Figure 1: Various relationships between the Covid pandemic and the human sleep cycle have been revealed by researchers.
Source: Aubmc.org (LINK)
More than two years have passed since Covid-19 has been officially identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a global pandemic. During this time, scientists continuously made new discoveries on the connection between Covid-19 and numerous health disorders. One of the most recent findings was the relationship between Covid-19 and sleep, a fundamental aspect of human life.
From mild disturbances in sleep rhythms to sleepwalking, there exists a wide range of different sleep disorders with varying degrees of severity. The most common kinds of sleep disorders include insomnia, narcolepsy, and sleep apnea. Despite the common misconception of how most sleep disorders seem far from fatal, it must be noted that they ultimately degrade the quality of sleep, which tends to have critical side effects especially in the long term. After all, sleep takes up around a third to a quarter of our entire lifetime.
In the journal article “Impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on sleep”, Laura Pérez-Carbonell and her team noted the possible relationship between Covid-19 and unhealthy sleeping habits. Conducting a survey that involved around eight hundred participants, the researchers focused on their sleep patterns, mental health, and daytime activities. Results showed that a significant portion of the participants suffered a change in their sleep schedules with various damaging side effects.
According to the survey results, there were some reports of slightly increased sensation of refreshing sleep—the only positive relationship between the virus and sleep that the researchers found. However, the overall results were negative. The survey displayed that around half to a quarter of the participants described general feelings of lower control over both falling and not falling asleep, as well as lower sleep quality.
However, it must also be noted that the survey identified the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic as a whole had on the participants. In other words, the results of the survey explained above were caused by not only a direct connection between the virus and sleep, but also by an indirect connection between the isolation and stress due to quarantine, and sleep.
Q&A:
Hannah: You mentioned that some people reported having more refreshing sleep despite having Covid-19. Could there have been any factors that led to this sensation, such as medicine or drugs to treat Covid-19?
It is possible that this increased sensation of refreshment in sleep was affected by additional factors other than the pure symptoms of Covid-19. As mentioned in the question, this sensation could have been caused by the side effects of various drugs, or even by the deliberate changes in the respondents’ sleep schedules.
Sally: If there were to be a direct connection between the virus and sleeping, what would be a biological explanation for this?
There are multiple biological explanations that could explain this connection - for instance, one possible explanation is the increased drowsiness caused by the body's hormonal response to the viral infection.
John: How were confounding variables in the experiment controlled? For instance, one could easily think of how extroverted people could lack sleep during COVID quarantines, or how the symptoms of COVID, such as coughing and throat soreness, could affect one’s sleep?
The survey was intended to collect people’s responses regarding sleep during the Covid pandemic as a whole. It included overall responses affected by both biological and non-biological consequences of the Covid pandemic. For instance, if an extroverted individual experiences a lack of sleep due to isolation, despite the reason behind the negative response being non-biological, the outcome was still caused by the stressful environment created through isolation as a result of the pandemic.
Works Cited:
NHS Choices, NHS, www.yourcovidrecovery.nhs.uk/your-wellbeing/sleeping-well/.
Pérez-Carbonell, Laura et al. “Impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on sleep.” Journal of thoracic disease vol. 12,Suppl 2 (2020): S163-S175. doi:10.21037/jtd-cus-2020-015
Villano, Matt. “How the Pandemic Is Contributing to Your Insomnia.” CNN, Cable News Network, 27 Oct. 2020, edition.cnn.com/2020/10/27/health/insomnia-sleep-problems-pandemic-wellness/index.html.
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