Qualidade e duração do sono de estudantes universitários brasileiros durante a pandemia da Covid-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing measures adopted caused profound changes in the population's sleep patterns. College students were particularly affected, due to the suspension of face-to-face academic activities and the fact that they find themselves at a critical point in their life cycle. Little is known about the impacts of the pandemic on Brazilian college students. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the sleep quality of Brazilian college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. 722 Brazilian college students answered an online questionnaire with questions related to their sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics, as well as questions about sleep duration, quality and disorders. The results showed that the frequency of insufficient sleep decreased by 7% during the pandemic compared to the previous period (χ²=9.49; p=0.002), while the frequency of poor sleep increased by 13% (χ²= 31.16; p<0.001). As for sleep disorders, 76.18% of participants reported having at least one sleep disorder, the most frequent being excessive sleepiness (69.52%). Female gender was associated with the presence of sleep disorders (χ²=7.46, p=0.006), black race was associated with insufficient sleep (before the pandemic: χ²=4.04, p=0.044; during: χ²= 10.41, p=0.001), and low family income was associated with poor sleep quality during the pandemic (χ²=22.02, p>0.001). The results suggest that the increase in sleep duration does not imply an increase in sleep quality. Measures to promote sleep quality should be a priority in dealing with the adverse effects of the pandemic.