The key COVID-19 findings in sleep medicine, distilled into a clear, readable brief. The evidence is here whenever you want to go deeper.
INSIDE THIS MONITOR
28cited sources
4available findings
Study findings updated
AI-assisted evidence summary. For general information. These findings are not individual medical advice or a clinician endorsement.
THE SHORT VERSION
What’s worth knowing.
The key findings, what they mean, and the context that matters.
THE HEADLINE TAKEAWAY
Separate reviews reported insomnia in acute and Long COVID
A meta-analysis reported 38.9% prevalence of clinically significant insomnia during acute COVID-19. A separate meta-analysis reported insomnia in 31% of those with Long COVID.
These were separate reviews, not a direct comparison between the acute COVID-19 and Long COVID groups. The acute estimate was described as higher than pre-pandemic rates.
See the evidence
Prevalence of clinically significant insomnia during acute COVID-19
38.9%
Jahrami H, BaHammam AS, Bragazzi NL, et al. Sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic by population: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(2):299-313.
Alimoradi Z, Brorstrom A, Tsang HWH, et al. Sleep problems during COVID-19 pandemic and its association to psychological distress: A systematic review and meta-analysis. EClinicalMedicine. 2021;36:100916.
Excessive daytime sleepiness was reported in Long COVID
18-24%
The review reported that 18-24% of Long COVID patients had a recorded daytime-sleepiness score above 10.
This is a threshold-based descriptive result from a systematic review and meta-analysis of long-term COVID-19 effects. The finding gives no comparison with people without Long COVID.
See the evidence
Excessive Daytime Sleepiness
18-24% ESS >10 in long COVID patients
Lopez-Leon S, Wegman-Ostrosky T, Perelman C, et al. More than 50 long-term effects of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Rep. 2021;11(1):16144.
A sleep-apnea measure worsened in hospitalized COVID-19 patients
+25-40%
Among patients hospitalized for COVID-19, a sleep-apnea measure called the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) increased by 25-40% from baseline.
This is a change in a sleep-apnea measure, not the percentage of patients affected. The study design and timing of the baseline comparison are not available in this summary.
See the evidence
Sleep Apnea Worsening
+25-40% AHI increase from baseline
Goldstein CA, Rizvydeen M, Conroy DA, et al. The prevalence and impact of pre-existing sleep disorder diagnoses and objective sleep parameters in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(5):1039-1050.
Study-specific findings. Different populations, treatments and follow-up periods can produce different results.
THE RESEARCH, AS IT ARRIVES
Latest studies.
The newest findings added to this collection. The learning from each, already distilled.
Study summaries are not available in this collection yet. The original evidence remains accessible in each monitor.
Dates show when findings were added here, not when papers were published. Study populations and comparisons differ.
WHEN YOU WANT TO GO DEEPERSee all 4 findingsOriginal results, comparisons and study details.
4 of 4 source groupsFindings stay together with their study.
SOURCE 031 finding
Alimoradi Z, Brorstrom A, Tsang HWH, et al. Sleep problems during COVID-19 pandemic and its association to psychological distress: A systematic review and meta-analysis. EClinicalMedicine. 2021;36:100916.
Lopez-Leon S, Wegman-Ostrosky T, Perelman C, et al. More than 50 long-term effects of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Rep. 2021;11(1):16144.
Goldstein CA, Rizvydeen M, Conroy DA, et al. The prevalence and impact of pre-existing sleep disorder diagnoses and objective sleep parameters in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(5):1039-1050.
Browse the 28 original sourcesThe complete bibliography behind this monitor.
[1]
Jahrami H, BaHammam AS, Bragazzi NL, et al. Sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic by population: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(2):299-313.
Jahrami H, BaHammam AS, AlGahtani H, et al. The examination of sleep quality for frontline healthcare workers during the outbreak of COVID-19. Sleep Breath. 2021;25(1):503-511.
Alimoradi Z, Brorstrom A, Tsang HWH, et al. Sleep problems during COVID-19 pandemic and its association to psychological distress: A systematic review and meta-analysis. EClinicalMedicine. 2021;36:100916.
Lopez-Leon S, Wegman-Ostrosky T, Perelman C, et al. More than 50 long-term effects of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Rep. 2021;11(1):16144.
Ceban F, Ling S, Lui LMW, et al. Fatigue and cognitive impairment in post-COVID-19 syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Brain Behav Immun. 2022;101:93-135.
Taquet M, Sillett R, Zhu L, et al. Neurological and psychiatric risk trajectories after SARS-CoV-2 infection: an analysis of 2-year retrospective cohort studies including 1,284,437 patients. Lancet Psychiatry. 2022;9(10):815-827.
PHOSP-COVID Collaborative Group. Clinical characteristics with inflammation profiling of long COVID and association with 1-year recovery following hospitalisation in the UK: a prospective observational study. Lancet Respir Med. 2022;10(8):761-775.
Original source link unavailable
[10]
Sudre CH, Murray B, Varsavsky T, et al. Attributes and predictors of long COVID. Nat Med. 2021;27(4):626-631.
Heidbreder A, Sonnweber T, Tymoszuk P, et al. Objective sleep disturbances in long COVID: A prospective cohort study with polysomnography. Sleep Med. 2022.
Mekhael M, Lim CH, El-Hajjar AH, et al. Studying the Effect of Long COVID-19 Infection on Sleep Quality Using Wearable Health Devices: Observational Study. J Med Internet Res. 2022;24(7):e38000.
Leng A, Shah M, Ahmad SA, et al. Pathophysiologic mechanisms of sleep disorders in COVID-19: A review. Sleep Med. 2022;100:S275-S276.
Original source link unavailable
[14]
Goldstein CA, Rizvydeen M, Conroy DA, et al. The prevalence and impact of pre-existing sleep disorder diagnoses and objective sleep parameters in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(5):1039-1050.
Wright KP Jr, Linton SK, Withrow D, et al. Sleep in university students prior to and during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. Curr Biol. 2020;30(14):R797-R798.
Monje M, Bhatt D. Sickness behavior-associated changes in sleep and inflammatory markers: Implications for COVID-19. Sleep. 2022;45(2):zsac001.
Original source link unavailable
[20]
Meinhardt J, Radke J, Dittmayer C, et al. Olfactory transmucosal SARS-CoV-2 invasion as a port of central nervous system entry in individuals with COVID-19. Nat Neurosci. 2021;24(2):168-175.
Frontera JA, Boutajangout A, Bhatt P, et al. Biomarkers of neurologic injury in patients with COVID-19 and neurological symptoms. Ann Neurol. 2020;88(6):1082-1095.
Original source link unavailable
[22]
Riemann D, Baglioni C, Bassetti C, et al. European guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of insomnia. J Sleep Res. 2017;26(6):675-700.
Qaseem A, Kansagara D, Forciea MA, et al. Management of chronic insomnia disorder in adults: A clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2016;165(2):125-133.
Original source link unavailable
[24]
Morin CM, Vallieres A, Guay B, et al. Cognitive behavioral therapy, singly and combined with medication, for persistent insomnia: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2009;301(19):2005-2015.
Original source link unavailable
[25]
Goldstein CA, Zee PC. COVID-19 and sleep: The impact of a pandemic on sleep health. Sleep Med Clin. 2022;17(1):1-8.
Original source link unavailable
[26]
Pataka A, Kotoulas S, Sakka E, et al. Sleep dysfunction in COVID-19 patients: prevalence, risk factors, mechanisms, and management. J Pers Med. 2021;11(11):1203.
Original source link unavailable
[27]
Bhat S, Chokroverty S. Sleep disorders and COVID-19. Sleep Med. 2022;91:253-261.
Original source link unavailable
[28]
Gupta R, Pandi-Perumal SR. COVID-somnia: How the pandemic affects sleep/wake regulation and how to deal with it? Sleep Vigil. 2020;4(2):51-53.
Original source link unavailable
ABOUT THIS MONITOR
Understanding includes the limits.
This is an AI-assisted evidence summary, not a clinician endorsement. Read each original paper for its complete methods, population and limitations. Different studies can ask different questions and report different kinds of results.
Dates marked “added” describe when a finding entered this monitor, not when the study was published or clinically reviewed. Personal health and treatment decisions belong in a conversation with a qualified clinician.