Sleep researchers at Phenikaa University in Hanoi found that while most patients with COVID-19 not requiring hospitalization make quick recoveries from the infection, 76.1% of 1,056 adults surveyed who had the virus in the previous six months reported being left with difficulty sleeping, according to a news release.
The results, published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, indicate that almost one-fourth (22.8%) of those reporting sleep problems said the condition was severe, half woke more often in the night and one-third said that they found it harder to fall asleep, slept worse and slept for less time.
The researchers were unable to establish a clear correlation between the severity of participants’ COVID-19 bout and the severity of the insomnia that developed.
However, people who scored highly for depressive or anxious symptoms and those with a pre-existing chronic condition had statistically higher rates of insomnia than the rest of the sample. When the scientists focused in on patients who reported insomnia, their depression and anxiety scores exceeded the average scores of the group overall.
“As a sleep researcher, I received many questions and complaints from relatives, friends and colleagues about their sleep disturbances after recovering from COVID-19,” said lead author Dr. Huong T. X. Hoang of Phenikaa University.
She said was prompted to delve deeper into the conundrum after finding the majority of the studies looking at insomnia and COVID-19 focused on hospitalized patients and therefore were of little help.
“The environment of their treatment and quarantine would differ greatly from those with milder symptoms,” Hoang said.
The online survey between June and September 2002 collected data on age, sex and chronic conditions, and the duration and severity of patients’ COVID-19 infection.
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