Insomnia may be linked to COVID-19, according to a survey by Harvard University researchers who studied responses of over 46,000 participants in the long-term UK Biobank study.
Respondents included 8,422 people who tested positive for COVID-19 and highlighted sleep duration, daytime sleepiness, insomnia, body clocks from a period of 2006 to 2010.
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For respondents having COVID-19, poor scores were associated with higher odds of death while accounting for risk factors like sleep apnea, obesity, and smoking, according to the June 18 report in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The study noted that people with two occasional or one frequent poor sleep trait were at high risks for hospitalization and death, despite the difference being not statistically significant.
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Improper sleep affected the immune system and caused blood clotting among COVID-19 patients. The study recommended that tracking sleep behavior could play a role in identifying those at increased risk for COVID-19 mortality and hospitalization. (AW)
