ABSTRACT
Introduction: In December 2019, there was a viral outbreak caused by coronaviruses (CoVs), which has led to numerous restrictive measures. Social distancing (SD) aims to reduce viral spread to the population, but affects sociodemographic aspects, sleep, eating habits and physical activity. Objective: Evaluate the changes caused by DS in aspects related to sleep, eating habits and physical activity in adult individuals. Methods: A study was carried out with 204 volunteers of both sexes. Questions related to sleep habits, eating habits and the practice of physical activity before and during the period of SD were assessed using an electronic questionnaire. The Wilcoxon test, McNemar test, and chisquare test (X2) were used to compare variables before and after SD. significance level of p<0.05 was adopted. Results: The sample consisted of 44 men and 160 women, with a mean age of 33.3±11.2 years and body mass index (BMI) 24.6±4.7 kg/m2. Regarding the TTS, there was an increase in sleep duration from 7.91±1.34hs to 8.43±1.23hs during DS (p<0.01). Sleep quality was considered “very good” or “good” in 73% of the sample in the period before DS. During social distancing, 55.4% reported that they started to sleep less at night and 35.3% reported sleep worsening during this period. Regarding the practice of exercise and physical activity, 73% of the participants practiced before SD, of which 65.1% interrupted the practice during the SD (p<0.01). Regarding eating habits, 32.4% noticed a worsening of eating habits during SD and 60.8% noticed changes in appetite, with increased appetite being the most perceived among participants (41.2%). Fastfood consumption was present at least once a week during SD in 48% of participants, consumption of frozen meals in 24.5% and consumption of sweets in 25%. Conclusion: It is concluded that the DS in adults contributed to increased sleep duration, worsening sleep quality, reduced exercising practices, and increased appetite and worsening eating habits.