CHRONOTYPE PREDICTS HEALTH OUTCOMES BUT NOT SLEEP DURATION IN EARLY PANDEMIC SLEEP SCHEDULES

Abstract Introduction Lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic allowed for individuals to change their schedules. Chronicity is a trait-like preference for individuals’ times of the day for activity and feeling best. As a result of the lockdowns, some individuals were able to adjust their schedule to reflect personal chronotype needs. This study examined whether chronotype predicted sleep duration and health outcomes. Methods A sample of 304 participants were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk service to fill out surveys relating to personality and health. Individuals responded with their normal bedtime and waketime for weeknights and weekends and filled out the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ; Horne & Östberg, 1976). Self-reported health outcomes were measured via 9 items on the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS; Cella et al., 2010). Data were cleaned and analyzed via linear regressions in SPSS with age, sex, race, ethnicity and education as covariates. Results Participants reported an average of 8.52 hours of sleep (SD = 1.97 hours). 35.3% of the sample scored strong- or moderately morning-type, 54.7% were neither morning-nor evening-type and 10% scored as evening- or strong-evening types (M = 54.95; SD = 9.42). Results from the PROMIS ranged from 18 to 45 (M = 32.24, SD = 5.49). The model predicting sleep duration (R2 = .06, p = .03) produced a significant effect of ethnicity but not chronicity. Hispanic or Latino ethnicity reported shorter sleep durations relative to those who self-identified as non-Hispanic or Latino. The model predicting PROMIS (general health) scores (R2 = .14, p < .001) produced effects of education (b = .46, p = .04) and Morningness (b = .21, p < .001). People with higher educational levels and those with morning preferences reported better health. Conclusion Morningness is often associated with better self-regulation, lower risky behaviors, better physical and mental health and better sleep. During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns allowed many individuals more scheduling flexibility. As a result, sleep duration differences across chronotypes were absent, though health differences remained. Future research should continue to explore differences in sleep schedules in predicting health outcomes. Support (If Any) Charlie Reeve and the Misfits lab at UNCC.