COVID-19 and “natural” experiments arising from physical distancing: a hypothetical case study from chronobiology |
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| Authors: | Thomas C Erren David M Shaw |
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| Institution: | 1. Institute and Policlinic for Occupational Medicine, Environmental Medicine and Prevention Research, University Hospital of Cologne , Cologne, Germany  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7110-1031;2. Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel , Basel, Switzerland;3. Department of Health, Ethics and Society, CAPHRI Research Institute, Maastricht University , Maastricht, The Netherlands https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8180-6927 |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACT With countless “natural” experiments triggered by the COVID-19-associated physical distancing, one key question comes from chronobiology: “When confined to homes, how does the reduced exposure to natural daylight arising from the interruption of usual outdoor activities plus lost temporal organization ordinarily provided from workplaces and schools affect the circadian timing system (the internal 24 h clock) and, consequently, health of children and adults of all ages?” Herein, we discuss some ethical and scientific facets of exploring such natural experiments by offering a hypothetical case study of circadian biology. |
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| Keywords: | Natural Experiment physical Distancing COVID-19 Sars-CoV-2 pandemic circadian sleep light mood ethics |
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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7110-1031;2. Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel , Basel, Switzerland;3. Department of Health, Ethics and Society, CAPHRI Research Institute, Maastricht University , Maastricht, The Netherlands