Sleep and quality of life of Turkish university students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objective In Türkiye, the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic came with restrictions to reduce and control the spreading of the virus. A lockdown and switch to online education was one of these restrictions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of these restrictions on insomnia complaints and daytime functioning. Materials and Methods Health science students in Türkiye aged 18-30 were asked to participate in an online survey. The survey contained questions about sleep time, sleep quality, insomnia complaints, quality of life (QoL), and daytime functioning. In total 302 students (70.8% female) participated in the study. Assessments were made for the periods (1) [before the COVID-19 pandemic (BP), 1 January 2020-10 March 2020], (2) the first no lockdown period (11 March 2020-28 April 2021), (3) lockdown (29 April 2021-17 May 2021), (4) the second no lockdown (NL2) period (18 May 2021-31 December 2021), and (5) the third no lockdown period (1 January 2022-December 2022). Results Total sleep time significantly increased during lockdown and NL2 compared to BP. However, sleep satisfaction, sleep quality, insomnia, daytime fatigue and QoL worsened significantly during lockdown and NL2 compared to BP. After lockdown, restrictions were gradually lifted, and assessments returned to BP levels. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on sleep quality and increased insomnia complaints which in turn negatively interfered with daytime functioning and QoL.