Cited by 161Sleep and related disordersCircadian rhythm and melatoninSleep and Work-Related Fatigue

COVID-19-mandated social restrictions unveil the impact of social time pressure on sleep and body clock

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Korman, Maria, Tkachev, Vadim, Reis, Cátia, Komada, Yoko, Kitamura, Shingo, Gubin, Denis, Kumar, Vinod, Roenneberg, Till·2020·Scientific Reports

Abstract

In humans, sleep regulation is tightly linked to social times that assign local time to events, such as school, work, or meals. The impact of these social times, collectively-social time pressure, on sleep has been studied epidemiologically via quantification of the discrepancy between sleep times on workdays and those on work-free days. This discrepancy is known as the social jetlag (SJL). COVID-19-mandated social restrictions (SR) constituted a global intervention by affecting social times worldwide. We launched a Global Chrono Corona Survey (GCCS) that queried sleep-wake times before and during SR (preSR and inSR). 11,431 adults from 40 countries responded between April 4 and May 6, 2020. The final sample consisted of 7517 respondents (68.2% females), who had been 32.7 ± 9.1 (mean ± sd) days under SR. SR led to robust changes: mid-sleep time on workdays and free days was delayed by 50 and 22 min, respectively; sleep duration increased on workdays by 26 min but shortened by 9 min on free days; SJL decreased by ~ 30 min. On workdays inSR, sleep-wake times in most people approached those of their preSR free days. Changes in sleep duration and SJL correlated with inSR-use of alarm clocks and were larger in young adults. The data indicate a massive sleep deficit under pre-pandemic social time pressure, provide insights to the actual sleep need of different age-groups and suggest that tolerable SJL is about 20 min. Relaxed social time pressure promotes more sleep, smaller SJL and reduced use of alarm clocks.

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  • The host immune response to SARS-CoV-2, persistent psychological stress, and possible direct viral infection of the central nervous system are possible mechanisms for neuropsychiatric sequelae.

    “The host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, the persistent psychological stress before and during infection (Korman et al., 2020, Vai et al., 2020), and a possible direct viral infections of the central nervous system represent possible mechanisms to induce neuropsychiatric sequelae (Troyer et al., 2020).”

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Authors
Korman, M., Tkachev, V., Reis, C., Komada, Y., Kitamura, S., Gubin, D., Kumar, V., & Roenneberg, T.
Affiliations
  • Ariel University (IL)
  • University of Lisbon (PT)
  • Meiji Pharmaceutical University (JP)
  • National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry (JP)
  • Russian Academy of Sciences (RU)
  • University of Delhi (IN)
  • Technische Universität Darmstadt (DE)
Corresponding author
Korman, Maria
Venue
Scientific Reports
Published
2020-12-17
Volume
10
Issue
1
Pages
22225-22225
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3112246049
Cited by
161
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 43
FWCI
24.65
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Open access LMU (Ludwid Maxmilian's Universitat Munchen) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Tokyo Tech Research Repository (Tokyo Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Ariel University
  • Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (19K10994)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
Keywords
social jetlag, sleep timing, sleep duration, circadian rhythm
MeSH terms
Physical Distancing, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Circadian Rhythm, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Middle Aged, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sleep, Social Behavior, Time Factors, Jet Lag Syndrome, Young Adult

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