Covid-19 pandemic quarantine and social jetlag

Abstract

Covid-19 pandemic forced the governments to choose the policy to the lockdown the gathering centers­, including universities and schools to prevent the rapid spread of the disease, forcing millions of people to stay at home for several weeks and even more. Staying in the home for such long periods is associated with a change in the wake/sleep period (a kind of social jet lag) and the resulting alteration in feeding time and type of food. Moreover, the prevalence of anxiety and depression resulted from the reduction in physical activity and bad news also may help to worsen the social jetlag effect on these parts of society. Possible hazardous changes in this factor are reviewed in this study and some suggestions for better management of this condition are also offered. Pubmed, SCOPUS, WOS, and Google Scholar data banks were searched using the following keyword in combination and/or alone: jetlag, social jetlag, Chronobiology, photoperiod, metabolic disease, cardiovascular, sleep/weak period. Longtime lockdown gathering centers are shown to change the photoperiod cycle in people, and it may induce several consequences, including the effects on cognitive brain function, induce mental illness, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, mitochondrial aging, and cardiovascular diseases. Considering these facts, it is important to make rehabilitation programs for all the societies’ members for post-pandemic time.

Keywords

• anxiety
• covid-19
• depression
• forced lockdown
• metabolic disturbances
• obesity
• social jetlag