By the end of 2022, more than 650 million COVID infections had been reported World Health Organization.
Because the true number is likely much higher, and the number is increasing by hundreds of thousands every week, the scientific community has focused on understanding the impact of COVID on our physical health, mental health, and brain function.
In the early phase of PandemicSleep researchers have graphed the costs and benefits of lockdowns on sleep patterns. The main finding was that we slept more in lockdown, but the quality of sleep was worse.
Now a second wave of data is beginning to explain how being infected with COVID affects our sleep and even seeps into our dreams.
The most recent meta-analysisa review of all currently available scientific literature, estimates that 52 percent of people who contract COVID experience difficulty sleeping during infection.
The most commonly reported type of sleep disorder is insomnia. people with insomnia typically find it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep and often wake up early in the morning.
Worryingly, sleep problems sometimes persist even after recovery from the infection. A Studies in China found that 26 percent of people hospitalized with COVID showed symptoms of insomnia two weeks after discharge.
And a US study showed that people infected with COVID were more likely than people who were never infected to have trouble sleeping, even up to a month after a positive COVID test.
Difficulty sleeping and long COVID
While most people recover quickly from COVID, some continue to have symptoms over the longer term. People suffering from long COVID seem very likely to face persistent sleep problems.
A Study 2021 surveyed more than 3,000 people with long COVID. Almost 80 percent of the participants self-reported problems sleeping, most commonly insomnia.
One more Recent study collected data on both sleep duration and sleep quality using smart bracelets. Participants with long COVID slept less overall and got less deep sleep than participants who never had COVID.
Losing deep sleep is of particular concern because this type of sleep reduces fatigue and boosts focus and memory. A lack of deep sleep may be partly responsible for the commonly reported “brain fog” during and after COVID.
The fact that COVID often disrupts sleep is also of concern as sleep helps our immune system fight infections.
Why is COVID affecting our sleep?
There are many reasons why COVID infection can lead to trouble sleeping. A rating identified physiological, psychological and environmental factors.
COVID can have a direct impact on the brain, including the areas that control both wake and sleep states. We don’t yet have a clear understanding of how this works, but possible mechanisms could virus infect the central nervous system or affect the blood supply to the brain.
Typical symptoms of COVID are Fever, cough and difficulty breathing. These are also known to disrupt sleep.
Poor mental health can lead to sleep problems and vice versa. There is a strong connection between catching COVID and mental health issues, particularly depression and fear. This can be caused by concerns about recovery, loneliness, or social isolation. Such fears can make it difficult to sleep.
Meanwhile, hospitalized COVID patients may have additional difficulties sleeping in busy hospital environments where sleep is often disrupted by noise, treatment and other patients.
what about dreams
the International COVID-19 Sleep Studya recently published global research project involving sleep scientists from 14 countries his insights into dreams.
The study asked infected and uninfected participants about their dreams. Both groups had more dreams than before after the pandemic started.
Interestingly, the infected participants had more nightmares than the uninfected participants, while there was no difference between the groups before the pandemic.
There’s no simple explanation for why contracting COVID can amplify nightmares, but mental health may play a role again. Poor mental health often accompanies it through nightmares. The international COVID-19 The sleep study team found that the infected group showed more symptoms of conditions like anxiety and depression.
get help
The close connection between sleep and both mental and physical health means that preventing and treating sleep disorders is more important than ever and will require it creative solutions by governments and healthcare providers.
If you’ve had trouble sleeping during or after COVID, or have more bad dreams than you used to, you’re not alone.
Both short- and long-term insomnia can often be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which you may be able to access through your doctor.
For less severe sleep problems, the European Academy for Cognitive-Behavioural Treatment of Insomnia has put together recommendations, some based on principles of CBT that you can follow at home. These include:
- maintain a regular sleep-wake cycle
- Restrict thinking about things that make you feel stressed to certain times of the day
- Only use your bed for sleeping and sex
- going to bed and getting up when you feel naturally inclined to do so
- Share feelings of stress and anxiety with family and friends
- Reduce light-induced sleep disturbances by making sure your bedroom is as dark as possible
- exercise regularly in daylight
- Avoiding eating just before bedtime.
Jack Tamminenlecturer in psychology, Royal Holloway University of London and Rebecca Crowleygraduate student, psychology, Royal Holloway University of London
This article is republished by The conversation under a Creative Commons license. read this original article.
