Sleep problems, burnout may add to COVID-19 risk

People with sleep problems and daily burnout may be at higher risk for COVID-19, new research suggests.

Healthcare workers who reported sleep problems in the year before the pandemic had 88% greater odds of contracting COVID-19 than those who slept well, according to research published in BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health on Monday.

Those who had suffered daily feelings of burnout were more than twice as likely to become infected with the coronavirus and roughly three times as likely to say their infection had been severe, compared to workers without burnout.

Researchers surveyed 2,884 healthcare workers with heavy coronavirus exposure in Europe, the UK, and the United States, including 568 who said they had experienced COVID-19 symptoms or tested positive for the virus.

They were more likely to have had trouble sleeping at night than those who had not been infected (24% vs 21%).

In addition, more of them (5% vs 3%) reported at least three sleep problems, such as trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or regularly needing sleeping pills.

More COVID-19 survivors also reported suffering daily burnout in the previous year (5.5% vs 3%). Participants averaged 6 to 7 hours of sleep nightly.

After accounting for other risk factors, every extra hour of nighttime sleep in the previous year was associated with 12% lower odds of COVID-19, researchers reported. -- Reuters