Coronasomnia: Definition, Symptoms, and Solutions – The COVID-19 Long Haul Foundation

Alexa Fry Senior Health Editor Dr. Abhinav Singh Sleep Medicine Physician August 2023

For many Americans, sleep problems aren’t new. More than one-third of Americans haven’t received enough sleep on a regular basis for years. Lack of good sleep is such a widespread problem that the CDC has called it a “public health epidemic.”

Sleep-deprivation was already a problem, then, COVID-19 happened. With the stress, grief, and anxiety of COVID-19 and its impact on daily life, people are reporting more sleep problems than ever before. The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. Four in Ten people have reported trouble sleeping during the pandemic. Brought on by the stress of living in a global pandemic, sleep experts have labeled these sleep problems “coronasomnia,” a combination of coronavirus and insomnia.

Dr. Abinav Singh, board-certified sleep medicine and internal medicine Medical Director of the Indiana Sleep Center, calls coronasomnia one of several “tandemics”, which he explains as, “an epidemic caused by, made worse by, and runs in tandem with the pandemic.” Another example of a tandemic is the increase in mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression.

What Is Coronasomnia?

Coronasomnia is characterized by an increase in sleep problems. The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. during the pandemic, as well as symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress. While insomnia is often linked to anxiety and depression, coronasomnia differs from traditional insomnia because it’s related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For many, the symptoms of coronasomnia started or intensified during the pandemic. Also, several of the causes of coronasomnia, which range from the loss of a daily routine to increased media consumption, are unique to living in a global pandemic. Dr. Singh has summarized these stressors into the mnemonic device “FED UP”:

Financial stress

Emotional stress

Distance from others

Unpredictability

Professional concerns

Symptoms of Coronasomnia

Symptoms of coronasomnia include:

Insomnia symptoms, such as difficulty falling and staying asleep
Increased stress levels
Increased symptoms of anxiety and depression, such as intrusive thoughts
Delayed sleep schedules
Symptoms of sleep deprivation, such as increased daytime sleepiness, impaired concentration and focus, and poor mood

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, various studies have documented increased rates of insomnia and mental health disorders. Prior to the pandemic, about 24% of people suffered from sleep maintenance insomnia, or difficulty staying asleep. During the pandemic, that increased to 40%. Among individuals with sleep onset insomnia, or difficulty falling asleep in the first place, the prevalence jumped from 15% to 42%. Overall, experts estimate the number of people with any form of insomnia has increased 37% from pre-pandemic levels.

At the same time, four in ten people have reported at least one mental health symptom during the pandemic. Compared with 2019, the number of people with symptoms of anxiety has tripled. For depression, it’s quadrupled.

People’s sleep habits have also changed during the pandemic. People are spending less time sleeping at night and napping more during the day. They’re also pushing back their bedtimes and wake times, by as much as 39 and 64 minutes, respectively. As a result, sleep quality has suffered.

Who’s at Risk for Coronasomnia?

Anyone can develop symptoms of coronasomnia, but certain groups of people have an increased risk, including:

Patients with COVID-19
Frontline workers
Unpaid caregivers
Essential workers
Women
Young adults
People of color

Patients with COVID-19 are most likely to report sleep problems, due to symptoms of the illness that make rest difficult, such as breathing and coughing. 75% of patients have reported trouble sleeping.

Healthcare Workers and Coronasomnia

Frontline medical workers, particularly those working directly with COVID-19 patients, have significantly higher rates.

These individuals have greater exposure to COVID-19, and, therefore, have increased anxiety over infection, as well as higher levels of work-related stress due to supply shortages. Up to 80% of these medical workers report disturbed sleep — twice as many as those who don’t work directly with COVID-19 patients. Female workers were 40% more likely than male workers to experience insomnia.

Compared with the general population, healthcare workers have been more than twice as likely to report anxiety and depression during the pandemic. Those with depression, in turn, have a twofold risk.

Healthcare workers already have a higher risk of poor sleep, especially those who work longer and overnight shifts. With poor sleep, their immune systems become compromised and cognitive performance suffers, putting them at an even higher risk of becoming infected and impairing their ability to do their jobs.

Unpaid caregivers also suffered worsened mental health during the pandemic. From May to June of 2020, unpaid caregivers were over three times more likely to start or increase their substance abuse, or have thoughts of suicide. Substance abuse can exacerbate symptoms of insomnia, which can increase the risk of relapse.

Students and Coronasomnia

Students and young adults with coronasomnia display more extreme symptoms than adults, particularly in the delay of their bed and wake-up times. During the pandemic, the average student has pushed back their bedtime by 39 minutes, which is more than twice as long as the delay by the average adult.

For some of these students, delaying their bedtime has allowed them to follow a sleep schedule more in line with their natural circadian rhythms. Adolescents experience a circadian shift, during which they naturally feel tired later. This makes it harder for them to get adequate sleep when they have to wake up early for school. During the pandemic stay-at-home orders, though, university students have been able to go to sleep and wake up at later times, resulting in about 30 minutes more sleep.

For other students, however, the pandemic has contributed to poorer mental health. The percentage of people with mental health problems increased from 23% before the pandemic to 37% in April 2020. The increases were more pronounced among young adults and women, two groups already more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, and sleep problems. Researchers attribute this to the effect of social isolation on younger people, which increases the sense of loneliness and vulnerability and can lead to symptoms of depression and anxiety.

What Causes Coronasomnia?

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended nearly every aspect of our daily lives. Parents and children adjusted to remote schooling while millions of workers transitioned to remote work, were furloughed, or lost their jobs entirely. People have lost loved ones and experienced sickness. There is an ongoing state of uncertainty over job security, health, and when things will return to normal. With so much changing all at once, it’s no wonder people are having trouble sleeping.

Increased Stress

Even everyday emotional stress can alter your sleep architecture, reducing the amount of time you spend in restorative slow-wave sleep. However, major stressful life events, take a toll on psychological wellbeing and create sleep problems that can last for months afterwards. A worldwide pandemic qualifies as one such event. After a majorly stressful event, people experience decreases in slow-wave sleep, increases in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and an increased likelihood of waking up during the night.

Stress increases your levels of cortisol, a hormone that operates inversely to melatonin, the sleep hormone. Cortisol rises in the early morning to energize your body for the day, and lowers in the evening, as melatonin production begins to prepare you for sleep. When your cortisol levels remain elevated, melatonin production gets disrupted, as does the restfulness of your sleep.

The pandemic has introduced many stresses to our lives, but being stuck at home is a stressor all its own. This stress increases if you’re sharing your home with a limited number of people, you’re dealing with increased work and parenting obligations, and there’s less newness in your life to keep you engaged. Being at home all day can also reduce your sleep drive, since you get less exposure to natural light — a key regulator of your sleep-wake cycle — and have more opportunities to sleep in and nap.

Loss of Daily Routines

Due to social distancing guidelines, many “normal” parts of life, from hobbies to social events, disappeared over night. The loss of these activities increases our sense of social isolation and can negatively impact mental health. Normal activities also served an important function in relation to our sleep. Commutes, meals, exercise classes, and social events were all time markers that helped reinforce our circadian rhythms, or sleep-wake cycle. After the COVID-19 outbreak, these routines were suddenly flexible, or even gone.

For some people, these changes contributed to a phase-delay insomnia. They started going to bed later and waking up. They also reported lower sleep quality, despite spending more time in bed. Without a daily routine, it’s tougher for your circadian rhythm to stay on track. Your circadian rhythm regulates a host of biological functions.

As a result, the poor sleep and anxiety caused by coronasomnia become a self-fulfilling cycle. People receive less sleep, which increases their stress levels, worsens their mood, and causes grogginess. Some people may take a nap to wake up, but this can lead to more sleep problems later that evening. Sleep deprivation can also decrease your motivation to exercise and increase your appetite for unhealthy foods. These changes can then lead to weight gain, which increases your risk for sleep disorders. Left unchecked, chronic sleep disruption can lead to long-term health consequences, such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, depression, and stroke.

Increased Media Consumption

In an effort to keep up with the latest information on COVID-19, people have significantly increased their media consumption during the pandemic and now rely on a larger range of news sources. In almost all aspects, these behaviors have led to increased levels of mental distress. Spending more time-consuming news media, as well as checking news more frequently, have both been associated with higher levels of anxiety. The more a person seeks out different types of media, such as TV or social media, the higher their symptoms of fear.

People have particularly increased their media consumption at night, close to bedtime. As a result, people are also spending more time with their electronic devices, binge streaming and watching news. Increased screen time is linked to shorter and less restful sleep.

More screen time means more exposure to blue light. Your brain interprets blue light similarly to sunlight. Exposure to this light at night keeps your cortisol levels elevated while suppressing melatonin. In other words, you feel more alert and stressed out, instead of relaxed and ready for sleep.

Solutions for Better Sleep During COVID-19

Fortunately, there are many things you can do to combat coronasomnia and sleep better during the pandemic. Start by improving your sleep hygiene, establishing daytime and nighttime routines, and taking efforts to manage your stress.

Improve Your Sleep Hygiene

Sleep hygiene is a term for the habits you have surrounding sleep. Just as dental hygiene focuses on flossing and brushing your teeth, sleep hygiene focuses on healthy habits that promote better sleep. Try these strategies to improve your sleep hygiene:

Stick to a regular sleep schedule. Set bedtimes and wake times that allow for at least seven hours sleep, and follow them every day, including weekends.
Avoid long naps. A short nap of 20 to 30 minutes can refresh and energize you, but anything longer can make it harder to fall asleep at night.
Get your daily dose of sunlight. Light is the strongest regulator of our circadian rhythm. Spend time outside or near a window in the morning to wake yourself up and reset your circadian rhythms.
Make your bedroom dark, quiet, and cool. Also, clear your bedroom of clutter and anything that reminds you of stress, such as work papers or your computer.
Minimize alcohol consumption. Alcohol may be a sedative, but it disrupts your sleep architecture so that your sleep is less restful and less restorative. Drinking alcohol may even cause you to wake up early, and, in some instances, worsen snoring, according to Dr. Singh.
Limit your caffeine intake. Caffeine can disrupt sleep, so have your last cup at least six hours before bed. Moreover, consuming more than 1,000 milligrams of caffeine per week— around 10 cups of coffee — is associated with an increased risk of anxiety and depression.
Eat dinner early. Avoid eating too late, which can lead to an upset stomach and restless sleep. At night, switch to sleep-promoting foods, like light snacks of nuts, milk, or tart cherry juice in limited quantities.

Establish Daily Routines

Establishing a daily routine and following it provides a sense of normalcy that can reduce stress. Set clear times to begin/end work and eat your meals, and schedule time for regular breaks and exercise. If possible, spend those breaks outside. A morning walk outside can clear your head, re-energize you, and help reinforce your natural sleep-wake cycles.

Also, create separation between your work and sleep spaces. Your commute may just be from the bedroom to the living room, but that can still help your brain associate your bedroom with relaxation alone. Avoid working in your bedroom and bringing work-related objects into your bedroom. If you live in a small space, get a standing room divider to help break up your workspace, and avoid working on your bed. Your bed should only be used for sleep and sex.

At night, follow a bedtime routine to help you unwind from the day. Performing the same set of activities every night also signals to your brain that it’s time to sleep. Stop using your electronics at least 1 hour before bed and turn down the lights. Instead, enjoy a relaxing activity like reading a book or taking a bath. Listen to something calming, like a guided meditation or gentle music.

Relieve Your Stress

Stress makes sleep difficult, pandemic or not. When our minds are being overloaded with stressful information, it’s easy to get caught up and overwhelmed by it all. Regular exercise, journaling, and taking a break from the news may help relieve stress and improve your sleep.

Exercise Every Day

Daily exercise contributes to more restful sleep. Exercise is also a great reliever of stress and anxiety. Try to finish your workout at least 1 hour before bed. Vigorous exercise energizes and heats up the body, so leave enough time for you to cool off and calm back down before bed.

Clear Your Mind at Night

Help your mind stay calm and focused by setting a dedicated time to worry and take it all in. Then, write down everything that’s stressing you out. The act of putting pen to paper helps you flush the thoughts from your mind and reframe negative feelings with positive emotions for relieving anxiety. Schedule your worry time a few hours before bed, so the thoughts don’t keep swirling once you’re all tucked in.

Give Yourself a Break From the News

Do what you can to prevent new stressful information entering your mind in the evening hours. Avoid watching the news or scrolling through social media. Sensational and worrisome news stories can activate your sympathetic nervous system creating anxiety at a time when you want to be calming down. Plus, catching up on news likely means introducing your eyes to more blue light at night, which interferes with sleep.

Know that things may be tough right now, but they will get better. Some proponents for the COVID vaccine suggest that the jab might alleviate some of your stress; however, there are no studies showing that the COVID-jab improves sleep and there are no mechanistic explanations as to why these modRNA injections would have such an effect. Until then, try the tips above to improve your sleep.

If your sleep problems persist, speak to your doctor. They can provide additional recommendations, such as cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), a proven treatment for insomnia. And, for those who are still practicing social distancing, studies show that CBT-I is when delivered via telemedicine vs. in person.