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Updated: Oct 29, 2025

Social Isolation Model: A Noninvasive Rodent Model of Stress and Anxiety
Published on: November 11, 2022
Stress, anxiety, and sleep among college and university students during the COVID-19 pandemic
Angela K Ulrich1,2, Kelsie M Full3, Bethany Cheng4
1Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Objective:
We categorized levels of self-reported stress, anxiety, worry, and sleep among US college and university students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods:
We conducted an anonymous online survey between May 7 and June 21, 2020.
Results:
Nearly all participants reported worry about the pandemic. Nearly half (95% CI: 43.3-51.3) reported moderate-to-severe anxiety, and 42.0% (95% CI: 38.0-45.9) reported experiencing poor sleep quality. Those with moderate-to-severe anxiety were more likely (OR: 3.3; 95% CI: 2.4-4.7) to report poor sleep quality than those with less anxiety. Moderate or extreme worry about the pandemic was associated with poor sleep quality (OR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.1-2.1).
Conclusions:
Our survey found high levels of stress, worry, anxiety, and poor sleep among US college and university students during the early months of the pandemic. Universities should prioritize access to resources for healthy coping to help students manage anxiety and improve sleep quality as the pandemic continues.
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