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Indians have erratic sleep habits, but are eating healthy and working out to stay fit during the Covid-19-induced lockdowns, according to a study conducted by GOQii, a smart tech-enabled healthcare platform. For the study, GOQii surveyed over 10,000 respondents.
During the first 21 days of the lockdown, the average sleep hours of Indians increased while in the following months of April, May and June, it dropped; 44 per cent of respondents went to sleep later than usual while 10 per cent went to sleep more than two hours later. In terms of waking up, 41 per cent woke up later than usual while 16 per cent woke up more than two hours later.
In the first few days of the lockdown, the average sleep time increased to 6 hours 54 minutes. But in April, the average sleep time dipped by 4 minutes and, subsequently, it has dipped even further by 8 minutes from the start of the lockdown, indicating that people are not prioritising their sleep.
The survey noted that before the lockdown, 47-48 per cent of the people used to sleep post-midnight. When the lockdown started on March 22 onwards across India, the time of sleep shifted to a later hour. 55 per cent were sleeping post-midnight during March. In April 56 per cent, May 54 per cent and June 51 per cent of the people slept 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, the study saw that 26-27 per cent wake up post 8 am. But post March 22, more than 33 per cent woke up post 8 am. This increased in April as 35 per cent woke up post 8 am.
Exercise, home food
51 per cent of the respondents said that they stayed active by walking or running. 47 per cent of the people were doing exercises at home to stay active. Surprisingly, 31 per cent still continued walking or running outdoors. The number of people not being able to work out increased from 11 per cent before lockdown to 15 per cent during the complete lockdown.
Eating at home has become the norm in the lockdown. As compared to 32.1 per cent before the lockdown, currently only about 11.3 per cent order food from outside more than once a week.
70 per cent of the survey respondents said that they are currently sticking to home-cooked meals only. 53 per cent of the respondents said that they are healthy, while 13 per cent said that they are extremely healthy. 30 per cent of the respondents said that their current meals are only somewhat healthy and not always, 4 per cent said that their current diet is extremely unhealthy.
Commenting on the survey, Vishal Gondal, Founder & CEO, GOQii, said in an official release: “The last five months have not been easy for anyone. It is important for people to understand that sleeping less will affect their immunity, so sleeping 7 to 8 hours is mandatory. There has been good news as well with an increasing amount of people eating home-cooked food and taking their health & fitness seriously.”
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