The dark side of the quarantine: night eating, sleep quality and the health locus of control in women

Abstract

PurposeStaying at home for a prolonged period, the stress during COVID-19 quarantine may affect sleep quality, night eating behaviours of individuals. This paper aims to identify the relationship between night eating behaviour, sleep quality, perceptions of health locus of control in women during the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachAn anonymous, Web based, cross-sectional study was conducted for the duration of a month (April-May, 2020). The study evaluated the nutritional habits of the participants. Anthropometric measurements were noted. Night Eating Syndrome Questionnaire (NESQ), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Multi-dimensional Health Locus of Control-A were used for data collection.FindingsWith a mean age of 33 ± 8 years, 529 women participated in the study. The mean NESQ score was 14.4 ± 4.7, PSQI score was 6.4 ± 2.9. Higher night eating scores were observed in participants with chance locus of control (CLC) perception when compared to participants with internal health locus of control (IHLC) perception (p < 0.05). Lower sleep quality was observed in obese participants compared to normal/overweight participants (p < 0.05). It was also found that night eating behaviours significantly predicted sleep quality (R = 0.36, R2 = 0.13; p < 0.01), explaining about 13.3% of total variance of sleep quality.Research limitations/implicationsOnly internet users and women participated in the study, and the questionnaire form was applied online; the information was obtained in the form of the participants' own statements.Practical implicationsIt was found that night eating behaviour significantly predicted sleep quality during the pandemic. It was also determined that the individuals with high chance locus of control perception had higher NES scores than the individuals with high internal locus of control perception.Originality/valueThe night eating behaviours significantly predict sleep quality, individuals with a high perception of CLC had a higher night eating score than individuals with high perception of IHLC during the pandemic.