Mild Covid-19 infections are linked to an increased risk of insomnia, particularly in people with anxiety or depression.
- A new study on patients who recently had a mild form of covid-19 showed that they are very vulnerable to sleep disorders.
- 76.1% of the volunteers monitored presented symptoms of insomnia.
- The severity of their initial infection did not appear to correlate with the severity of the insomnia they experienced.
“As a sleep researcher, I have received many questions and complaints from parents, friends and colleagues about their sleep problems after recovering from Covid-19”explains Dr. Huong TX Hoang of the University Phenikaa (Vietnam) and lead author of the article published in Frontiers in Public Health. “I noticed that the majority of articles focused on hospitalized patients. The environment of their treatment and quarantine was very different from those with milder symptoms.”
The scientist thus focused his research on people who had a mild form of Covid-19 recently. He discovered that they do, in fact, present an increased risk of sleep disorders.
Mild Covid-19: 76% of former patients suffer frominsomnia
Dr. Hoang and his team recruited 1,056 volunteers over 18 years old who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, but who had not been hospitalized in the last six months. Participants had to complete a survey between June and September 2022. The questionnaire focused, among other things, on the symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression experienced by the patients. The quality of their sleep (sleep time, ease of falling asleep, etc.) before and after contracting Covid-19 was also assessed.
76.1% of respondents admitted to suffering from insomnia. 22.8% of these people even reported severe insomnia. Half of the volunteers reported waking up more often during the night. A third of those surveyed said they found it more difficult to fall asleep, slept worse or for shorter periods of time. “The severity of their initial infection did not appear to correlate with the severity of the insomnia they experienced.”add the authors in a communicated.
Covid-19: anxious or depressed people have more sleep problems
Two groups have statistically significant higher rates of insomnia: people who had a pre-existing chronic illness and those who scored high on depressive or anxiety symptoms.
When the scientists looked at patients who reported insomnia, their depression and anxiety scores were higher than the average scores of the entire sample. However, they note that these pathologies are not “not completely independent of each other”. “Insomnia can worsen mental and physical health, in addition to being driven by poor mental and physical health”they specify.
Mild Covid-19: what is the origin of insomnia?
The rate of insomnia reported by patients in the study is higher than that of the general population, but also than that of patients hospitalized for Covid-19. For the researchers, this could be partly due to the fact that they mainly interviewed recently recovered patients who are likely to have persistent symptoms. Furthermore, these patients may also be more stressed due to their health and physical condition. Which disrupts their sleep cycle.
However, Dr Hoang warns people who have been infected with the coronavirus: “If you suffer from insomnia after contracting Covid-19, don’t think it’s normal”. Fortunately, iIt is possible to act against these disorders of the sleep. “If insomnia doesn’t bother you much, you can take simple steps, such as: take a hot shower before bed, turn off your phone at least an hour before going to bed, exercise 30 minutes a day, and avoid caffeine after 4 p.m. In case insomnia disturbs Really, you can try over-the-counter sleeping pills. If they don’t help, go see a sleep specialist.”concludes the expert.