There are different aspects of sleep that are impacted by COVID-19. By understanding what those are, it can help improve your health and well-being. While you should continue to distance yourself and wear a mask if you are not vaccinated, here are some ways that COVID-19 might impact a person’s sleep.
Sex and insomnia
A study found that women were more likely to experience sleep disturbances prior to the pandemic. But add in sex, and women can experience insominia. There is an overall 40% excess risk, which increases as women age. And during the initial time period of the public health crisis, insomnia symptoms were prominent, especially among women.
The study also found that women were at a greater risk of new-onset sleep disturbances following the crisis, so this isn’t over yet. We need to make sure our patients get a good night’s rest, so pay attention to this in your women patients because it can contribute to the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Quarantine and sleep
There was also a clear effect of quarantine on the prevalence of sleep disturbances. For those who had to quarantine, they had a higher chance of developing insomnia symptoms. In fact, quarantine was also associated with the risk of worsening sleep quality. When people were in areas that were highly affected by COVID-19 reported an increase in post-traumatic stress symptoms and anxiety.
It is important to help our patients get the best night’s rest they can possibly get. This is why it is important to pay close attention for signs of sleep apnea in our patients.
