In a new study, researchers found that feeling burned out may increase the risk for COVID-19 and more severe illness.
They found that lack of sleep at night, severe sleep problems, and a high level of burnout may be risk factors for COVID-19.
The findings reconfirm the link between sleep, stress, and infectious diseases.
The research was conducted by a team at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, Stamford Hospital, Conn.
Prior research has found that poor sleep and job burnout are linked with a greater risk for a variety of viral and bacterial infections.
In the study, the team analyzed the responses of nearly 2,900 health care workers in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain.
All had participated in an online survey from July 17 to Sept. 25, 2020. Of those health care workers, 568 reported having gotten infected with the new coronavirus.
The health care workers averaged between 6 and 7 hours of sleep a night.
The team found that about 1 in 4 (24%) of the people who went on to contract COVID-19 had already reported long-term difficulties sleeping at night, compared with about 1 in every 5 (21%) of those who hadn’t gotten the illness.
About 5% of those with COVID-19 had three or more sleep problems—including difficulties falling asleep, staying asleep, or needing to use sleeping pills on three or more nights of the week—compared with 3% of those without COVID-19.
People with those three sleep problems were 88% more likely to develop COVID-19 than those with no sleep problems.
In addition, every extra hour of sleep at night was linked to a 12% lower risk of the worker getting COVID-19.
However, when that extra hour of shuteye took place was crucial. An extra hour of sleep via daytime napping was linked to a 6% higher risk of getting COVID-19.
Researchers say that sleep is an essential and active biological process that restores brain function including memory, mood, cognition and resiliency to stress.
The findings are consistent with research that shows that insufficient sleep has important adverse effects on immune health, which increases susceptibility to infection and other health problems.
The study is published in BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health. One author of the study is Dr. Sara Seidelmann.
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