Effects of COVID-19 lockdown on sleep duration, sleep quality and burnout in faculty members of higher education in Mexico

• Published in: Ciência & saude coletiva 2022-08, Vol.27 (8), p.2985-2993
• Main Authors: Arrona-Palacios, Arturo, Rebolledo-Mendez, Genaro, Escamilla, Jose, Hosseini, Samira, Duffy, Jeanne
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Burnout; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Depersonalization; Education; Health Policy & Services; Higher education; Sleep; Sleep deprivation; University faculty
• ISSN: 1413-8123; 1678-4561; 1678-4561
• DOI: 10.1590/1413-81232022278.04322021

Abstract This paper aims to assess the differences and associations of the effect of COVID-19 on sleep habits, sleep quality, and burnout symptoms among faculty members of higher education in Mexico. This was a cross-sectional study with a total sample of 214 faculty members of higher education from Mexico between May 18th and June 10th of 2020. We applied questionnaires containing sociodemographic and specific questions regarding sleep habits, sleep quality, and burnout symptoms. The results show that during COVID-19 faculty members delayed their bedtime and rise time. No change was found with weekdays time in bed, however, during weekends, time in bed was more than an hour shorter. Social jetlag decreased significantly during COVID-19. Furthermore, during COVID-19, those who reported low sleep quality were more likely to report higher symptoms of emotional exhaustion and those who slept less on weekends were more likely to report higher symptoms of depersonalization. These results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic may have an effect on sleep and sleep quality and burnout symptoms of faculty members from higher education in Mexico. Resumo Este trabalho visa avaliar as diferenças e associações do impacto da COVID-19 sobre hábitos de sono, qualidade do sono e sintomas de burnout entre os docentes de ensino superior no México. Trata-se de um estudo transversal, com amostra total de 214 docentes, realizado entre 18 de maio e 10 de junho de 2020. Foram aplicados questionários contendo questões sociodemográficas e específicas sobre hábitos de sono, qualidade do sono e sintomas de burnout. Os resultados mostram que durante a pandemia os docentes atrasaram a hora de dormir e acordar. Nenhuma alteração foi observada com relação ao tempo de semana na cama, porém nos finais de semana o tempo na cama era mais de uma hora menor. O jetlag social diminuiu significativamente durante a COVID-19. Além disso, durante a pandemia, aqueles que relataram baixa qualidade do sono eram mais propensos a relatar sintomas mais fortes de exaustão emocional, e aqueles que dormiam menos nos fins de semana eram mais propensos a relatar sintomas mais fortes de despersonalização. Esses resultados sugerem que a pandemia de COVID-19 pode ter um efeito sobre a qualidade do sono e causar sintomas de burnout nos integrantes do corpo docente do ensino superior no México.