Distorted passage of time during the COVID-19 lockdown

Survey results suggest people in United Kingdom perceived time passing differently compared to pre-lockdown

July 9, 2020

Science Daily/PLOS

A survey conducted in the U.K. suggests that social and physical distancing measures put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic significantly impacted people's perception of how quickly time passed compared to their pre-lockdown perceptions. Ruth S. Ogden of Liverpool John Moores University, U.K., presented these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on July 6, 2020.

Previous research suggests that one's perception of how quickly time passes can vary according to one's emotions, the number of daily tasks one must perform, and other factors. However, most of that research has been limited to normal day-to-day life. Social and physical distancing measures put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic provide a unique opportunity to examine how significant changes to life's daily routine impact time perception.

Ogden prepared an online questionnaire asking participants to rate on a sliding scale how quickly they felt time was passing compared to normal, both over the course of a single day and over a full week. The questionnaire also evaluated people's emotional state, task load, and satisfaction with levels of social interaction. The final analysis included 604 participants in the U.K. who answered the questionnaire between April 7 and April 30, 2020.

Ogden found that more than 80 percent of participants experienced changes to how quickly they perceived time passing during lockdown compared to pre-lockdown. Those who were older or less satisfied with their current levels of social interaction were more likely to experience slower passage of time over the course of a day or week. Slower passage of time over the course of a day was also associated with higher stress and a lower task load.

These findings suggest that significant changes to life's daily routine distort perception of time. Future research could look deeper into the effects of specific factors, such as whether social satisfaction influences perception of time during normal daily life, or if its significance in this study is due to the unique social impacts of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Author Ruth Ogden notes: "80% of people experienced distortion to the passage of time during the lockdown. Lockdown passing more slowly than normal was associated with older age and reduced satisfaction with social interactions."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200709105230.htm

First study on the health conditions of adults one month into COVID-19 lockdown

Early evidence of people's health conditions after one-month of lockdown in China

April 8, 2020

Science Daily/University of Sydney

A new study provides some of the earliest pieces of evidence that the COVID-19 outbreak affected people mentally as well as physically.

The preliminary results reveal adults in locations more affected by COVID-19 had distress, and lower physical and mental health, and life satisfaction.

Researchers from the University of Adelaide, Tongji University and University of Sydney surveyed 369 adults living in 64 cities in China after they had lived under one-month of confinement measures in February this year.

Led by Dr Stephen Zhang from the University of Adelaide, the study identifies adults with existing health conditions and those who stopped working as most at risk of worse mental and physical health.

"As many parts of the world are only just beginning to go into lockdown, we examined the impact of the one-month long lockdown on people's health, distress and life satisfaction," said Dr Zhang.

"The study offers somewhat of a 'crystal ball' into the mental health of Australian residents once they have been in the lockdown for one month."

More than a quarter of the participants worked at the office during the lockdown period while 38 percent worked from home and 25 percent stopped work due to the outbreak.

Published in Psychiatry Research, the study suggests adults living in locations more affected by COVID-19 reported negative life satisfaction only among adults with chronic medical issues but not for those without existing health issues.

Co-author on the study, Professor Andreas Rauch from the University of Sydney said; "We weren't surprised that adults who stopped working reported worse mental and physical health conditions as well as distress. Work can provide people with a sense of purpose and routine, which is particularly important during this global pandemic."

Study participants who exercised for more than 2.5 hours per day reported worse life satisfaction in more affected locations while those who exercised for half an hour or less during the lockdown reported positive life satisfaction.

"We were really surprised by the findings around exercising hours because it appears to be counter-intuitive," said lead author Dr Zhang.

"It's possible adults who exercised less could better justify or rationalise their inactive lifestyles in more severely affected cities. More research is needed but these early findings suggest we need to pay attention to more physically active individuals, who might be more frustrated by the restrictions."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200408102137.htm