COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN: THE CAUSE OF SLEEP DISTURBANCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILES AMONG OFFICE WORKERS IN CHENNAI

Abstract

The current COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global threat and brought the world under lockdown. As a consequence, it has put the world economy into trouble, affecting everyone’s physical and mental wellbeing. The home confinement and social distancing has brought unpredicted changes in daily routine thus affecting the general health, quality of life, sleep pattern and possessed depression and stress in individuals thus increasing the smart screen exposure. The aim of the present study is to measure the psychosomatic effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the office workers in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Anonline survey using a structured questionnaire was conducted for 350 office workers between June 10 and July 28, 2020. The baseline characteristics, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) data score was collected among the swift office workers. The results showed thatabout 64.8% of the participants stated sleep problems, 34% felt anxiety, and 38% revealed symptoms associated with depression. The sleep disorders werecommon among the shift workers than the nonswift workers, while anxiety and depression occurred in both groups. Regression analysis showed the association between the depression and poor sleep quality, making it as a common risk factor.Theshift workersare more susceptible to sleep disorders and psychosocial counseling are needed to help the workers cope up with the COVID-19 situation and future outbreaks.