Understanding long COVID and its impact on the body
The long term effects of COVID-19 are not unknown to a pandemic-ridden world. However, scientists and medical professionals are still struggling to find answers to why this condition even occurs in the first place. While some experts attribute it to the presence of certain autoantibodies - antibodies that mistakenly target a person's own tissues or organs, others believe it is due to the high viral load in patients.
But irrespective of the theories that have come to light, long COVID has eventually become a condition that can affect people for weeks or months.
Also read: Long coronavirus: 2 COVID symptoms that could last for nine months or more
What is long COVID?
Long COVID is a condition that affects people who were infected with the SARs-CoV-2 infection, but recovered. However, the lingering symptoms continue to impact their day to day functions. According to MayoClinic, people with long term COVID symptoms refer to themselves as "long haulers" and the conditions have been called post-COVID-19 syndrome.
Reports suggest that about 80% of people who have mild COVID infections recover in about 2 weeks or so. The remaining percentage of people who develop serious infection need at least three and six weeks to recover.
Experts have listed down several symptoms associated with long COVID ranging from fatigue, muscle pain, brain fog to difficulty breathing and shortness of breath.
The long term symptom prevalent at night
Experts have also noted another symptom of long COVID prevalent in most people, which is sleep issues or insomnia.
“Sleep disorders are one of the most common symptoms for patients who’ve had COVID-19,” says Cinthya Pena Orbea, sleep medicine specialist at Cleveland Clinic.
Talking to Nexstar Media Group, she says, “They report insomnia, fatigue, brain fog and sometimes we even see circadian rhythm disorders.”
The circadian rhythm is an internal process that follows a 24-hour sleep-wake cycle. That said, circadian rhythm sleep disorder occurs when the body's internal clock goes haywire and does not match the immediate environment. This includes difficulty in falling asleep, waking up when you should be asleep or waking up too early and being unable to fall back to sleep.
Have you heard of 'coronasomnia'?
Coronasomnia refers to the difficulty people face in trying to fall asleep after being affected by the novel coronavirus. It is characterized by a rise in sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, about 40% of people reported experiencing sleep troubles as a result of the pandemic. This has been attributed to pandemic-related stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions.
The Cleveland Clinic states that over 50 long-term effects of COVID-19 have been identified so far and that neuropsychiatric symptoms like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and insomnia can worsen over time.
Having said that, experts believe reducing stress and managing anxiety is the best way to curb sleep issues associated with COVID-19 or otherwise.