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The Relationship Between Anxiety Levels, Sleep, and Physical Activity During COVID-19 Lockdown: An Exploratory Study
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Nowadays and worldwide, the attention is focused on coronavirus disease (COVID-19),
and its consequences on mental health are yet to be fully understood. It is important to
capture differences in anxiety levels among populations, groups, and the gender-related
variation. Therefore, the present study had two main purposes: (1) to characterize the
levels of state anxiety and trait anxiety by examining gender-related, sleep-related, and
physical activity-related variations in a nonrepresentative sample of the Portuguese
population during the first weeks of lockdown; and (2) to explore the possible relationship
between trait anxiety and state anxiety and the possible role of gender as a moderator.
This cross-sectional study comprised 1,332 Portuguese adults (aged 18–55 years old)
recruited online during COVID-19 outbreak measures. Participants answered to
sociodemographic data and the Portuguese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
(STAI). Gender differences were found in both state anxiety (p = < 0.001; d = 0.385) and
trait anxiety (p = < 0.001; d = 0.467) with females presenting higher values. People
reporting doing more physical activity than usual during COVID-19 lockdown presented
lower levels of state anxiety (p = < 0.001; d = 0.200). People reporting more satisfaction
with the quality of sleep presented lower levels of both state anxiety (p = < 0.001; d = 0.701)
and trait anxiety (p = < 0.001; d = 0.899). Variation associated with the physical activity
level (low, moderate, and high) was significantly different among groups in both state
anxiety (p = < 0.001) and trait anxiety (p = < 0.001). When analyzing in more detail
separating the levels of physical activity, participants performing moderate and high
physical activity showed lower values of state and trait anxiety compared to participants
with low physical activity. Participants performing high physical activity also showed lower
values of state anxiety compared to participants performing moderate physical activity.
Higher levels of trait anxiety were related to higher levels of state anxiety, but this association
was not moderated by gender. Interventions aiming to support people psychologically during this outbreak should consider anxiety as well as gender and possible behavioral changes in sleep and physical activity, for example. Health professionals should not only
consider the anxiety related to the situation we are living but also address trait anxiety to
help overcome COVID-19 psychological consequences.
Description
Keywords
Anxiety-state and trait Coronavirus Coronavirus disease-19 outbreak Coronavirus disease-19 Physical activity
Citation
Frontini R, Rebelo-Gonçalves R, Amaro N, Salvador R, Matos R, Morouço P and Antunes R (2021) The Relationship Between Anxiety Levels, Sleep, and Physical Activity During COVID-19 Lockdown: An Exploratory Study. Front. Psychol. 12:659599.