By Puja Gupta
New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANSlife): With the Covid-19 pandemic, our lifestyles have completely changed. Our entire day revolves around or in our homes, this has a huge impact on our immunity. As do the changes in sleep patterns, physical activity and eating habits, which are the pillars of our immune system.
A study conducted by GOQii with over 10,000 respondents, indicates that while Indians have erratic sleep habits they are eating healthy and working out to stay fit.
During the first 21 days of the lockdown, the average sleep hours of India increased while in the following months of April, May and June, it dropped. The survey revealed that 44 percent of respondents went to sleep later than usual while 10 percent went to sleep more than two hours later. In terms of waking up, 41 percent woke up later than usual while 16 percent woke up more than two hours later.
Before the lockdown, 47-48 percent of the people used to sleep post-midnight. When the lockdown started on 22nd March onwards across India, the time of sleep shifted to a later hour. 55 percent of the people were sleeping post-midnight during March. In April 56 percent, May 54 percent and June 51 percent of the people are sleeping post-midnight.
A similar shift is seen in the wake-up time as well which is shifted to a later hour. Before the lockdown in January, February and the beginning of March, 26-27 percent woke up post 8 am, but post the 22nd of March, more than 33 percent woke up post 8 am. This increased in April where 35 percent woke up post 8 am.
On being asked 'How did you stay active before the lockdown?', 51 percent of the respondents said that they stayed active by walking or running. This was followed by exercise at home at 20 percent and going to the gym at 12 percent. While, 11 percent said that they were not active before the lockdown.
47 percent of the people were doing exercises at home to stay active. Surprisingly, 31 percent still continued with walking or running, most likely in their homes or buildings as an alternative to public parks. The number of people not being able to work out increased from 11 percent before lockdown to 15 percent during the complete lockdown.
Now that we are in the Unlock phase in most areas across the country, activity patterns are slowly returning back to normal, although with a few changes.
46 percent of the people are back to walking or running again. As gyms or fitness centers are still not operational, 32 percent have shifted to home exercises with either body weight or workouts as a substitute for that. 6 percent are also using stairs as a novel way of exercise. The number of people who are not able to workout has returned to 11 percent, matching the pre lockdown percentage.
Eating at home has become the norm in the lockdown. As compared to 32.1 percent before the lockdown, currently, only about 11.3 percent of the people order food from outside more than once a week. 70 percent of the survey respondents said that they are currently sticking to home cooked meals only. Since the country-wide lockdown started, eating out has become a thing of the past. Even currently, stepping out for a meal is still not an option for most people. And although more and more restaurants are availing the takeout option, the New Normal Survey conducted by GOQii indicates that a majority of people still have apprehensions about outside food.
When asked 'How healthy do you think your current meals are?', 53 percent of the respondents said that they are healthy, while 13 percent said that they are extremely healthy. So, a majority of the people feel that their current diet is healthy consisting mainly of homemade meals instead of outside food. Still, there are 30 percent of the respondents who said that their current meals are only somewhat healthy and not always, along with the 4 percent who said that their current diet is extremely unhealthy. Although a majority of the respondents feel that their current diet, mainly consisting of home-cooked meals, is healthy, the remaining 34 percent feel that their diet is mostly unhealthy.
Answering to 'How often have you been bothered by poor appetite or overeating over the past few weeks?', 29 percent of the respondents said that they faced these issues on at least a few days, while 6 percent said that they faced them nearly every day. Without any underlying physiology issues, poor appetite and overeating can be symptoms of high stress levels. Now even though 58 percent of the respondents said that they didn't face these issues, the 42 percent who do face them at varying degrees, are a cause for concern.