Influence of Coronavirus Disease 2019 on human biological timekeeping

Abstract

To stay in sync with environmental cues, the body's metabolic activities must be rhythmic, and these rhythmic functions are known as circadian rhythms, which repeat every 24 h. People's sleep–wake and eating patterns were interrupted as a result of house confinement, making them more vulnerable to noncommunicable chronic diseases during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) period. During the epidemic, there was a greater degree of misalignment with this synchronization. The effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) on the human circadian clock are studied in depth. The literature review was conducted fully online, with the website utilized to collect all of the papers from PubMed, and duplicates were handled only in the first phase. Researchers found that individuals of all ages who are pushed to adjust their daily routines shift to the later chronotype, resulting in lifestyle modifications and an altered biological timing system that contributes to noncommunicable chronic illnesses. Chronic illnesses have bidirectional conductance, which means they can be caused by both environmental and self-modification in daily activity, as was the case during the COVID-19 outbreak, which forced people to stay at home. This review comes to the conclusion that fighting the pandemic may be best done by changing medications and focusing on immune health.

Keywords

• activity–rest cycle
• chronotherapy
• circadian rhythms
• immunology
• novel coronavirus