Covid-19 related School Closure Impact on School going Children & Adolescents of Raipur, Chhattisgarh

Prashant Shukla¹, Jini Shukla², Ajay Singh³ and Sudhir Kumar Upadhyay⁴

¹Assistant Professor, Department of Biotechnology, School of Science and Technology, The Neotia University, WB, India

²Director, Zenith, Raipur, CG, India

³Lecturer, G.H.S.S. Durg, CG, India

⁴Research ScholarDepartment of Mass Communication, Kushabhau Thakre Patrakarita Avam Jansanchar Vishwavidyalaya Raipur, Chhattisgarh-492010, India

*Corresponding Author: prashant.shukla@tnu.in

[Received: 06 March 2021; Revised: 27 March 2021; Accepted: 01 April 2021]

Abstract: The Covid-19 induced strict measures like strict lockdown caused schools to be shut down. The classes turned into non-contact and online. This caused children and adolescents to stay at home and take classes from the comfort of their rooms. The lockdown had a positive impact on sleep pattern of children and adolescents as they are not under pressure to wake up early nor they have serious deadlines to submit homework. The data of children and adolescents were collected by the means of questionnaire which was distributed to them. The questionnaire was taken back and analysed. The lack of pressure on students has helped them get positive sleep patterns. Of 44 respondents who took part in the study 68% reported change in sleep time. Out of these 88% were from urban area. Similarly, 57% respondents reported sleeping better during the lockdown and subsequent unlock periods. 68% students experienced that they do not require help in waking up which was around 41% before Covid-19 induced lockdown. This happened because students wake up late as there was no pressure to wake up early. This study again provided evidence in support of late start of school. The policy makers and school administrators should consider the increasing amount of evidence and change the school timings in such a way that student is not forced to wake up too early.

Keywords: Covid-19, Lockdown, sleep timing, children and adolescents, school timing, online classes

Introduction

The current pandemic time of Covid-19 has affected almost every person. Children and adolescents have been the most vulnerable group which has been affected by the pandemic and the subsequent harsh measures governments have placed to stop the spread of the virus. Following the closure of schools due to Covid-19 pandemic the teaching has shifted to remote and non-contact. In India, the whole 2020-21 session for school going children is about to be finished while they have been learning at home through online classes. Only students of specific age-groups and classes have been allowed to attended schools that also for doubt clearing sessions. This has happened all over the globe as by April 2020 schools had been suspended nationwide in 188 countries as per UNESCO (Lee, 2020).

The changes in sleep-wake pattern in the age group of children and adolescents are seen. This is due to fact that age this age there is significant biological and social changes which causes transformations in cognitive, behavioural and emotional functions. As inadequate sleep among children and adolescents can cause alarming and endemic health problems, many school systems worldwide are implementing later school start time programs to counteract the negative impact of this phenomenon (Alfonsi et al., 2020).

The children and adolescents have been getting less sleep than the required amount which has been cited as reasons for many problems (Wheaton et al., 2015). This sleep deprivation leads to negative impact on mental and physical health of young people (Owens and Weiss, 2017). Adequate sleep has been recognized to play an important role in learning and health of children and adolescents (Shochat et al., 2014). It has been recommended that the school timings should not be before 08:30 AM to allow optimum sleep during night. The lack of sleep has been implemented in poor school performance, learning capacity, neurobehavioural functions and it can lead to students developing sleep disorders in long run (Alfonsi et al., 2020). Short et al. (2013) found that lack of sleep is associated with poor academic performance, depressive mood and lack of alertness in school students. It was found that longer sleep duration in children was associated with lower adiposity indicators, better emotional regulation, better academic achievement, and better quality of life/well-being while the relationship between sleep duration and cognition, harms/injuries, and cardiometabolic biomarkers was not clear (Chaput et al., 2016).

Sleep is important as it is necessary for the ability to think clearly, to be vigilant and alert, and sustain attention and for consolidation of memory (Worley, 2018). Sleep deprivation can lead to changes in emotional memories and can cause changes in mood by selecting and remembering negative memories (Stickgold and Walker, 2013). A consensus has been developed about the amount of sleep an individual needs and for an adult it is about seven to seven and half hours while this increases in children and adolescents (Watson et al., 2015).

With the lockdown initiated in many countries due to the spread of Covid-19 virus the schools are closed and the classes are being conducted through online mode. This has resulted in a positive outcome at least for children and adolescents. The time of their sleep has increased and the rest they are getting should be better for their future. To understand how the current situation is turning in favour of the children the current study was undertaken.

Material and Method

The situation amid Covid-19 is grim and schools and students have not remained unaffected by it. The classes have turned online and non-contact. This has affected the learning behaviour of students as they took time to adjust to online mode of teaching and learning. Even then the online mode has its benefits as it is providing students with much needed rest and less stressful learning.

The present study was undertaken to identify if the lockdown caused due to Covid-19 has resulted into any change in sleep patterns along with any other changes which would have resulted due to children staying at home and schools being closed. The questionnaire was prepared, and children were asked to provide as authentic answers to the questions as possible.

The questions included if there has been change in sleeping time of respondents, the reason for any such change, if they had felt sleepy during daytime before lockdown, how they used to wake up before and during lockdown, if they slept better before or, during the lockdown, change in eating time and any other changes they could point out.

The questionnaire was provided to children and adolescents of age groups from 11-12 to 17-18 years. The children and adolescents belonged to urban and rural backgrounds. The study also tried to identify any variation in change in patterns among the urban and rural settings of the children and adolescents.

The answers were then analysed to assess any variations from the time before Covid-19 lockdown.

Results

Total of 44 respondents answered the questionnaire. 26 of the respondents were from rural background while 18 were from urban area. The respondents from the rural background were from vernacular language school run by the state government while those from urban area were from different English medium schools. Table no 1 provides the details of the number of respondents for each question. The same data is also presented in the form of graph which makes it easy to understand. The questionnaire is given in Appendix 1.

Sleeping Time

Of the total 44 respondents 30 informed that they have experienced the change in sleeping time during the lockdown period. 14 of the respondents did not report any change in sleeping time during the lockdown period. This amounts to 68% percentage of respondents experiencing the change in sleeping time during the lockdown period in which the schools were shut down and the classes were shifted online.

The reason given by the respondents for the change in sleeping time was the shifting of classes to online mode. The school timing in online mode has not changed but as the students must take the classes from home the timing required to get up early and get ready is not required. This has enabled children and adolescents to sleep for longer duration as compared to the time when the schools were open, and classes were taking place face to face.

Out of 14 respondents who reported no change in sleeping time, 12 belong to rural areas. The government school timings of that area are from 10:00 AM which is the reason most of the respondents who have experienced no change in sleeping time come from that area.

Sleepiness during classes

Children and adolescents from urban area also experienced sleepiness during classes before Covid-19 related lockdown. Of the 44 respondents 10 reported the feeling of sleepiness during the classes. All the respondents who reported sleepiness belong to urban area and are from 7^th to 9^th standard when the changes in the body as well as social network is huge and so is the pressure on the children and adolescents. This sleepiness during classes was not experienced by any respondent during the lockdown period.

Quality of sleep

57% respondents reported that they have experienced better sleep the Covid-19 lockdown while 25% reported that they used to sleep better before the lockdown. Only 18% experienced no change in the quality of sleep before or during the lockdown.

Means of waking up

One of the questions asked to the respondents was about the mode of waking up if they needed some help or that they woke up without help. 59% of the respondents reported that they required help to wake up before the Covid-19 lockdown. During lockdown, the number of the percentage of respondents waking up without help increased tremendously to 68%.

Other changes

The respondents also reported the change in time of play as most playing for longer time than previously. They also reported change in eating time with some of them reporting that they are eating better than before. 61% of the respondents reported change in time of eating while one individual reported that their diet has decreased which could be attributed to lack of activity from their part.

Discussions

It has been reported previously that decrease in daytime sleepiness and increased daytime alertness is the result of extended and improved sleep (Gruber et al., 2020). We have seen in this current study that during lockdown period and even during unlock when the schools are closed for physical classes the children and adolescents are reporting change in sleeping time which have resulted in better quality of sleep. The age group at which biological changes are taking places requires more amount of sleep, in children and adolescents both but school timings do not help in this regard.

With 68% reporting changes in sleeping time during the lockdown and subsequent unlock period when the schools are closed for physical classes it shows that previously the children and adolescents were not getting the amount of sleep, they needed. 88% of the urban respondents have reported change in sleeping time. This shows that children and adolescents in cities and towns are under more pressure than their rural counterparts. In contrast, only 54% of the respondents from rural area reported change in sleeping time during the lockdown and the unlock periods. This can be attributed to not only the difference in lifestyle between rural and urban areas but also to the fact that the schools in government run schools in the rural area used to open at 10:00 AM which is an ideal time for schools to open. Out the respondents who reported no change in sleeping time 85% belonged to rural area which again shows that the lifestyle and school timing in rural area are better suited for getting quality sleep for children and adolescents.

Nearly 23% of the respondents reported sleepiness during classes and all belong to urban area. The overbearing pressure to perform is one of the reasons why children and adolescents from urban areas have to wake for longer time and get up early which play a havoc with their sleep-wake cycle. This also shows negatively in their performance in the long run. The sleepiness during classes or daytime has not been reported by any respondent during the lockdown or unlock periods. This clearly shows that as the quality of sleep along with duration increased the fatigue in children and adolescents decreased which thereby increased the alertness in them.

More respondents reported that experienced better sleep during the Covid-19 lockdown and unlock periods than before it. Very few of them reported no change in quality of sleep and all of them belonged to rural area. Those who reported that they experienced better sleep before Covid-19 lockdown nearly 87% respondents belonged to rural area. The sole reason could be that these respondents performed more physical work than their urban counterparts before the Covid-19 lockdown and therefore were able to sleep better while during the Covid-19 lockdown as the activities were totally banned the respondents from rural area did not had other things to do so where not physically exhausted thus experienced decrease in quality of sleep.

Another response which informs us about the lack of sleep before the Covid-19 lockdown period is the mode of waking up. 59% respondents required help either from mother or alarm to wake up before the Covid-19 lockdown. During the lockdown and subsequent unlock nearly 68% respondents can wake up without any help. This factor clearly indicates that as the quality and quantity of sleep increased in the children and adolescents the need for help for waking up decreased.

Apart from changes in sleeping time and quality of sleep of the respondents they also reported change in time of eating and increased playing time. Changes in time of eating can be attributed to the fact the children and adolescents were at home during time of lunch and not at school. The increase in playing time will help better growth in children and adolescents which is also a positive to come out of the lockdown.

Even though the lockdown and subsequent unlock periods have helped children and adolescents in providing quantitative and qualitative sleeping time they are not without their own problems. Children and adolescents interact with each other socially and physically and due to shutting down of schools indefinitely they can develop symptoms of anxiety (Rehman et al., 2020). Children and adolescents as a group engage with each other in classes and playground and develop healthy relations with each other. They also learn teamwork with these interactions. With strict measures undertaken by governments to stop the spread of Covid-19 children and adolescents were not only stopped from going to schools but also from public gardens and playgrounds. This restricted their interaction with each other. This can result in not only anxiety but also other mental issues in long run. Few studies have reported that due to continuous lockdown in pandemic periods the abuse of children and adolescent in family set up also rises and there has been increase in police complaints due to violence against children and adolescents in family (Lee, 2020).

Conclusion

The study has provided proof that the lockdown restriction of closing schools has been beneficial for children and adolescents. Their quantity and quality of sleep has increased and therefore their alertness during daytime. The online classes have given much needed reprieve to children and adolescents from the hectic schedule of learning in physical mode.

It has been reported in many earlier works that late school start helps in better performance of the children and adolescents. It improves the quality and quantity of sleep in the students and therefore helps develop many aspects of their life. With the lockdown applied worldwide in April 2020 the schools are still shut in many countries in January 2021 which has helped the students get better sleep. This should be noted by the policy makers and school administrators and they should implement such timings which allow students to undertake quality sleep. Another aspect of lockdown is that it endangers students of developing anxiety and those children and adolescents who already have some mental issues are under more danger of developing serious issues therefore now the schools should be open even though with restricted timings and lesser number of students per class.

Table 1. Number of respondents for questions asked in the questionnaire

Acknowledgment

The authors acknowledge the contribution of all the respondents who took time in filling the questionnaire. The authors also acknowledge the contribution of the reviewers who helped in getting this article published.

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Appendix 1

Questionnaire used to obtain data after ascertaining the age and gender:

Q1. Has the sleeping time changed?

Q2. If answer to the Q1 is ‘yes’ then what has been the reason? (Answer to this question from most of the students was the change in class timings)

Q3. Did they ever felt sleepy during classes before corona lockdown?

Q4. How did the woke up before corona lockdown?

Q5. How did the woke up during and after the lockdown?

Q6. Did they slept better before corona?

Q7. Has their eating changed?

Q8. Any other change? (For this question few replied that they have become less serious in studies due to online classes)