COVID-19 has led to a shift from in-person school to online classes, causing rapid lifestyle changes for university students. Many lectures are now held asynchronously, meaning that students can watch them on their own time and at their own pace. Students no longer walk across campus to get to their next class. Commuters no longer wake up early to make their daily trek to campus. In some cases, students can start an online quiz at any time of the day—or night. These changes have affected our behaviours in different ways that may negatively affect sleep. The more that we learn, the more we realize the importance of sleep for human health and the consequences of its deprivation.
Circadian rhythms work as the body’s internal biological clock, telling us when to wake, sleep, and how to function at different times. Online learning has the potential to disrupt circadian rhythms through the blue light emitted from screens that students use while studying and working on assignments at night before going to sleep. Changes in circadian rhythms affect various aspects of life, including clarity of thinking, coordination, eating habits, and hormone release. Sleep deficiency and deprivation have also been linked to increased risks for cancer and Alzheimer’s disease; the World Health Organization has identified night shifts at work as a probable carcinogen due to irregularity of circadian rhythms. Disruption of circadian rhythms is also positively correlated with depression. In addition, it is not possible to “catch up” on sleep, meaning that sleeping in on the weekend does not make up for missed sleep during the school week. Missing out on sleep is dangerous, and it has long-term health effects.
Undergraduate students in their second year at the University of Toronto were interviewed about online school and how their sleep schedules have been affected. As a general consensus, sleep has become more irregular with online school; all-nighters and naps are more frequent than they were last year. Students also find that they are getting less sleep overall. When asked to describe the causes for such changes in sleep behavior, students gave a number of reasons, summarized below:
Immanuela Okeke: Online learning leads to more self-teaching.
“Self-teaching requires students to spend more time on certain topics that are more difficult for them to understand. Resources such as other students, normal office hours, and TAs are very different in the new online environment. For example, some courses offer only one TA for over 300 students.”
Brian Feng and Kevin Ymeri: The online format enables procrastination.
“Because many classes have asynchronous lectures, it is possible to watch them long after they are recorded. Falling behind on lectures leads to late nights, watching multiple lectures before exams or assignment deadlines. The lack of a normal university environment, including the support and pressure of other students, makes it easier for students to procrastinate.”
Abhay Sachal: Living in a different time zone (British Columbia) means having very early tutorials and meetings, and physical activity is no longer guaranteed.
“Having early morning tutorials at 5 a.m. leads to more frequent naps later in the day, which leads to a less consistent sleep schedule. Because classes are online, students lack the physical activity that was once built into their days by walking from class to class. Without scheduling time for exercise, this lack of physical activity makes it harder to fall asleep at night.”
Online learning has never been enforced this widely, and the difficulties of the previous semester have not gone unnoticed by students. From the student experience, there seem to be two negative correlations: 1) online learning and sleep regularity, and 2) online learning and total hours of sleep. This should be alarming due to the known importance of sleep for overall human health and well-being. As Canada continues to deal with COVID-19, sleep should be at the forefront of conversations about student mental and physical health.
Students have a tendency to sacrifice sleep for grades, especially in certain academic streams that are known for their “grind culture.” The online environment is allowing this pattern of sleep deprivation to manifest in new, potentially more severe ways. Recognizing this is the first step in addressing the emerging health risk. Despite the difficulties and novelty of the online learning environment, students should prioritize and regulate their sleep as much as possible. Having a schedule for asynchronous lectures to avoid procrastination and all-nighters, adhering to a regular exercise routine, and enforcing set times for waking up and going to bed may help students achieve better sleep and overall health.
Very good information. It would be more scholarly if you include the list of references to help further reading.