Mobile Phone Usage on Change of Athletes Sleep Behaviour because of COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown in India

Abstract

Many researchers during several decades have proved that sleep is a key factor for enhancing performance in sports. Henceforth, this study is to investigate the impact of a mobile phone on changes in athletes sleep behaviour because of COVID-19 lockdown in India. For which, the survey conducted among 550 sports persons representing various Universities (300 male/250 female) across various states of India using simple random sampling technique, and Sleep Quality Assessment (PSQ: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) was used to find out the level of sleep disturbance in athletes. The composed data were analysed using a percentile. The results of this study showed that the mobile phone usage during COVID-19 lockdown in India out of 550 athletes’ data was collected in which 6.4 ⸓ of athletes with a score of 4 in the scale were not distracted due to COVID-19 lock down they underwent regular sleeping schedule there was no change in their circadian rhythm, 40.4 ⸓ of athletes with a score of 6 which means there was a high level of distraction in sleep due to COVID-19 lock down and 23⸓ of the athletes suffered a very high level of sleep destruction during COVID-19 lock down. Which showed a changed sleep behaviour of sports persons. Conclusion and Recommendations: Lack of exercise during COVID-19 lockdown changed the sleep behaviour in athletes. Which made an addiction towards mobile phone usage. This study concludes that regular exercise enhances sleep and also keeps athletes from over usage of mobile phones.