Heliyon · 6 authors, 6 centres
This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.
This longitudinal study found that Japanese nursing university students' sleep-wake rhythms were delayed during COVID-19 stay-at-home periods, but after returning to campus, their sleep onset advanced, leading to increased sleep debt and worsened insomnia.
This longitudinal study analyzed self-reported sleep surveys of Japanese nursing students across 2019, 2020, and 2021. During stay-at-home periods (Study 1, n=18 paired data), students showed delayed sleep-wake rhythms, prolonged sleep duration, and worsened insomnia, particularly difficulty initiating sleep. After returning to campus (Study 2, n=91 paired data), students exhibited advanced wake-up times, shortened sleep duration, increased sleep debt, and increased daytime sleepiness. The study found an association between advanced midpoint of sleep and commute time over an hour (aOR, 3.29; 95%CI: 1.24–8.72). Advanced midpoint of sleep was linked to higher prevalence of sleep paralysis and nightmares, while delayed midpoint of sleep was associated with higher daytime sleepiness. Limitations include sampling bias from changing survey methods and a small sample size from one university. The findings suggest educational environments should consider students' biological rhythms to maintain healthy sleep patterns.
