Effects of Quarantine due to the COVID-19 on Sleep Time, Anxiety, and Physical Activity in Adult Population: A Longitudinal Study in Kerman, Southeastern Iran

The COVID-19 outbreak imposed serious mental pressure on people worldwide. This study aimed to assess the effect of the two-month quarantine enforced at the beginning of the outbreak on physical activity (PA), sleep, and anxiety in inhabitants of Kerman.

The present study was conducted on 911 subjects randomly selected and interviewed twice: Before the COVID-19 outbreak (Feb 2020) and at the end of two- month quarantine. The level of anxiety was measured using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), PA by the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ), and daily sleep hours were reported by participants.

A high percentage of people experienced a decrease in PA (39.6%), an increase in sleep hours (33.7%), and an increase in anxiety (16.3%) during the quarantine. Women, young people, students, and illiterate people were more susceptible to increased level of anxiety; and women, young people, hypersomniac people, and people with higher education levels experienced lower PA. Furthermore, the odds of an increase in sleep hours was higher in men and young people and lower in people with intense PA and higher levels of anxiety. The changes in the three variables were mostly related to the quarantine, although interaction between PA and sleep was also present.

The quarantine caused hypersomnia, a decrease in PA, and an increase in anxiety level especially among young people and women. As these are also risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, it is suggested that health authorities encourage an active lifestyle in the public and provide them with economic and psychological supports during the quarantine.