COVID-19 caused people to lose the normalcy in their lives, and not being grounded in routines results in “this ongoing sense of uncertainty that can really have a toll on the body,” Early explains. “It’s like having windows open on your computer draining the battery. It’s draining to us, and we don’t know what’s going on.”
The survey, taken by 2,002 college students between April 28 and May 2, reveals new lifestyle routines since the pandemic started that could negatively impact overall health. For example:
45 percent have fallen into less structured eating routines, eating whenever they are hungry, and 38 percent have regularly missed meals during the pandemic because they are less hungry or are more stressed.