“Moderate to severe sleep disturbances and fatigue are highly prevalent among patients with long-COVID-19,” says study co-author Cinthya Pena Orbea, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. About 7 percent of the study participants reported severe sleep problems related to COVID-19, including insomnia.
In a study presented on June 6 during the Sleep 2022 conference, hosted by the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found that more than 40 percent of people with “long COVID,” the formal name of which is “post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC),” had moderate to severe sleep disturbances.
“I felt like I was living in a dream, or that I was actually in a coma and this was my coma life,” he adds.
Between May and December of 2020, McPherson says, “I did not get a full night's sleep felt like I was rested.” McPherson, who lives in Detroit and works in information technology (IT), developed bewildering brain fog, intense fatigue, and other symptoms typical of “long COVID,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As April turned to May, his fever and other acute symptoms faded - but new, unrelenting ones emerged. This was back in the spring of 2020, says McPherson. “I was sweaty and tired, and my body ached, but I actually got what I would count as restful, meaningful sleep,” he recalls. The next week was a blur of brain fog, loss of hearing and appetite, a phlegmy throat and snotty nose, and a horrific battle of both insomnia and extreme exhaustion.When Corey McPherson, 38, was first diagnosed with COVID-19, he slept like a log. My friend, one day ahead of me in Omicron, told me about feeling better after a day of vomiting, migraine, and worsened fever. I came home a sweaty mess 15 minutes later and jumped in the shower – another task that now induced dizziness and exhaustion. I was out of breath, dizzy, and could feel my lungs seizing up inhaling cold air (even filtered through my double mask). The 200m walk to the postbox was unbearable. I was sent an antibody test, which I had to return ASAP. I already had Tiger Balm, which I was liberally applying to my chest and aching muscles. I paid for an Asian supermarket next day delivery of instant noodles, packet soups, fresh ginger and garlic, chilli pastes, stock cubes, kimchi, seaweed, fruit juice, frozen vegetables, tofu, dried mushrooms – all the quick cook things offering both comfort and health. It took me three days to order - my brain fog worsened by the fact that I couldn’t look at a screen for too long. For food, the full pantry was zero help - cooking is impossible when you get dizzy from standing up.Ĭhristmas and Brexit supply chain issues meant supermarkets were running beyond capacity with little stock. We had tissues, cleaning products, painkillers, throat lozenges, and eucalyptus oil for the steam diffuser. Sleeping was disrupted by coughing, sneezing, or rolling onto my back and not breathing properly. The next week was a blur of brain fog, loss of hearing and appetite, a phlegmy throat and snotty nose, and a horrific battle of both insomnia and extreme exhaustion. I tried to indulge in a fizzy drink but the bubbles hurt my throat, which now felt strangely achy as opposed to just sore. Ginger and turmeric tea provided a soothing burn for my throat, and Berocca gave me a slight boost. My sinuses appreciated it, alongside twice daily saline rinses.
I drank a lot of fluids, including crushing garlic cloves and peels and putting them into hot water. I may have kept my taste, but another Omicron symptom had appeared – a stomach that couldn’t hold anything in. I knew I had Omicron, as my sense of taste and smell hadn’t disappeared - a key symptom of other variants. Pantry item #1: quick and comforting instant noodles.