COVID-somnia: Sleep Disruptions Associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

The risk of exposure to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the extent of illness an individual will experience are difficult to predict and leads to much apprehension for patients, family members, coworkers, and health care workers. What distinguishes this pandemic from previous ones is the ability of a major portion of the world's population to live and work without significant in-person interaction with other people, made possible with the help of the internet and remote work. Although this ability to interact without physically being in the same space is helpful in many ways, it has also caused anxiety and led to isolation for many people. Acute situational and chronic insomnia, delayed sleep phase, and sleep fragmentation have been the main pandemic-related sleep disturbances. The risk of prolonged hospitalizations and intubation for respiratory failure has been high among patients with obstructive sleep apnea and obesity hypoventilation syndrome. In this article, we discuss the impact of COVID-19–related isolation, confinement, and sleep health consequences on vulnerable populations and health care workers. [Psychiatr Ann. 2021;51(12)566–571.]