During Corona, more worries are taken to bed
According to the DGSM, people who have lost relatives, who plague their professional and existential worries, who feel lonely because of the contact restrictions or who are struggling between home office and homeschooling are at great risk of literally taking worries to bed with them, and worse, according to the DGSM to sleep.
“Sleep is always the first thing to be affected when our soul suffers. It is a kind of early warning system,” says Spiegelhalder. “Bad sleep is not only the result of emotional stress, it is often also the cause.”
Diagnosis: Insomnia – sleep disorders
If you find it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep for at least a month, and if this affects your mood or performance during the day, sleep specialists diagnose insomnia. According to the DGSM, sleep disorders occur frequently in Germany, often with serious consequences for those affected.
Insomnia is considered a high risk factor for mental disorders: People who suffer from a sleep disorder have a more than twice as high risk of developing depression or anxiety disorder in the next few years.
People who suffer from insomnia are also at increased risk of harmful consumption of alcohol: Many sufferers would use alcohol as a sleep aid, something that not only sleep doctors warn against. Experts generally advise against sleeping pills of any kind in order to avoid addiction or undesirable side effects. According to the DGSM’s Insomnia Guideline, cognitive behavioral therapy is the best way to treat a sleep disorder.
Sleep disorders as a result of Covid-19
However, sleep disorders can occur not only due to tension, fears and worries, but obviously also as a result of Covid-19 disease. According to the DGSM, insomnia had also occurred more frequently in people who had recovered from other viral infections, such as SARS and MERS. Initial studies and findings are also available for Covid-19 infections, but the DGSM emphasizes that “currently only medium-term long-term consequences can be overlooked due to the time course.”
In a study of 1,733 patients hospitalized with Covid-19 disease in Wuhan, China, who were discharged between January and March 2020, 26 percent said they had a sleep disorder six months after discharge. An Italian study examined 402 patients who had survived Covid 19 disease. 40 percent of them were diagnosed with insomnia. Younger patients, women and people with previous psychiatric illnesses developed sleep disorders particularly frequently.
“It is very important to give Covid 19 patients strong psychological care, especially this identified subgroup,” confirms Dr. Dora Triché, member of the DGSM board and head of the sleep laboratory and non-invasive ventilation at the University Clinic of the Paracelsus Medical University in Nuremberg. In your opinion, sleep disorders can now also be counted among the post-Covid consequences (also long-Covid consequences).
Covid-19 can directly and indirectly lead to sleep disorders
Triché explains how Covid-19 disease is related to sleep disorders: “On the one hand, the viral infection seems to have direct effects on the central nervous system. Changes in the blood-brain barrier play a decisive role here. The immune response can also cause neurological changes and also cause a disturbance of the day-night rhythm. ”
However, Corona could also be indirectly responsible for poor sleep: Anyone who was isolated in the intensive care unit had no idea whether and how they would survive the Covid 19 disease, what subsequent damage and social and financial consequences they could face, felt a psychological one Stress and tension, which can lead to a depressive mood. “As a result, some of the patients develop a difficulty falling asleep and / or staying asleep,” explains Triché.
The DGSM therefore emphasizes the importance of providing psychological support to those recovered from Covid-19. Further research is needed to better research how Covid-19 is related to sleep disorders. In the case of endangered patients, preventive measures could then be taken during the illness.
Corona can bring more sleep thanks to home office
Nevertheless, there are also people who benefit from more sleep in the corona pandemic: Those who work in the home office save commuting time and obviously use it to sleep longer. Data from energy companies show that the peak time for energy use has been postponed by around an hour.
A working group led by Prof. Dr. Till Roenneberg from the Institute for Medical Psychology at LMU Munich: The scientists carried out a survey between April 4 and May 6, 2020 with around 7,500 participants from 40 countries: During a lockdown, people slept an average of 26 minutes longer on working days, on her days off nine minutes less.
Home office reduces “social jetlag”
Overall, the results would indicate a “massive sleep deficit under social time pressure”, triggered by school or work, BEFORE the pandemic. “Biologically speaking, anyone who has to wake up with an alarm clock on work days has not yet slept. We know that we all actually need more sleep than we want to admit,” explains Roenneberg. Owing to obligations, many people have to live up to two or three hours away from their internal clock, for most it is one or two hours. Roenneberg calls this difference “social jetlag”.
In the long run, it is associated with an increased risk of disease. In the home office, many people were obviously able to reduce their social jetlag and live more in their individual sleeping windows. “We need more people who wake up without an alarm clock – then we have healthier people – and also higher productivity,” summarizes Roenneberg.
Go outside even during the pandemic
Roenneberg also emphasizes how important it is to go outside and into the daylight, especially during the pandemic, in a lockdown and when working more in the home office. This would promote a good sleep and thus also the quality of life and contribute to a higher psychological and physical resilience. “The circumstances during a pandemic should therefore always be designed in such a way that people can go out – and be it alone.”
A natural light source in the morning means that the release of melatonin, the sleep hormone, is suppressed. The release of serotonin, the happiness hormone, on the other hand, is stimulated, explains Dr. Alfred Wiater, speaker on the DGSM board. “This helps to make you feel fitter and feel good. Serotonin is also the starting product for melatonin: If we have too little light in the morning – and therefore too little serotonin release – then we have too little melatonin in the evening. “
Lack of sleep could promote Covid 19 disease
On the day of sleep, which takes place during the corona pandemic, the DGSM emphasizes how important sleep is for a functioning immune defense: Whoever sleeps sufficiently and restfully, has a positive effect on his immune system and, for example, forms more antibodies, can thereby better fight off infections or one Promote recovery. “It can be assumed that this could also apply to Covid-19,” suspects Dr. Anna Heidbreder, member of the DGSM board and senior physician at the University Clinic for Neurology at the Medical University of Innsbruck. Sleep is simply not a passive state for the immune system, while the brain and body are highly active. “It is therefore important to ensure that you get enough sleep. The immune system needs sleep to remain active and stable.” Heidbreder concludes: “That is why you shouldn’t be vaccinated at night. The night should be for sleeping.”
“Even a good night’s sleep increases the risk of contracting infections,” points out Anna Heidbreder. Initial studies on Covid-19 show that patients with a severe course of Covid-19 often suffered from serious sleep disorders before they became ill.
Tip: sleep well before and after the corona vaccination
Studies of people who had received a hepatitis A vaccination showed that the intensity of deep sleep after the vaccination influenced the number of antibodies formed. “It is becoming increasingly clear that sleep also plays an important role in the immune response after a vaccination. Whether this data can be transferred to a corona vaccination has not yet been confirmed, but it is very possible,” says Heidbreder. Therefore, before and after a vaccination, you should ensure that you get enough and restful sleep.
“Sleep hygiene measures are not only an important instrument for a possibly better effectiveness of a vaccination, but also generally contribute to an improved immune defense”, summarizes Anna Heidbreder. According to the DGSM, sleep is “the most important human regeneration and repair program”. So you can actually sleep well. Sleep is simply the best medicine – and the best prevention.
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