Dealing with post-pandemic sleep issues—it’s not too late

Disrupted sleep and anxiety may be ongoing issues for many people after the pandemic, whether due to COVID-19 directly or to the stress and anxiety caused by the global pandemic, and may contribute to the fatigue commonly reported by people with Post-COVID-19 Syndrome (PCS, or “long COVID”).

Based on UK COVID Symptom Study Biobank data collected in the early years of the pandemic, experts from King’s College London and Flinders University in Australia carried out one of the first large-scale longitudinal studies to assess the extent of residual or continuing sleep and related mental health problems, including among people with PCS.The results are published in the Journal of Sleep Research.

“The high levels of both poor sleep and fatigue established during lockdowns persisted after restrictions were lifted—independent of SARS-CoV-2 infection or whether individuals reported having Post-COVID Syndrome,” says co-senior author Emma Duncan, professor of clinical endocrinology at King’s College London and co-founder of the COVID Symptom Study Biobank.

“Our data fit with results from around the world—that the experience of the pandemic itself was associated with sleep disturbance globally.”

Flinders University co-senior author Sutapa Mukherjee, professor in respiratory and sleep medicine at the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute (FHMRI) Sleep Health research group, says, “We knew from pre-pandemic clinical experience that once sleep disturbance is present, it is unlikely to improve without intervention.

“Given the high prevalence of both sleep disturbance and fatigue in some people after the COVID shutdowns, addressing sleep disturbance may be part of a patient’s long-term recovery and well-being.

“We recommend routine assessment of sleep for people presenting with persistent post-pandemic fatigue, including those with the persistent symptoms associated with PCS (Long COVID).”

The authors had previously assessed sleep disturbance and fatigue following the 2021 UK lockdown, showing extremely high levels of poor sleep and fatigue across the whole community during the pandemic. In the current study, the same individuals were reassessed after lockdowns were lifted in 2022, with questionnaire responses from 2,390 people regarding their sleep, fatigue, depression and anxiety.

Adjusted for other factors, the new study found that high levels of poor sleep and fatigue persisted after lockdowns were lifted—regardless of whether respondents had contracted COVID-19.

Disordered sleep has a range of health consequences, including reduced immunity, increased inflammation and effects on mood, cognition and depression.

Another Flinders University co-author, research fellow Barbara Toson, adds, “Many people assume sleep returns to normal once major life disruptions end. However, our study found that sleep disturbance and fatigue often persisted after lockdown restrictions were lifted.

“Our findings suggest that sleep disturbance and fatigue can persist long after major pandemic disruptions have ended, reinforcing the need for greater attention to sleep health and post-pandemic recovery,” says Toson, from the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute Sleep Health research group.

Researchers conclude that “Fatigue is the commonest symptom reported by individuals with PCS. If sleep disturbance is contributing to fatigue in an individual with PCS, then using proven effective therapeutic approaches may contribute meaningfully to their symptom recovery.”

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues, with current infections leading to serious illness and hospitalization and an estimated 1.9 million people in the UK experiencing self-reported long COVID-19 symptoms for more than four weeks after confirmed or suspected infection.

Who’s behind this story?

Lisa Lock

BA art history, MA material culture. Former museum editor, paramedic, and transplant coordinator. Editing for Science X since 2021.

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Andrew Zinin

Master’s in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X’s editorial success.

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