Impact of COVID-19 Infection on Quality of Sleep

Abstract

Introduction: Some studies have highlighted the effect of COVID-19 infection on the quality of sleep; however, the data is limited. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of insomnia in patients who recently recovered from the COVID-19 infection to evaluate the prevalence and extent of its impact.Methods: This longitudinal study was conducted from January 2021 to March 2021. A total of 500 patients admitted to the intensive care unit or isolation unit of COVID-19 were included in the study at the time of their discharge. The pre-COVID-19 sleep quality of the participants was inquired using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Post-COVID sleep quality was assessed at a 30-day follow-up. Sleep quality was considered poor if the global score was ≥5. Participants that failed to follow up were not included in the study.Results: The mean PSQI score was significantly higher in the post-COVID-19 group compared to the pre-COVID-19 group (6.28 ± 2.11 vs. 3.22 ± 0.80; p-value <0.0001). The percentage of participants with a PSQI score of ≥5 was significantly higher in the post-COVID-19 group compared to the pre-COVID-19 group (45.1% vs. 12.1%; p-value <0.0001).Conclusion: Insomnia has a significant prevalence in recovered COVID-19 patients after 30 days of followup. Hence, patients need to be counseled to follow up in case they experience poor sleep. To avoid the longterm negative impact on patients experiencing insomnia, timely identification and treatment are important.

Sleep quality and sleep disorders post COVID-19 infection: Review article

“…Due to different study objectives, the full-text revision resulted in elimination of 138 studies, and 8 were enlisted for final data extraction (Figure 1) and (Table 1). Choudhry et al [17] patients with recovered COVID-19 have a statistically significant prevalence of sleeplessness after 30 days of follow-up. Additionally, 215 recovered patients (84%) in Al-Ameri et al [18] research's control group outnumbered 384 patients (78%) had sleep problems.…”

“…The research's findings showed to individuals reported a considerably higher prevalence of sleeplessness when they had long-term COVID with a usually poorer standard of living (QOL). In a collection of post-COVID-19 cases 22% of patients who were assessed by ISI after being discharged from the University of Virginia ICU reported having insomnia for the first time during a six-week checkup [17,25]. It is unusual that patients who recovered from COVID-19 to have considerably higher PSQI scores.…”

“…The mental health issues listed above are well-known sleep disruptors problems, as well as when they coexist for an extended length of time, insomnia develops. Additionally, illness heightens levels of stress that are already high because of persistent societal isolation issues, travel limitations, financial pressure, worries about COVID, and loneliness [17,[27][28][29][30]. Participants in one study with prolonged COVID-19 had shorter light and deep sleep intervals and longer awake sleep times.…”

Acute and long‑term psychiatric symptoms associated with COVID‑19 (Review)

“…The evaluation inquired about the pre-COVID-19 sleep quality of the patients and the same aspect was assessed 30 days after discharge. The results revealed that the PSQI score was significantly higher in the post-COVID-19 group compared to the pre-COVID-19 group with 45.1% of the participants reporting a PSQI score of >5, signifying a poor quality of sleep at the 30-day post-recovery follow-up, whereas only 12.1% of the participants had reported poor quality of sleep before contracting the infection (50). Post-COVID-19 sleep disturbances were reported by 500 post-COVID-19 patients in the recovery period, and were associated with an impact on the physical and mental aspects of the quality of life of these patients (51).…”

Prevalence of Insomnia in the Early Post-COVID-19 Recovery Period

“…Published studies so far suggest that the prevalence of sleep disorders is significantly higher in the post-COVID-19 group compared to the pre-COVID-19 group among those patients admitted to the intensive care unit or isolation unit. [ 14 ] While sleep disorders in patients can be attributed to the course of the acute phase of infection and side effects of medications, they are also present in the course of long-term COVID-19 [ 15 ]. The meta-analyses on the prevalence data showed that common residual symptoms among COVID-19 survivors at one-year post infection included fatigue/weakness (28%), dyspnoea (18%), arthromyalgia (26%), depression (23%), anxiety (22%), memory loss (19%), concentration difficulties (18%), and insomnia (12%) [ 15 ].…”