Insomnia, sleep disorders and burnout are linked not only to an increased risk of coronavirus infection, but also to a more severe course of the disease and a longer recovery period, suggests an international health care survey.
- Each additional hour of night sleep is 12 percent. lower risk of COVID-19 infection – according to a study published in the pages of “BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health”
- Interestingly, this effect only applies to nighttime sleep. Taking naps during the day increases the risk
- Difficulty falling asleep or the need to use sleeping pills increases the risk of infection by up to 88%.
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It has long been known that disrupted or insufficiently long sleep and burnout are associated with an increased risk of viral and bacterial infections. However, it was not clear if this was also the case for COVID-19.
To explain this, the researchers conducted a study based on an online survey. It ran from July 17 to September 25, 2020 and concerned healthcare professionals from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the USA. These were people who were particularly exposed to contact with COVID-19 infected patients, e.g. working in a hospital emergency department or intensive care unit.
About 2884 healthcare professionals responded, 568 of whom had COVID-19, as confirmed by self-reported symptoms and / or a positive smear test result.
Respondents provided data on lifestyle, health, use of prescription drugs and dietary supplements, as well as information on how much sleep at night and during daytime naps during the previous year, sleep problems, burnout, and exposure to COVID-19 at the site work.
Sleep time at night averaged less than seven hours (but over six). After adjusting for potentially influencing factors, each 12-hour increase in sleep was associated with a 19% reduction in sleep. the risk of COVID-6 infection. On the other hand, an extra hour of nap during the day was associated with a XNUMX% higher risk of infection, although this relationship differed from country to country.
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The severity of the infection was defined as: very mild (no or hardly any symptoms); mild (fever with or without cough, not requiring treatment); moderate (fever, respiratory symptoms and / or pneumonia; severe breathing difficulties and low oxygen saturation); and critical (respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation and intensive care).
Almost one in four people with COVID-19 (137 people, or 24%) reported difficulty sleeping at night, compared with about one in five (21%; 495) people without the infection.
28 people with COVID-19 (5%) said they had three or more sleep problems, including difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or needing to sleep for three or more nights a week, compared with 65 (3%) .) people without infection.
- Koronasomnia is becoming more and more common. «I was afraid to fall asleep. I was just afraid that I would die »
- Compared to people who did not have sleep problems, people with three problems had 88 percent greater risk of COVID-19 infection.
Proportionally more people with COVID-19 reported burnout than those without infection: 31 (5,5%) versus 71 (3%).
As the authors note, compared to people who did not report burnout, people who found it an everyday occurrence were more than twice as likely to develop COVID-19. Similarly, these respondents were about 3 times more likely to say that their infection was severe and that they needed a longer recovery period.
These findings were true regardless of the frequency of exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace.
By its very nature, observational research does not make it possible to determine the cause of the phenomenon, and it also has several limitations. It is about subjective judgments about the level of exposure, sleep problems and the severity of the infection – all of which may have been incorrectly remembered. The sample only included cases of very mild to moderately severe COVID-19.
The mechanism underlying the observed associations remains unclear. However, researchers hypothesized that sleep deprivation and sleep disturbances may adversely affect the immune system by increasing levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and histamines.
The authors of the publication presented in the online journal BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health point to studies linking burnout with an increased risk of colds and flu, as well as with chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal diseases and death from various causes. “These studies suggest that burnout may directly or indirectly predict disease through occupational stress that weakens the immune system and changes in cortisol levels,” they write.
“The study highlights an often neglected area of well-being: the need for high-quality sleep and rest time to prevent burnout and its consequences. From an occupational and lifestyle medical perspective, a better understanding of the effects of shift work and sleep is essential for the well-being of medical staff and other key employees »comments Dr. Minha Rajput-Ray, medical director of the NNEdPro Global Center for Nutrition & Health.
“Disruptions in the sleep-wake cycle can affect metabolism, immunity and even mental health,” she adds. – “And a lack of sleep can make foods high in calories, with more fat, sugar and salt, more attractive, especially during times of stress and / or difficult shift work – all of which contribute to overall health and well-being” .
And he concludes: “We found that lack of sleep at night, severe sleep problems, and high levels of burnout could be frontline risk factors for COVID-19 [healthcare workers]. Our results underscore the importance of the well-being of healthcare professionals during the pandemic »(PAP)
Author: Paweł Wernicki
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