Coronasomnia, where many lose sleep worrying about pandemic

Directly relating sleep disorders with COVID-19 patients, Gomez-Seco said the two have shown significant associations between acute infection and insomnia in affected people

- Mariecar Jara-Puyod

SHARJAH

The nearly two-year global Novel Coronavirus (COVID19) distress has given rise to a new form of insomnia, according to two sleep doctors in Dubai.

On Thursday, Fakeeh University Hospital (Dubai Silicon Oasis) Pulmonology/Sleep Respiratory Medicine consultant Dr. Julio Gomez-Seco identified this new insomnia as the “Coronasomnia” or “COVID-somnia.”

Gomez-Seco differentiated typical insomnia from Coronasomnia while both are principally stress-associated. The former, which may run for three months or more, disturbs normal sleep cycle caused by jet lag, work shits, mental health problems, neurological disorders, medication, illegal drug use and irregular sleep habits. The latter is brought about by “stresses related to the fear of the virus or the psycho-social impact (and its awful consequences) of financial and emotional stress, the need to keep distance from others and isolation, the unpredictability, and overall professional concerns. It encompasses the constellation of the symptoms of sleep dysfunction such as insomnia, changes in sleep wake cycle, feelings of non-restorative sleep, disrupted sleep and continuity, and decreased sleep quality.”