Patterns of sleep, outdoor activity, emotion, and media use among adolescents during COVID-19: A cross-sectional survey

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted adolescents’ routines, impacting sleep, physical activity, and media use, with significant consequences for their physical and mental health. This study aims to analyze these interconnected patterns among Indian adolescents to understand their overall well-being during the pandemic. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among adolescents aged 14–19 years, who attended regular school or college till March 2020, using snowball sampling through social media platforms from January to March 2022. The study utilized the CoRonavIruS Health Impact Survey V0.3 to assess daily behaviors, emotions, and media use. The survey aimed to understand adolescent behavior and emotional patterns during the pandemic. Data analyzed with R software version 4.2.1. Continuous variables are presented as mean (standard deviation), and categorical variables as number (%). Socio-demographic characteristics were examined as independent predictors for outcomes related to sleep patterns, emotional behaviors, and usage of TV, social media, and video games. Subsequently, media usage patterns were analyzed as risk factors for emotional behaviors. Associations between categorical variables were tested using Chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests, with a significance threshold of P < 0.05. Results: The survey of 413 adolescents revealed significant associations between sleep patterns and factors such as gender, education level, age group, religion, and location, with rural adolescents being more likely to get >8 h of sleep. The study found significant associations between physical activity, outdoor time, and socio-demographic factors, with younger adolescents, males, and 11 th graders showing higher engagement and gender and academic year strongly influencing weekend outdoor activity patterns. The study found significant associations between adolescents’ use of TV, social media, and video games with emotional characteristics such as worry, fatigue, anxiety, and irritability, influenced by age, gender, location, and education level. Conclusion: The study explores adolescent perception regarding physical and mental health during difficult times and emphasizes the preparation for daunting tasks to address sleep disturbances, physical inactivity, emotional resilience, and balanced media use among adolescents with the help of community and school-based interventions.