Abstract
In previous work, Giuntella et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci 118:e2016632118, 2021), we documented large disruptions to physical activity, sleep, time use and mental health among young adults at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020. This study explores the trends 1 year into COVID-19, as vaccines began to roll out, COVID-19 deaths declined, and social distancing measures eased in the United States. We combine biometric and survey data from multiple cohorts of college students spanning Spring 2019 through Spring 2021 (N = 1179). Our results show persistent impacts of the pandemic on physical activity and mental health. One year into the pandemic, daily steps averaged about 6300 per day compared to about 9800 per day prior to the pandemic, a 35% decline. Almost half of participants were at risk of clinical depression compared to a little over one-third prior to the pandemic, a 36% increase. The impacts on screen time, social interactions and sleep duration at the onset of COVID-19 largely dissipated over the course of the pandemic, though screen time remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels. In contrast to the sharp changes in lifestyle and mental health documented as the pandemic emerged in March 2020, we do not find evidence of behavioral changes or improvements in mental well-being over the course of Spring 2021 as the pandemic eased.
Highlights
In previous work, Giuntella et al (Proc Natl Acad Sci 118:e2016632118, 2021), we documented large disruptions to physical activity, sleep, time use and mental health among young adults at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020
We address two questions: (1) Were the disruptions documented at the onset of the pandemic transitory, with people restoring their pre-pandemic habits after an initial period of adaptation? And (2) To what extent have people returned to their pre-pandemic habits as vaccines rolled out, COVID-19 deaths declined, and social distancing measures eased?
Sleep and time use, we see no evidence of improvements in mental well-being over the Spring 2021 semester, with Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scores increasing as they generally do in our dataset between the beginning and the end of the term ( p < 0.001 comparing Spring 2021 baseline and endline)
Summary
By Fall 2020 screen time had substantially declined ( p < 0.001 compared to the onset of the pandemic) and remained steady through Spring 2021, averaging about 3.2 h per day in the 2020–2021 academic year, still significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels ( p < 0.001). Self-reported social interactions (Fig. 2B), which declined by over half from 1.5 h to about 40 min per day at the onset of the pandemic ( p < 0.001 ), fully recovered by Fall 2020, averaging about 1.5 h per day in the 2020–2021 academic year ( p = 0.081 compared to pre-pandemic levels). Sleep and time use, we see no evidence of improvements in mental well-being over the Spring 2021 semester, with CES-D scores increasing as they generally do in our dataset between the beginning and the end of the term ( p < 0.001 comparing Spring 2021 baseline and endline). We show that the mental health decline persists among young adults, a vulnerable p opulation[14]
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