Currently, most people who contract the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection recover in a short time, but even if it is a mild illness, some people continue to experience symptoms long after overcoming the initial infection, and one of them is insomnia. It had already been observed that insomnia was common among patients who required hospitalization due to COVID-19, but a new study has concluded that mild infections can also affect the quality of sleep.
The results of the new study have been published in Frontiers in Public Health and have revealed that after COVID-19 the prevalence of insomnia was 76.1% among the participants and, among them, 22.8% defined it as severe insomnia . A third of participants reported having more difficulty falling asleep, poorer quality and shorter sleep duration, and half reported experiencing more nighttime awakenings after SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Additionally, those participants with depression or anxiety were significantly more likely to develop insomnia. Other risk factors for insomnia included pre-existing chronic diseases and higher educational level, while COVID-19 symptoms and duration were not significantly associated with sleep disturbances.
Poorer sleep quality in depressed or anxious people
The research has been led by Dr. Huong TX Hoang from Phenikaa University in Vietnam. Researchers used Vietnam’s official COVID-19 survivor network to recruit 1,056 individuals over the age of 18 who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 but had not been hospitalized in the past six months and reported no history of insomnia. or psychiatric disorders.
They sent a survey to these people to complete between June and September 2022, asking them about sociodemographic characteristics such as their age, sex and chronic pathologies, and the duration and severity of the coronavirus infection. They also measured the symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression experienced by the patients, and to assess their levels of insomnia they were asked to compare the quality and duration of their sleep and the ease with which they had fallen asleep in the last two weeks with the patients. same parameters before contracting COID-19.
76.1% of participants reported experiencing insomnia, and 22.8% of them rated it as severe. Half of the participants said they woke up more frequently during the night, and a third found it harder to fall asleep and slept worse and for less time. The severity of their initial infection did not appear to correlate with the severity of the insomnia they experienced, and although patients with asymptomatic COVID-19 had lower scores on the insomnia index, the difference was not statistically significant.
“Our study highlights the substantial burden of insomnia among non-hospitalized COVID-19 survivors and the significant association of depression and anxiety in the development of this long-term effect of COVID-19.”
Two groups of people had statistically significant higher rates of insomnia; These were those with a pre-existing chronic illness and people with high scores on depressive or anxious symptoms. Both groups developed insomnia at a higher rate than their peers. In fact, depression and anxiety scores were higher in patients reporting insomnia than the average scores for the entire sample. However, it should be kept in mind that insomnia can worsen physical and mental health, and that poorer physical and mental health also contributes to insomnia.
The scientists noted that the rate of insomnia reported by patients is not only much higher than the rate among the general population, but also higher than that reported by patients hospitalized with COVID-19, something they partly attribute to They focused on recently recovered patients who may have persistent COVID, as they may also be more stressed and sensitive to changes in their physical health, leading them to perceive their sleep to be worse.
“Our study highlights the substantial burden of insomnia among non-hospitalized COVID-19 survivors and the significant association of depression and anxiety in the development of this long-term effect of COVID-19. These findings underscore the need for comprehensive interventions that address psychological and sleep health in this population,” the authors conclude in their article.
