F. C., Turchetti, G., & Faraguna, U. (2021) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.1080/07420528.2021.1895199 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Self-citationSleep as a Biological Rhythm: A Historical Review
Webb, W. B. (1994) · SLEEP · doi:10.1093/sleep/17.2.188 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Veronda, A. C., & Irish, L. A. (2020) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.1080/07420528.2020.1861000 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Natale V. Validazione di una scala ridotta di Mattutinità (rMEQ). - PsycNET. Giunti Organizzazioni Speciali 1999 https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2002-00736-001
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Meal timing and its role in obesity and associated diseases
Peters, B., Vahlhaus, J., & Pivovarova-Ramich, O. (2024) · Frontiers in Endocrinology · doi:10.3389/fendo.2024.1359772 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Saidi, O., Rochette, E., Dambel, L., St‐Onge, M., & Duché, P. (2024) · Sleep Medicine Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2024.101953 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Chrononutrition in the Prevention and Management of Metabolic Disorders: A Literature Review
Mentzelou, M., Papadopoulou, S. Κ., Psara, E., Voulgaridou, G., Pavlidou, E., Androutsos, O., & Giaginis, C. (2024) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu16050722 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Xian, X., Wang, C.-Y., Yu, R., & Ye, M. (2023) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu15122678 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Pérez-Díaz-del-Campo, N., Castelnuovo, G., Caviglia, G. P., Armandi, A., Rosso, C., & Bugianesi, E. (2022) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu14235053 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Time-restricted eating, the clock ticking behind the scenes
Ribas‐Latre, A., Fernández‐Veledo, S., & Vendrell, J. J. (2024) · Frontiers in Pharmacology · doi:10.3389/fphar.2024.1428601 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Mazri, F. H., Manaf, Z. A., Shahar, S., Ludin, A. F. M., & Basir, S. M. A. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19084469 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Lira, N. D. C. C., de Araújo, S. M., de Medeiros, A. C. Q., & de Souza, J. C. (2023) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.1080/07420528.2023.2187223 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Bruno, S., Daddoveri, F., Galante, M. D., Bazzani, A., Sanabria, F. C., Colitta, A., D’Ascanio, P., Frumento, P., & Faraguna, U. (2024) · Sleep Health · doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2024.08.003 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Self-citationEat Well, Sleep Well: Exploring the Association Between Eating Behavior and Sleep Quality
Bazzani, A., & Faraguna, U. (2025) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu17172908 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-citationExercise timing and circadian regulation of metabolism in type 2 diabetes
Hansen, S. S. K., Zierath, J. R., & Wallberg‐Henriksson, H. (2026) · Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism · doi:10.1016/j.tem.2026.01.015 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Sanabria, F. C., Bruno, S., Bazzani, A., Bonelli, C., Violi, M., Frumento, P., & Faraguna, U. (2023) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.1080/07420528.2023.2189952 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-citationChong, G. Y., Kaur, S., Talib, R. A., Loy, S. L., Siah, W. Y., Tan, H. Y., Singh, S. S. H., Abdullah, R. B., Mahmud, H. B., Lee, Y. H., et al. (2022) · Biological Rhythm Research · doi:10.1080/09291016.2022.2105536 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Gong, Y., Zhang, J., Li, S., Li, L.-L., Dong, X.-J., Liu, L., Fan, Z., Li, Y., & Yang, Y. (2025) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.1080/07420528.2025.2464664 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Magalhães, A. C. O., Marques, C. G., Lucin, G. A., Nakamoto, F. P., Tufik, S., dos Santos, R. V. T., & Quaresma, M. V. L. D. S. (2023) · Sleep and Biological Rhythms · doi:10.1007/s41105-023-00490-0 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Quadra, M. R., Meller, F. D. O., Schäfer, A. A., Hendler, T. D., & STRECK, E. L. (2025) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.1080/07420528.2025.2552855 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Identifying Chronotype for the Preservation of Muscle Mass, Quality and Strength
Barrientos-Salinas, R., Dahdah, N., Alvarez-Luis, J., Vilarrasa, N., & García-Rovés, P. M. (2026) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu18020221 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Çağla, A. Y. E. R., EKİNOĞLU, E., & Tohtak, G. K. (2024) · Turkiye Klinikleri Journal of Health Sciences · doi:10.5336/healthsci.2024-101543 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Barooah, R., Shakthinag, S., Tasneem, Z., Phurailatpam, J., Baruah, K., Das, A., Das, K., Bordoloi, G., Begum, T., Dhar, R., et al. (2025) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.81651 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Moyo, G., & Thomas‐Jackson, S. C. (2022) · Clinical Lactation · doi:10.1891/cl-2022-0005
Lorenzoni, V., Andreozzi, G., Palla, I., Tani, C., Carmassi, C., Fulvio, G., Trentin, F., Fantasia, S., Conti, L., Dell’Osso, L., et al. (2024) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph21111476
Self-citationLongo‐Silva, G., Serenini, R., Lima, M. D. O., Melo, J., Soares, L. D. L., & de Menezes, R. C. E. (2026) · Ciência & Saúde Coletiva · doi:10.1590/1413-8123202631.13912024
- Authors
- Bazzani, A., Marantonio, S., Andreozzi, G., Lorenzoni, V., Bruno, S., Cruz-Sanabria, F., d’Ascanio, P., Turchetti, G., & Faraguna, U.
- Affiliations
- Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (IT)
- University of Pisa (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Bazzani, A.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Appetite
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2022-05
- Volume
- 172
- Pages
- 105951
- ISSN
- 0195-6663 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9356714
- OpenAlex
- W4210751737
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4
- FWCI
- 4.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- Locations
- Appetite (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- CINECA IRIS Institutial research information system (University of Pisa) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- CINECA IRIS Institutional Research Information System (Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- AARP Foundation
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Keywords
- chrononutrition, chronotype, mealtime, meal timing, COVID-19 lockdown, sleep quality, dietary habits, breakfast timing, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, sociodemographic factors, vulnerable subgroups
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Circadian Rhythm, Communicable Disease Control, Cross-Sectional Studies, Humans, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sleep, Pandemics, Meals
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
