The COVID-19 pandemic has changed routines and habits, raising stress and anxiety levels of individuals worldwide. The goal of this qualitative study was to advance the understanding of how pandemic-related changes affected sleep, diet, physical activity (PA), and stress among adults. We conducted semi-structured, qualitative interviews with 185 participants and selected 33 interviews from a represented sample based on age, race, and gender for coding and analysis of themes. After coding for thematic analysis, results demonstrated four primary themes: sleep, diet, PA, and stress. Sleep sub-themes such as poorer sleep quality were reported by 36% of our participants, and 12% reported increased an frequency of vivid dreams and nightmares. PA was decreased in 52% of our participants, while 33% experienced an increase and 15% experienced no change in PA. Participants also reported having an improved diet, mostly among women. Stress was elevated in 79% of our participants and was more likely to be discussed by women. Many participants reported how stress was involved in precipitating health behavior change, especially for sleep. Increased stress was also linked to elevated anxiety and depression among participants. The results of this qualitative study demonstrate how managing stress could have a beneficial effect on promoting health behaviors and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

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Over the course of mammalian evolution, the ability to store energy likely conferred a survival advantage when food became scarce. A long-term increase in energy storage results from an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure, two tightly regulated parameters that generally balance out to maintain a fairly stable body weight. Understanding the molecular determinants of this feat likely holds the key to new therapeutic development to manage obesity and associated metabolic dysfunctions. Time-restricted feeding (TRF), a dietary intervention that limits feeding to the active phase, can prevent and treat obesity and metabolic dysfunction in rodents fed a high-fat diet, likely by exerting effects on energetic balance. Even when body weight is lower in mice on active-phase TRF, food intake is generally isocaloric as compared with ad libitum fed controls. This discrepancy between body weight and energy intake led to the hypothesis that energy expenditure is increased during TRF. However, at present, there is no consensus in the literature as to how TRF affects energy expenditure and energy balance as a whole, and the mechanisms behind metabolic adaptation under TRF are unknown. This review examines our current understanding of energy balance on TRF in rodents and provides a framework for future studies to evaluate the energetics of TRF and its molecular determinants.

Introduction/Purpose A reduction in nonexercise physical activity (NEPA) after exercise may reduce the effectiveness of exercise interventions on weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity. Aerobic exercise (AEx) and resistance exercise (REx) may have different effects on NEPA. The purpose of this secondary analysis was to examine the effect of a single bout of AEx or REx on NEPA and sedentary behavior in inactive adults with overweight or obesity. Methods Adults with overweight or obesity (n = 24; 50% male; age, 34.5 ± 1.5 yr; body mass index, 28.5 ± 0.9 kg·m−2) not meeting current physical activity guidelines completed a single 45-min bout of AEx, REx, or a sedentary control on different days in random order. After each condition, participants’ NEPA was recorded for 84 h by accelerometer. Time spent sedentary and in light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity; steps; metabolic equivalent of task (MET)-hours; and sit-to-stand transitions were calculated using activity count data. Results No differences were observed in the percent of waking time spent sedentary and in light, moderate, and vigorous activity between conditions (P > 0.05). No differences were observed in steps, MET-hours, or sit-to-stand transitions between conditions (P > 0.05). NEPA responses were variable among individuals, with approximately half of participants reducing and half increasing NEPA over the 84 h after each exercise condition. Conclusion NEPA was not reduced after an acute bout of AEx or REx in a sample of inactive adults with overweight or obesity.

Introduction The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted and changed sleep as well as elevated stress levels worldwide. Previous research has demonstrated a bidirectional relationship between stress and sleep, in that stress contributes to poorer sleep and poor sleep leads to higher stress. It is hypothesized that perseverative cognition (i.e., worry, racing thoughts) is a key cognitive mechanism in this relationship. The goal of our study was to examine the relationships between stress and sleep during a major global stressor, testing key cognitive and behavioral factors that may influence this relationship. Methods Adults aged 18 and above were recruited to complete a text-message survey twice per day for 3 weeks over a 4-month period. Sleep duration and efficiency during the previous night and evening/overnight perseverative cognition was measured in the morning survey, daily stress levels were measured in the evening survey. Physical activity was measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Results were analyzed using mixed effects models controlling for age, gender and race/ethnicity. Results Participants included 191 adults (91 F, mean age= 43, SD= 16 years). Results demonstrate that stress ratings were associated with higher sleep duration (p= 0.04) but perseverative cognition was associated with lower sleep duration and efficiency (p values <0.001). Participants who were more physically active had higher sleep duration (p=0.02) and efficiency (p< 0.001). Sleep did not predict next-day stress. Conclusion Results demonstrate that perseverative cognition is a key factor in the daily relationships between stress during the day and sleep at night. Higher physical activity was related to better sleep. These results indicate that interventions to reduce perseverative cognition may improve sleep during times of stress, including reducing the sleep-disrupting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Support (If Any) University of Utah i3 COVID-19 pilot grant, UL1TR002538

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