Does screen time and duration of exercise impact cognition levels during COVID-19 lockdown: An observational study

Abstract

Coronavirus Disease is a novel disease that was first detected in China. There has been a surge in the number of coronavirus cases globally with India having the second-highest number of cases. Due to the prevailing problems, the colleges around the country are closed and education is being imparted through online mode. The use of the online mode of education led to an addition in the screen time of college students. Social restrictions like lockdown led the individuals to confine to their homes thereby causing a reduction of physical activity and exercise duration. Hence, we conducted this study to evaluate the impact of screen time and physical activity on the level of cognitive failure in college students in India. We conducted this explanatory, cross-sectional, online survey with 500 college students from India, and data collection was completed following informed consent. We found that the highest percentage of college students (43%) had a screen time of more than six hours. Subjects having a higher screen time also demonstrated a higher cognitive failure questionnaire score (56.19+20.07). Subjects who performed exercises for more than 29 minutes per day were found to have the lowest cognitive failure score (44.31+22.34). We should take into concern the cognitive failures of college students who are consistently being using digital devices and not doing exercises for an optimal duration. Higher screen time and lower exercise duration might serve as a factor to increase cognitive failure in college students in India.