The Lifestyle Impact Of India’s Lockdown
Amidst the corona virus pandemic, new data suggests that Indians are eating, sleeping and working out better than pre-lock down.
The national lockdown in India has completely altered the lifestyle of people. A change in people’s regular routines, restrictions on movement and home confinement has seen a direct impact on their sleep cycles, eating habits and physical activity in-turn benefiting their overall immunity. A recent survey was conducted by tech company GOQii, to study the lifestyle changes in people caused by the COVID-19 lockdown in the country. The study used a sample size of 10,000 respondents. It found that although the lockdown had caused people to sleep erratically, they were eating healthier and staying fit.
According to the survey, 47% of people went to sleep post midnight before the lock down. After the lock down was enforced in March, this time shifted further ahead by 1-3 hours with 55% of people sleeping post midnight. This number however has seen a gradual decrease with 51% saying they slept post midnight in the month of June. India saw an increase in the average sleep hours in the month of April. However, by May, these numbers had dropped. 44% of people said they slept later than usual. When asked about their morning routine, 41% of respondents said that they woke up later than usual with 16% saying they woke up 1-3 hours later than usual.
The study showed a major shift in the eating habits of individuals. The survey suggests 32.1% of people ordered food pre-lock down. This number saw a steep decrease with only 11% of respondents saying they still ordered from outside. A whopping 70% of respondents said they strictly stuck to home cooked meals. Not being able to step-out of home for a meal has curbed people’s urges for a no-cooking day. Although restaurants are availing delivery and take-out services, the apprehension towards outside food still exists among the public. When asked about poor diet and overeating, more than half of the respondents said they did not face any such issue. However, 29% said they faced these issues sometimes while 6% said they faced them on a daily basis. 53% of respondents said they considered their meals healthy while 34% said their meals were somewhat to not healthy.
Home confinement has restricted physical activity of individuals. A loosening of the guidelines however, has seen a positive trend among people. When asked about how people stayed active before the lockdown, 51% said that they walk or run for exercise, 20% said they worked out at home, 12% said they worked out at the gym while 11% said they were inactive. Post the lock down, 47% of respondents said they continued to stay active with home exercise. 31% of people still continued walking or running for exercise while an increased 15% said they were not being able to workout during the lock down.
Unlock phases in many areas of the country are causing a positive shift in these trends with life returning back to a degree of normalcy, although at a snail’s pace.