Medical staff suffering insomnia while treating coronavirus cases likely also to be depressed and anxious, research shows

Frontline medical staff who regularly lost sleep during the peak of the pandemic in China are, according to a study, more likely to feel depressed and anxious

Suggested strategies to overcome sleep disorders include stress relief to overcome negative thoughts and cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia

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A member of staff at a hospital in Wuhan. A study suggests that doctors and nurses in China who suffered insomnia while treating Covid-19 patients are more likely to feel depressed and anxious than those able to get a good night’s rest. Photo: AFP via Getty Images

Published: 5:30pm, 1 May 2020Updated: 5:36pm, 1 May 2020

Frontline medical staff treating Covid-19 patients in China and who are experiencing insomnia face long-term health risks, researchers warn.

More than a third of medical staff who responded to the coronavirus pandemic during its peak in China, and who took part in the research survey, suffered from sleeplessness, according to the study, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry. The health care workers who regularly lost good sleep were also more likely to feel depressed, anxious and have stress-based trauma, according to the paper.

“Typically, stress-related insomnia is transient and persists for only a few days,” said Dr Bin Zhang, a professor at Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, and co-author of the paper.

“But if the Covid-19 outbreak continues, the insomnia may gradually become chronic insomnia,” he added.

Medical staff treating a patient in Wuhan. More than a third of staff who responded to the pandemic during its peak in China suffered from sleeplessness. Photo: AFP

The research was conducted between January 29 and February 3 during the peak of the epidemic in China. To date, more than 83,800 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in China, with more than 4,630 deaths.

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